From my journal:

Friends warned me to expect the loss of Cabo's sleepiness. I saw the inklings of its demise when I finished my fourth race, six years ago. But the plethora of pink and orange boxy buildings wasn't the type of resort I've floated through in other developed paradises. This one had become a wannabe, a bad experiment, a dumping ground for stucco and neon that pushed aside order, the concept of line and the essence of quiet. The new marina, still growing, was full of high bow, highbrow fishing vessels, one named "Marlin Monroe," for example. Cabo had become brand name ice cream, fast food, sunset cruises on old racing battlewagons; street vendors peddling jewelry and T-shirts; sport-fishing outriggers splayed in all directions resembling pick-up sticks; caged, exotic birds everywhere and pelicans injured from the abuse of angry fishermen.

The racing crew disappeared into that ugliness and made their way home on airline flights. Lindsey, who regularly cooked on trips for The School, stayed with me, anxious for the trip home. Rich, another teacher that occasionally worked for The School, flew to Cabo from Newport and met us on the boat. I was the new captain of Anthem for this cruise home. Rich was my first mate and with Lindsey's help we would attempt to deliver another class of students back to Newport Beach.

The students who had signed up for the rugged trip started showing up Saturday morning. I let them load their gear but otherwise kept them off the boat until the designated reporting time of one. Most had last minute errands to run anyway.

My stress level soared that day of departure since the window for clearing customs was narrow. Had we missed our appointment, we would have been unable to leave until Monday morning, losing a day and a half to the schedule. Being in Mexico, I expected the worst, some bureaucratic nightmare, some hang-up or some mistake on my part.

The customs guy was efficient, though. He said he'd report to our boat with all the necessary papers at one-thirty and he made it. With everyone accounted for, we left.