Los Cabos - Day 2 San Jose del Cabo

2007/12/29
Los Cabos - 墨西哥游记：第二天 (Day 2)

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第二天：Royal Solaris and Playa Las Velas (2007.12.29 Day 2)

　　After breakfast, I looked at the map and searched for interests by the seashore. When I saw Royal Solaris, I made decision to take this adventure. Why not? we would drive to that way and let's meet those timeshare sales. Don't know who would chanllenge who ...
　　It came to us a fancy hotel. The guard showed us the parking where Caros was hanging around. Must be no suprise to him seeing a lot of tourists fetched out to his bait. He had a honest smile on the face and introduced us to one of the watchers in the lobby. Working like a pipeline, we were escorted to the meeting room where the reception girl took over and asked us some basic questions to fill out her forms.
　　The first sales man in the meeting room greeted us and brought us to the breakfast. Couple outdoor restaurants had closed so that we went to a buffet brunch. Not hungry, we ordered juice and took salad or fruit. It was probably the second breakfast for this guy. Anyway, we had a tour in the hotel and walked back to the meeting room. My dad was impressed by the hotel but I just stayed with the original plan: whatever you said I was always interested without buying.
　　We experienced with those trained sales from supervisor to director, same model and style in the US even with the backward handwriting. As promised, no more pushing, no obligation, no presentation, in an hour we walked away with that $250 in cash and 4 tickets for a dinner show.
　　It was still early. We spent rest of the day window shopping (while trying to bargain in Spanish) in downtown and enjoying the afternoon sunshine at Las Velas beach. When it was late, we were back to the resort and played for a while in the swimming pool. Certainly not to forget trying the hot tub before dinner and watching Spanish TV programs to close our first day in San Jose del Cabo.

　　吃完早餐，驱车来到渡假村，看起来还不错。卡洛斯居然等在门口，见到我们，兴奋异常。估计他见过太多像没头脑这样见现金眼开的主儿，而且自己也有可观的分成，所以在这里等着，就指望我们出现。卡洛斯领我们去了讲座的房间，把我们交给门外的人，就走了。我们被带去吃早饭。吃的还不错，是美国式的自助餐，西瓜汁很好。吃了饭，参观了一圈，俺爹俺娘觉得这个渡假村比我们的那个好，当时说，如果没有你们那个，参加这个也挺好。
　　谈判的时间到了，具体内容就不罗嗦了。和美国的销售人员都是一个模子训练出来的，连倒笔写字也是一个风格。总之，换了3个不同级别的人来和我们谈，我一概回绝，最后，领了250美金和4张演出餐券离开。俺爹开始以为他们只给我们250比索（相当于25美金），教育我说不要浪费时间。后来看到是250美金，顿时喜笑颜开，说，还有没有别的地方可以去的，我们每天都去，就可以挣1000多回去了。哈哈，难道我们是来挣钱的吗？新鲜事经历一回就得了，玩才是我们的目的啊。
　　在这里混了半天，拿着钱，带着愉快的心情离开了Royal Solaris。

　　先去San Jose圣何塞小镇的市中心逛街。


　　一番讨价还价，什么也没买。因为我能说几句西班牙语，摆摊儿的说我是Amica，所以给我一个最好的价钱———比我在别的摊儿上用英语问的价还贵。 这里的小店到处都是，里面都是卖银器和手工制品。我怕不是真的银，带着过敏，所以只是Window shopping.



　　然后又返回到海边的度假村。一路开下去，我们在最尽头的渡假村停下来，到里面逛了逛。这里的沙滩一片，一直连到Cabo San Lucas。我们在这里照了几张相。


　　这里的太阳晒得不得了。我脸上涂了6，7层的东西，一天下来，雀斑还是都冒出来了。我们在照相的功夫，一个墨西哥大叔提个箱子过来，问我要不要买首饰，我说不要，他还是执着地过来了。给我试了好几个手链。我因为过敏，不能带非金非银得东西，所以什么都没买。大叔郁闷地背着箱子走了。

　　回到渡假村，虽然不会游泳，还要到游泳池玩一会儿，回来再在门口泡一下。

　　Played in the swimming pool and relaxed in the hot tub. Here was the 2nd day.

　　玩了一天，也累了。兴奋的第二天就这么过去了。

Los Cabos - Day 3 La Paz

2007/12/30
Los Cabos - 墨西哥游记：第三天 (Day 3)

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第三天：La Paz (2007.12.30 Day 3)

　　I had not slept well. Probably the hot tub noise woke me up every another hour. Boathill gave me a pair of ear plugs. But I was not used to them and they hurted me badly. Maybe I was not relaxed yet.
　　We got up at dawn and ran to the beach. It was windy and I stayed less than half an hour. Boathill continued to try his sunrise shots. He came back with a rugated scrip and there was an e-mail address on it. Boathill said there was a black kid could not capture the sunrise and asked for e-mailing couple shots to him. I remembered this because he had an interesting id called "venicesponger"...

　　可能是换地方的缘故，我一连两个晚上都没睡好，平均每个小时醒一次。好像是Hot tub的声音，我老觉得吵。不高兴习惯戴耳塞，给我拿了一对，让我试试。结果更难受，觉得耳朵眼被涨得疼，这都是什么事儿啊。
　　第三天早上，我们起了个大早。不高兴还拍了几张日出。

　　早餐后看好地图，准备去La Paz，是这个州的首府。一路疯狂地开车，80迈以上，在美国都没这么快。这里的车都不管限速，最高限速也就是80公里，可我们都是翻倍地开。路上见到的警察全拿着冲锋枪，怪吓人的。从我们住的San Jose到Cabo San Lucas，有30分钟。开着开着没见到1号公路的标志，就迷路上了山，转到像乡下小镇一样的居民区，到处破破烂烂。连比划加点半通不通的西班牙语，总算问着路，回到了Cabo城里。又开了一截正在修的土路，颠的让人担心车都要散架了。一上19号公路，沿着海，但看不到什么特别的景致，全是山坡，仙人掌，野牛。我这人，按俺家不高兴的说法，骨子里的小资，对这类风景不是很感冒。
　　Today's destination was up north to La Paz, the capital of Baja California. We were driving crazy on the highway, over 80 mph and up to 100 -- normally not as that much in Seattle. The limit showed 80 km. But seemed everybody trying to double it. We had no choice but following the stream.
　　The highway No.1 faded into the city of San Lucas and we were lost in uptown on the hill. My Espa?ol plus English and gestures helped us back to downtown, where we found the sign to La Paz. It delayed us for another 30 minutes thru a road under construction. It was also the first time we saw some police men. They carried machine guns and we felt not secured at all.
　　Out of the city, we were on highway 19 along the seashore but the land was in desert with dry meadow, short bushes and trees like cactus (-- Bear with me on the knowledge of plant names in English). Anyway it was a long drive like this. I was not interested in such scenes while Boathill always played his Nikon whenever there were some colors and he was not asleep.




被警察勒索 (The Police Exactor)
　　Another hour after we passed Todos Santos, it came to a T-junction. There were uniforms standing by several police cars and carrying the machine guns. Without a clear sign to show us the direction and wondering if there was any accident, I hesitated a little bit at the intersection before turning left. Now we were in the trouble! Because one guy had pointed his finger to ask us pull over. A policeman walked to our car and smiled.
　　He seemed so happy and I had wished it would be just a friendly warning. But he did not even bother to see our IDs or want to know if we needed a chance. I started with Espa?ol greeting and tried so hard to calm down. This guy also tried very hard to find out if any of us could understand his language more. Once realized he had made decision to cut a piece from us, I kept pretending no more Spanish. This forced him to manage a few English words like "your problem, ticket, money, 20 dollars". I said "dont understand". He repeated patiently with smile.
　　At last, I showed him 100 peso and he accepted. Since the negotiation took a while, his boss walked to us and asked what was going on. We were uncertain if either he was a good guy to let us go or he was a bad guy to ask more money. Fortunately, that policeman handed the bills to him and they both walked away. I was upset but tried to explain to my parents that this was probably normal in Mexico. Considering the cash we earned yesterday, let us just forget about this bad experience.

　　开呀开呀，经过中间的Todos Santos，小镇一个，没啥意思，继续向北。开呀开呀，终于快到了。这时前面出现了一个丁字路口，路口对面一帮警察，也是冲锋枪在手，好像是检查车辆。我一紧张，不由得放慢了油门，加上不高兴疑问了一句，是不是这条路啊。得，警察同志立马把我叫到一边停下来。这个警察还是很友好的，笑嘻嘻地问我们从哪里来，都是什么人啊之类的。没头脑毕竟学过西班牙语，两个人英语加西班牙语对上了话。聊了几句，警察说，你刚才那里不应该犹豫，这样很危险，所以要罚你20美金。没头脑在关键的时候还是比较有头脑的，一听这话，马上一脸笑容地用英语说，对不起，我听不懂你说什么。他只好重复一番，我还是说听不懂。他急了，说：your problem, ticket, money, 20 dollars。我说why?
　　他又解释一遍，当然是用西班牙语，我又说，对不起，我听不懂。几个回合下来，他苦笑不得。我看和他说得也差不多了，说，好吧，虽然我不认为我犯了什么错，但我可以给你10块钱。他说20， 我说10。最后他没辄，只好说，10块就10块吧。刚把钱给他，他的上司就过来了，他只好把钱给了上司。交了这个钱，我们的心情都有点郁闷。我劝大家说，我在网上看多了，这里的警察就是这样的，动辄就叫你停下来，罚款，都没有票的，进了他们自己的腰包。

　　快进城的时候，见到好几匹躺在马路边的死马，不知道怎么回事，也没人管。这个城市看起来也就是国内一个中小城市的样子。(Now we are entering into the city limit.)




　　城里最漂亮的地方是一条滨海大道，好多人在这里玩。沿街有酒店，餐馆，商店，和小摊儿。


　　A long and neat avenue along the seashore, with hotels, restaurants, shores, and booths by the street allured the tourists to explore its endless stories... We shopped here and bargained a blanket at 200-peso.

　　一天下来，我们没有见到一个亚洲人。这里的墨西哥人看我们很新奇，一直盯着我们。
　　For the day, we had seen no Asian tourists other than us. Many locals gazed at us or whistled from the cars. I wondered if we had a adventure that most vistors had rarely tried.


　　有人在这里做砂塑。Here were some sculptures by sands.

　　远帆，草蓬； 红色的地砖，白色的长椅； 雕像也是和海有关的。


　　A mermaid that anyone could tell her legend?

　　中午已经很饿了，我们看到码头这里有一家餐馆人很多的样子，决定到这里来试试。一看菜单，我就没了胃口。我从来不吃牛羊肉，对起司更是不感冒，所以我什么都没点。给不高兴和妈妈要了墨西哥卷饼（牛肉馅的），好心给爸爸点一个鸡肉的菜，结果上来是这样子的

　　The lunch choice was not a successful one. Even this crowded restaurant did not help us to order a satisfied dish from the menu. They might taste good but my dad and I refused to try. Boathill and my mom finished half of them. The drinks were not bad but now we were all eager to drive back for some "real food" ...
　　老爸一看，拒绝吃。还是俺娘，舍不得浪费，吃了一半。墨西哥卷饼看着还好，就是旁边那个粘糊糊的豆子看着很可疑。可怜的爹爹只好吃这个送的面包片夹果酱。我什么都没吃，全当减肥了。

　　吃完逛完，我们又跑到一个商店里补充供给，然后打道回府。一路疯狂地开回渡假村，除了开始迷路外，总的来说，还算顺利。回来的时候，照了一张落日，带仙人掌的：

　　As we could not get back to Lucas in time for sunset, Boathill had to capture this shot from the car window.

Los Cabos - Day 4 Bahia Chellino

2007/12/31
Los Cabos - 墨西哥游记：第四天 (Day 4)

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第四天：Bahia Chellino (2007.12.31 Day 4)

　　不高兴就喜欢睡懒觉，可一出门玩，为了拍日出，他可是能起大早。在LC这8天，基本上每天都出去了。还要拉上我。开始，为了表现自己支持他的摄影，还陪着去。到了，就让我摆动作。我虽然练了3周的瑜珈，可动作都不过关。只好照猫画虎来几下。朋友看到这张照片，非说我这不是瑜珈动作，是自由女神。管他的，反正是个影儿，像什么都行啊。

　　Boathill used to be lazy in the morning. But for photograhing, he could get up quite early and also drag me out of the bed. To show my support, I posed toward sunrise. The posture was from my Hot Yoga session but my friend said it was Statue of Liberty. Anyway it was whatever profile in silhouette as he demanded.

　　回到后院，不高兴又给没头脑照了几张大头像， 肉比较多，大家担待点:)

　　Portraits with softener at the backyard.

　　今天决定开车到我们附近的Chelino Bay去下海看鱼。因为我们全家都不会游泳，我们也不敢跟船去深海看鱼。这个地方特别好，就在岸边都能看到鱼。彩色的，大的，小的，特漂亮。很多船带人到这里。我们自己开车来，省了这份钱。

　　Chellino Bay was today's plan. We had brought all the equipments here to try snorkelling. And we did see so many black-yellow stripped fish all around us when we walked under the water. My dad even touched one but Boathill did not have the luck even he had tried so hard. We did not know swimming well and could not get into farther. My mom was afraid of sea water so that she took the job of photographing this time.

　　海水盐多，人一下去就飘起来了。妈妈怕冷，不下水。我让不高兴和爸爸一起憋口气下海，让妈妈照相。爸爸不会憋气，下去一下就马上站起来了。


　　朋友看到腿上的紫印子，以为是胎记，说我怎么不打点粉遮盖一下。其实，那是我出发前2天走路撞到了床头上。嗨，总是跌跌撞撞，要不然不高兴总叫我没头脑呢。这次照相每次拍Bikini的时候都留下了它美丽的模样。

　　My friend looked at the pictures closely and she said I had a birthmark. But it was actually I bumped to the bed at home before the Chritmas. And it remained on many of the pictures in this trip.

　　今天可是2007年的最后一天。晚上我和不高兴来到沙滩，看到了很多星星。

　　A Wish for the New Year!

　　过去的一年，有挫折，但更多的是收获。从明天开始，我的新职务新头衔就正式生效了。对我将来的发展，这一步非常重要。我真的感激我有那么好、那么支持我的家人，朋友，和同事。如果我这样的还算不幸运，谁还能算是幸运呢？我真的很知足。