Localism in Cabo

I just got back from an extended weekend in Cabo; we were there for a wedding, so it was a great mini vacation as Cabo always is. We had a small group of friends staying together in some condos in front of The Rock, so all we had to worry about was when we’d surf next, what time we had to be at that day’s wedding function and to watch out for the local surfers.

Yes, you read that right. Why is it that Cabo has such intense localism when it comes to surfing their waves? Every single time I’ve been to Zippers, I’ve seen an altercation between a local and a tourist—everything from snaking the visitor to full on brawls. I’ve seen enough to know that the break isn’t worth surfing, however, another wedding guest took the chance and was told to go in and was then punched in the foot. The Rock, even though it was small, had locals surfing it who didn’t feel like sharing with us.

I’ve had my share of traveling and surfing, including Mexico, but Cabo is by far the worst that I’ve experienced. Why is it? Are there too many tourists who try surfing for the first time in Cabo and it just pisses the locals off? Are there too many of us in general? Are we that rude to them? Surfing “laws” are surfing laws—priority is priority and I think the majority of us follow this when we’re in Cabo, so why the anger?

Comments

[Bill]

Surf is the only industry where they'd prefer you buy the t-shirt and not the board.

[alex]

That's pretty funny, and right on target.

[Charles Cushman]

One step beyond that, if you own the t-shirt and not the board, we make fun of you.