The Log from the Sea of Cortez
By John Steinbeck
After living and working in the Sea of Cortez for going on three years now I’ve become totally fascinated with it. Reading Steinbeck’s account of traveling over the same waters and visiting some of the very same places I go regularly is quite interesting. All that I can say is “My, oh my. How things have changed in the last 70 years.”
It’s really cool to read of his travels, and what he thinks about these places. If Steinbeck could see Cabo San Lucas now, he would surely be surprised. Apparently, when he steamed through in the early 40’s there was not much too it, and now it’s a huge place with many resorts and hotels.
Throughout this book, he does quite a bit of talking about life in general as well. I really appreciate the way the man thought. Often times through the book I was reading his thoughts and thinking to myself, “he is explaining this better than I ever could”.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when they are talking to some Indians outside of the town of Gauymas, and both sides are trying to figure the other out. He tries to explain to the Indians what it’s like to live in the US, and all that they know is that it must be great where “There is no poverty in your country and no misery. Everyone has a Ford.” In essence, this is the very lie that we are being told to believe about our people today. It hasn’t changed from his time to ours. I find it very interesting to see this from their point of view.
The Log from Sea of Cortez is a great book, worth the price of admission. I highly recommend this book.
