Lands End
Cabo San Lucas, March 1st, 2007
The sea that recalls all things calls unto me, and I must embark.
– Kahil Gibran, The Prophet
When the time will come your name will be called, and when that time arrives who around you will stand tall or who that stands with you falls?
You are approached in that hour of life with a choice given by the creator of all things. It is your time will you rise on this one dark night and if not to rise than to falter.
Which path you choose at first light will be the path you choose for the rest of your life. For as the sun sets the sun will rise, and what path is chosen today will be the same for all your days. Choose strong. Choose wise.
For it is in your confidence you belong, your destiny is your making, your days for your taking, and no better time to begin than the present time you are in
The moon reflects over the water casting silver lines over rolling water as it rises. Sure to set and then the sun will take her place in the timeless vast sky, and when it rises it will rise over the rocks that shoot from the sea to the horizon like two goddesses protecting, welcoming, and warning sailors on their entrance into a safe harbor, safe from the sea. They stand at the end of a peninsula, they mark a milestone in a journey. They show us the way.
The wind blew from the north. She blew steady and she blew hard pushing us south along the mountainous shoreline. The sun was dropping into the water as we made our turn to the east for land. The wind reached out and pushed our sails over toward the water, but Morning Star leaned to the weight of her keel and refused to lean anymore. We made for the goddesses, we made a course true and hard. Forrest at the helm, and I on the gunnel holding to the rigging as she rose to the waves and fell into the troughs. Her wake behind her sending white lines to the horizon, the wind through her rigging challenging us to push her to her limit as we already knew that she could be pushed. We crested the wave and we stood tall as men before the mast must watching the land in sight grow larger and larger.
The goddesses, maroonish red from the setting golden sun, the water deep and blue against the purple sky. Men have searched for gold in these lands and shed much blood over the stained rocks, and we found that gold in the setting sun against the earth. Morning Star’s white hull glided through the orchestra of colors carrying us safely to a new harbor. In the ocean there are many crossroads. Harbors have been built here for the sailors. Here at the tip of the Baja Peninsula we have reached a milestone in our journey. We have reached the crossroad where the northern Alaskan currents meet the Sea of Cortez. We have reached the tropics, and the place where the cold water becomes warm. This is our first of many milestones. There were many feelings as we sailed towards land. I fear sailing towards land. Ships are meant for the sea. They are meant to be in water deep and wide. Land is the solid substance in which the forward progress of her motion will come to a stop. So I fear land. A sense of anxiety accompanies the challenge to safely navigate among the goddesses into the safe harbor in the darkness of night. Challenge is the birth of adventure and there is no true adventure without fear.
Intertwined with the anxiety and the fear, is the feeling of accomplishment. To arrive safely in the vessel and home that you have made for yourself. That is a great accomplishment, perhaps the greatest of my life. As we reach more and more milestones, the feeling of accomplishment will grow greater and greater. May all men and women one day see the product of their labor, and appreciate the effort they have put forth.
We have landed in Cabo San Lucas, and unfortunately have already been here too long. Many tourists come here for the sense of paradise. They ride in on cruise ships. They fly in from the cold north. They rent jet skis and parasail. They come to tour the missions and aquariums. Many come for the best sport fishing in the world. A pleasure we enjoyed as we hooked a Dorado on our way in the harbor. While many sight see, my tours have been taken of the marine hardware, and diesel stores of this port. I can tell you where to find all my engine parts and the cheapest stainless steel hardware.
We lie at anchor among the sport fishers and jet skis making repairs and conducting the necessary maintenance to Morning Star. At night we sit on deck with our books reading and drinking coffee as we watch the activities on the shoreline. We have found the people here hospitable. One night as we beached our dinghy among the surf, three men helped us to shore. They offered generously to watch our boat. I hesitated, then agreed. As a sign of mutual respect we purchased them a six pack of beer. When we returned with it, they accepted, then made sure we understood it was an unnecessary gift. We sat on the beach by the fire and talked. We began to pass the night away sipping tequila with these men. They told us of their travels. Now they lived on the beach. Where men travel from all over the world to sport fish, they tied lines to coke bottles and cast them into the sea. They told us of their struggles with drugs, and their time in prison. One looked us in the eye. ‘We have found something greater than the drugs. The goodness in life. Here we can live and be free. Here we are ourselves, our own culture and we treat all like familia.’
We sat with them for many hours of the evening. We talked of the good things in life. As I have traveled I have found that I have always been able to seek out the good men among the bad. I have seen them both, and have been able to find those that will offer to you a story. You can listen to their story. Perhaps you can find relevance in your own life, but regardless I find a companionship and respect in those that would rather pass the time talking to you of their story than that of the rich sport fishers in the bars talking to you of nothing but their own successes. That is the other side of the men I have seen.
I wish I could offer to you a great history of this place. I believe there was not much to this town until America found it. Johnny Rockets, Hardrock Cafes, Hagen Daaz, McDonalds, and many other American businesses have found their way here. It seems that we have sailed 750 miles to return to America. Dave said it best, ‘I bet every restaurant looks like the inside of a ChiChis.’
The harbor is marked by large rock islands and arches separating the Sea of Cortez from the Pacific. They look like goddesses. They are majestic. I have asked but found no answer. I wonder what the natives who first inhabited this place believed those beautiful rocks to be. Were they goddesses, perhaps of fertility, or brave warriors? I am not sure, but they stand guard over us with each revolution of the sun.
So we have made it safely to this point and will continue to write until we reach our home. Hope all is well with you all.
