Mexico
Cabo San Lucas (June 16-20)
Cabo San Lucas is a resort town on the tip of Baja Mexico. It's about 1100 miles from San Diego and many Americans drive down, although the majority probably fly. We flew !
We had both heard about Cabo San Lucas, but neither of us had ever visited and we were both curious to know more about it.
We took a shuttle from the airport and found our Airbnb on a hillside overlooking the town.
Our private pool and hot tub
The view from our deck
Sunrise over Cabo from our swimming pool
The view was wonderful and walking down the hill to the town was relatively easy. However, we didn't want to risk the climb back up, so we took taxis and Ubers every time !
Next day we explored the Marina at the foot of the hill.
Kris had decided that the one thing we should do while in Cabo was to take a boat ride to see the famous natural arch
The ride out of the harbor was fairly calm.
But once we got out into open water, there was quite a swell and the boat started rocking. First, we were shown some of the famous ( and deserted) Cabo beaches.
This beach is Pelican Beach and the boats usually take people out to the beaches, but this day, it was too rough.
The boats, which were all glass bottomed, stopped so we could see the sea life. Our boat looked just like this one.
Then we moved on to the arch. It was quite impressive, but the sea was getting rough and Kris was hanging on for dear life.
The waves were breaking over the rocks next to the arch and the boat was thrown about in the swells.
Meanwhile EVERYONE, except us, wanted a selfie with the arch behind them, so the boat kept maneuvering to keep the arch in the background.
Finally, after about ten minutes, everyone was done and the boat returned to quieter waters. Our one excursion was over.
After the excitement of the boat trip, we spent the rest of our time in Cabo San Lucas enjoying our pool and a couple of meals out at local restaurants. We didn't venture any further afield.
After four nights in Cabo, we flew to Mexico City.
Mexico City (June 20 - 23rd)
Kristine had visited Mexico City before, on business trips, but this was my first time.
We stayed in a very nice hotel in the old part of the town, next to the Cathedral and not far from the museums. On our first day, we went walking and our first stop was the Cathedral, which was directly across from our hotel. The cathedral was built in sections between 1573 and 1813.
The Cathedral of Mexico City. This picture doesn't adequately show how large it is.
The interior was splendid and there was a huge pipe organ, which was playing.
The organ dates to 1736 and is the oldest 17th century organ in North America. There are actually two !
We stayed and listened to the organ for a while, but Kris found it hard to really hear it, so we moved on.
Our next stop was the Palacio de Belles Artes. It's both an art gallery and a theater.
There was a comprehensive exhibition in the museum of surrealist art, with works by Dali, Magritte and other well know surrealists. The museum also has several giant murals from the 1930's.
Pictures supposedly weren't allowed but I did get a photograph of a Magritte painting I liked.
After the Palacio de Belles Artes, we did swing through the Museum of the City of Mexico. We didn't find it very interesting and many if not most of the exhibits were reproductions, so we didn't stay long.
On our third day, we took a "hop-on-hop off" bus around the city. Our primary destination was the Frieda Kahlo Museum but we didn't have tickets so we only got to see it from the outside.
The Frieda Kahlo Museum
Across the street from the Frieda Kahlo museum
Fortunately, nearby, was the Leon Trotsky museum, which had been his home until he was murdered. He lived here for the last three years of his life.
The interior courtyard of Trotsky's house. The gun turret on the left was built after the first attempt on his life.
One wing of the house
The dining room
The office, where his researchers and secretaries worked
He was murdered in his office (below) with an ice pick, by a supporter of Stalin
He is buried in his own garden
After touring the museum, we rejoined the hop-on hop-off bus and took a tour of the Coyacan borough. It seemed like a pleasant residential area.
From the top of the bus, we observed a bike on a bike - something different !
Finally, back to the hotel for an early night, as we had a very early flight the next day back to Orlando .