Arraial do Cabo
Our trip to Cabo did not start out well. The initial bus was delayed about an hour by something, accident or who knows on the highway just outside of Rio. Once we arrived, the taxi took us to the right number for the address, but unbeknownst to us, the wrong street. However, there was a hostel/hotel/pousada at #440 so we jumped out thinking it was the right place. We quickly learned otherwise, but fortunately is was only one street over. So we walked over and found...nothing. All of the homes tend to have large fence/walls around them with gates for the car and walking in. However it means that you really cannot see what the inside looks like at all. Some could hovels, others could be mansions, but all equally hidden away by their outer gate. We had only seen interior pictures so we had no idea if we were at the right place. And no one was responding to our knocking at the gate. We returned to the original hostel and they were nice enough to let us use their wifi and were soon able to get in touch with the person in charge of our accommodations. After getting into the room, we realized that we had been pretty spoiled by really good airbnbs leading up to this place. It wasn't that bad, but the standard had been set so high that it felt like a let down. There was a nice outdoor kitchen area, but no pots/pans, matches to light the stove, or even sponges/soap to wash the nonexistent dishes. There was a coffee maker, fridge, microwave and plates, but again no way to clean them. The internet didn't work. And the next morning there was no water in the bathroom. There was a housekeeper, very nice, but she didn't speak english, and the owner was not to arrive until the next day. All of these problems were solved to some degree, but it was a change from the amazing service and preparation in the places that we had stayed previously.
Things got much better the next day as we started our first of two days of diving. While the water was a little colder than we have become accustomed, the flora/fauna was plentiful and easy (to some degree) to spot. The first dive we probably saw the most, but each of the dives was fun. We got a little lucky as they had been forced to cancel several of the previous days due to high winds and bad weather. It was still a factor, but at least our dives were not compromised. Visibility was a bit poor, if you weren't careful it would be easy to lose the group, which we did at one point. But the sites were easy to navigate and finding the boat at the surface was no problem.
Across the 4 dives we were able to see a seahorse (first time outside of a tank), eels, batfish, a snake eel, skates, lots of fish, spider shrimp, some local corals, nudibranchs, puffer fish, turtles, a rock fish and many false flyers. Overall, it was good diving and nice to see some different species from the stock that I had seen often in the Pacific. Next time, whatever is the recommended wetsuit/warmth protection we are going to need to ask for more, cold was the only challenge. But people were great, the boat was a diverse international mix and overall awesome.
The last day we decided to go on a 3-hour tour, boat tour of the outer beaches and islands. The tour ended up being about 6 hours, so for about $12-15 (USD) a person, it was a good deal. The weather was good, but the wind was still very strong and mixed with cold waters, we did not spend much time swimming. The trip took us out to see a local lighthouse and then back to a beach with an interesting unloading/loading procedure. The beach was located on an island that could only be accessed by boat. The tour boats would get as close to the beach as they could and discharge whoever wanted to go ashore (most would swim about 10-20 meters). Some of the larger boats had small inflatables that would ferry people in and out. However, our boat had someone who not only couldn't swim, but also had two injured fingers she kept in a waterproof iPhone case and held above her head as she went ashore. Both on arrival and return someone from the boat with additional flotation devices had to help swim her across. All the time the boat is trying to hold as close to shore as possible with several other boats and inflatables around it, strong winds and a few rocks nearby. At first I was rather nervous, but then realized, 1) its not my boat, 2) shore is close, and 3) nothing I can do right now so just enjoy the show. She got on fine and the boat went to our last stop, a floating restaurant.
The restaurant was a floating platform of plastic barrels with wooden planking holding it all together. About 100 meters away was a mussel farm that seemed to supply the specialty food for the place. For about $US 7-8 we got a huge bowl of mussels that were delicious. And as you are on a floating restaurant away from everything else they have a pretty captive clientele. Thankfully the food was good and it was a comfortable way to end the day. We finally got back to our room, cleaned up and pretty much passed out from 6 hours of fun in the sun.
As I write this know we are on the bus heading back to Rio. 2 days left before returning to Texas. It looks like Washington might be the final destination, but it is still pending. Should have more info actually around the time we get back to the states. Which is good, because we need somewhere to go...
Our trip to Cabo did not start out well. The initial bus was delayed about an hour by something, accident or who knows on the highway just outside of Rio. Once we arrived, the taxi took us to the right number for the address, but unbeknownst to us, the wrong street. However, there was a hostel/hotel/pousada at #440 so we jumped out thinking it was the right place. We quickly learned otherwise, but fortunately is was only one street over. So we walked over and found...nothing. All of the homes tend to have large fence/walls around them with gates for the car and walking in. However it means that you really cannot see what the inside looks like at all. Some could hovels, others could be mansions, but all equally hidden away by their outer gate. We had only seen interior pictures so we had no idea if we were at the right place. And no one was responding to our knocking at the gate. We returned to the original hostel and they were nice enough to let us use their wifi and were soon able to get in touch with the person in charge of our accommodations. After getting into the room, we realized that we had been pretty spoiled by really good airbnbs leading up to this place. It wasn't that bad, but the standard had been set so high that it felt like a let down. There was a nice outdoor kitchen area, but no pots/pans, matches to light the stove, or even sponges/soap to wash the nonexistent dishes. There was a coffee maker, fridge, microwave and plates, but again no way to clean them. The internet didn't work. And the next morning there was no water in the bathroom. There was a housekeeper, very nice, but she didn't speak english, and the owner was not to arrive until the next day. All of these problems were solved to some degree, but it was a change from the amazing service and preparation in the places that we had stayed previously.
Things got much better the next day as we started our first of two days of diving. While the water was a little colder than we have become accustomed, the flora/fauna was plentiful and easy (to some degree) to spot. The first dive we probably saw the most, but each of the dives was fun. We got a little lucky as they had been forced to cancel several of the previous days due to high winds and bad weather. It was still a factor, but at least our dives were not compromised. Visibility was a bit poor, if you weren't careful it would be easy to lose the group, which we did at one point. But the sites were easy to navigate and finding the boat at the surface was no problem.
Across the 4 dives we were able to see a seahorse (first time outside of a tank), eels, batfish, a snake eel, skates, lots of fish, spider shrimp, some local corals, nudibranchs, puffer fish, turtles, a rock fish and many false flyers. Overall, it was good diving and nice to see some different species from the stock that I had seen often in the Pacific. Next time, whatever is the recommended wetsuit/warmth protection we are going to need to ask for more, cold was the only challenge. But people were great, the boat was a diverse international mix and overall awesome.
The last day we decided to go on a 3-hour tour, boat tour of the outer beaches and islands. The tour ended up being about 6 hours, so for about $12-15 (USD) a person, it was a good deal. The weather was good, but the wind was still very strong and mixed with cold waters, we did not spend much time swimming. The trip took us out to see a local lighthouse and then back to a beach with an interesting unloading/loading procedure. The beach was located on an island that could only be accessed by boat. The tour boats would get as close to the beach as they could and discharge whoever wanted to go ashore (most would swim about 10-20 meters). Some of the larger boats had small inflatables that would ferry people in and out. However, our boat had someone who not only couldn't swim, but also had two injured fingers she kept in a waterproof iPhone case and held above her head as she went ashore. Both on arrival and return someone from the boat with additional flotation devices had to help swim her across. All the time the boat is trying to hold as close to shore as possible with several other boats and inflatables around it, strong winds and a few rocks nearby. At first I was rather nervous, but then realized, 1) its not my boat, 2) shore is close, and 3) nothing I can do right now so just enjoy the show. She got on fine and the boat went to our last stop, a floating restaurant.
The restaurant was a floating platform of plastic barrels with wooden planking holding it all together. About 100 meters away was a mussel farm that seemed to supply the specialty food for the place. For about $US 7-8 we got a huge bowl of mussels that were delicious. And as you are on a floating restaurant away from everything else they have a pretty captive clientele. Thankfully the food was good and it was a comfortable way to end the day. We finally got back to our room, cleaned up and pretty much passed out from 6 hours of fun in the sun.
As I write this know we are on the bus heading back to Rio. 2 days left before returning to Texas. It looks like Washington might be the final destination, but it is still pending. Should have more info actually around the time we get back to the states. Which is good, because we need somewhere to go...
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