The Vanishing Point: June 2024

Bit by bit, UMAR Huatulco has been returning to our pre-pandemic campus life. Back in December, we had Umarela for the first time in years,

There was still something missing. Hmmm. The Meeting point! That was it. It was time to gather again and practise speaking English with new and old friends.

Students earned tickets for this sleek bicycle all semester long with good attendance in English class, participating in The Meeting Point or by returning materials to the Comic Zone by the correct due date.

It's the big night, our final meeting of the semester.

There it is. Shame on me. I walked it up the hill.

Here we go.

There she is. We found our winner. Congratulations. Hashira del Carmen Sanchez Aguilar!

We had other smaller prizes for a lucky few. Sure, there was only one bicycle but they were all winners in that room.

We will all meet again. See everyone next semester.

Sending a big thanks to all students who participated and all professors who participated and encouraged their students to come. You rock so hard!

Special thanks to David Sarquis and Pablo Glasheen.

Extra special thanks to Irma, the lady behind the scenes who made everything roll. We don't have pictures of Irma here because she was always on the other side of the camera. Irma also provided everyone with natural mango drink from fresh mangoes every week! Unforgettable. Thank you, Irma.

Most of the stunning scenery of Cabos San Lucas can be seen in a single day. It didn't offer much to make me want to stay.

La Paz had been blissful. I lingered there for a bit more than a week, debating whether or not to push further south.

I had checked out Todos Santos earlier that week and ended up turning straight around to La Paz on a later bus the same afternoon. The only place even in the budget wasn't too appealing. 800 pesos didn't get you very much. Two stressed overworked women struggled with assorted laundry spread out for airing in the middle of the midday heat They were the entire staff, housekeeping, front desk and laundromat operators. Quite a sweatshop and they didn't look overjoyed to see more work walking in off the street. I kept looking.

Another hotel just gave the brush off when I asked about rooms. The backpack might have put them off.

Following Google maps and directions for over an hour through unpaved residential streets, further and further from the town center and the beach, chased by packs of street dogs, in search of another economical hotel, Todos Santos began to feel like a bad option. I finally arrived at a modest and deserted hotel in a dusty parking lot. It didn't look too inviting. After the long hot dusty hot walk, I thought I might just take a load off my back for one night but the manager asked for a lot more than Google posted. A lot more. Nice guy. He offered me a ride back to town which I gladly accepted. We stopped at the only place he knew as a budget hotel, the same one I'd seen before. So, pass on Todos Santos and back to La Paz.

I debated pushing on further down Baja but being so close already, it felt wrong not to at least drop in on Cabos San Lucas after a few more delightful days in La Paz.

The day I left, a young couple got off at Todos Santos with their backpacks. Their stay wasn't much longer than my own. I saw them in Cabos before the sun went down that day.

The first place I checked out for accommodations asked for a big hike from the price listed on google and when I showed the receptionist other places listed, she tried to convince me that they would all cost more than advertised. I would have to pay some tax or another and some other fee. All of that was new to me. Walking up to reception desks without reservations to ask the price has always worked before, usually with a lower price than google lists. She'd had me going but by the next hotel, faith in my own system was restored. This place, the Cabo Inn, was a little cheaper than listed on the net. I thought it was nicer than the first one too and it was definitely in a better location just 2 short blocks up from the main drag.

Cabos San Lucas had a different feel than any place I have been to for years. A street hustler saw me wandering with my luggage and it took a while to shake him. He was going to help me find a hotel.

No thanks. I will be fine on my own.

No problem. You take care of me...

Pardon me?

He didn't repeat himself. We had no verbal contract.

But he kept walking along the same way I was heading anyways, pretending he was leading me. It took a few polite shakes before he finally pushed off.

OK, dude. I am setting you free. And I crossed to the other side of the street.

As far as I know, that doesn't happen around Huatulco. I had a lot of it in Guatemala years ago.

Quite charming too. And the room came with a little fridge. Perfect for a budget traveler. And a community kitchen for guests.

I was all checked in in time to check out the beach before sundown. Just before I hit the sand, a loud American yelled, "Hey, buddy. would you mind moving out of the way?" I wasn't blocking his shot of his 2 friends. He just didn't want me in the background. "I'm trying to take a picture of my friends in Mexico and it looks like I'm in Texas." Oh. He just wanted to dis my hat. I thought he was just joking so I laughed out loud and he pulled a sour face.

Yikes. Crowded with so many drunks. But at least the drunk Mexican guy was being sincerely friendly when he staggered to his feet. "Hola, vaquero! and fist bumped me. Loud club music pounded out of restaurants. Party here. Party here. One even went the extra mile and featured two dancers with surgical enhancements to lure partiers for happy hour. I didn't stay long. I suppose I have been spoiled by all of the nice beaches I have enjoyed in my life. Playa del Medano didn't make a good first impression.

The young lady at the front desk recommended this tour. Not a bad way to spend the first day. A boat takes you to a distant beach. Not the ideal place for swimming but the other side, Playa Divorciado, was insane. If you were pulled in by the ferocious undertow and massive waves, you wouldn't swim back intact. I think the only thing you could do would be to swim out in the hopes that a tour boat would pick you up.

This is one of those beaches that is deceptively calm one minute and then sends you running with a hard slamming wave the next. I saw one guy unwisely chasing someone's purse in the undertow. He made it back in time before the next wave but it wasn't worth it. I was told there was something important like a bank card or ID in that bag but even those things lose their importance after you die. Don't do it.

Back at the hotel, I'd been warned again and again not to go swimming there. It really wasn't necessary but I'm sure they lose a tourist or two once in a while, especially the drinkers, which was most of them.

This bus will take you all the way to the airport, right to the departures entrance after you've had enough of all the "exclusivity".

Exclusivity was the constant buzz word around town. Understand that this is just code for expensive. It's a town for rich people, many of whom staggered around in the hot sun with big plastic cups of booze, cussing and complaining about everything. That's exclusivity for you.

World's Sexiest Rooftop Bar. I had my doubts. But I am sure it was exclusive. Even if you harbored Eyes Wide Shut secret society orgy fantasies, I doubt that super model was going to be anywhere in sight there.

Another activity recommended by the hotel receptionist was hiking up a mountain trail. That suited me and another guy from BC, Glenn, was up for it too. Off we went.