A few showers this morning and a few clouds still around as we sailed into Cabo San Lucas, but the sky soon cleared to a marvelous Mexican blue as we went ashore. Cabo San Lucas is perched at the tip of the Baja Peninsula where, as the tourist brochures say, the desert meets the Sea of Cortez. This was a typical Mexican resort style town set on a lovely harbour rimmed by colourful shops selling colourful tourist nicknacks, and colourful bars selling cheap cold beer ($1 Coronas) and great local food. Colourful characters were everywhere touting their wares, but they were all cheerful and friendly and not too pushy. The nearby white sandy beaches and blue sea looked very inviting, especially as the temperature continued to rise and the humidity took its toll. Mexico is all about strong colours, whether it be the brilliant blue of the sea and sky or the vibrant colours of the pottery, furnishings and clothing.

We strolled around the waterfront enjoying the atmosphere and also explored a little inland. There was a great deal of mopping up going on in the backstreets as the town had been inundated by floods over the last few days. This, we were told, came from the remnants of two hurricanes and as well, an earthquake had hit the peninsula last night. No major damage had been done however, and everyone was quite cheerful and going about business as usual.

Sailing out of the port in the early evening we were treated to the impressive sight of El Arco, an arch carved out of rock by the sea. The sun set into low clouds so there was no green flash and the almost full moon rose through a low cloud bank to emerge a pale gold in the eastern sky. Tomorrow is forecast rainy weather so we may be cheated of the full moon in all its glory, but I still have my fingers crossed.