Cabo San Lucas Trip

When did we go:

• Jan 14-17, 2020

 

Who attended:

• Ed, Marilyn, Buck, Callei

 

Why did we go:

• we wanted a break from the Calgary winter and to treat our good friends Buck and Callei for all the things they have done for our family and us over the years as well as for their upcoming August, 2020 wedding

 

 

How did we get there:

• flew direct from Calgary to San Jose del Cabo on Westjet (4.5-hour flight)
• took a prearranged 45-minute limo van ride from the airport at San Jose del Cabo to our hotel in Cabo San Lucas and returned via the same mode

 

Where did we stay:

• Cabo Villas Beach Resort
• we had two decent sized bedrooms, a large living space with kitchen, and a large outdoor patio with a hot tub and a narrow view of the ocean
• the amenities included a beach area with lots of beach chairs of various styles with a fun vibe including an afternoon DJ, Baja Brewing rooftop patio which had a live band on Sat night, ping pong, yoga, two swimming pools, fitness activities, and hot tubs
• good location that was a five-minute walk into the central part of the town and right on Medano Beach
• we had a few service issues, but nothing to prevent us from staying at this property in the future
• there were numerous great restaurants and bars within the surrounding two-block area around our hotel, and it was only a five-minute walk into the central part of town
• the negatives were the major construction going on as they were adding a new wing to the hotel and the internet did not work very well, so I burned through my own data

 

 

Where did we eat:

• breakfast at our condo or at the restaurant on site as we had complimentary continental breakfast vouchers for three of the days (it was a very tasty and large continental breakfast)
• Alexanders (dinner, on the main marina boardwalk, very tasty food, good people watching)
• Taqueria de Paisa (lunch, open-air traditional Mexican restaurant, couple of blocks inland from the harbor, cheap eats, good tacos)
• The Office (dinner, hugely popular location on Medano beach, fun vibe, great house band, excellent food, also went back for drinks one night)
• Cabo Cantina (lunch, authentic Mexican open-air joint, one block off the harbor, excellent food, good service, big screen TV’s with various sports on)
• Isabel (dinner, one block from our hotel, good food and service in a quaint open-air setting)
• Sunset Mona Lisa (dinner, great views of the sunset and Cabo, amazing chow, good service, 10 minute Uber ride from our hotel)
• Edith’s (dinner, attached to our hotel, very authentic Mexican, great Mexican coffee fire presentation)
• Tres Sirena’s (dinner, across from our hotel, upscale dining, great bands all four times we were there as we popped in for drinks a few nights after dinner and enjoyed chatting with Hector ‘the protector’ the bartender)
• Flora Farms (dinner, farm setting near San Jose del Cabo, interesting property that also included animals, a market, a few stores, and yoga)
• Hacienda Cocina Cantina (lunch, beautiful beach setting, one of the nicest properties in Cabo, good food but a few service issues on our drinks, would be a nice property to stay at with a beautiful pool area)
• Bar Esquina (two lunches and a dinner, right across from our hotel, our lunches were exceptional and the dinner was decent)

 

 

What did we do:

• walked around town checking out the touristy shops
• enjoyed a tequila tasting where we bought a funky shaped high premium bottle of Adictivo tequila
• walked the beach a few times each day which was a good workout in the soft sand
• swam in the ocean as it was quite warm
• enjoyed some cheap but lovely beach massages and reflexology on the beach
• whale watching with Cabo Escape Tours (saw whale pods five different times although there were no major jumps out of the water, viewed the famous Arch rock area including Lovers and Divorce beaches, great views of the Cabo area from the water, excellent biologist guide)
• Juan More Taco tour which was a fun way to learn about the local culture and try some different tacos in some local hole in the wall joints
• rented a paddleboard and cruised along the area in front of our hotel a few mornings
• listened to some music at La Lupita Taco and Mezcal a couple of nights (the bands were on the roof of the hotel, did a Mezcal three flight tasting which was quite good)
• rented scooters from Spanky’s Scooter Rentals and cruised around Cabo checking out where the locals hang out (I only went down about five one way streets the wrong way, enjoyed a coconut ice cream in one of the hoods but realized we had not been shown how to restart our scooters so that took five minutes to figure out)
• ventured into San Jose del Cabo and checked out the Thursday Art Walk event which featured some amazing artists in a few block area of historic buildings
• checked out some of the other beach accommodation properties in the Cabo area for future reference

 

 

Interesting facts:

• city of roughly 200k people
• located at the bottom of the Baja Penisula on the West Coast of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean on the Western border and the Sea of Cortez on the South and Eastern sides
• a few decades ago it was a sleepy fishing village until some of these same fishermen decided it could be an area of great growth opportunity
• it is known as a cartel-free zone where local Mexicans come and feel quite safe
• everywhere you go people are either pushing timeshares or trying to sell their wares which you just have to accept as being part of their culture and roll with it (we supported them through numerous purchases)
• the culture is one where everyone is expected to haggle which is fine although I don’t push too hard as I like to support these people who work hard to make a meager living

 

 

What did we not do that is on the agenda for next time:

• check out some of the surrounding towns and countryside
• try more of the local Mexican hole in the wall restaurants
• would likely try a different accommodation for comparison purposes although our hotel was in a prime location
• check out more areas in San Jose del Cabo as some people prefer it over Cabo
• the area has some amazing deep sea fishing, so that is something that a lot of people would enjoy