Hi, I'm Eric.

I’m an avid world traveler, photographer, software developer, and digital storyteller.

I help implement the Content Authenticity Initiative at Adobe.

ericscouten.com

Subscribe / Follow · Now

ericscouten.com

Subscribe / Follow · Now

Search Results

Baja Part 5: Cabo Pulmo

13 February 2024 • 181 km / 113 mi (map)

  • Added to Eric Scouten :: Travel on 9 March 2024
  • Mexico 13

After lunch in Todos Santos, we got back in the car and drove to the very, very quiet coastal village. Lisa had visited Cabo Pulmo some years ago and was eager to return. It was – as promised – very remote and almost entirely off the grid.

Before we dive into the village, a couple of views from the drive to Cabo Pulmo:

A hilltop viewpoint overlooking a green valley where a small town spreads across the basin surrounded by rolling, scrub-covered mountains under a bright blue sky with the sun high overhead. Winding roads and power lines thread through the vegetation, with flowering shrubs in the foreground.
A scenic view of a desert landscape. · Mirador San Antonio, east of San Antonio, Baja California Sur, Mexico
A dirt road winds through scrubby coastal desert brush toward low mountains under a vast clear blue sky with scattered small clouds. To the left, a sandy beach meets the deep blue ocean, with a few scattered buildings near the shore.
A dirt road leading through desert landscape to an ocean beach. · north of Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

The pavement ends about 10km / 6mi before you reach the town, which has the affect of discouraging “the masses” from driving there.

We arrived just in time for sunset, which did not disappoint:

A desert property entrance in Cabo Pulmo with a black wrought-iron gate decorated with cutouts of sea turtles and palm trees, flanked by terracotta-colored posts and fan palms. Beyond the sandy driveway, low green desert scrub surrounds a rocky peak under a mostly clear blue sky in late afternoon light.
A desert landscape with palm trees and a mountain in the background. · Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
The sun setting behind a low mountain range in Cabo Pulmo, casting a golden glow along the horizon, with silhouetted trees and desert brush in the foreground and a wispy orange-lit cloud in the upper right of a clear blue sky.
A sunset over a mountain landscape. · Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

There were, of course, tacos and margaritas, right by the ocean:

Restaurante La Palapa, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Restaurante La Palapa, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

And dogs playing just “outside” the restaurant. (I put “outside” in quotes because the distinction between inside and outside is a bit fuzzy here.)

Restaurante La Palapa, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
A sandy beachside lot at dusk in Cabo Pulmo, with a silhouetted palm tree on the right, boats and thatched-roof buildings on the left, and a crescent moon in the deep blue sky above a golden glow along the distant mountain horizon. A light-colored car is parked near a blue snorkeling tours stand, and a couple of people walk across the sand.
Sunset over a rural desert town. · Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

We came to love this informal coffee shop, hot spot, and town hall:

Pepe’s Pizza and Lobster House, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Pepe’s Pizza and Lobster House, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
A weathered wooden post on a rocky shore holds colorful hand-painted directional signs pointing toward Querétaro, San Francisco, Guadalajara, Paris, Madrid, and CDMX with distances in kilometers, set against turquoise sea and a clear blue sky.
A signpost with directions to many cities with the ocean in the background. · Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
A bright red wooden door set into a yellow stucco wall, topped by a sprawling bougainvillea with red flowers and green leaves against a deep blue sky, with aloe plants and sandy ground in the foreground.
A yellow wall with a red door and a bush above it. · Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Cabo Pulmo Beach, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
On a large weathered rock at Cabo Pulmo Beach, small white and dark pebbles are arranged to spell the word “MARI” inside a rectangular border of stones, surrounded by scattered gravel and coral fragments in bright midday sunlight.
Mar! · A rock formation with the word “mar” (Spanish for ocean) written in rocks. · Cabo Pulmo Beach, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
A pebbly beach under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds, where two white panga fishing boats sit on wheeled trailers near the water’s edge and a dark SUV is parked beside a low sand dune. Waves roll onto the shore on the right and turquoise ocean stretches to the horizon.
A beach with a tourist boat being towed out of the ocean. · Cabo Pulmo Beach, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

After a walk on the beach, we stopped for lunch at the ever-so-simply named “Tacos and Beer.” While we had our lunch, we watched the pelicans dive and catch fish for their lunch, which seems like a very energy-intensive way to eat.

Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Tacos and Beer, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico · by Lisa Rozmyn
Tacos and Beer, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico · by Lisa Rozmyn

Despite having “Beer” in the name, this restaurant was very clear about their boundaries. The sign here reads: “Drunkards, don’t enter here. Leave.”

Tacos and Beer, Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

When Lisa was here before, there had been a restaurant called Nancy’s that she had hoped to return to. Alas, we found it, but the restaurant had long since closed.

Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico · by Lisa Rozmyn
Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico · by Lisa Rozmyn

On our last morning in Cabo Pulmo, I went for a long walk on a back road. Never did find the bike shop.

Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

And on the way out, still on the dirt road, we found this very informal road sign. “Tope” in Spanish means “bump.” And they weren’t kidding.

A hand-painted white diamond-shaped sign reading “TOPE” in red mounted on a wooden post beside a barbed-wire fence, set in dry grassy scrubland with cactus-dotted hills rising under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
A road sign reading “tope” (Spanish for “bump”) next to a desert field. · north of Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

All in all, we really enjoyed our time here in this off-the-grid village. We’ll definitely come back if we’re in Baja again.

Todos Santos to Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico · 181 km / 113 mi
(Mouse over or tap on the markers to see the photos there. Use the button to adjust the map’s position and zoom.)

If you’ve enjoyed this …

Subscribe to my free and occasional (never more than weekly) e-mail newsletter with my latest travel and other stories:

Or follow me on one or more of the socials: