There She Goes…

Since we still have the rental car and a needed a change of scenery, I booked an Airbnb for one night in Los Barriles (literally translates to The Barrels). Mom was a little hesitant to go, afraid she might not feel up to it, but I assured her all she had to do was survive a car ride and we would be steps from the beach – a swimmable beach at that. Don’t get me wrong, I love coming to my Tía’s condo but we can’t swim in the Sea unless we walk 1/2 a mile down the way to a calm cove.

So we packed overnight bags and set off for the hour and 20 minutes drive from San José to Los Barriles. I was super nervous at driving somewhere new and my anxiety was kicking into overdrive. Pun unintentional but absolutely fitting. Most of the time my anxiety is unjustified but after traveling along curvy Mexican roads (I even hate those in the States) and with crazy Mexican drivers, I can honestly say Agnes (my nickname for my anxiety) was spot on. Mexican drivers are crazy: crossing solid yellow lines, passing slow drivers like me on curves, and even passing 3-4 cars at once. Mi gente están locos! After a bit of white-knuckling, we arrived in paradise: Los Barriles.

What makes Los Barriles so great? For starters, it’s far removed from the typical hustle and bustle of Los Cabos. Translation: it was very quiet and not so crowded. Our Airbnb was fabulous (even if mom called it a glorified hotel room) and situated on a shared property with a cash-only restaurant. The restaurant had really good food and wasn’t overpriced. Again, no tourist markups on food & drink. We were steps away from a swimmable beach with the most turquoise/blue water; I only wish my photos could capture the various shades of blue-greens. The coolest part for me was the crazy amount of ATVs around – people use them to get around town and you can see them driving along the beach, pulling right up to their favorite beach bar. Mom and I decided we could live in Los Barriles so now I have to learn how to drive a quad since I already know how to drive a car in Mexico.

We have one more full day in Mexico before we head back to San Diego on Tuesday. I’m sad we didn’t get to do too much when I first arrived but remembering how much we were still able to do since life forced us to get a car has been kind of worth it. In fact, I will now be renting a car when I visit Los Cabos. I already put in a request for a do-over trip in October. And Agnes, well, I left that biznatch in Los Barriles.