(Sex)ico

I’ve debated whether to tell this story.  Oh, it’s a good tale, with laughs, and tears, and shakes of heads. And I decided I will tell it -as is.

There is a sad side of the world of the poor.  We all know it exists too. The internal struggle with how far one will go to get ahead.  Or to survive.

In 2011, I was standing outside the stunningly beautiful Catederal de Grenada in Nicaragua.  The priests were saying Mass as the poor gathered outside the front doors.  Marci and I chatted with an American dentist and his family doing mission work amongst the poor.  A woman holding an infant, in the photo below, pulled me slightly away from the group of Amiricans, and bluntly offered to give me sex for money. I was stunned and embarrassed. I am sure I flushed as I tried to be gentle and firm in my ‘no’.  Because she had been scarred badly in fire and thinking I found her undesirable, she was embarrassed too.

So very sad.

Marci and I have since seen and learned more about the illicit sex trade in poor countries. Both Mexico City and Nicaragua have posters (in English) trying to persuade Americans not to seek children for sex. 

And here we are in Cabo, Mexico.  During Spring Break.  So yes, there are beautiful girls in small bikinis everywhere.  

Sooooo...

Two years ago I came here with my son, Josh. We would walk into town each night for dinner.  And it was a little weird.  Almost every block, sometimes multiple times in a block, girls (always heavily made up and dressed all in black) leaned out of store fronts and asked if we wanted a massage.  Now, having a Mexican in Cabo ask you to buy something is as normal as seafood tacos. But, I really DID want a massage.  So I stopped.

The girl said it was $30 for an hour massage.  But I was stressed- thinking more like a 90 minute stone massage.  When I asked her how much that would be she seemed confused.  She acted like I was talking in code.  She asked the other girls in the shop - and they seemed to settle on the theory that I wanted two therapists.  I left confused.

Josh came to me a few hours later (after some Reddit research) and explained that $30 got you in the door - but there was a great deal more for sale. These shops are all located in the tourist district - where cruise ships dump their American and Canadian passengers.

Yes, I was embarrassed.  I suppose the fact that the shop had a velvet couch in the front window should have been a clue...

Now I just ignore or wave as I walk quickly by.

But it is sad to me that there is a desperation to all of this.  Girls willing, or needy enough, to sell themselves. And men desperate enough to succumb to such a meaningless act.

Like I said before, so very sad.

The humble side of Cabo, Mexico

If you are a long time reader of this blog, or if you go back a few posts, or if you know Marci and I very well - then you know the people we really like to seek out on our adventures are the more humble folks.  We enjoy getting to know the cleaning staff, or greeting the maintenance man, or chatting with a poor family operating a food cart among the locals.  We just seem to fit better with these folks.

In contrast, through we LOVE spending time at the infintiy pool - or tasting duck confit with a glass of Cabernet at La Roca - we’d rather chat up the bus boy than listen to the complaining US soccer mom on table fifteen.  We roll our eyes as leather skinned retirees reminisce about trips to St.John’s or how this compares to Maui - just loud enough to make sure everyone else hears the shallow conversation.  Blah!

We talked to a man in Cabo a few years ago. He wistfully spoke about working at the Grand Solmar someday.  He said it was a dream job for a local - and no one would ever mess up the opportunity if they got a job there.  He was waiting for some paperwork from the Mexican state he was raised in (Guerro) before the resort would consider hiring him.  It explains why the staff are so friendly and attentive - they REALLY want this steady income!

I like to take day trips into the town where the staff live.  To greet them and take photos.  To get a feel for the life they live.  It also reminds me how blessed we are - and that it is SO important to spend money here to support the economy and to TIP WELL!

Here are the people who make this five star resort and the whole Cabo experience possible....

Birthday Bliss

Today is Marci’s 50th birthday.  Three years ago we were on top of a mountain in Glenwood Springs - and two days later she had a stroke.  The doctors say it was a freak event, an injury as opposed to the more typical variety involving blood clots in the brain.  She literally turned her head too fast and bisected her vertebral artery (in the back of her neck).  Luckily, we were six minutes from a Level 1 trauma center (Denver Health Medical Center) and the TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) they administered.  She is almost ‘normal’, suffering only from a slight limp, a teeny droopy eye (when she is tired), and unfortunately, chronic nerve pain in her right extremities.

If the stroke had happened on top of the mountain.....

Anyway, here we are.  In Mexico.  Soaking up sun and sipping high end tequila in an amazing location.  It does give you an appreciation for the fleeting nature of life.

I woke up in time to see the sun paint a rose color on the beach and Marci followed a bit later.  We embraced the day slowly, as one should on a birthday of this magnitude. And then we went to La Roca for breakfast.

Wow.  Poached eggs in Chile verde, French toast with creamy butter, chicken breast soaking in a creamed spinach sauce, and tangy bloody Mary’s.  The bite of bitter coffee and the sweet tang of fresh squeezed orange juice were a perfect accompaniment to the sweet bites ending the first meal of the day.

We had a lot of fun taking the pictures and guests around us think we are travel writers...

Disconnecting....

The Spansish word “Cabo” literally means “cape” in English.  So, think of Cape Cod Massachusetts or the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, they are the tips of land at the end of the continent.  As such, Cabo is known as “Lands End”.  So, Cabo San Lucas is ‘land’s end Saint Lucas’ - or the town of Saint Lucas at the end of the land.  Make sense?  “Los Cabos” are the combined cities of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo - at the tip of the Mexican Baja peninsula.

And this is where we come to spend our Spring Break.

As I mentioned in the last post, this economy in almost entirely dependent on tourism.  The locals will tell you that the month and a half after the hurricane was devestating.  Not only was the infrastructure demolished - there was no money coming in to get people back on their feet.  It was a frightening time.

But Americans (and their dollars) did come back.  And they are coming now more than ever.  On the ride from the airport (about 30 minutes) our driver Julio told us that there will be 3,000 new hotel rooms by the end of 2018.  Properties are being built everywhere.

This is not only a resort town, there are also several cruise ships that dock each week.  And thousands of Mexicans are ready to serve them with smiles.

It is easy to come here and soak in the sun. To eat fresh fish and drink  frozen margaritas. To disconnect from the hectic life back home.  

So on our first day, we started with the gourmet Sunday Brunch at La Roca   DIVINE!  From the slow roasted barbacoa beef, to the sushi bar.  From the omelette station, to the poached eggs in ranchero sauce.  From the smoked salmon with capers, to the carefully crafted pastries.  And of course, all the mimosas and bloody Mary’s you can drink.

The rest of the day was spent in Marci’s favorite infinity pool and a quick trip to the beach below to watch the Mexican surfers.

Lunch was poolside. A hamburger for Marci and fresh Pacific fish tacos for me.

Dinner was at the five star Don Luis restaurant on the beach.  We ordered too much, but wanted to taste everything.  Marci’s beef empanada appetizer was a perfect combination of light pastry shell with seasoned beef.  My, my, my....

I had the seared bay scallop salad and grilled rack of lamb (over a hard wood coal grill a few feet behind us).  A fantastic meal.