| | |  Travel & Outdoors | October 2009 
Discovering La Vida Buena in Cabos
 Joseph Kula - CanWest News
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October 07, 2009
| | What brings out the stars and thousands of other winter-weary folk to enjoy la vida buena (the good life) here in Los Cabos is the sun. | |
Brad Pitt and I have something in common: we have both found that dream sun destination.
During the filming of Troy, Pitt, with his Hollywood millions, stayed in a palatial home high up on a hill overlooking the Pacific at the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. I, on the other hand, have had to make do with an all-inclusive package at a five-star resort on the Sea of Cortes, just a short WaveRunner ride away from the fabulous homes of the the rich and famous, including those of Sylvester Stallone and Madonna.
But, hey, the sunsets from my balcony at the Riu Palace are just as spectacular and the margaritas just as tasty.
What brings out the stars and thousands of other winter-weary folk to enjoy la vida buena (the good life) here in Los Cabos is the sun.
Even when other resort destinations such as Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo got a soaking after a brush with a series of tropical storms, Los Cabos stayed mostly dry.
Because it's basically a desert between two seas, the long finger of land known as Baja California, receives less than 250 millimetres of precipitation a year. And there seems to be a permanent high overhead, deflecting tropical storms.
The holiday resorts at Los Cabos - there are 17 capes in all - are like pirate treasures popping up here and there along the Sea of Cortes. And although most spill onto wide expanses of sandy beaches, red flags warn visitors not to swim because of the strong undertow.
But, with seemingly acres of pools with swim-up bars, palm-shaded, bougainvillaea-draped grounds and sumptuous buffet areas open to the gentle sea breezes, who cares?
To swim and snorkel, it is best to go up the coast a bit toward Jose del Cabo.
For 20 pesos ($2 Cdn), I took a local bus to inviting, family-friendly Playa Chelano (Chilean Beach), where, with local kids and a few tourists, I swam and snorkelled to my heart's content. Zabra fish used my legs as underwater pylons as they darted here and there. Not quite Caribbean-style see-to-the-bottom snorkelling but, still pleasant.
But I knew that I had come to the right place when the water in the ocean was warmer than in the pool at the Riu Palace.
From the resort, a six-peso (60-cent) mini-bus ride took me to the marina at Cabo San Lucas, where I hopped a glass-bottomed boat to the Friars, standing like rough-hewn statues from antiquity.
Named for the missionaries who tried, unsuccessfully to convert the native Pericues and stop their polygamous ways, the Friars stand guard at Land's End.
It is here you find Lover's Beach, where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortes come crashing together to form weird and wonderful rock formations.
Beneath the boat was a kaleidoscope of marine life. And when the boat operator threw some bread overboard, a piranha feeding frenzy ensued.
The boat took me past a colony of noisy sea lions - jostling for position on the rocks like so many linebackers - a flotilla of peckish pelicans and cruising cormorants.
Lover's Beach, with its famous hole-in-the-wall type window to the Pacific as a backdrop, has a more sinister name in Spanish: Playa de los Muertes (Beach of the Dead) because it has claimed more than one reckless swimmer.
During the Spanish colonial period, pirates used to hide out in one of the caves, ready to pounce on treasure-laden galleons as they tacked along the coast with riches from the Orient.
To get a feel for that era, I took a sunset sail aboard the Buccaneer Queen, a tall-masted ship that was built in Long Beach, Calif., in 1964 as a movie set.
As we sailed past the pirate hangouts of yore, we were treated with a fun re-enactment of those swashbuckling days when Sir Walter Raleigh and Cavendish struck terror in the hearts of the Spanish captains.
Back at the marina the next day, I enjoyed a leisurely stroll past trendy restaurants with alluring names like Museo de Tequila, and tony shops set into terraced gardens, with the soothing sound of waterfalls, making the area an oasis in the desert of the Baja.
It's quite a contrast with the vibrant, bustling downtown area of Cabo San Lucas, that becomes even more frenzied at night when the party animals descend to night spots such as El Squid Roe, the ubiquitous Margaritaville and the positively ingeniously named Cabo Wabo, owned by Sammy Hagar of Van Halen and Montrose fame.
Most nights, bands hailing from the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Australia take to the stage, although Hagar himself has been known to entertain.
Before the revellers and sun-worshippers showed up on the shores of Baja California, there were the anglers, lured by some of the best game-fishing grounds in the world.
First it was John Steinbeck, who landed on these shores in the 1940s, followed by the likes of John Wayne, Zane Grey of western pocketbook fame and Ernest Hemingway.
Every year in October, Cabo San Lucas hosts the world's richest series of marlin fishing tournaments. But big-game fishing is available year-round.
A whale-watching excursion is another must-do if you visit before March, as grey whales migrate between summer haunts in Alaska and feeding and calving grounds in the plankton-rich lagoons on the Sea of Cortes.
Need to Know:
• For families, the all-inclusive is the best bet. Most resorts, such as the Riu Palace, have programs and beach activities for all ages. There's horseback riding, jet-skiing, beach volleyball, scuba-diving and Latino dance lessons, not to mention pool-related fun things to do for little tykes.
• Los Cabos has golf courses all along the east coast from Cabo San Lucas to Todos Santos (where you will find the famed Hotel California popularized by The Eagles in their hit song.
• Entertainment at the resorts is first-class. The nightly performances at the Riu - ranging from rock to folk music and superb dance routines - had the holidayers whooping and clapping. And the cervezas, margaritas and other exotic drinks kept coming.
• For high-quality merchandise, check out the Puerto Paraiso, a multi-levelled mall with shops, movie theatres and restaurants.
If You Go:
• Getting there: Sunquest Vacations has seasonal packages.
• Best time to visit: October to June, when the thermometer ranges from a low as 10 C at night to a high of 28 C in daytime. Temperatures from June to September can be searing.
• Accommodations: There is a wide range from timeshares, to apartments to all-inclusives such as the Riu Palace, where rates range from $187 US per person per night. The offer is valid until Dec. 25.
• Info: For more information on Los Cabos, visit online at visitcabo.com; for Mexico, see VisitMexico.com |
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