Around the Cabo Coast

Next, I repeated the route of my 2000 trip around the southern cape of the Baja peninsula.

Punta Arena de la Ventana

First stop was Punta Arena de la Ventana, "Sandy Point of the Window". I'm not sure about any window, but this was a wonderfully vast white sandy undeveloped beach. Public access was granted via a guard station. A pair of lighthouses watched over the point — a new one, and an old abandoned one. The old one was crumbling, but open for exploration by the brave. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   24.0598, -109.8325 

Punta Arena de la Ventana - Beach Access - Security Punta Arena de la Ventana - Lighthouses - Beach Punta Arena de la Ventana - Lighthouses - Beach Punta Arena de la Ventana - Lighthouses Punta Arena de la Ventana - Lighthouses - Beach Punta Arena de la Ventana - Beach - Sportsmobile Punta Arena de la Ventana - Beach - Sportsmobile (aerial photo)

Bahía de los Muertos Road

I gave one of the beach security guards a lift home, and then proceeded east to follow the coast down towards Cabo. Just past the town of San Angel, the road withered away to a rough rocky track climbing the steep mountainside. I ran into some ATV riders who took one look at my van and told me, "You're a brave man taking that thing through here!" It was slow going, but the van never had any trouble getting over the pass. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.9536, -109.8699 

Bahía de los Muertos Pass - ATV - "You're a brave man taking that thing through here!" he said Bahía de los Muertos Road - Pass - Sportsmobile

Reaching the coast, I followed the dramatic road as it turned south, cut into the steep mountain slopes along rocky shore of Bahía de los Muertos. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.9272, -109.8354 

Bahía de los Muertos Road - Beach - Sportsmobile Bahía de los Muertos Road - Beach - Sportsmobile Bahía de los Muertos Road - Beach Bahía de los Muertos Road - Beach - Sportsmobile

The East Cape

Near Boca del Alamo, the rocky mountainside suddenly ends, and shore returns to sandy beaches. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.9111, -109.8261 

Bahía de los Muertos Road - Beach - Sportsmobile Bahía de los Muertos - Beach - Sportsmobile Bahía de los Muertos - Road

And, I found I had returned to the land of gringos and beach houses!

Boca del Alamo El Cardonal - House La Tina - "Abel's Beach" La Tina - Sign: "Buyer Beware, Title in Dispute" Punta Pescadero - Airstrip Punta Pescadero - Houses - Beach Punta Pescadero - Houses - Beach

Punta Arena

I wanted to visit the lighthouse at Punta Arena near Las Lagunas, but I was frustrated to find that after much exploration I couldn't find a road out to the point that didn't pass through "no trespassing" signs.

Punta Arena - Lighthouse - No Trespassing Signs Punta Arena - Houses

The south end of Punta Arena does have public access to an expansive sandy beach. Many public access beaches around Cabo appear to provide these same palapas I first saw at San Juanico. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.5122, -109.4753 

Punta Arena - Public Beach Access Punta Arena - Beach Punta Arena - Public Palapas - Beach Beach - Palapas

Los Frailes

The beach at Los Frailes also has public access. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.3818, -109.4265 

Los Frailes - Beach - Sportsmobile Los Frailes - Beach Los Frailes - Beach

Cerro el Aura

I camped on the beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura. This spot, east of La Laguna, appeared to be the last unoccupied beach before the chaos of San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. See in Google Maps  See in Google Earth   23.0826, -109.5986 

Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - Beach - Sportsmobile Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - Beach - Sportsmobile (aerial photo) Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - San José del Cabo - Beach - Sunset Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - Night - Stars - Beach - Sportsmobile

In the morning, it was like rush hour — with countless fishing boats running northeast up the beach from the Cabos. One lucky boat got a close-up experience of this whale spy-hopping!

Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - Boats - Beach Beach at the Mouth of Cerro el Aura - Boat - Whale - Spy Hopping