Baja paradise offers warm sun, soft sand and plenty to do, but it doesn't have to empty the wallet
By EILEEN McCLELLAND
Nov. 13, 2004
CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO -- It may be the most beautiful commute you'll ever make to the Office.
From the marina, hail a water taxi for a quick trip on the Sea of Cortez. Slide off the bow of the battered, wooden boat onto a beach where soft,
white sand gives way under every bare footfall. The surf splashes droplets of cooling relief on burning toes. The blue sky is completely cloudless. Up
ahead? An oasis of shelter from the sun.
Welcome to the Office, a restaurant on M?dano Beach, the hub of Cabo San Lucas' daylight social scene.
Claim an umbrella-topped table and sink the heavy, iron chair into the shaded sand like an anchor. Kick off your flip-flops and stretch your bare feet
into the sand as well, and ask for a Tecate and a pound of giant-but-tender, ice-cold shrimp. To prevent complete dehydration, order a lemonade served
in a margarita glass while you're waiting for the tequila guy. He's a caricature of a bandido, wearing a sombrero and an ammo belt with bottles
stuffed in its holsters. He'll pour you a shot if you wave him over. You'll hear cheers in his wake. Everyone in Cabo applauds tequila.
He's not the only one making the rounds.
"Amigos, you want a water taxi? A glass-bottom boat? A hat?" Vendors clad in hot-weather whites offer transportation as well as baskets, hats, beads,
silver and sarongs. They'll take your picture with an iguana, braid your hair, take you parasailing, play you a song, draw you a picture, sell you a
time share.
The vendedores stand on the periphery, calling out "se?orita" or "amigo" softly and displaying their wares patiently. Security guards prevent them
from pulling up a chair; be sure to get a table a bit farther from the fringe if you prefer not to mix cuisine with commerce.
Affordable options
Los Cabos is on the southern tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. To the west, the Pacific Ocean batters the coast and creates a powerful undertow. To the
east, the Sea of Cortez meets hospitable swimming and snorkeling beaches. Los Cabos includes the coastal towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jos? del
Cabo. Between the two is the 20-mile oceanfront region known as the Corridor, home to world-class resorts such as Las Ventanas al Paraiso, frequented
by celebrities and others who can afford $650 room rates.
But visiting Los Cabos doesn't have to mean busting your budget. Staying in Cabo San Lucas rather than along the Corridor saves time and cab fare if
you're interested in seeing the town and experiencing its party aspects as well as enjoying the sedate comfort of resort life. You also may save
significantly on room rates.
We stayed at Finisterra, across the street from the marina and close to downtown's restaurant row and clubs. It's peaceful and private behind a
guarded gate on top of a cliff.
For $120 a night in October we enjoyed a spacious room in the Finisterra's newer Palapa Beach Club. Private balconies overlook Solmar Beach on the
Pacific, too rough for swimming but perfect for strolling or stargazing. Three free-form pools on three different levels offer space enough for
serious swimmers, swim-up bar patrons and water-volleyball players.
If you prefer to settle at livelier M?dano Beach, the Melia San Lucas is a convenient option. The architecture and interior design artfully reflect
the colors and ambience of sun, sky and beach while framing views of El Arco across the bay. Although vendors ply the beach relentlessly, sun
worshippers can stake a claim on a cabana on hotel grounds with a view of the sea.
Our hotel was closer to the Cabo San Lucas marina than to M?dano Beach, so after a swim and lunch at the Office, we hired a $6 water taxi for the
return trip. A Spanish phrasebook would help with navigation. Some water-taxi captains don't speak much, if any, English.
By boat
Daytime activities in Cabo San Lucas usually involve boats, for snorkeling, diving, parasailing, fishing or touring. One essential sightseeing outing
is a $10 glass-bottom-boat tour to view El Arco, or the Arch, the most distinctive rock formation at Land's End, the southernmost tip of Baja.
The boat will drop you off for swimming at dramatic Lover's Beach, surrounded by cliffs, rock walls and submerged boulders. The opposite stretch of
sand, known as Divorce Beach, faces the Pacific and is plagued by treacherous conditions.
We chose a catamaran, the Pez Gato, for both a snorkeling trip ($45 per person) to a Corridor beach, Playa Santa Mar?a, and a sunset sail ($35 per
person) out past El Arco and into the Pacific. Both trips included drinks, although on the snorkeling cruise imbibing was limited to post-snorkel
cruising when a light lunch of ceviche and tuna salad was served.
Emily Carlton of Huntington Beach, Calif., snorkeled twice off the Pez Gato with a dozen of her friends and family members, all repeat visitors to
Cabo. "My favorite part of the snorkel trip was when we saw an octopus; it was swimming along the bottom, and then it hunkered down on some rocks,"
she said. "Seeing the octopus was a real treat, because they are so reclusive."
On the trip back to shore she and her family sipped c-cktails and danced barefoot on the deck, despite having suffered jellyfish stings on the outing.
During the sunset booze cruise, the crew danced, too, and passed around a bottle of tequila. The captain, though, concentrated on steering. As we
passed a sea lion posing on a rock ? neck and head stretched skyward ? the boat's sound system incongruously blasted Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever.
One of the crew members held up a bottle about one-quarter full of what he called Mexican water. "How much will you pay me to drink this right now?"
he asked the tourists. No one made an offer. Disappointed, he decided against it.
Nightlife
Dinner? The open-air Crazy Lobster downtown will serve grilled lobster tail and steak for $15. Throw in a shrimp appetizer for another $6. Hire a
group of mariachis for 50 pesos per song to provide a little more atmosphere. Or try a bucket of breaded or coconut shrimp at El Shrimp Bucket along
the marina. Mi Casa, also downtown, offers a tempting seafood platter for two ? scallops, shrimp, crab and sea bass served with salad and vegetables,
as well as traditional Mexican dinners.
Later ? sometimes much later ? Cabo revelers move on to nightspots such as Squid Roe. It's a family eatery early in the evening, but by 9:30 or 10 the
deejay is rallying a by-now-adult crowd to stand on chairs and tables. He leads them in a series of line-dance steps, a warm-up exercise. "You don't
have to do the jump if you're standing on a table," he suggests.
By midnight, it's a full-fledged dance club, a making-the-scene crowd streaming in the door and finding a place on the dance floor or a spot on the
second tier to casually lean over a rail and watch the action below. Even now, dancers hop onto the tables and waiters remove tablecloths to make room
for them. The Romantics segue into Ludacris. There's something for everyone. And there will be until 4 a.m.
If you're looking for an earlier or more sedate end to an evening, try the Whale Watcher bar perched on top of the Finisterra. The Whale Watcher looks
out over the streaked sky at sunset or the black Pacific after dark. It's also a prime viewing location for whales, a tourist draw in the winter. Ask
the bartender for a margarita (on the rocks, of course) made with his favorite tequila, and if you're lucky, he might suggest Don Julio A?ejo. We were
definitely lucky.
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LOS CABOS DEALS
Los Cabos, on Mexico's Baja Peninsula, is a jet-set playground. But budget-conscious travelers can find plenty of bargains. Among them:
Free: Admission to El Squid Roe, a Cabo San Lucas hot spot.
50 pesos: One song by a group of roaming mariachis.
$7: A margarita made with top-of-the-line tequila at the Finisterra's Whale Watcher Bar.
$9: A lobster tail at the Crazy Lobster.
$10: Eight cans of Tecate during the Finisterra pool bar happy hour.
$10: A round-trip tour on Dos Mares glass-bottom boat lets passengers off at Lover's Beach.
$15: Surf and turf at the Crazy Lobster.
$35: An all-you-can-drink sunset cruise on Pez Gato, a catamaran.
$40: A huge seafood sampler for two at Mi Casa.
$60: An hourlong massage at Finisterra's spa.
$120: Off-season nightly rate at the beachfront Finisterra.
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IF YOU GO:
On the water:
Glass-bottom boats: Dos Mares operates boats that depart from M?dano Beach and the marina. The 45-minute tour cruises past El Arco and a sea lion
colony. Passengers can disembark at Lover's Beach and return on a later boat. Climbing back up onto the bow of the boat as it pitches in the surf
between water taxis and rock formations can be intimidating. There's no ladder! If it looks too difficult, pay a little extra to take a smaller water
taxi back to your point of origin. Even one-way, the tour is still worth $10 and provides postcard-quality photo opportunities of Land's End.
Sunset cruise: Pez Gato, a catamaran, offers an all-you-can-drink sunset cruise for $35 and a snorkeling cruise for $45. Tired of tequila? Try rum
punch.
Currency
Money matters: The currency exchange rate is about 11 pesos to $1. U.S. currency is accepted everywhere, but currency can be changed at Cabo banks or
hotels if you'd like to have pesos for tips and sundries. Cash or traveler's checks were needed for booking our boat trips.
Trip tips
Arrival frustration: Arrange airport transportation before arriving at Los Cabos. ContacTours works with Continental Airlines. If you've booked ahead,
proceed to the group exit after passing through customs. First you'll have to run a gantlet of time-share sales people, all working on commission,
trying to sign tourists up for a sales breakfast. Just keep walking. ContacTours representatives wear clothing with company insignias.
Saying no: Beware tourist-information booths throughout Cabo San Lucas. While their occupants might give you a map or offer directions, they also will
attempt to interest you in a time share. Hotel Finisterra offers a tour of the time-share resort next door, but wisely, the staff applies no pressure
if you decline to participate.
$120 per night at the Finisterra is "budget"?
synch - 11-30-2004 at 04:20 PM
Anyone know of any cheaper accomodations? I'm looking for two nights before I get on a Dive boat and most of the time I'll be sightseeing so I don't
need anything fancy...THX
Cabo on a budget??
Pompano - 11-30-2004 at 07:06 PM
Now that is an oximarooon...like a giant shrimp. If you want a real shocker try staying at the 'Pal'...$500 for the budget rooms....and prices for
private bungalows overlooking a great storm surge are not shown to you if you have a heart condition.Packoderm - 11-30-2004 at 07:32 PM
There are several inexpensive places to stay if you don't mind being away from the beach. woody with a view - 11-30-2004 at 07:51 PM
Quote:
Now that is an oximarooon...like a giant shrimp
HAAAA!!!
Cabo on a budet
Janice - 11-30-2004 at 09:46 PM
for me means... keep driving!
Stash yer backpack in the rocks
Martyman - 12-3-2004 at 01:56 PM
We did cabo on a budget. We stashed our packs in the rocks and went in to town to try to get girls to buy us drinks and were sometimes successful.
After eating a few hot dogs or tacos we would buy a bottle of tequila and go back to the point (lovers beach) throw out the ol' fart sack and crashbajajudy - 12-4-2004 at 11:09 AM
I had read that article and found it hilarious. Did this person ever get more than 500 yards from the budget hotel,Finisterra? The Mar de Cortez has
cheap rooms($46, I believe) and is right in the middle of all the action. I personally dont care for San Lucas; however, I am headed there tonight
for a jazz concert on the beach between the cheap hotel and land's end. Kurt Elling and Danieli Perez are playing tonight.
There are more cheap places to stay right downtown and there is the campground out by La Estancia.(follow the signs to the left just before the
resort)
Have fun!
