New Short Stories

In November 2020 my new book Tales from Los Cabos – Volume 2 will be released. It’s going to be a follow up on Tales from Los Cabos, the first collection of short stories of life, love, mischief, and adventure in this magical southern tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico.

In book 1, I shared several tales that were based on real life events and others that were fiction. I’m not going to reveal which stories are real and which ones are not, but I can tell you that the story of spider monkey Mathilda’s rescue is true.

That tale is close to my heart, because during her rescue, I got very close to Mathilda and I learned a lot about spider monkeys and how amazing and intelligent they are. Mathilda and I are friends, and whenever she sees me, she gives me a long, loving hug. She now lives in a sanctuary where she is very happy. I also got close to some of the other spider monkeys there 🙂

To read an excerpt of Mathilda’s story, you can click here ==> Mathilda’s Flight <==

Topics in my new Book

I’m very excited about this upcoming release, and although November still seems so far away – hey, didn’t we just begin a new year? – it isn’t much time to get a book ready for publication.

Some stories are already written, and just like in the first volume I will include one ghost story. In Tales from Los Cabos I also added just one ghost tale. An ancient tree in San Jose Del Cabo inspired the story in me, and I’m sure that many locals can relate to the spookiness. Even if you’re not a local, you’re welcome to dive in and chase the ghosts away.

My ghost story in my new book will be based on the pirate history of Los Cabos 🙂

Then, of course, stories will also be about life of poor and rich people, I always like to include both, the side of Cabo that tourists see, but also that side that tourists don’t always get to see.

Will there be mischief again? I may include another one like that. After all, there is a saying here, “What happens in Cabo, never happened”. Well, now with social media and everyone being eager to share images and videos, that quote may not be so applicable anymore, haha.

Love, adventure, mishaps, wrong or messy encounters, betrayal, friendship, rising from the ashes and starting anew, yes, it will also be there. Now that I’m blogging about it, I am beginning to realize how much work is still waiting for me. 😉

If you like to read one more excerpt from the first book Tales from Los Cabos, here is another one, a story about six girls who live and work in Cabo, dealing with bad dates, their daily lives, and interesting (and sometimes juicy) talk.

==> Click here if you’d like to meet Helena, Serena, Ciara, Naomi, Diane, and Nina in Life at the Club Information Desk <==

More About Los Cabos

Wikipedia usually has a small lead section about topics, but it has a very long one about Los Cabos. I am copying the first few lines here, but feel free to click the link at the end of the quote and learn more about this beautiful tip of the peninsula.

“Los Cabos is a municipality located at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, in the state of Baja California Sur. It encompasses the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo (the municipal seat) linked by a twenty-mile Resort Corridor of beach-front properties and championship golf courses.” Source: Wikipedia

The area of Los Cabos is also known as Land’s End, because this is where the long peninsula of Baja California ends, beginning in Tijuana and coming to its final tip in Los Cabos, where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet.

 

Amazons, Warrior Queen, and Nomadic Tribes?

The Sea of Cortez was named after Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortez who came all the way to the East coast of Mexico. He didn’t know that it was a peninsula. He thought that he had found an island, the mythical island of “California” which was first described in a Spanish book (The Adventures of Esplandian). This novel is about an island that was teeming with gold; a place where strong and beautiful women (Amazons) lived, who were ruled by warrior queen Calafia.

Cortez may not have given the peninsula its name, he only applied it to a port. Much later the name California was applied to the rest of the peninsula.

As for the Amazons and the warrior queen, they didn’t exist, but there were native, nomadic tribes, called the Pericus, Guaycuras, and the Cochimies who were hostile to the Spanish invaders. There wasn’t any gold either, so Cortez was obviously very disappointed not to have found the fabled island of treasures. Naturally, he didn’t stay long.

Rebellions

The first colonizers in Baja California were Jesuit missionaries. They built missions and tried to convert the natives to Christianity. Those Jesuits met with some resistance when they attempted to teach them the concept of monogamy. That didn’t go down well.

Many of these missions are still spread over the peninsula, each with its own history. The mission church in San José Del Cabo bore witness to a bloody Pericu rebellion in 1734. They dragged priest Nicolas Tamaral (who had built this mission) out of the church and killed him on the square, to set an example. In return, the Spanish arrived with troops and exacted terrible vengeance, massacring the Pericues.

The indigenous tribes that were not murdered in massacres were wiped out by European diseases such as smallpox. None survived …

Pirate Hide Out

Cabo’s remote location did not attract many prospectors. Besides, there wasn’t much to get yet, except for the pearls of La Paz which were exploited to extinction. Nowadays, there are pearl farms.

English pirates, however, found the bay of Cabo San Lucas the perfect hide out, and so they settled there. When a Spanish galleon came from the Philippines and would turn south towards Acapulco, the pirates would lie in wait, hidden by the tall boulders of Land’s End and its huge bay, and then sack the Spanish ships.

Fun fact: today there are many local families with an English last name, legacy from Cabo’s infamous time of piracy. You will find families here with the names Hernandez Green for example, or Colin Garcia, Sanchez Monroy, and so on. Spanish speaking countries always use two last names, first comes the father’s last name and second comes the mother’s family name.

Final Thoughts

I hope you liked our little excursion into Los Cabos history. There is a lot more to this thin strip of dry land, but I included the most interesting facts. I am considering including some of these facts in my upcoming novel. Stay tuned for what I come up with 😉

Thank you for joining me today 🙂