Faces of Cabo

DECEMBER 2003/JANUARY 2004
VOLUME IX, NUMBER 4
Thr ee
Faces
of Cabo
by Robert B. Simmonds
Lover’s Beach near Land’s End
Robert Simmonds, Ph.D., is a psychologist
practicing in San Diego, the publisher
of Mexico File, and the brother of Dave
Simmonds, the editor. He muses on his first
trip to Cabo. He can be reached at
[email protected]
This is the first part of a two-part series.
“You can check out any time you
like, but you can never leave....”
– The Eagles, from The Hotel California
This was my first trip down to Cabo. My
brother, Dave, had warned me, clucking his
tongue like all of his Mexico afficionado
friends do when they talk about Cabo,
that it’s the most expensive place in all of
Mexico and that they’re spoiling both the
land and Mexican culture down there. I kept
hearing that it’s just like Southern California
in Cabo. I may as well go to Newport
Beach. On the other hand, Dave said that he
has a wonderful time every time he goes to
Cabo – and he never fails to mention that he
used to go camping on the beach, back in
the old days, decades ago, on the very spot
where they now have a big luxury resort.
And there was also the chorus of alarms that
I heard, both before I flew down there and
during my trip, about the new Costco that
just opened in Cabo
San Lucas – proof that
there is no way that
Mexican culture could
possibly survive the
always-encroaching
American onslaught.
I mean, they make it
sound like the Huichol
vases are going to
get crushed under
the oversized jars of
marinated artichoke
hearts. Fortunately,
culture isn’t an either/
or proposition. It just is
what it is.
Still, there was no way I was going to miss
seeing Carmel.
I laugh better with Carmel than with any
other person on the planet – gutsplitting
laughter, the kind where you know you
shouldn’t behave like this in public. I’ve
known Carmel for over thirty years, but
hadn’t seen her in 18 years. She used to
live in my apartment and gave my life
a very happy tone. We were the best of
friends. We both left Ithaca, New York,
in time. She ended up a nurse living in
Staten Island, and I came to San Diego and
opened a psychology practice. She emailed
me that she had to use her miles up before
the end of 2003 and that she had booked a
room at the Plaza las Glorias in Cabo San
Lucas – and why don’t Cheryl and I come
down to see her there. Cheryl opted out
– she needed to work and dogsit. I called
Dave to find me a room and he got me one
at the Pueblo Bonito Blanco.
Outback Los Cabos:
Adventure Touring in Baja Sur
by Ann Hazard
Photo Credit: Terry Hauswirth
Ann Hazard, a frequent contributor to Mexico
File, is the author of Cooking with Baja
Magic, Cartwheels in the Sand, and the more
recently released Agave Sunsets. She has also
written over 100 articles on Baja, Mexico, and
Mexican cuisine. Visit her at
http://bajamagic.com.
Ah – Los Cabos. What visions those words
bring to mind. Perfect, sunny days, warm
water, endless miles of white sandy beaches
and dramatic scenery … towering mountains
that drop down to a rocky, arid desert terrain
that marches right into the turquoise sea.
These beaches are rimmed with world-class
resorts, golf courses and upscale restaurants.
INSIDE
Continued on page 2
M á s o M e n o s
2
T h e G a t e d C o m m u n i t y
C a b o – T h e O t h e r S i d e
A b o u t M e x i c o
8
Continued on page 6
4
5
Three Faces Continued
I
’ll use any excuse to get back to my
favorite town in Mexico, so when my
ex-AeroMexico executive friend Mayte
Weitzman, who now heads her own PR
firm in Houston called The W Group,
invited me down on a press trip to the
remodeled Velas Vallarta resort, it was
an easy decision. All I had to do was
convince my wife, the beautiful Felice,
that there were still things about Vallarta
that I needed to learn – things I had to
see. This was no easy task, but one for
which I am transparently well practiced.
Eventually, I had to shamelessly bribe her
with a promise of a weekend getaway to
San Francisco. Ka ching! My freebie just
got very expensive, but once again, the
marriage was saved.
I
usually pay for all my own expenses
when traveling Mexico, and in Vallarta
that means staying at Posada de Roger, my
old haunt for some 30 years now where
a double runs about $30 US. As I was
checking into the fabulous Velas Vallarta
with a complimentary cold towel and icy
margarita at hand while a bell-guy hoisted
my bag on his back, I suspected that I was
in store for something a little different.
Living large, indeed.
I flew on Aeromexico from San Diego to
Cabo. I had always heard that this was a
superb airline, but didn’t really understand
the concept until this flight. And what
makes it special is, well, Mexican culture.
One of many flamingos dining on
flowers in a bush outside of my patio
First Face:
Paradise (Cabo San Lucas)
Carmel in a glass bottomed boat.
There is a friendly and gentle mood among
the airline staff. The frenetic tension I
usually experience on an airplane was
missing. The flight was filled with US
citizens set to have a good time and
Mexican nationals, for whom a good time
is a given. Breakfast was served on our
two-hour flight, and the food was fairly
good. Interestingly, they served drinks
with alcohol for free. I had a window
seat and sat mesmerized by the blank and
empty land below me as we flew straight
down the Baja peninsula. There were very
few roads cutting across the brown land
below. We flew over Tijuana and saw the
I
t turned out to be one of my favorite
trips ever to PV. We had a great group
of colleagues who know the sometimes
baffling Mexico ropes and enjoy the local
libations, sometimes in great quantity.
The Velas Vallarta has just undertaken a
room and grounds remodeling that make
it one of Mexico’s very finest resorts
(www.velasvallarta.com). All of the
rooms are suites, varying in size, but all
with kitchens. My one-bedroom suite was
about 1,000 square feet, better furnished
than most homes, with a huge balcony
overlooking the tropical grounds and a
view of the beautiful Bahia de Banderas
which fronts the hotel. The 10-acre site
has three pools, one with a waterfall and
a swim-up cantina. The restaurants were
top-notch, the service impeccable. I highly
recommend this property, something I
don’t often do. And it is very kid-friendly
with activities all day.
Continued on page 5
2
Patio off of the author’s suite at
Pueblo Bonito Blanco.
playas and the bullring, then the bustle
of Rosarito Beach. I saw the enormity of
Magdalena Bay but couldn’t see any gray
whales, although this is the time of year
they would be there. I could see Loreto
after we sliced across the peninsula and
ended up flying over the Sea of Cortez.
And before I knew it we landed at San
Jose del Cabo and the pilot announced, on
December 3, that it was 93 degrees on the
ground. (Note that the average temperature
in Cabo this time of the year is normally
about 75 degrees, so these were heat-wave
conditions.)
Despite Cabo’s reputation for being
expensive, I rented a VW Beetle, the old
kind, white and clean and funky looking,
from National for $133 for the week.
Had I gotten a convertible I would have
paid over three times that amount. From
the airport I drove south down Route 1
(yes, the same highway that goes in the
other direction up the nearly thousand
mile peninsula to the border crossing at
San Ysidro), bypassing the main part of
San Jose del Cabo. It’s really the only
highway in Baja. There, to my left, was
the deep blue hue of the Sea of Cortez
as I traveled along what is called the
Corridor, the 18-mile four-lane highway
between San Jose and San Lucas. The
Corridor is lined with resort hotels and
condo complexes, some of them among
the finest in Mexico. This is what people
complain about when they say that Cabo
is overbuilt and Americanized. The hotels
are nicely spaced apart now, but in years
to come the Corridor might well become
more congested, lined with one building
after the next. The road is not very safe by
disciplined American standards. There is
construction in places, it’s poorly marked,
and cars race by at American freeway
speeds – especially from my perspective
in my little chugging along Beetle.
Continued on page 3
A view of the grounds at Pueblo Bonito
Blanco
Three Faces Continued
A view of
Pueblo
Bonito from
the Sea of
Cortez
Profile of
pelicans near
Land’s End
Surprises hit you frequently. Finding the
Pueblo Bonito Blanco was a breeze once I
got near Cabo San Lucas.
And there is was – Paradise. From my
hotel I would look out onto the blue
waters of the Sea of Cortez and right in
front of me (and maybe a mile away), so
close, it seemed, that I could reach out and
touch it, was Land’s End, the famous large
rock at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula.
On my side was the Sea of Cortez. On the
other side of Land’s End was the Pacific
Ocean. This is one of the most beautiful
spots on the planet. I had a ground floor
room (I somehow got upgraded from a
junior suite to an executive suite) with
a beautiful patio overlooking palm
trees, immaculately groomed grounds, a
rambling swimming pool with an island in
the middle of it and waterfalls – and, get
this, just a couple of feet in front of me on
the green lawn were pink flamingos. Real
live flamingos. I spent hours in reverie
watching these birds. (I won’t go into
how my wife, Cheryl, is a flamingo freak
and how our house is filled with flamingo
everything – she should have been on
this trip.) Yes, Pueblo Bonito Blanco is
artificially created, but it’s perhaps the
nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at. They have
created Paradise and I loved being there.
I met Carmel at six o’clock that night, a
very happy reunion, at her hotel, Plaza
las Glorias, the oldest of the resort hotels
in San Lucas, an enormous building and
Rock formations near Land’s End
located on the marina. Incidentally, San
Lucas is a small town, but it took me an
embarrassing forty-five minutes of driving
to find her hotel the first time, even though
it’s only a mile from Pueblo Bonito Blanco.
Things just aren’t marked that well in
Mexico.
Our first dinner, and maybe the best of the
whole trip, was at Mi Casa, a short two
blocks from her hotel . I had a mole poblano
which was just heaven, and Carmel had a
fruit plate. Mi Casa is located adjacent to
the central plaza on Calle Cabo San Lucas
(624-143-1933). The open-air interior
is beautifully designed to resemble a
Mexican village with murals and authentic
decorations. They say that Mi Casa has
the most authentic Mexican food in Cabo,
specializing in regional Mexican cuisine
from different parts of Mexico.
Everyone in Cabo, it seems, sells timeshares. Conversations with the Mexicans are
easy to come by and are usually interesting.
In terms of cultural markers, I noticed that
they talked frequently about their families
and where they grew up. Their education or
their business experiences also came up often
in conversation. Almost everyone I talked to
came from the mainland of Mexico, many
from Mexico City. They came to Cabo to
make money – and that’s where the timeshares come in. The conversation would
inevitably lead to the questions, “What do
you plan to do while you’re in Cabo? What
would you like to do?” I would answer with
Pelicans resting on a limed rock near Land’s End
something like, “Trying different foods,
maybe going horseback riding on the
beach, going out to Land’s End in a
glass-bottomed boat, snorkeling.” That’s
where you get hooked. “Oh, I can get
you a boat ride for free.” Or, “I can get
you an extra night at your hotel for free.”
And when you agree to the freebie, you
find out that you’ve got to sit through
one of these hour and a half breakfast
sales pitches for a time-share. One
morning I walked past perhaps twenty
tables of sales pitches going on at the
restaurant at my hotel. (Fortunately, I had
the perspicacity to avoid falling for these
deals – but not Carmel: she was psyched
to buy a time-share by the time I met up
with her.)
Cabo, they say, is Mexico gone wrong.
They say it’s where Mexican culture
breaks down in the face of the American
encroachment. If it weren’t there, Mexico
could be Mexico. I prefer to interpret
it as one of the places where Mexico’s
cultural change is most apparent. Mexico
is changing rapidly as it moves from
third-world to a modern country. There
are cell phones, PDA’s, and laptops all
over the place. Mexicans have been
watching US television for years, and
they emulate the stars and their lifestyles.
One young woman I talked to (who
stood in a time-share booth) had no
problem with being thirty and unmarried
– and she talked about the ticking of her
Continued on page 4
The very tip of Baja California, past Land’s End
3
The Gated Community
by Bruce McGovern
Several times, The Doctor in the little village
where my wife was born, and his wife, have
invited us to visit their home in Puebla. They
had mentioned the fact that it was in a ‘gated
community.’ That is, it has high walls around
it, and to enter, a person must convince some
very suspicious security people they have a
reason to be there. Usually security will call
your house for permission to admit them
if they are not sure. I had visited a gated
community in Puebla, but it had $250,000
homes. So, I paid little attention when he said
he lived in a gated community, assuming it
was out of our price range.
My wife and I have gradually over the last
three years begun to think we should live in
Puebla, since it is a direct bus ride to every
place we want to go – Cordoba, rural Puebla,
Mexico City, and Texas, therefore the United
States. The rough plan would be to keep
our old van in storage here in Texas, as the
Winter Texans often do, with our traveling
needs in it, and when we come to the States,
bring it out and go driving away to visit
family wherever they are.
Last week, I told The Doctor and his wife
I had a lot of questions to ask. They didn't
mind at all. In fact, they were all excited at
the prospect of having us for neighbors.
Nice, ample-sized homes in their gated
community have two or three bedrooms and
a nice patio. Rent for the houses runs about
3,000 pesos a month, a little over $300 USD;
to buy one runs around $35,000 USD. Small
apartments rent, and probably sell, for about
half that money.
Owner pays water. The renter pays electricity
and telephone, also gas for the roof tank for
the gas stove and water heater. The security
charge is almost nominal, perhaps $10 a
month. The Doctor's house has a 5,000
liter cistern, and the water is on at least 3
days a week, so water would not be the
problem it is for Raul, who gets water only
once or twice a week, and only has a 3,000
liter cistern.
The central bus station is within walking
distance. A supermarket/mall is within
two blocks of the security gate. A combi
4
(microbus) route that can take you across the
city for a few pesos runs in front of the mall.
This would be perfect for my wife, who
does not drive, but has a strong desire to go
places.
Security only permits the gas truck, the
garbage truck, the bottled water trucks, the
meter readers, and not much of anyone else
in without permission from the owner/renter.
This neighborhood is quiet – no street
vendors. Even the parents take their kid to
the large park a few blocks away, instead of
letting them play noisily in the streets.
In 1999, we visited Raul about a mile from
this place, and I already know I like it there.
We have a date to meet them at the security
gate in January. If my wife loves it, well,
wish me luck!
And, those who think they'll send me a mail
to find out exactly where this little paradise
is located, no way! In Iowa, we never told
where we found morel mushrooms. No one
tells where they catch fish. So, sorry, go find
your own gated community. Someday, if I
sign a lease, maybe I'll share. Maybe not.
However, The Doctor assures me there
are other such gated communities around
Puebla, and almost certainly in other cities
as well. So, if you are considering another
community, and this appeals to you, ask
locally for such a community.
Frankly, I don't like the thought of living
in a closed community. However, since we
tend to travel a lot to visit family, the high
level of security while we are gone overrides
the strong desire I have to mingle with the
general community around me.
Writing from my home in McAllen, Texas
Three Faces Continued
biological clock. In fact, she had a rebelliousness
in her tone of voice and she was proud of it. She
said her family, on the mainland, believed in the old
ways, but
Playa Los Medanos, the main
she could
beach in Cabo San Lucas
never do that.
We gringos
lament the
loss of the
innocence
and gentility
that we see in
our idealized
A sailboat
vision of
where
the Sea
Mexico and
of Cortez
we point to
meets the
Pacific
Cabo and
Ocean
say, “There,
there’s the
problem;
that’s why
we’re losing
El Arco
beautiful old
at
Land’s
Mexico.”
End
But, in truth,
Mexico is
going to
change, and
is changing,
Cabo or no
Cabo.
Approaching
El Arco, from
the Pacific
side
A seal lion
rests atop
a rock near
Land’s End
b b b
Sea lions blend
into rock
formations
at Land’s
End
Loreto
b
Santiago b
b Cabo San Lucas
Puerto b
Vallarta
Mexico City
bb
Puebla
Carmel could
almost cry at
the beauty of
the Mexican
people. I saw
much more
of what I
call Mexican
culture in
Cabo than
I have ever
seen in the
Baja Norte
cities of
Tijuana and
Ensenada.
And this is
what appealed
to Carmel.
She saw a
gentleness,
a purity of
soul in the
Mexicans
she talked
to – and she
trusted in
that. Carmel is a believer in good in the world.
Mexicans would invite her to their house on her
next trip down to Cabo, and she would seriously
accept their invitation. Carmel is a love child
of the sixties. She would buy trinkets from
little barefoot girls, examining the handcrafted
beauty of each one before making her final
selection. And her attention would focus not
so much on what she was buying as on whom
she was buying it from – and their simplicity
and calmness. “If you buy from me, good. If not,
that’ll be OK too.” What is, is.
Meandering
pool reminds
the visitor
they are in
a tropical
paradise
One day I had a call from Carmel. Let’s meet up.
I said I would walk over to her hotel, along the
beach. I would be there in half an hour. I thought
the sand on the beach would be hard and easy to
traverse. Not so. The grains of sand in Cabo are
large, round and smooth. You don’t walk along
the beach, even in the wet part near the water.
You trudge. I go to a gym in San Diego, but I
had to rest numerous times on my walk down the
beach to the marina in front of Carmel’s hotel.
And then the dock meandered around so that the
walk turned out to take an hour and a half. I was
delayed by a group of young men who shouted,
“Hey, meester, you want some weed?” When I
declined, they said, “You want some blow?” Not
today, thank you. From that time on I drove over
to her hotel.
We took a glass-bottomed boat ride out to Land’s
End, one of the nicest experiences of the trip.
We wanted to see the colorful tropical fish in the
waters of Cabo, but we didn’t want to snorkel in
order to do it. So, we met up with Jorge, who,
for ten dollars each, took us out (I also tipped
him five dollars at the end of the trip). We saw
parrotfish, trumpetfish – and my memory fails
me in naming the several other species we saw.
Sea lions basked on the rocks. The pelicans had
their own pelican rock which they had whitened
over the years. We traveled in the boat past
Land’s End from the warm, greenish waters of
the Sea of Cortez to the colder and clearer water
of the Pacific Ocean. On the way back, Jorge,
an expert with his boat, guided us through the
narrow opening at the base of El Arco. Jorge
dropped us off at El Melía (the beautiful, calmer,
more Mexican resort right next to Pueblo Bonito
Blanco) and picked up another party for the same
trip. Jorge is becoming a wealthy man.
The spa at Pueblo Bonito is world-class. Pueblo
Bonito Blanco (which is also called Pueblo
Bonito Los Cabos) actually has a sister hotel,
Pueblo Bonito Rosé, right next door – and guests
can cross back and forth between the two. Rosé
seems to be more of a time-share building. It, too,
is a paradise, and perhaps more magnificent than
Blanco. There is a black swan in one of the pools.
Continued on page 8
Cabo – The Other Side
by Ann Hazard
Where’s the easiest resort to escape to from
San Diego? Los Cabos – only two hours
away on Aeromexico or Alaska. However,
if you’re like me and crave peace, quiet and
beachside romance on your next getaway,
you may consider Cabo just a little too busy.
I did. I hadn’t been there to stay in nearly
five years. I figured it wasn’t really Baja
anymore – with its crowds, jet skis, cruise
ships, big hotels and chain restaurants.
To me Baja is supposed to be remote and
peaceful … a place where nature remains
dominant.
Well, I stand corrected. On the northwest
side of Cabo San Lucas, light years (and
seven minutes by free shuttle) away from
everything, is the new Pueblo Bonito Sunset
Beach. On a private piece of coastline that
seems to go on forever, this hotel is terraced
down a hillside, in total harmony with the
environment. The views are expansive, the
rooms luxurious but comfy-casual. Each has
marble floors, a private oceanfront patio,
TV with all the channels anyone could ever
want, oversized shower and mini-bar.
We flew to Cabo after school got out with
two 17-year-old girls. While I’m fine with
camping in a tent on a deserted beach,
my daughter and her friend have higher
standards. They were in vacation heaven. So
was I, actually. What I learned is that I’m not
above being treated like a queen, and that a
suite on a hillside is more romantic than a
tent in the sand!
Guests can walk or hitch a ride on a golf
cart down the winding path that leads to
the beach, pool and swim-up bar. The pool
meanders along the beachfront, its waterfalls
and bridges giving it the feel and look of a
tropical lagoon. The swim-up bar – instead
of just offering underwater barstools
– actually has booths, with tile tables
above the water and underwater seating.
We plopped down and ordered lunch.
Best Reuben sandwich I’ve ever had
… in Mexico. Go figure. Dinner at La
Nao Restaurant (named after a Spanish
galleon that traveled from Manila to
Acapulco by way of Cabo, from 1565
until 1815) was another treasure. There
are two other Pueblo Bonitos in Cabo—
the Rosé and the Los Cabos (also known
as the Blanco). Both are on Playa Los
Medanos, the main beach in town – and
between them, they offer every amenity
a vacationer could ask for.
Cabo has grown up. It’s nothing like the
rest of the peninsula, but then it doesn’t
purport to be. It’s sophisticated … with
world-class hotels, food and service.
In October, it hosted APEC (the Asia
Pacific Economic Conference) with
twenty-two presidents in attendance.
That’s big.
But what actually impressed me the
most about Cabo were the desalinization
and water treatment plants. Every major
hotel pumps seawater in, purifies it,
pipes it throughout the property, treats
wastewater and returns it to the ocean in
its original state. That’s huge.
Check out www.pueblobonito.com.
b b b
Más o Menos Continued
V
elas has recently opened a new
hotel in Nueva Vallarta that we
were shown on tour, the Grand Velas
All Suites & Spa Resort. And grand it is.
Doubles in this palace-like resort start at
$500.00, all-inclusive. I knew I was in
unfamiliar territory when they described
their “pillow menu” option with your
room. Pillow menu. For the first 10 years
I traveled in Mexico my pillow options
were either my rolled up Levi’s or rolled
up beach towel, whichever smelled best
that day. Now I’m thinking that this
place might be the bait for my next bribe.
Felice really likes nice pillows, and I
have another trip offer coming up.
b b b
5
Outback Continued
Osprey pauses close at hand
The nightlife rivals Cancún. When we
were there recently, we watched a neverending parade of cruise ships drop anchor
in the bay, disgorging crowds in search of
that ideal gift, a quick tour of the area, or
an afternoon on the glorious beach at the
Hotel Hacienda, www.cabotravel.com/
hotelhacienda.htm, where we were staying.
The pace in Los Cabos is lively, to say the
least. There’s never a shortage of things
to do. Our hotel was centrally located
– within walking distance to everything. It
combined the best of old world Mexican
charm and modern amenities, and it had
the best beach (a half mile long) in the
area.
We started our trip in Buena Vista, about
45 minutes north of the Los Cabos Airport.
Here the splendor of nature dominates. The
ATV Tour assembled in a quiet spot.
hotels are small, spread out and intimate.
Many are accessible only by dirt road.
People make friends here. They feel like
they’re part of the family and they know
the waitresses and bartenders by name.
Many return year after year. Fishing tends
to be the primary draw, as this is one of
the premier sport fishing destinations in
the world. With more than 850 species of
identified fish, it ranks as one of Earth's
most productive fishing areas. There isn’t
much nightlife, as anglers tend to go to
bed early and rise before the sun. We don’t
mind. If we want that kind of action, we go
to Cabo.
6
Want to visit the East Cape, but don’t fish,
and want to do more than work on your
tan? Interested in Los Cabos, but eager to
see something outside the city limits? For
those of us who want something a little
more edgy than a resort vacation – be it old
or new school – there is something new
happening in Southern Baja. Call it ecotourism or call it adventure tourism – it’s
the hottest thing going on in these parts,
and it will transform your idea of Baja Sur
forever.
When most people think of the Baja
landscape, they think of desert, mountains
and sea. That doesn’t even scratch the
surface. There is a world of splendor under
Cave Rock
the sea to be explored. There are hidden
tropical oases, waterfalls and hot springs in
the mountains. The only living coral reef
in western North America can be found
here, in the Cabo Pulmo National Marine
Park. There are lush plantations terraced
down steep mountainsides. In coastal
lagoons you can find amazing birds and
other wildlife. There are ancient Indian
rock paintings and crumbling old Spanish
missions. There is even have a zoo in the
East Cape. We used Hotel Buena Vista
Beach Resort (http://hotelbuenavsita.com)
as our home base for our adventure tour
vacation. All tours described are offered
through the hotel.
San Miguel Indian Rock Painting Tour
Hundreds of ancient Indian rock and
cave paintings have been discovered in
Baja and all are at least 15,000 years
old. On this six-hour guided tour, our
guide, Angel Ortiz, took us way up into
the rugged mountains close to the Los
Cabos Airport. The paintings here are
on a monstrous boulder, located in what
was obviously the middle of the Indians’
sacred meeting grounds. Small hands and
an array of wildlife are depicted, along
with an accurate compass. A river runs
through this arroyo year-round. During the
rainy season (late summer to early fall)
the waters roar down the canyon. Over
centuries the waters have scoured, shaped
and buffed the granite boulders so that now
they’re smooth and easy to walk on. There
are sandy beaches alongside the massive
rock formations – providing ideal places
to picnic and spread your towel for a siesta
after you take a dip in the river – which is
what we did, of course!
Santiago Zoo and Waterfall Tour
The next day Angel took us on a sixhour excursion to the agricultural village
of Santiago. We were amazed at the
lush orchards of mangos, avocados and
citrus fruits growing here in this oasis
community. It seemed so non-Baja!
After a tour of the town, we visited the
Santiago Zoo – the only one in all of Baja
California. Here we snapped photos of
ostriches, deer, an array of exotic birds
– including eagles, a falcon, parrots and
peacocks, a tiger, bear and lion, foxes,
coyotes and mountain lions. This zoo is a
wonderfully peaceful sanctuary set within
gardens of mango and avocado trees, aloe
and numerous species of native cacti. After
this, we headed up into the Laguna de la
Sierra Mountains to visit La Cola de la
Zorra (the Tail of the Fox), which is the
La Cola de la Zorra cascades to pool below
largest waterfall in Baja. The water tumbles
down more than 40 feet into a pool that is
over 20 feet deep. After a short, easy hike
on a good trail, we reached the falls, where
the braver among us dove off the rocks
(from about 35 feet) into the cool, crystal
clear water. Angel had offered us the option
of picnicking at the waterfall or stopping
back in town for lunch in the gardens of
the Hotel Palomar. We opted for the picnic,
but stopped on our way home at the hotel
for a couple cervezas and some guacamole.
What a day!
Santa Rita Hot Springs Tour
I knew there were hot springs at the Hotel
Buena Vista, but I couldn’t believe there
were more up in the mountains. Our third
Continued on page 7
Outback Continued
ATV Mountain Tour
of coral reefs. A Mexican fishing vessel,
the Colima – sunk during a storm in 1939
– lies in 18 feet of water offshore, and
offers the added bonus of a wreck dive for
scuba enthusiasts. Visibility ranges from
60 to 100 feet in the water, and the ocean
temperatures range from 65 to 80 degrees.
adventure tour took us through Santiago
again, through the ranching oasis of San
Jorge and up in the mountains to Santa
Rita. There we came upon a rancho with
private hot and cool springs and a stream
that flows year-round. Terry and our driver,
Max, hiked with the rancher a half hour
upstream to large pools where you can
swim and even dive in the crystal clear
water. Angel and I ate lunch and soaked
in the pools of hot water. When we’d had
enough, we hopped over a few rocks and
cooled off in other pools. It was heavenly.
The idea of hopping aboard an ATV and
heading for the hills makes me feel like
a modern day cowgirl. On this four-hour
guided tour, Steve took us off-roading into
the mountains, educating us about the local
flora, fauna, and wildlife as we passed
through riverbeds, traversed mountain trails
and visited the rarely seen side of Baja.
We headed down the beach and through
several arroyos before we began climbing
into the hills toward Big Spring. The views
of the Sea of Cortez from way up there
Rita Ann Hazard relaxes in a pool
Waterfall cascades into a rock carved pool
Cave stream sculpts the terrain gracefully
ATV Bird-Watching Tour
were mind-boggling. It was truly a “top of
the world” experience. We left our bikes
and walked about 300 yards to a waterfall
and large pool. We’d worn our swimsuits
under our shorts, so we stripped down and
dove right in. Steve pulled out a cooler
with chilled beers and some snacks, and we
had ourselves a mini-picnic before heading
back to the hotel.
dive and snorkel sites within the park. He
told us that the previous day a whale shark
(harmless, but the hugest fish in the sea)
had surprised snorkelers. They’d also seen
mantas flipping in and out of the water and
some sperm whales spouting offshore.
Terry and I took this four-hour guided
ATV tour with Buena Vista’s wildlife
expert, Steve Chism. We departed from
the beach shack at the southeast edge
of the hotel property and traveled south
along the beach and coastal road. The
terrain here varied between desert thorn
forest, agriculture and peaceful coastal
lagoons. He pointed out all kinds of birds
in the brackish and fresh water lagoons,
including: osprey, frigate birds, Gilla
woodpeckers, catus wrens, pyrrahuloxia.
Uncommon birds include: wood stork,
black-bellied whistling bucks, sora, lasuuli
bunting. It was hot the day we went, so
we brought along our snorkeling gear and
stopped near Rancho Leonero to cool off
and check out the undersea life. We saw all
kinds of fish, and even a pair of lobsters!
MF
THE MEXICO FILE
The Newsletter for Mexicophiles
Cabo Pulmo Marine Park
In June of 1995 Cabo Pulmo was officially
declared a Marine preserve by the Mexican
Government – which means it’s off limits
for fishing and a perfect eco- and adventure
tour destination. Located about midway
between San Jose del Cabo and Buena
Vista, Cabo Pulmo is off the beaten track
and it’s not crowded. The underwater park
is 11 miles long with eight different fingers
THE MEXICO FILE
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The Mexico File’s contents are intended for the independent traveler. The information given is believed to be reliable, but cannot be guaranteed for accuracy due to constant changes that
occur in a country this size. n Unsolicited stories, photos and letters are welcomed and encouraged. Postage
should be included for any items to be returned. n This publication may not be reproduced in any form without
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Pepe Murietta, longtime park director, is a
certified dive, sailing and kayak instructor.
He’s also a naturalist with expertise in
marine and plant biology and archaeology.
That day he met us at his Outdoor Activity
Center and gave us a presentation on the
We followed Pepe’s van down a dirt road
to our launching point. The beach was as
pretty as any I’d seen in the Caribbean,
with the same pale aquamarine water and
sugar-soft white sand. The temperature
was a perfect 78 degrees. Underwater,
we swam among needlefish, triggerfish,
rainbow colored parrotfish, big-nosed
jewfish, yellow and gray-striped tigerfish,
spiny brown-spotted blowfish, eels and
even a sea turtle. Later on, my kids took
Pepe’s kayak out to look at the sea lion
colony nearby. Then we headed into
the tiny town of Cabo Pulmo and had a
magnificent lunch at Nancy’s Restaurant.
As unlikely as it seems, she was trained
at the Cordon Bleu in France. I believe it,
because the food was fabulous. So were
the Margaritas!
There are plenty of other tours to take
and places to visit in Baja Sur. We barely
scratched the surface here. In addition to
what I’ve described, there are crumbling,
ancient missions to visit, an artist colony
at nearby Todos Santos, whale nurseries
in Bahía Magdalena and secret surf spots
Continued on page 8
7
Three Faces Continued
Cancun, Los Cabos….Loreto?
It’s official. The next major tourist
destination in Mexico will be Loreto,
the small Mexican town about 700
miles down the Baja peninsula. The
Villages of Loreto Bay will be a series
of seaside villages built on 3,000 acres
on the Sea of Cortez three miles south
of Loreto. The first 60 homes recently
went on sale and sold out on the first
day. The total buildout will include
5,000 homes, hotels, service and retail
businesses, and recreational facilities.
Home prices currently start in the
$150,000 range. The development is a
partnership between Mexican, Canadian
and American investors. Besides driving
the transpeninsular highway to access
Loreto, there is Loreto International
Airport. For more information visit
www.loretobay.com .
Airport Security Not Welcomed
Mexican politicians, religious leaders
and human rights groups have lodged
official complaints with government
ministries requesting to know why there
are U.S. security agents at the Mexico
City airport. The major complaint is that
Mexican law ensures that passengers are
not searched by foreigners on Mexican
soil. Mexico has complied with the
U.S. request to place armed, undercover
federal police on key flights destined
for the U.S., but its sovereignty is being
questioned regarding the searches.
(Editor’s Note: Mexican airlines appear
much more diligent in inspecting
passengers than those in the U.S.
Passenger profiling doesn’t seem to be a
civil rights issue and I can’t imagine one
of their pilots being a terrorist and not
being discovered).
Tourism Numbers Increase
International tourism to Mexico
increased by 7.1 percent from January to
September, 2003, compared to the same
months in 2002. The revenue generated
was a staggering $7.04 billion, with a
8
Outback Continued
The spa is part of the Rosé complex. My
room at the Blanco got me daily spa passes
with full use of the facilities (otherwise,
the cost is $12 per day). This is pure luxury
with an emphasis on relaxation. In fact,
they have a relaxation room with bubbles
traveling up the wall and calming new age
music in the background. I enjoyed the
steam room, Swedish showers (where rows
of showerheads are aimed at the length
of your body coming from three different
directions) and the jacuzzis (which had
ten foot waterfalls pouring into the pools).
Massages and treatments of various kinds
cost extra and the prices are comparable to
those in the U.S. (In the interest of telling
the complete story here about Pueblo
Bonito, there is actually a newer third hotel
on the Pacific side, Pueblo Bonito Sunset
Beach. See the short article by Ann Hazard
in this issue.)
I had more shrimp in Cabo than I’ve ever
had anywhere. The shrimp houses are
right on the street, open without windows,
with tables of drinkers and shrimp-eaters,
and mariachi bands playing to your soul’s
content. I recommend the Shrimp Factory
across the street from Plaza las Glorias and
El Shrimp Bucket on the marina. You buy a
kilo or half a kilo of shrimp and peel away
to your heart’s content. (But the very best
shrimp I had was not in Cabo San Lucas,
but in San Jose del Cabo at the Tropicana.
Their shrimp cocktail is a masterpiece
– clean, fresh and tasty and, for $9.00,
contains about 30 shrimp.)
on the Pacific side. If you’re ready to try a
vacation that’s not centered totally around
being pampered, eating, drinking and
sunning or fishing … then getting a taste
of Outback Los Cabos might just be your
next cool thing.
Resources:
In the East Cape, Hotel Buena Vista Beach
Resort (www.hotelbuenavista.com) and
Palmas de Cortez (www.bajaresorts.com)
offer a whole range of adventure tours.
Contact Pepe Murietta at
(http://cabopulmo.com.mx) to arrange
a personalized tour of the Cabo Pulmo
Marine park. Vista Sea Sports
(http://vistaseapsport.com) in Buena Vista
offers a great array of scuba and snorkel
tours. Operators out of Los Cabos include
Cabo Safari (http://cabosafari.com), Baja
Adventures (www.bajaadventures.com)
and Cabo World (www.caboworld.com).
For the most comprehensive listing of all
Adventure Tour operators in Baja, visit
Baja Links: (http://www.bajalinks.com/
@surf.html). Here you’ll find information
on everything from whale and kayak tours,
to windsurfing, surfing and scuba. For
information on Cabo, www.visitcabo.com
is the place to check out. To fly in, check
out Aeromexico (www.aeromexico.com)
or Alaska Airlines
(www.alaskaairlines.com).
b b b
In the February 2004 issue of Mexico File,
we will continue our Cabo tour with two
more faces – San Jose
del Cabo and Todos Santos.
b b b
historic record $9 billion within reach for
the year. The average amount of money
spent per visitor also increased by nearly
5%. One reason for the increase has
been attributed to the launch of Nuestro
Mexico, a program aimed at promoting
travel to Mexico among Mexicans
residing in the U.S. and Americans
descended from Mexico.
b b b
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