This past summer my family and I decided to get away from town and vacation to Cabo San Lucas located at the tip of Baja California. When I arrived I expected it to be like any other happening vacation getaway. It was don’t get me wrong, but there were many other sides associated with it that they don’t display on the lovely commercials or the internet when a couple is looking for their next honeymoon pit stop.
The first day of my vacation, my stepfather decided to take me fishing because he had heard of how amazing it had been in the area (and he thought he could remake a scene from The Old Man and the Sea). When we reached the marina I thought that we were going to be on a huge yacht, and I would be sipping on lemonade on the bow the whole time while my step-dad fished. Unfortunately, it was the other way around. We arrived at our boat, called a “ponga,” and it was about fourteen feet long with a motor that seemed to be run by batteries. The first words that came out of the skipper’s mouth were composed of anger, and he had grabbed the banana I had in my hand and threw it away as fast as lightning. After talking to him (due to my Spanish speaking abilities), I came to find out that bananas were bad luck when fishing.
My stepfather tried acting like he had knowledge of this information, but I know he was only trying to seem as if he was experienced. As we went out to sea I did feel as if I was one with nature, but I got sea sick due to not being able to sea land anywhere near. My stomach felt as if it were going to come out of my mouth, along with a headache that made me feel as if my head was expanding. The most exciting part was returning back to the marina. I had noticed our Mexican skipper giving some sort of sign language to his fellow companions and came to realize that it was a sign for “no fish were caught.” I thought we had caught fish, but it turned out that it was only bait. Despite these horrible mishaps, my father once again went fishing a few days later (without my presence) and caught a few Dorado.
Later in my vacation my mother and I decided to visit the other side of Cabo, where there were no hotels, but houses made of cardboard that no doubt get blown away during Hurricane season. We brought enough food for two families and a fish that my stepfather had caught a few days earlier (which doesn’t sound like much, but each family was composed of about six children). The families were so grateful that they wouldn’t filet the fish and wanted me to do it although I had never done so before. I was so nervous while doing it that I could feel the sweat escaping my pores and smell my own body odor hoping the others could not. Wow, was I wrong, I noticed the mother of six squint her nose and take a few steps back after she had galloped towards me. A few minutes later she came back with a bar of soap and handed it to me. This was the highlight of my trip, a nearly homeless person saying that I smelled.
Overall, my experience in Cabo has allowed me to understand the diversity the world is composed of, and how much I take for granted.
Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.
