By Corey Sandler, Destination Consultant Silversea Cruises

Cabo San Lucas is at the bottom of the peninsula of Baja California, lower California in Mexico dangling off the bottom of Alta California, the state of California in the United States.

Cabo San Lucas: Saint Luke’s Cape.

It was given that name by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese who served with the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés before taking his own expeditions on behalf of the Spanish crown.

From about the mid-16th to the mid-18th centuries, the harbor at Cabo was a regular hiding place for English pirates and privateers who would venture out to attack Manila Galleons, the Spanish vessels hauling treasure from China, Japan, and the Philippines back to Mexico for transshipment up and over the mountains to the Gulf of Mexico and from there eventually to Spain.

Once the piracy business came to an end, Cabo was not all that valuable. It was difficult to get to overland, and there was little fresh water available.

But Cabo came back to life at the end of the 19th century when the locals found an industry exporting the bark of the palo blanco­ tree, a form of Acacia. The “white stick” was an ingredient for the tanning of leather.

From pirates to tree bark, next came tuna: lots of the large fish just offshore.

A CABO SAN LUCAS ALBUM

Today, we are the big fish: Cabo is one of the most successful resorts of Mexico, a truly beautiful place with all sorts of sports. Fishing, swimming, parasailing, shopping.

ONSTAGE ABOARD SILVER SHADOW

Sailing from Acapulco to Cabo San Lucas,  we were honored to be joined by George Sakellario,  one of the world’s great guitar masters.

We have known George for years, always looking forward to meeting like ships in the night somewhere in  the world.

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