I can’t believe we’re already half way into our vacation. We woke up early on Wednesday morning, at least earlier than we have been, to go on our snorkeling tour. My husband had originally wanted to catch the free shuttle to the Rose` and walk over to the marina, but I did not feel like walking that early in the morning, esp. since I wasn’t quite feeling up to par when we got up. We took a cab down to the marina, which cost only $10. There were porters that met us where we were dropped off that directed us where to go. This was quite helpful, since this is a large area. Fortunately we got there early and we were able to find a pharmacia and purchase some Alka Seltzer. After consuming this and a couple of beers I was good to go.
We got on a catamaran called The Pez Gato, which left at 10:00 am. The cost for this tour is $45 and includes snorkel equipment, lunch, and beverages. They only allow you to have up to 3 alcoholic beverages before snorkeling, but after that you can have as much as you want. They have your basic drinks: Bloody Mary’s, Margaritas, Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila, and your choice of beer, if that choice happens to be Tecate. We sat at the front of the catamaran on the netting. That part of the tour, to me, was the most fun. It took about 50 minutes to reach Santa Maria Bay, where we were taken to snorkel for about an hour. We were impressed with the crew of the Pez Gato, who were very friendly, and helpful. As we were being fitted for flippers and snorkel equipment I asked if they sterilized them after each use, a question I believe most of the passengers wanted an answer to. The response was “Oh yes, we soak them in tequila.” Tequila!? I hope he was kidding.
They lowered a ladder that slanted into the water for those of us who did not want to jump off the boat. This was my first snorkeling experience, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. My husband has a PADI license for scuba diving, so he helped me a lot and made me feel more comfortable. At first I was a bit claustrophobic, but after a while I got used to it and did a good job of keeping up with my husband. I have to admit I wasn’t as awestruck as I expected to be. But it was pretty cool. There were some pretty fish to be seen, but not as much as I anticipated. We also some beautiful coral reef on the ocean floor. I was told by several people, including my husband, that snorkeling in Cozumel and Grand Cayman was a lot better. Someone had a water bottle full of oatmeal and she would shake some of it into the water and there would be a fish frenzy. This was pretty amazing, until my husband informed me that the small yellow ones bit, and it really hurt. Ok, when things start biting or stinging, I’m out.
My husband thought it would be a great idea to go check out the beach. The sand on the beach here is actually made up of really small pebbles. It looks like oatmeal when you looking down in the water from the surface. We swam up to the beach and of course I immediately got knocked down by waves, and my flippers filled up with these pebbles. I had a difficult time trying to get back up because the waves were pushing me up on the beach, then pulling me back down. I finally managed to get up on my feet so I could get to a point where I could start swimming without being pushed back to shore. I had to float in the bay while emptying my flippers so I could continue swimming. We finally loaded back onto the boat, and after drinking a few beers earlier I had to find the ladies room. I pulled my swimsuit bottoms down and about 50,000 pebbles fell on the floor. You can only laugh at this point. Good grief. Like I said, I’m not much of a beach person.
After everyone was back on the boat, we headed back to the marina and they served us lunch. They had several sandwiches on hoagie rolls, and they were actually pretty good. Either that or I was extremely hungry from not eating breakfast. On the way back to the marina we cruised by El Arco, or The Arch, a 200-foot granite rock situated at the tip of the Land's End peninsula and one of the most popular landmarks in Cabo San Lucas. It is also a popular gathering area for sea lions, several of which we saw sunbathing on some of the smaller rock formations protruding from the water. The captain cruised slowly by and gave everyone a chance to take pictures. There was a photographer on board, as well, who took several pictures and let us pick the ones we wanted, which he had printed up for us and ready for purchase when we returned to the marina. We ended up buying two; one of us in front of El Arco, and one of us in the water with our snorkel equipment, because I didn’t have anyone to take a picture of us at that point. The cost for the pictures is about $14 each if you are interested in purchasing. After we passed the Arch, we made a stop at Lovers Beach and were allowed to get out and swim for a short time. We got out and swam, but I decided to not trek to the beach again. Be careful when climbing down the ladder with bare feet. I slipped off the last rung as I was getting in and I ended up with a huge black and blue bruise on the bottom of my foot that made it difficult to walk the rest of my vacation. We then headed back to the marina after swimming for about 10 or 15 minutes. The total tour took about 4 hours. Even though it wasn’t what I was expecting I’m glad I went on this tour. I could ride on that boat all day long. I love being on the water. You can find out more about their snorkeling and other tours at http://www.pezgato.com/.
Upon returning to the hotel we went to Sky Pool, our favorite hang out now and hooked up with our new friends we had met there. Two of the couples had informed us that they had gone downtown to Cabo Wabo the night before and gotten into the show for Sammy Hagar. I’m pretty sure they had a better chance since Monday’s show was cancelled and there may have been people who couldn’t make it to the rescheduled show. So along with our new friends from Texas we decided to go downtown that night and make a try for getting in. They had an overflow line for people who didn’t have tickets and when asked if it was possible we might get in we were told we didn’t have a “chance in hell” of getting in. Oh well. There was a neat little bar across the street called Pirate Porky’s, and we were able to walk over there, purchase a cerveza, and bring it back for consumption while waiting in line. But, after a while we decided to give up. We bought a few Cabo Wabo souvenirs and went across the street to enjoy the rest of our evening. We had been watching the concert on a big screen provided in front of Cabo Wabo, and to be honest, I’m glad I didn’t pay $90 to go to that concert anyway. They were playing some fun, energetic music at Pirate Porky’s and we were having more fun there. They have a taco stand on the patio that serves beef tacos for about 30 pesos, and they’re really delicious. They bring salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole to your table as well. So if you’re looking for a delicious inexpensive meal in Cabo, I would recommend this place. We actually went back late the following night and ate there again. I would recommend getting the beef without onions, because my husband ordered his with onions and it seemed he didn’t get as much beef as I did. There are plenty of onions in the pico de gallo if you really need any. The salsa was nice and spicy, and the guacamole was tasty, but a bit too thin for my preference. I had a chance to speak with the owner, Dan Catalano, who said he arrived in Cabo San Lucas on his boat a few years earlier, and liked it so much he decided to stay, and opened Pirate Porky’s. He told me he wanted to create his dream place; someplace he would want to go. He wanted to make it homey and fun, provide good service, and drink prices that won’t bust your credit card. He informed me he is in the process of adding on to create more fun for tourists. So I would definitely put this fun night spot on your list of places to visit while in Cabo San Lucas.
Next: Day 5
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Cabo San Lucas Day 3
Tuesday we decided to go downtown. The Pueblo Bonito Sunset has a free shuttle that runs every hour on the hour between 10 am and 11 pm to their sister resort, The Pueblo Bonito Rose`. It’s supposedly within walking distance to the Marina and the downtown area where there are numerous restaurants and shops to choose from. I would advise wearing comfortable walking shoes if you are going to do this. I made the mistake of wearing thin-soled flip flops and I was miserable on our return walk back to the hotel. I also recommend taking a hat to keep the sun off your face and of course, sunscreen. And although we were there in the middle of October it was still hot, and unbelievably humid. I looked like I had just gotten out of the pool by the time we walked back. My hair was soaked from roots to ends.
Before we left our hotel my husband took some money out of the ATM and I asked how much he withdrew, to which he replied 500 pesos. I proceeded to inform him that was less than $50. He shortly received his text from Chase Bank that alerts him every time he makes a purchase or takes money out, and it stated that $42 was taken out of his account. I believe the current exchange is about roughly about $12.5 pesos per dollar. So don’t panic if you see a price tag or menu item that reads $244. This is about $12 USD. After arriving at the Rose` we walked downtown and ate lunch at Squid Roe. I had the fish Tacos, which are very good, reasonably priced at $110, and more than I could eat. Mark ordered the chicken fajitas and said they were also very delicious. They use fresh ingredients and grind them in a bowl with a stone into salsa right at your table, which I found intriguing. Our new friends from Texas ate there the following day and had the Flaming Shrimp, which they also made at their table. She said it should definitely go on the list of recommended menu items. Squid Roe is a nice place to eat lunch in the afternoon. But at night it becomes a nightclub and I’ve heard it gets pretty crazy, although we never returned to experience this. Some people we met said they sat with the members from Pantera the night before after Sammy cancelled his first concert due to illness, and another couple we knew ran into Chris Angel eating here. So it appears to be a popular place to hang out at night.
After we ate, we walked around downtown for a little bit to do some shopping. Let me warn you right now, if you go to downtown Cabo San Lucas you are going to be plagued by the vendors and people walking around trying to sell you junk you don’t need. And I’m positive that bracelet for only a $1 was sterling silver. Note tone of sarcasm. At first I was very nice and friendly with trying to brush them off. Like “Oh, no thank you.” But after walking in flip flops in the heat and humidity as long as I had, I was starting to get irritated. Every time I would look at something, there was immediately someone there asking “Weesh wun yoo like?” I finally said “When I see it I’ll let you know.” This is such a turn off when you are just trying to shop. I was wearing my ceramic turtle necklace I had purchased a few nights before and I constantly had to explain to people I didn’t need two. I just finally learned to ignore them and keep walking. The only thing I bought was a colorful beach bag that ended up falling apart before the day was over.
We had to make sure and stop at the Harley Davidson dealership, which is at the entrance to the mall right on the marina, and get a shirt. According to my husband, I am not allowed to purchase a Harley shirt unless it has the name of the dealership and city written on the back. Unfortunately, they only had 2 shirts in the ladies section to choose from. I later spoke to some people we met at the hotel that told us the last time they were in Cabo they had a huge selection, so maybe we just hit them at the wrong time. I ended up settling for a turquoise tank top. It was either that or a black, sleeveless shirt that only covers half of my back and I’m a little to old for that look. We went inside the mall for a little while, where my husband had to purchase another swimsuit after accidentally throwing his in the bin along with his towel at the hotel swimming pool. I must say it was such a relief to shop in peace without being harassed by the vendors, and almost worth paying more for this pleasure.
As we were walking around the marina we met a gentleman who was a representative, so to speak, for some of the tours available, such as fishing, snorkeling, and whale watching. We wanted to take a snorkeling cruise, so we had him set us up for an outing on the Pez Gato the next morning for only $40 each. He called and made the reservations for us, and we got on the phone and gave the girl our information. He wanted us to give him $20 for deposit for each of us, and its not that I don’t trust anybody, but I don’t trust anybody. We asked if we could just reserve our spots with our Capital One credit card, since this would assure us of not getting taken. We spoke with the girl on the phone and she said to just bring it the next day and we could pay then. I’m telling you this to inform you not to give anyone cash up front since it is not necessary, as we discovered in this transaction, especially if it is a legitimate one.
We took a stroll around the Pueblo Bonito Rose` after we walked back from the marina. It is a beautiful hotel, although not as spread out as the Sunset. It is also located on one of the few swimmable beaches in the Los Cabos area. The beaches on the Pacific side are off limits to swimming because of dangerous currents and undertows. The expansive swimming pool at the Rose` is located almost right on the beach. We took a small stroll on the beach, which is a lot more populated than the one at the Sunset. It’s a nice beach with beach beds available for rent and a volleyball court. Although, one of the drawbacks is, again, the vendors, which we were approached by immediately upon setting foot on the beach. This takes away from the peaceful, relaxing setting. I’m not a big beach person anyway, since I’m not a big fan of walking across the hot sand or getting knocked over by incoming waves. And getting sand in everything is not my idea of fun. It was in my cell phone, my beach bag, my finger nails and other places I care not to mention. And no matter how much I rinsed off at the provided showers, I still could not get all of the sand out from between my feet and my flip flops. Some people enjoy this, though. But, I’m perfectly happy sitting by the pool with a pina colada in my hand while looking at the beach.
Speaking of which. We returned to our hotel taking the free shuttle which runs every hour on the half hour between 10:30 am to 10:30 pm from the Rose` to the Sunset. We spent the rest of the day at the Sky Pool where we ran into our new friends we had made earlier in the week. There we watched the sunset and then decided to retire to our room while the others went out to dinner. We went to bed at a decent hour since we were getting up early the next morning to go snorkeling. Today wasn’t the most exciting, but it was nice to relax and not do much of anything, which is what being on vacation is about, right?
Before we left our hotel my husband took some money out of the ATM and I asked how much he withdrew, to which he replied 500 pesos. I proceeded to inform him that was less than $50. He shortly received his text from Chase Bank that alerts him every time he makes a purchase or takes money out, and it stated that $42 was taken out of his account. I believe the current exchange is about roughly about $12.5 pesos per dollar. So don’t panic if you see a price tag or menu item that reads $244. This is about $12 USD. After arriving at the Rose` we walked downtown and ate lunch at Squid Roe. I had the fish Tacos, which are very good, reasonably priced at $110, and more than I could eat. Mark ordered the chicken fajitas and said they were also very delicious. They use fresh ingredients and grind them in a bowl with a stone into salsa right at your table, which I found intriguing. Our new friends from Texas ate there the following day and had the Flaming Shrimp, which they also made at their table. She said it should definitely go on the list of recommended menu items. Squid Roe is a nice place to eat lunch in the afternoon. But at night it becomes a nightclub and I’ve heard it gets pretty crazy, although we never returned to experience this. Some people we met said they sat with the members from Pantera the night before after Sammy cancelled his first concert due to illness, and another couple we knew ran into Chris Angel eating here. So it appears to be a popular place to hang out at night.
After we ate, we walked around downtown for a little bit to do some shopping. Let me warn you right now, if you go to downtown Cabo San Lucas you are going to be plagued by the vendors and people walking around trying to sell you junk you don’t need. And I’m positive that bracelet for only a $1 was sterling silver. Note tone of sarcasm. At first I was very nice and friendly with trying to brush them off. Like “Oh, no thank you.” But after walking in flip flops in the heat and humidity as long as I had, I was starting to get irritated. Every time I would look at something, there was immediately someone there asking “Weesh wun yoo like?” I finally said “When I see it I’ll let you know.” This is such a turn off when you are just trying to shop. I was wearing my ceramic turtle necklace I had purchased a few nights before and I constantly had to explain to people I didn’t need two. I just finally learned to ignore them and keep walking. The only thing I bought was a colorful beach bag that ended up falling apart before the day was over.
We had to make sure and stop at the Harley Davidson dealership, which is at the entrance to the mall right on the marina, and get a shirt. According to my husband, I am not allowed to purchase a Harley shirt unless it has the name of the dealership and city written on the back. Unfortunately, they only had 2 shirts in the ladies section to choose from. I later spoke to some people we met at the hotel that told us the last time they were in Cabo they had a huge selection, so maybe we just hit them at the wrong time. I ended up settling for a turquoise tank top. It was either that or a black, sleeveless shirt that only covers half of my back and I’m a little to old for that look. We went inside the mall for a little while, where my husband had to purchase another swimsuit after accidentally throwing his in the bin along with his towel at the hotel swimming pool. I must say it was such a relief to shop in peace without being harassed by the vendors, and almost worth paying more for this pleasure.
As we were walking around the marina we met a gentleman who was a representative, so to speak, for some of the tours available, such as fishing, snorkeling, and whale watching. We wanted to take a snorkeling cruise, so we had him set us up for an outing on the Pez Gato the next morning for only $40 each. He called and made the reservations for us, and we got on the phone and gave the girl our information. He wanted us to give him $20 for deposit for each of us, and its not that I don’t trust anybody, but I don’t trust anybody. We asked if we could just reserve our spots with our Capital One credit card, since this would assure us of not getting taken. We spoke with the girl on the phone and she said to just bring it the next day and we could pay then. I’m telling you this to inform you not to give anyone cash up front since it is not necessary, as we discovered in this transaction, especially if it is a legitimate one.
We took a stroll around the Pueblo Bonito Rose` after we walked back from the marina. It is a beautiful hotel, although not as spread out as the Sunset. It is also located on one of the few swimmable beaches in the Los Cabos area. The beaches on the Pacific side are off limits to swimming because of dangerous currents and undertows. The expansive swimming pool at the Rose` is located almost right on the beach. We took a small stroll on the beach, which is a lot more populated than the one at the Sunset. It’s a nice beach with beach beds available for rent and a volleyball court. Although, one of the drawbacks is, again, the vendors, which we were approached by immediately upon setting foot on the beach. This takes away from the peaceful, relaxing setting. I’m not a big beach person anyway, since I’m not a big fan of walking across the hot sand or getting knocked over by incoming waves. And getting sand in everything is not my idea of fun. It was in my cell phone, my beach bag, my finger nails and other places I care not to mention. And no matter how much I rinsed off at the provided showers, I still could not get all of the sand out from between my feet and my flip flops. Some people enjoy this, though. But, I’m perfectly happy sitting by the pool with a pina colada in my hand while looking at the beach.
Speaking of which. We returned to our hotel taking the free shuttle which runs every hour on the half hour between 10:30 am to 10:30 pm from the Rose` to the Sunset. We spent the rest of the day at the Sky Pool where we ran into our new friends we had made earlier in the week. There we watched the sunset and then decided to retire to our room while the others went out to dinner. We went to bed at a decent hour since we were getting up early the next morning to go snorkeling. Today wasn’t the most exciting, but it was nice to relax and not do much of anything, which is what being on vacation is about, right?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Cabo San Lucas-Day 2
Our second day in Cabo San Lucas we got up early and took a cab to Wal Mart. Yes, they have a Wal Mart, and also a Sam's and a Costco, which we were told you don't need a membership card to shop at. We bought some eggs, turkey bacon, bread, ham, cheese, mayonnaise, jelly, chips, salsa, some granola bars, milk, cokes, bottled water and beer. I wouldn’t recommend purchasing a large amount of beer. We actually bought too much. We purchased 2 cases, which would amount to 6 beers a piece per day, thinking we could drink it at the pool. We discovered later, to our dismay, you can’t take your own beer to the pool. So we ended up leaving a case in the refrigerator when we checked out 5 days later. I also wouldn’t recommend the Kellogg’s Special K granola bars we bought. They were not very flavorful, and we ended up disposing of them as well. I did notice that some things taste different in Mexico than here. The Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos, for example, have a noticeable jalapeno flavor to them. I would recommend purchasing lots of bottled water. I would try to drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. I also used it to make coffee and brush my teeth, even though the resort claims the water is filtered and perfectly safe to use. I didn't want to take any chances. Since I burned really bad the day before, even though I had on sunscreen and was in the shade most of the day, we decided to buy some SPF 45 while we were here. I had forgotten to bring a hat, so I bought a white wide-brim hat at this fabulous hat store located in the shopping strip in front of the Wal Mart entrance for only $12. Two things I recommend you bring on a trip to Mexico is sunscreen with a high SPF and a hat to cover your face when out in the sun. I burned so bad that my upper lip and chin scabbed over. Not a pretty sight for prospective picture taking. After our purchases, we took another cab back to the hotel. There are several cabs waiting in the front, as well as porters that will help you load your purchase, for tips of course. I think our round trip cab fare cost us a total of $40 with tip, but including our purchase was totally worth the trip considering what we would pay to eat out 3 meals a day for 6 days. I want to take this time to tell you that the hotel we stayed at provided lotion, shampoo, and even cotton swabs and cotton balls. They did not, however, provide conditioner, so if you must have conditioner, as I do, I would bring my own or purchase it at Wal Mart. Make a list before you go, and do not forget anything, because one trip is enough hassle, which is why we got it out of the way early. Another item of importance to mention regarding ammenities at the hotel is the electical outlets. I read that many Mexico outlets have not been updated to accomodate three prong and polarized plugs. The Pueblo Bonito Sunset where we stayed however was fully furnished with polarized plugs so it was unnecessary to bring an adapter. I don't know about other hotels in Cabo San Lucas, but thought this information might be helpful when considering a hotel.
When we returned to the hotel the cart driver helped us load our groceries on the cart and even helped take them to our room. After we put our groceries away, we decided to go to the Sky Pool, which is one of 5 pools at the resort and is located behind the building we stayed in at the very top of the resort. It looks as if it spills right into the ocean and is absolutely breathtaking. When people told me that it looks like it runs right into the ocean I had no idea what that meant until we experienced it, and I was in awe. There we ran into our Texas friends, Colly and Cori, whom we met on the shuttle the day before. We also met another couple, Eric and Nicole, from Indiana. We all decided to go out eat downtown that night. Cab fare from the hotel to downtown is anywhere from $10 to $15, depending on who you get. If you pay in pesos you get a better deal. Sharing a cab with friends like we did makes it even cheaper. We ate at a restaurant called El Pescadora. They have fabulous food, mostly seafood, and I would recommend eating there at least once. Our friends, Eric and Nicole said they eat there every time they visit Cabo San Lucas. Outside the restaurant I was approached by this little boy selling these cute ceramic turtle necklaces. You know I’m a sucker for kids, and when he showed me how to blow in the turtle and it whistles I was sold. He wanted 60 pesos, but I informed him I only had 50 pesos on me and he said “I’ll take that.” After the transaction I later learned this was only $4.20 USD. I felt kind of bad after that. We then walked over to Cabo Wabo Cantina, which is the bar owned by Sammy Hagar. He was supposed to play that night for his birthday, but the show was cancelled because Sammy was sick. I guess he drank the water? We all went in for a drink, danced a little, took pictures, and bought souvenirs. It was a lot of fun and if you get a chance to go to Cabo San Lucas you have to make at least one trip to Cabo Wabo Cantina. But, don’t go on his birthday, unless you already purchased tickets months ahead of time or you “won’t have a chance in hell” of getting in, as we were told. They did sell about 150 tickets on the 10th , but you had to get in line at noon and wait for hours, something I did not want to do on my vacation. That sounds as fun as sitting through a time-share meeting.
Next blog: Day Three in Cabo
When we returned to the hotel the cart driver helped us load our groceries on the cart and even helped take them to our room. After we put our groceries away, we decided to go to the Sky Pool, which is one of 5 pools at the resort and is located behind the building we stayed in at the very top of the resort. It looks as if it spills right into the ocean and is absolutely breathtaking. When people told me that it looks like it runs right into the ocean I had no idea what that meant until we experienced it, and I was in awe. There we ran into our Texas friends, Colly and Cori, whom we met on the shuttle the day before. We also met another couple, Eric and Nicole, from Indiana. We all decided to go out eat downtown that night. Cab fare from the hotel to downtown is anywhere from $10 to $15, depending on who you get. If you pay in pesos you get a better deal. Sharing a cab with friends like we did makes it even cheaper. We ate at a restaurant called El Pescadora. They have fabulous food, mostly seafood, and I would recommend eating there at least once. Our friends, Eric and Nicole said they eat there every time they visit Cabo San Lucas. Outside the restaurant I was approached by this little boy selling these cute ceramic turtle necklaces. You know I’m a sucker for kids, and when he showed me how to blow in the turtle and it whistles I was sold. He wanted 60 pesos, but I informed him I only had 50 pesos on me and he said “I’ll take that.” After the transaction I later learned this was only $4.20 USD. I felt kind of bad after that. We then walked over to Cabo Wabo Cantina, which is the bar owned by Sammy Hagar. He was supposed to play that night for his birthday, but the show was cancelled because Sammy was sick. I guess he drank the water? We all went in for a drink, danced a little, took pictures, and bought souvenirs. It was a lot of fun and if you get a chance to go to Cabo San Lucas you have to make at least one trip to Cabo Wabo Cantina. But, don’t go on his birthday, unless you already purchased tickets months ahead of time or you “won’t have a chance in hell” of getting in, as we were told. They did sell about 150 tickets on the 10th , but you had to get in line at noon and wait for hours, something I did not want to do on my vacation. That sounds as fun as sitting through a time-share meeting.
Next blog: Day Three in Cabo
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Cabo San Lucas: Day 1
Day One in Cabo San Lucas
My husband and I recently returned from a fun-filled trip to fabulous Cabo San Lucas. We did so much in the six days we were there, and there is so much to write about, I’m going to break this segment of my blog down by each day.
We actually started our trip in Seattle. Our flight was at 5:15 am Pacific Time so we drove into Seattle the night before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express so we didn’t have to get up and drive 2 hours through the Cascades in the middle of the night. We went to bed at 8:30 pm, but didn’t get much sleep thanks to the people with the colicky baby staying on the floor above us. I really appreciated that since we had to get up at 2:30 to catch the shuttle at 3:00. I’m not sure I got much rest to make up for this while we were on our trip either. It was really cold in Seattle that morning so I wore jeans, a black tank top, and a light long sleeve black shirt, the latter coming off as soon as we landed in Cabo. I wore my tennis shoes so I wouldn’t have to pack them and also because it was a little cold for flip flops. I also wore a light denim black jacket, which I never wore again or the light sweater I brought, because it never got cool enough in Cabo to wear them. In fact, it was pretty warm in the evenings when we were there, contrary to what some people had advised. We departed on time in Seattle and changed planes in Phoenix for the hour and a half flight to our destination. When you’re on this flight they will hand out a tourist card to everyone. Don’t forget to bring a pen so you can fill this out. And do not lose it, because you can’t get back to the States without it. It is a big hassle to get one replaced and will also cost you about $60.
We arrived at the airport in San Jose Del Cabo about 12:30 Mountain Time. We actually paid extra to get to Cabo in about 6 hours. This was definitely worth the price. The other flights wanted us to layover overnight and would have taken a total of 12 -20 hours depending on which one we picked. When we landed and got through customs we walked out into another large room with counters on three sides and several people behind the counters. There are a group of people in the middle of the room who will catch you as you walk in and lead you to one of the people at the counter. They lead you to believe they are there to help you arrange transportation, but they are all time-share representatives. Every one of them. If you go there just walk straight outside and ignore anyone who comes up to talk to you. We had to walk away from about 3 or 4 guys, one of which I thought was going to chase after Mark as we walked out the door. There are also a horde of people outside all trying to convince you to sign up for timeshare meetings. This is the most annoying part of the trip. It’s best to make transportation arrangements before you leave and remember to print off the confirmation. It saves a lot of stress. And don’t do what my husband did and look at the travel paperwork after you arrive at the hotel and paid $40 for a shuttle, only to find out that transportation was already included in your package with a different shuttle company. So we made arrangements with a shuttle to take us to our hotel and we rode with 3 other couples, and two of them were from the Fort Worth Metroplex, and staying in the same hotel. We kept running into one of the couples a lot and ended up hanging out with them and another couple from Indiana on several occasions. One thing that I found out is, even if you don’t go with anyone else, you will definitely meet people here. We met several couples that we are now friends with.
It takes about 50 minutes to get to The Pueblo Bonito Sunset in Cabo San Lucas from the airport in San Jose Del Cabo. I’ll warn you, apparently stop signs are just a suggestion in Cabo. The cab drivers would just drive right through them. I would be grabbing the back of the seat and mouthing Oh My God! The whole trip. The intersections that didn’t have signs were the ones that everyone stopped at. Or should I say “slowed down at” more or less. Our shuttle driver slowed down at one intersection then continued through, and this truck coming the other way saw us go into the intersection and he just kept coming. He didn’t even slow down. So our driver stopped and let him through. Thank goodness. I said “Are you serious!?” Our driver said “Welcome to Cabo San Lucas!” and we all just laughed. But it is kind of a scary ride. I tried not to pay attention when we were taking a cab. otherwise I would be a nervous wreck. I was kind of glad we decided not to rent a car, because we probably would have been killed. And renting a Harley, which we were debating on doing, was out of the question now. We managed to arrive safely at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset and checked in at about 2:00 in the afternoon. We supposedly received $400 in credit to use at the resort. This is a scam. They send you to this other desk to get it validated by another person, who just happens to be, guess what, a time-share representative. And they ended only being for coupons of things we weren’t even interested in. Like $30 off fitness center, $30 off a facial, or $50 off a beach bed. If it was for a massage, or even restaurant, it would have been worth it. We finally gave the girl $20 to set up a meeting just to get her to leave us alone. You supposedly get your money back at the meeting. We ended up not going because our other friends told us later they went to one and it wasn’t worth it. It was a waste of 3 hours of precious vacation time. They only did it to get the discounts for the massage, and other activities, like the snorkeling and dinner cruise. But she said she would rather just pay the full price than sit through that again. And they wanted $90,000 for one week a year. Excuse me? If I’m going to spend $90,000 it’s going to be on a house that I can stay in every week a year. Anyway, after this we were never bothered by time-share people, other than having them call our room everyday after we didn’t show up to the meeting. Since we were never in our room. this didn’t bother us too much. We just had a message on our voice mail everyday.
Everyone at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset is very friendly, with exception of a few persons working at the Sky Pool, especially Andreas, the waiter. He really needs to find another job since he seems so unhappy here. The Sunset is a HUGE resort. It’s so spread out you can’t go anywhere without taking a cart, which are available 24/7. They don’t tell you this in any of the brochures. At first we were a little daunted by this. But, we got used to it. If you leave your room, make sure you have everything you will need, because going back can be a hassle not to mention time consuming. All the cart drivers were friendly and helpful, though. We learned real quick you can’t tip every time you ride. You will spend a fortune. They have a tip jar in the lobby and we contributed to that. The only time we really personally tipped the driver was when we first arrived; the driver of the cart brought our bags up and showed us the room and where everything was. One of the cool things about the rooms is when you open the door you put your key in this slot on the wall, and when you take it out when you leave it turns off all the lights, the fan and the a/c. None of these will work if you don’t put the key in the slot. They also have a safe in each room, which I highly recommend taking advantage of. We put our passports and tourist cards in here, along with our cameras when we weren’t using them, and my jewelry. The other time we tipped the driver personally was when we brought groceries back from Wal Mart and he helped us bring those up. We tipped about $10 each time and they seemed pleased with that. We also tipped the maids each day anywhere from 20 to 50 pesos depending on how messed up the room was. One day we had to leave early and I didn’t have time to clean the breakfast dishes so I left 50 pesos. And I think we left 100 pesos the day we left. She did a really good job.
The hotel boasts 5 pools. We went straight to the middle pool after settling in. There are two pools in this area one right above the other. One is adult only, but it doesn’t have a bar. We ended up at the “family pool” which had a swim-up bar, which didn’t make sense to us. We sat at the swim-up bar and drank some Pina Coladas. This swim-up bar seems to be the only one in the resort with a TV, and they just happened to have the Cowboys game on. I mean, how cool is it to sit at the bar, in the water, drink Pina Coladas, and watch football. We thought it was great, until the Cowboys lost. Good thing we had a steady supply of Pina Coladas. The bartenders, Omar and Federico, were very friendly and outgoing. We had a great time sitting there chatting with them. That evening we ate at The Manila, a restaurant that sits right by the main pool and looks out over the ocean. It has a wonderful atmosphere and excellent food. Mark had the steak and I had grilled shrimp. The only thing I didn’t like was the way they cut my potato. They cut it 3 times across instead of straight down the middle. So I had 4 round pieces of potato which is difficult to spread the butter and sour cream they provided on. Other than that it was an enjoyable experience and a perfect ending to our first day.
Tomorrow: Day two in Cabo San Lucas
My husband and I recently returned from a fun-filled trip to fabulous Cabo San Lucas. We did so much in the six days we were there, and there is so much to write about, I’m going to break this segment of my blog down by each day.
We actually started our trip in Seattle. Our flight was at 5:15 am Pacific Time so we drove into Seattle the night before and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express so we didn’t have to get up and drive 2 hours through the Cascades in the middle of the night. We went to bed at 8:30 pm, but didn’t get much sleep thanks to the people with the colicky baby staying on the floor above us. I really appreciated that since we had to get up at 2:30 to catch the shuttle at 3:00. I’m not sure I got much rest to make up for this while we were on our trip either. It was really cold in Seattle that morning so I wore jeans, a black tank top, and a light long sleeve black shirt, the latter coming off as soon as we landed in Cabo. I wore my tennis shoes so I wouldn’t have to pack them and also because it was a little cold for flip flops. I also wore a light denim black jacket, which I never wore again or the light sweater I brought, because it never got cool enough in Cabo to wear them. In fact, it was pretty warm in the evenings when we were there, contrary to what some people had advised. We departed on time in Seattle and changed planes in Phoenix for the hour and a half flight to our destination. When you’re on this flight they will hand out a tourist card to everyone. Don’t forget to bring a pen so you can fill this out. And do not lose it, because you can’t get back to the States without it. It is a big hassle to get one replaced and will also cost you about $60.
We arrived at the airport in San Jose Del Cabo about 12:30 Mountain Time. We actually paid extra to get to Cabo in about 6 hours. This was definitely worth the price. The other flights wanted us to layover overnight and would have taken a total of 12 -20 hours depending on which one we picked. When we landed and got through customs we walked out into another large room with counters on three sides and several people behind the counters. There are a group of people in the middle of the room who will catch you as you walk in and lead you to one of the people at the counter. They lead you to believe they are there to help you arrange transportation, but they are all time-share representatives. Every one of them. If you go there just walk straight outside and ignore anyone who comes up to talk to you. We had to walk away from about 3 or 4 guys, one of which I thought was going to chase after Mark as we walked out the door. There are also a horde of people outside all trying to convince you to sign up for timeshare meetings. This is the most annoying part of the trip. It’s best to make transportation arrangements before you leave and remember to print off the confirmation. It saves a lot of stress. And don’t do what my husband did and look at the travel paperwork after you arrive at the hotel and paid $40 for a shuttle, only to find out that transportation was already included in your package with a different shuttle company. So we made arrangements with a shuttle to take us to our hotel and we rode with 3 other couples, and two of them were from the Fort Worth Metroplex, and staying in the same hotel. We kept running into one of the couples a lot and ended up hanging out with them and another couple from Indiana on several occasions. One thing that I found out is, even if you don’t go with anyone else, you will definitely meet people here. We met several couples that we are now friends with.
It takes about 50 minutes to get to The Pueblo Bonito Sunset in Cabo San Lucas from the airport in San Jose Del Cabo. I’ll warn you, apparently stop signs are just a suggestion in Cabo. The cab drivers would just drive right through them. I would be grabbing the back of the seat and mouthing Oh My God! The whole trip. The intersections that didn’t have signs were the ones that everyone stopped at. Or should I say “slowed down at” more or less. Our shuttle driver slowed down at one intersection then continued through, and this truck coming the other way saw us go into the intersection and he just kept coming. He didn’t even slow down. So our driver stopped and let him through. Thank goodness. I said “Are you serious!?” Our driver said “Welcome to Cabo San Lucas!” and we all just laughed. But it is kind of a scary ride. I tried not to pay attention when we were taking a cab. otherwise I would be a nervous wreck. I was kind of glad we decided not to rent a car, because we probably would have been killed. And renting a Harley, which we were debating on doing, was out of the question now. We managed to arrive safely at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset and checked in at about 2:00 in the afternoon. We supposedly received $400 in credit to use at the resort. This is a scam. They send you to this other desk to get it validated by another person, who just happens to be, guess what, a time-share representative. And they ended only being for coupons of things we weren’t even interested in. Like $30 off fitness center, $30 off a facial, or $50 off a beach bed. If it was for a massage, or even restaurant, it would have been worth it. We finally gave the girl $20 to set up a meeting just to get her to leave us alone. You supposedly get your money back at the meeting. We ended up not going because our other friends told us later they went to one and it wasn’t worth it. It was a waste of 3 hours of precious vacation time. They only did it to get the discounts for the massage, and other activities, like the snorkeling and dinner cruise. But she said she would rather just pay the full price than sit through that again. And they wanted $90,000 for one week a year. Excuse me? If I’m going to spend $90,000 it’s going to be on a house that I can stay in every week a year. Anyway, after this we were never bothered by time-share people, other than having them call our room everyday after we didn’t show up to the meeting. Since we were never in our room. this didn’t bother us too much. We just had a message on our voice mail everyday.
Everyone at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset is very friendly, with exception of a few persons working at the Sky Pool, especially Andreas, the waiter. He really needs to find another job since he seems so unhappy here. The Sunset is a HUGE resort. It’s so spread out you can’t go anywhere without taking a cart, which are available 24/7. They don’t tell you this in any of the brochures. At first we were a little daunted by this. But, we got used to it. If you leave your room, make sure you have everything you will need, because going back can be a hassle not to mention time consuming. All the cart drivers were friendly and helpful, though. We learned real quick you can’t tip every time you ride. You will spend a fortune. They have a tip jar in the lobby and we contributed to that. The only time we really personally tipped the driver was when we first arrived; the driver of the cart brought our bags up and showed us the room and where everything was. One of the cool things about the rooms is when you open the door you put your key in this slot on the wall, and when you take it out when you leave it turns off all the lights, the fan and the a/c. None of these will work if you don’t put the key in the slot. They also have a safe in each room, which I highly recommend taking advantage of. We put our passports and tourist cards in here, along with our cameras when we weren’t using them, and my jewelry. The other time we tipped the driver personally was when we brought groceries back from Wal Mart and he helped us bring those up. We tipped about $10 each time and they seemed pleased with that. We also tipped the maids each day anywhere from 20 to 50 pesos depending on how messed up the room was. One day we had to leave early and I didn’t have time to clean the breakfast dishes so I left 50 pesos. And I think we left 100 pesos the day we left. She did a really good job.
The hotel boasts 5 pools. We went straight to the middle pool after settling in. There are two pools in this area one right above the other. One is adult only, but it doesn’t have a bar. We ended up at the “family pool” which had a swim-up bar, which didn’t make sense to us. We sat at the swim-up bar and drank some Pina Coladas. This swim-up bar seems to be the only one in the resort with a TV, and they just happened to have the Cowboys game on. I mean, how cool is it to sit at the bar, in the water, drink Pina Coladas, and watch football. We thought it was great, until the Cowboys lost. Good thing we had a steady supply of Pina Coladas. The bartenders, Omar and Federico, were very friendly and outgoing. We had a great time sitting there chatting with them. That evening we ate at The Manila, a restaurant that sits right by the main pool and looks out over the ocean. It has a wonderful atmosphere and excellent food. Mark had the steak and I had grilled shrimp. The only thing I didn’t like was the way they cut my potato. They cut it 3 times across instead of straight down the middle. So I had 4 round pieces of potato which is difficult to spread the butter and sour cream they provided on. Other than that it was an enjoyable experience and a perfect ending to our first day.
Tomorrow: Day two in Cabo San Lucas
Friday, October 8, 2010
Mexican Vacation!
Good day everyone. I am pretty excited right now as I’m getting packed and ready for my trip to Cabo San Lucas in two days! This is the trip my husband and I have been talking about taking for over 6 years now.
I have been doing a lot of research for this trip, as I do for everything in my life. Thank God for the internet. Several websites I have found to be helpful are www.loscabosguide.com and http://www.fodors.com/world/mexico-and-central-america/mexico/los-cabos/. I found a facebook page called “All about Mexico” where you can talk to other people and get information and advice. This has been a great help. Thank you to my new friend, Maddie. We also purchased a book by Fodors featuring Cabo San Lucas and its sister city San Jose del Cabo. I would highly recommend this as it gives lots of valuable information regarding travel as it pertains to each particular destination. It also gives its recommendations for lodging, dining, and entertainment. It’s small enough to carry in my travel bag and it has common words and phrases in the back translated into Spanish with correct pronunciation. My two favorites are “Una mas cerveza por favor.” and “Donde esta el bano?” Two phrases I believe will come in handy on our trip.
Packing is always the most difficult part of traveling. I always want to be prepared for any occasion and temperature. This is what I am packing in my carry on: 3 sundresses, one of which is a cover up for my swimsuit, 1 sleeveless dress, 1 pair of white walking shorts, 1 multi-colored skirt, one multi-colored shirt to go with the shorts, one turquoise shirt that will go with the white shorts and multi-colored skirt, 1 pair of turquoise flip flops, one pair of black flip flops, and a swimsuit. Also 2 day’s worth of fitness clothes, which I can wash between each workout. Like I’m going to workout there, but my intentions are good. Since it will be cold when we leave Seattle, I’m wearing on the plane a pair of jeans, which I can roll up into capris when I get to Cabo, and a black tank top, that can also be worn with my shorts or skirt. I’m also wearing my tennis shoes so I don’t have to pack them. I’ve been advised through talking with people on All About Mexico’s Facebook page to bring a light jacket this time of year as it can get cool and breezy in the evenings, so I am wearing a light denim black jacket with crocheted panels on the plane, and I’m packing a light ¾ sleeve crocheted black sweater since I’m not sure how cool it will really get in the evening. Hopefully I won’t need either one. But it’s good to be prepared. Everything I brought is in the same turquoise and/or black color scheme, so I’m bringing a couple of pair of turquoise earrings, and a pair of black hoops and a pair of dressy hoops. Also a couple of necklaces, and bracelets, but I want to stay light on the jewelry so I didn’t bring anything too clunky. We’re going to be there for 6 days and I probably still packed too much, but I’d rather pack too much than not enough. And since it all fits in my carry on I’m not too worried about it. Fitting it in one bag is my main goal. Believe it or not they have a Wal Mart there. We decided not to bring too many toiletries other than toothbrushes and my makeup. We are going to purchase small travel size containers of other items we may need when we get there. Another piece of advice is be sure to make several copies of your passports before you go. Keep one in the safe in your hotel room, one in your luggage, and one on you . We will probably both carry a copy of each others. I’ve also been advised to keep your actual passport in the safe. Don’t carry it around with you. They also give you a tourist card when you arrive. Do not lose this. Keep it in the safe with your passport. It is a hassle to get a replacement and costs about $60. And you can’t get back home without it. Now I just need my camera and my sunglasses and I’m ready to go. Bon Voyage!
I have been doing a lot of research for this trip, as I do for everything in my life. Thank God for the internet. Several websites I have found to be helpful are www.loscabosguide.com and http://www.fodors.com/world/mexico-and-central-america/mexico/los-cabos/. I found a facebook page called “All about Mexico” where you can talk to other people and get information and advice. This has been a great help. Thank you to my new friend, Maddie. We also purchased a book by Fodors featuring Cabo San Lucas and its sister city San Jose del Cabo. I would highly recommend this as it gives lots of valuable information regarding travel as it pertains to each particular destination. It also gives its recommendations for lodging, dining, and entertainment. It’s small enough to carry in my travel bag and it has common words and phrases in the back translated into Spanish with correct pronunciation. My two favorites are “Una mas cerveza por favor.” and “Donde esta el bano?” Two phrases I believe will come in handy on our trip.
Packing is always the most difficult part of traveling. I always want to be prepared for any occasion and temperature. This is what I am packing in my carry on: 3 sundresses, one of which is a cover up for my swimsuit, 1 sleeveless dress, 1 pair of white walking shorts, 1 multi-colored skirt, one multi-colored shirt to go with the shorts, one turquoise shirt that will go with the white shorts and multi-colored skirt, 1 pair of turquoise flip flops, one pair of black flip flops, and a swimsuit. Also 2 day’s worth of fitness clothes, which I can wash between each workout. Like I’m going to workout there, but my intentions are good. Since it will be cold when we leave Seattle, I’m wearing on the plane a pair of jeans, which I can roll up into capris when I get to Cabo, and a black tank top, that can also be worn with my shorts or skirt. I’m also wearing my tennis shoes so I don’t have to pack them. I’ve been advised through talking with people on All About Mexico’s Facebook page to bring a light jacket this time of year as it can get cool and breezy in the evenings, so I am wearing a light denim black jacket with crocheted panels on the plane, and I’m packing a light ¾ sleeve crocheted black sweater since I’m not sure how cool it will really get in the evening. Hopefully I won’t need either one. But it’s good to be prepared. Everything I brought is in the same turquoise and/or black color scheme, so I’m bringing a couple of pair of turquoise earrings, and a pair of black hoops and a pair of dressy hoops. Also a couple of necklaces, and bracelets, but I want to stay light on the jewelry so I didn’t bring anything too clunky. We’re going to be there for 6 days and I probably still packed too much, but I’d rather pack too much than not enough. And since it all fits in my carry on I’m not too worried about it. Fitting it in one bag is my main goal. Believe it or not they have a Wal Mart there. We decided not to bring too many toiletries other than toothbrushes and my makeup. We are going to purchase small travel size containers of other items we may need when we get there. Another piece of advice is be sure to make several copies of your passports before you go. Keep one in the safe in your hotel room, one in your luggage, and one on you . We will probably both carry a copy of each others. I’ve also been advised to keep your actual passport in the safe. Don’t carry it around with you. They also give you a tourist card when you arrive. Do not lose this. Keep it in the safe with your passport. It is a hassle to get a replacement and costs about $60. And you can’t get back home without it. Now I just need my camera and my sunglasses and I’m ready to go. Bon Voyage!
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