TopDawg Travel

Archive for the ‘Los Cabos’ Category

Shopping is always an interest as I have to bring back one “remembrance item” whenever I visit someplace new.  In fact if I really like a place, I go back and each time I bring home a new remembrance so that I can look at the item and remember the good times.  So Los Cabos has “American-style” malls.  Mmmmmm.  That does not cause my heart to beat fast.  If I want “ American-style malls”, I am right here in the heart of them.   Dollars are used here instead of pesos, which makes my stay very easy.  That is a selling point for making this my vacation choice.  However, American items fill the stores and many are owned by Americans.  Again, I live in America.  Why do I want to go to a place where I find the same old stuff when I shop?  On the other hand there is an “art walk” every Thursday evening and I can get Cuban cigars, Mexican handicrafts, jewelry and apparel, and unique gifts here, as well. 

Golf is not my game in any way, shape or form.  So I am not interested in the incredible golf packages offered by the resorts.   I have read about the golf courses there and they rival any course to be found in Hawaii and the US.  For anyone who plays golf as an avocation, Los Cabos could very well be their ideal vacation.   

Lying on the beach has some appeal of course but swimming and water sports, while popular and plentiful, do not happen to be my thing either.  The under tows can be very strong and it pays to be very careful where you decide to play in the water.  I am neither a fisher-person nor a diver nor snorkler.  I enjoyed fishing for marlin and mahimahi in Hawaii but to spend a day on a boat fishing is not my idea of a vacation.  I can appreciate the folks who live for it.  I have known many of them.  And I have arranged wonderful fishing expeditions for them.  It is just not my idea of MY vacation.   

Ah, but there is a day at a spa, being totally spoiled.  I have never done an entire day of spoiled rotten spa treatments.  Maybe it is time to consider that as one of my excursions.  The resorts all have spa packages so I need to look at those packages and consider one of my days being dedicated to being spoiled.   

Eco-tourism/adventures is next on my list of interests: 

Los Cabos has biodiversity.  Although it would seem that man-made resorts overpower all else in the area, there are rugged deserts, unique flora and fauna, and the mountains.  It is also the migratory home and birthing place for hundreds of whales.  There are scientific studies that declare that 90% of the migrating whales travel south to Los Cabos.  From December through March a whale watching excursion is a must-do activity.  My plan is to visit Mexico in late January or early February so that fits in well with my itinerary. 

So what does Los Cabos hold for me at the cultural level? 

Historically, Los Cabos itself was founded as a resort in the 1950s.  For a lot of years it was a watering hole for the very rich, including yacht owners and movie stars, as well as a small number of fishermen and hunters.  Over  a period of 2 decades (the 1980s and the 1990s), as air service into Mexico expanded, new resorts opened and the infrastructure improved.  Now there are 3 developed areas of Los Cabos.  The one most likely to attract me for its culture is San Jose del Cabo, the historic center.   

San Jose del Cabo features a low-key village atmosphere, according to the Mexican Tourism Board.  It is considered a tranquil, tropical, traditional colonial village which was founded in 1730 by Jesuit missionaries.  The colonial style is evident in the Municipal Palace, near Plaza Mijares.  The Plaza is the scene on Sundays where local artists sell their works such as paintings, sculpture and crafts between 10AM and 2PM.  Facing the palace is a long, narrow fountain which is lit by colorful lights in the evenings.  There is a newly renovated “zocalo”, with its shaded courtyard and white gilded bandstand.  And there is a Catholic church called Parroquia de San Jose that was built in 1940 on the site of the original 18^th century mission.  Just east of downtown is a placid freshwater lagoon, the Estero del San Jose.  Centuries ago roving pirates and treasure-laden galleons replenished their water supplies from this lagoon.  There is a 125 acre estuary  & game reserve that nearly 100 species of birds call home.  The town is ideal for unique shopping, leisurely walking, varied dining and getting to know the local people.  Commercialism and the nightlife is low key.  I like getting to know local people and how they live.  That makes a place more “real” to me.