My favorite place to visit is Cabo San Lucas, California Baja Sur, in Mexico. For those of you who have never been, or are not sure where it is located, I have attached maps of North America (Los Cabos, or “The Caves” in English) and Cabo San Lucas itself.
At the southernmost tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, it is more like the closest place to heaven on Earth. The weather is the same 365 days a year: Mid 80’s to 90’s and based tourism information, only 10 days of rain!
Dion and I chose Cabo as our annual getaway. A break from school, work and children (just kidding about the last one). At first we stayed for about a week, but as we fell in love with the sand, surf and sunshine, we have extended our stay to about 10 days. You can't beat it, you get the best of both worlds.
On one side, it is the most relaxing, laid back vacation you can ever take, as there is little to do but relax if you chose. On the other, there is a lot of fun and excitement with a beautiful nightlife. This would explain why we couldn't resist and have timeshares at two resorts:
Plaza Las Glorias, which is centrally located at the marina and downtown by where all the “fun” is.
The other timeshare is away from all the busy area, more serene, and secluded, facing out to the Pacific Ocean, and is called Playa Grande (“Big Beach”).
We really love Playa Grande as it is a 5 star resort and very family friendly. We purchased new contruction that leads right to the Pacific Ocean.
To the left a beautiful view of El Arco (“The Arch”), one of Cabo’s most popular sites that is right at the tip of Mexico where the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean join.
Cabo is known for more than just its beautiful scenery. It has something for everyone. We went swimming with dolphins (the water was COLD), at Cabo Dolphins, which is located right at the marina and very popular. So much that you have to make a reservation about 3 days in advance to one of the scheduled times they have shows. At first I was a little apprehensive to get in the water with them, but once in, you can see that they are very happy to have you there! They eat lots of treats for doing flips!
In 2008 Dion and I, much to my better decision making, rode a 4 wheel ATV along the Pacific Ocean. The scenery was beautiful, the ride was fun but I had to trust him with the hair pin turns down the mountains to get to the beach. We were fine but I put a death grip on his shoulders and waist and the tour guides were laughing at the lock I had on him.
We took a trip about 45 miles north of Cabo to Todos Santos, which is known as a dusty little village of avant garde arts and crafts. There were lots of artists from the United States that came down to live in Todos Santos, and their artwork reflected much of the Mexican culture. In Todos Santos, an attraction that draws a lot of people is the Hotel California, which urban legend has created the myth as the place where the famous rock band The Eagles stayed while they wrote the Grammy winning song and album by the same name of the hotel. The roads from Cabo to Todos Santos, however, are narrow and tight, so I suggest you leave the driving to one of the local bus tours or make sure you leave before sundown!
Dion and I also love to eat and sample the local flavor. Our favorite place for breakfast, right along the marina, is Baja Cantina. Regardless of what you order, they give you fresh fruit on your plate. We have become friends with the server, Oscar, who likes to guess what we will order each morning.
Dion's favorite place is a local bar that is under a stairwell that serves the best steak soft shell tacos and margaritas: Tanga Tanga. Right next to Tanga Tanga is a fantastic sushi restaurant, frequented by many of the celebrities that visit Cabo, Nik-San. As the economy has taken a down turn, we noticed it was much easier to get a reservation, although it was still crowded, the wait times without a reservation were within reason. I highly suggest both places to get a flavor of what Cabo is all about as far as food!
Well, my final topic is nightlife. There is plenty of it in Cabo, and you don’t have to go far to find the pulsating music. You can start out by being hung upside down like a fish at the Giggling Marlin, head a couple of hundred feet and swing into Cabo Wabo, which is owned by the famous rock star Sammy Hagar, who has been known to show up and play a few gigs there. Follow the stream of people along the Boulevard Marina to head to El Squid Roe, which is THE PLACE, and does not close until 5 am. It has three levels, an open air roof, and bleachers and balconies on the top floor to check out all the party people. You will surely come out of there a different person!
I hoped you enjoyed my description of Cabo and I wanted to share my little spot of paradise with you all.
Hasta Luego!
Percival Everett, Author of ‘James,’ Wins National Book Award for Fiction
-
Jason De León received the nonfiction award for “Soldiers and Kings:
Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.”
1 hour ago