November 9, 2011

There is one thing that I failed to mention about the local economy at Los Frailes in my blog from yesterday that I noticed today. A majority of the locals are fishermen and make their living doing that, but there is another contribution. I had not noticed that there was quite a bit of tourism coming to this area and actually contributing before. I noticed that there were SCUBA divers that were coming back from the reef this morning and the guide and boat driver was definitely one of the locals. Later in the day I noticed that a group of tourists had pulled up in a large van and there were three different pangas that were waiting for them. One group went to the west and it consisted of the SCUBA group. They were going to dive the wall that apparently makes Los Frailes an international destination for divers. The depth goes from 10 meters to 256 meters in the span of 100 yards. It is one of the most drastic cliffs that is easily accessible in the world. It is so close to the shore that you can literally watch sand cascading over the edge into the precipice.

One of the other pangas went north around the hill that protects the anchorage and discharged its passengers to snorkel the reef. This is the only living reef in the Sea of Cortez and is another hot spot for international divers as well as locals. The final panga also went north but discharged its group on the rocks that make up the promontory so that the people could look in the tidal pools, enjoy the scenery, and sun themselves like lizards on the rocks. It was kind of cool to see how they managed to divide a group of people into different skill, comfort, and interest levels and provide each group with an equally rewarding experience. Apparently this provides more economic benefit than fishing in this area.

The fishing in this area has peaked, declined, and is struggling to recover. Mike and I went snorkeling all around the bay today and were amazed at how desolate it was. There were the requisite colorful tropical fish that divers love to look at, there were the cool corral formations that were both dead and alive, and the topography of the bottom could potentially provide all sorts of nooks and crannies for elusive fish to seek shelter. After decades of overfishing and pearl diving it appears that the natural topography was not enough to protect the bay. It was not a desert but it was certainly a desolate looking bottom and it became clear why the local economy is trying to rely on eco-tourism instead of fishing.

Today was much less frustrating than yesterday. We decided that wind or not (it was still gusting around 30 – 35 knots), we were going to go in and do some fun stuff. Initially I thought we were just going to go to the beach and do some exploring, maybe do a soft sand run to get some exercise. Then I saw Mike getting his snorkeling gear together and since I knew that the area was known for snorkeling and diving, I decided that I would grab mine as well. Joe thought that we were also just going to go for a beach hike. Much to his chagrin, Mike and I had other plans. I thought that we were just going to pull the zodiac up on the beach so that he could go for his walk and then Mike and I would jump in the surf and swim out to the snorkel spot. We picked a happy medium. Mike decided to anchor the dinghy in about 10 feet of water outside of the surf zone. The snorkelers jumped overboard and swam to the spots to snorkel and Joe was forced to jump overboard and swim in to the beach.

It all worked out quite nicely. The swim in to shore was only about 20 feet so it was not much of an inconvenience for Joe, especially because he was wearing swimming gear expecting to get wet somehow anyway. It also worked out for us because we did not have to get sand into our dive gear as we trudged through the surf zone into deeper water. The drop off was very dramatic. The sand only extends 5 feet into the water before the bottom just gives way and you are in 10-15 feet of water with a rocky bottom. The clarity was roughly 20 feet but much better when looking down because you didn’t have to deal with the turbidity close to surface. The wind was still howling so there was quite a bit of drift while floating but the water was nice and warm and it was actually more comfortable under the surface than in the air. I felt like a fish when I had that observation. We snorkeled for about a half an hour before we decided to head in to the beach and hike up some sand dunes to get a good vantage point of the bay and what was on the other side. Turns out the other side was a dried up lagoon and it was kind of cool to see what a lagoon looks like when it has recently dried out. The desert around this dried up lagoon also went on as far as the eye could see. It explains why we heard coyote howls all night long.

After hiking the dunes Mike elected to stay near the dinghy while I went off down the beach to stretch my legs and look for Joe. I walked past the fishing village and although it was deserted it still gave good insight into the living conditions in the area. These people look like they are living in abject poverty and compared to the American standard of living they probably are. But it did not look like they wanted for anything. Several of the ramshackle fishing huts that I described yesterday were exactly as they appeared. They were made out of corrugated metal, cardboard, plywood, and tarpaper. What was interesting to note was the fact that they may have looked that rundown, but almost every single one of them had a satellite dish on the outside, electricity, and a very nice looking car. Apparently it is not important to live in a mansion but just to live according to one’s needs.

The same cannot be said about a lot of what is going on along the coast of Baja Sur. On a different note are my observations of an emerging middle class that I noticed in Cabo, the importance of signs of material wealth in Bahia Tortugas, and my observations of various haciendas while coming up the coast of Baja. The common conception of Cabo is that it is an American resort town that happens to be located in Mexico. When we were there I can tell you that is categorically not true anymore. It used to be, but recently that is changing. I noticed that roughly half of the people in any given restaurant, bar, marina, or tourist attraction was Mexican. And these Mexicans do not appear to be living like the fishermen in Los Frailes. They have money and they want to show off the fact that they have money. The designer clothes, bags, and fashions looked more aptly suited to be in the haute couture scene of Paris than Cabo San Lucas. They were driving flashy cars that had fresh wax jobs and flaunting the fact that they had the latest technology, whether that was an Ipad or IPhone 4 or some other form of gadget.

As we motor up the coast this recent development in wealth can be seen in the new construction. It is illegal for a foreigner to own land within 15 kilometers of the ocean or 30 kilometers of the border so I know that these developments belong to nationals. What you can see as you come up the coast are not a plethora of tourist hotels or anything but rather an impressive display of personal homes that would make the property owners of Manhattan Beach blush. Whether this is because of cheaper property, materials, or labor I cannot be completely sure but the fact of the matter is that there are incredible haciendas that line the beach all along the coast. Each one of them is a complete custom job and does not resemble any other hacienda. This is important to note because it is not a developer that is making all of these homes in speculation but rather it is individuals that are commissioning these homes to be built.

Even more interesting is the fact that these homes are actually just the vacation homes for the nouveau riche of Mexico. They also have homes within the important cities so that they can keep up with work and their kids can have an education. The vacation homes that we have seen are in the middle of nowhere and it would be impossible to raise a family out there. Most of the homes that we passed were completely deserted because right now it is not the vacationing time for Mexicans. It is striking to see the difference in wealth between these homes, a few of which are just a few miles down the beach from the fishing village of Los Frailes that we are staying at right now, and what could be described as the abject poverty of the fishermen.

But there does appear to be an emerging middle class that is splitting the difference. It is hard to see but now that I am looking for the disparities between the rich and poor I am noticing that there is a group that does not fit either description. This group could be found in Bahia Tortugas and in Cabo San Lucas. They live in comfortable homes that are within their means. They are not single room huts but rather multi-room cinder block constructions with running water, electricity, and satellite TV. The families own a little parcel of land around the house so they have some breathing room from their neighbors. Also, important to note is the fact that they have more than one car and both of the cars are in pristine condition, relatively new and one of them is clearly a work vehicle while the other is for driving around and doing errands. I saw a few of these families vacationing in Cabo and it was clear that they were going out to a nice restaurant but it was a rarity for them. It was refreshing to see. Hopefully this emerging middle class can help to turn the socioeconomic tide around in Mexico.