San Jose del Cabo
Travel days are always tiring. Waking up early, the stress of the airport, time zone changes. The drive from SJD to our hotel in San Jose del Cabo’s Distrito del Arte was certainly an experience. The word harrowing comes to mind. Intersections are lawless places, a battle of wills and a roll of the dice. I’m hoping the stretch between here and Todos Santos is more pleasant.
We arrived hours before our room was ready, so we dropped our bags and took refuge from the heat in a lounge by the pool. A couple soon joined us, thankful for the a/c. We ended up having a long conversation – turns out they’re from Dallas and the guy has a nearly identical background to mine. We shared Marine Corps experiences and contact info, promising to talk more when we were all back home. He even hinted at a job at his company that might suit me. Funny how things work out.
We had an amazing lunch at Ruba’s; a little rich for a midday meal in the heat, but delicious. I only noticed the Michelin stars after I paid, which explained the bill. Back at the hotel, the boy and I took a dip in the pool. That turned into a bit of a disaster. After forcing his eyes open underwater (against my advice), we discovered the chlorine level was too high. The next few hours were spent rinsing his eyes with bottled water and cool compresses. I had to get some drops from the pharmacy across the street. It sounds like simple swimmer’s eye, I know, but it was bad enough that I thought an urgent care trip was inevitable. Thankfully, it cleared up after some hotel room treatment. Being a parent is stressful.
Dinner was at Flavia’s, a long uphill walk from the hotel. Drenched in sweat and sitting under the fans, we enjoyed some incredible artisanal, wood-fired pizza. I see now why this is the low season. The restaurant had bottles of citronella spray on the tables. They were absolutely necessary.
The time change got me this morning. My eyes snapped open at 5:30am, wide awake. Breakfast was at Doña Nena / Clyde Panadería in the plaza next door. Cappuccino and Chilaquiles. Now we’re lounging in the room, basking in the aircon and watching stupid TV shows.
Check-out is at noon. We’ll take our time driving up to Todos Santos later.
As I finished writing this, the entire building shook. Turns out earthquakes are pretty common here. Great.
