Cabo San Lucas

On April 1, which happened to be Easter Sunday, my wife and I took an early morning non-stop flight from New York City to Los Angeles where our cruise ship, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Star, was moored. The ship was presumably loading provisions for the seven-day round trip to the Mexican Riviera with three ports of call – Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán. Later in the day, the ship let loose the lines that tied her to the pier and started sailing briskly southward on the Pacific Ocean.

After about 40 hours on the ocean, the ship dropped anchor at Cabo San Lucas, commonly called Cabo, Spanish for cape, in the mid-morning hours of April 3. Surprisingly, there’s no pier at the port for cruise ships to dock. Therefore, the ship moored at the outer anchorage and we were ferried to the dockyard.

With an imposing landscape, Cabo is located at the southernmost tip of the 1,225-km long Baja Peninsula that runs along Mexico’s west coast, starting from Mexicali in the north. Cabo is four-in-one: a rocky desert terrain, hot climate, spectacular beaches and soaring mountains. It is a nature lover’s paradise, where the desert collides with the turquoise waters surrounded by majestic cardón cacti and mystical arroyos. It is also the ultimate destination for water sports enthusiasts and those looking for outdoor adventure.

Cabo was once frequented by treasure galleons and the pirate ships that lay in wait for them. Today, it is a touristic town, but cruise passengers are a small minority of the tourists. Instead, it is a heavily Americanized party town. Cabo’s most raucous tourists are students and young people from California and other western states of the USA who come here to let themselves loose during holidays. Hence, everything American, such as department and convenience stores, and fast food joints can be found in Cabo.

We were given a shore time of little over half a day. Since the tour operators usually time their tours to meet the needs of cruisers and the cruise ships, we took a six-hour guided tour, called Baja Highlights, which covered most of the sights and sounds of the long and arid peninsula.

From the dockyard, we drove through downtown Cabo into a desert terrain dotted with expensive resorts and five-star hotels, deluxe villas, sprawling golf courses and magnificent beaches.

Our first stop was at the Sunset Vista Point – an ideal spot for a sweeping panoramic view of Land’s End, where seascapes and rugged coastline of the Bay of Cabo San Lucas, marked by unusual rock formations, straddles two bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. We had an amazing view of some rocky outcroppings, particularly the famed El Arco – an impressive rock that arches out of the sea. These awe-inspiring natural wonders were created over millennia by the high winds and rough seas of the southern Baja Peninsula.

The water here are among the biologically richest in the world. According to our knowledgeable guide, in the winter, pods of whales travel all the way from Alaska and Siberia to bear their calves in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez.

Our next destination was the elegant and much quieter town of San Jose del Cabo, where we walked on our own along the cobblestoned streets lined with restaurants and gift shops. We took a peek inside The Mission of San Jose del Cabo Anuiti – the main church and a landmark in the town, surrounded by bougainvillea and krishnachura trees. It was founded by the Jesuit priest Nicolas Tamaral in 1730, with the hopes of creating a haven for ships undergoing the long journey to Asia. However, he was killed in 1734 in a conflict with local indigenous people, the Pericú Indians.

On our way back to Cabo, we stopped at an eco-friendly hand-blown glass factory to watch local artisans at work, as they created artwork using time-honoured techniques. Our final stop was the marina, one of the premier centres of activity in Cabo. This charming waterfront neighbourhood offers a rich collection of restaurants and shops from where to enjoy all the scenic seaside views. After spending some time at the marina, we returned to the dockyard in time to catch the last ferry to the ship.

As the ship set sail for the next port of call, Puerto Vallarta, the sun started to sink below the western horizon. In fact, at Cabo, we had the unique opportunity to watch the sun rising above the Sea of Cortez and setting below the Pacific Ocean, both on the same day. n

The writer is a Professor of Physics at

Fordham University, New York.

Photos: Mahjabeen Haider and the writer.

Cabo San Lucas

On April 1, which happened to be Easter Sunday, my wife and I took an early morning non-stop flight from New York City to Los Angeles where our cruise ship, Norwegian Cruise Lines Star, was moored. The ship was presumably loading provisions for the seven-day round trip to the Mexican Riviera with three ports of call Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatln. Later in the day, the ship let loose the lines that tied her to the pier and started sailing briskly southward on the Pacific Ocean. After about 40 hours on the ocean, the ship dropped anchor at Cabo San Lucas, commonly called Cabo, Spanish for cape, in the mid-morning hours of April 3. Surprisingly, theres no pier at the port for cruise ships to dock. Therefore, the ship moored at the outer anchorage and we were ferried to the dockyard. With an imposing landscape, Cabo is located at the southernmost tip of the 1,225-km long Baja Peninsula that runs along Mexicos west coast, starting from Mexicali in the north. Cabo is four-in-one: a rocky desert terrain, hot climate, spectacular beaches and soaring mountains. It is a nature lovers paradise, where the desert collides with the turquoise waters surrounded by majestic cardn cacti and mystical arroyos. It is also the ultimate destination for water sports enthusiasts and those looking for outdoor adventure. Cabo was once frequented by treasure galleons and the pirate ships that lay in wait for them. Today, it is a touristic town, but cruise passengers are a small minority of the tourists. Instead, it is a heavily Americanized party town. Cabos most raucous tourists are students and young people from California and other western states of the USA who come here to let themselves loose during holidays. Hence, everything American, such as department and convenience stores, and fast food joints can be found in Cabo. We were given a shore time of little over half a day. Since the tour operators usually time their tours to meet the needs of cruisers and the cruise ships, we took a six-hour guided tour, called Baja Highlights, which covered most of the sights and sounds of the long and arid peninsula. From the dockyard, we drove through downtown Cabo into a desert terrain dotted with expensive resorts and five-star hotels, deluxe villas, sprawling golf courses and magnificent beaches. Our first stop was at the Sunset Vista Point an ideal spot for a sweeping panoramic view of Lands End, where seascapes and rugged coastline of the Bay of Cabo San Lucas, marked by unusual rock formations, straddles two bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. We had an amazing view of some rocky outcroppings, particularly the famed El Arco an impressive rock that arches out of the sea. These awe-inspiring natural wonders were created over millennia by the high winds and rough seas of the southern Baja Peninsula. The water here are among the biologically richest in the world. According to our knowledgeable guide, in the winter, pods of whales travel all the way from Alaska and Siberia to bear their calves in the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez. Our next destination was the elegant and much quieter town of San Jose del Cabo, where we walked on our own along the cobblestoned streets lined with restaurants and gift shops. We took a peek inside The Mission of San Jose del Cabo Anuiti the main church and a landmark in the town, surrounded by bougainvillea and krishnachura trees. It was founded by the Jesuit priest Nicolas Tamaral in 1730, with the hopes of creating a haven for ships undergoing the long journey to Asia. However, he was killed in 1734 in a conflict with local indigenous people, the Peric Indians. On our way back to Cabo, we stopped at an eco-friendly hand-blown glass factory to watch local artisans at work, as they created artwork using time-honoured techniques. Our final stop was the marina, one of the premier centres of activity in Cabo. This charming waterfront neighbourhood offers a rich collection of restaurants and shops from where to enjoy all the scenic seaside views. After spending some time at the marina, we returned to the dockyard in time to catch the last ferry to the ship. As the ship set sail for the next port of call, Puerto Vallarta, the sun started to sink below the western horizon. In fact, at Cabo, we had the unique opportunity to watch the sun rising above the Sea of Cortez and setting below the Pacific Ocean, both on the same day. n The writer is a Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York. Photos: Mahjabeen Haider and the writer.