In mid-July, Brad and I spent a week in Cabo. We had two free plane tickets and had originally planned to visit the Virgin Islands with friends, but all the flights were sold out. Still eager for a warm getaway, we decided on Cabo, Mexico—a place we’d both been wanting to visit. Brad has spent a lot of time in Mexico this year for work, but he had never been to the coast, so it felt like the perfect choice.
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Cabo San Lucus is such a fun vibrant city, and we did much sight seeing on foot since our AirB&B was just up the hill from mainstreet!This was our view at night from our B&B. For some reason this particular night they had fireworks going off over the bay.
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Here are more views looking to either side of mainstreet.
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There was so much to see along the marina!And the food was delicious! Of course our favorite thing to eat was fish tacos because the fish was so fresh!
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One of our favorite things to do was just watch the sea lions swim, bark, and play all around the marina!
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Here is a boy feeding one of the biggest sea lions I've ever seen!A highlight of our trip was hiking Mt. Solmar . It's a short hike on private land, up to the top of steep mountain where you have 360 degree views of Cabo and Land Ends. The above picture is of the line which ended up being over 100 people.People start lining up at 6am to stand in line outside of a military post. All around the area were barracks, military buildings, and training camps.By 8am a retired military guy unlocked the gate and we all filed in to get briefed on the details of the hike, which were basically don't take anything from the trail, there's nowhere to use the bathroom on the hike, and don't do go on the hike if you're going to have a heart attack. Apparetnly this same scenario plays out almost every single morning of the year! There was also no charge for the hike, just a donation (and everyone donated, because it was worth it, and no one wanted to disappoint our drill sergeant).And were off, a few military dogs and a very long line of people from all over the world in all kinds of hiking gear, from shorts and leggings, to high-healed sandals and fancy purses!The trail did get very steep, to the point I was climbing with my hands and feet.But the views were beautiful all along the way!The views on top were even more breathtaking than I could have imagined!Being on top made me feel very blessed for the opportunity to go on the hike, and for our drill sergeant's (in the hat and navy shirt) willingness to take people up for free, and have them experience views they would never have been able to see otherwise!Views of Lands End , Honeymoon Beach and Divorse Beach from a much different perspective than on the water.I walked all around on top to get pictures from all sides of the mountain...
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A motorized hang-glider that flew close to us!Brad, the king of the mountain, stayed close to our guide, the drill sergeant, so he could listen to some of his stories.Views of Cabo San Lucas Marina and Bay
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There were always massive cruise ships coming and going from the marina in Cabo San Lucas. Quick story—one day while we were walking along the marina, we noticed a crowd of people wearing BYU shirts (the university all our kids attended), and we instantly thought, “This has to be a boat full of people from Utah.” Curious, Brad texted his brother Blake, who confirmed it: BYU had organized a cruise for current and former athletes, coaches, and fans—and yes, Cabo was one of the stops. Even crazier, Blake’s brother-in-law happened to be on that very ship! I just love those small-world moments—they always make trips feel even more special.Panoramic view of Cabo and "The Corridor" which is an 18-mile stretch of highway with numerous luxury resorts, golf courses, and beaches. Apparently, Brad and I like to live like the locals since we stayed right in the heart of Cabo San Lucas (the night-life was something else with all the loud music, people drinking and laughing, and dogs fighting and/or barking all night long). After flying into Los Cabos, we even took a city bus from the airport to our AirB&B in Cabo San Lucas. There were definitely only locals getting on and off the bus, and one guy even brought a propane tank onto the bus with him!The next day we went on a whale-watching trip that included a short stop at Lands End to see the iconic arch known as "El Arco". We also saw Honeymoon and Divorce beaches but were unable to spend any time on them due to the holiday weekend. It was "Good Friday", which is a pretty big deal in Cabo!
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We then rode out to a place where the dolphins liked to swim and play!But were quickly off again, bouncing along in our little raft, to the Sea of Cortez to find some whales! We followed the whale's sounds via radar, but the only real way we knew a whale was close is when it blew water out of its blowhole (which is quite loud).We saw mutilple Humpback whales but mostly followed a Momma and her baby. The whales swim down to the Gulf of Mexico into warmer waters to have their young and then swim all the way back up to Alaska when their calves are big enough to make the trip. Brad and I weren't sure if we were going to see whales because we went on our whale-watching excursion technically the very last day of the season. Luckily, we still saw some, but we had to go pretty far out into the ocean to do so.There was one other small boat (pictured) out that far with us, and here you can see how huge these whales were compared to the boat. The only problem with our little pontoon boat is we were virtually on sea level and could only see the part of the whale that was sticking out of the water. The whales would poke up for just a second before quickly diving back down into the water arching their backs and flipping their tails as they went. They would be under water anywhere from 5 min to an hour before coming up for air, so you never knew when or where they would resurface!Here you can see a nose and mouth barely poking out of the water right behind another whale's fin, but the only reason I was able to get this shot (and many others) is because I had my camera on "live" mode and carefully looked at each frame to find it.In this picture you can barely see the top of one of the whale's head (behind the other whale diving down) as she blows water from her blowhole.Body of the whale diving down.The tails of the whales were so beautiful as they flipped them up on their final decent into the water.The whales swam very close to one another, which is one way you could tell it was a momma and her baby.Another view of a tail.Here is a shot of the baby's fin. Our tour guide was a marine biologist and he said that the white marks on the baby's fin is from an attack, probably from a killer whale, which is another reason why the momma kept her baby so close.At one point in our trip the whales became very playful, and it seemed as if they were waving at us!They would then slap their fin againts the water making a large clapping sound. It really was the coolest thing ever! I'm so glad we did the trip, I was a bit sea-sick on the long trip back but it was so worth it!!!
Another highlight of our trip was a full day excursion to other parts of the Baja Peninsula. Our adventure began at 3:30 in the morning when our tour bus came and picked us up from our air B&B. According to our tour guide the reason we had to leave so early was to beat all of the other tourists going to the same places that we were. Some of the places even had limited availability due to conservation efforts etc. After picking up 3 other groups (for a total of 10 people in our group) we drove to Balandra Beach.
Balandra is a beautiful shallow lake with crystal-clear water, white sand and dunes, and breath-taking views. It was one of those protected areas with restrictions on the number of daily visitors, and limited parking.
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It really was a beautiful place and unlike anywhere I have been before.Adding to Balandra's uniqueness is the Hongo (mushroom) of Balandra.Here is the marker next to the Hongo that explains its origin. You can buy all kinds of Hongo souvenirs in the local shops.The Hongo is such a popular attraction that tourist wait in line get their photo opp in front of the rock formation.
Brad and I were one of the first people there, which is why we were able to get a picture of the Hongo by itself.
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Brad exploring some of the other interesting rock formations nearby.Brad and I also went on several little trails to the top of the hills surrounding the lake. From a distance the people walking in the middle of the lake looked like ants.But looking over the cliff I could see that they were all people, just meandering through the crystal-clear, aqua-colored water.
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Balandra really was such an interesting and peaceful place to be, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to experience it!Next stop was Playa El Coromuel , a picturesque little beachfront next to La Paz, for the tourists who wanted to swim in the ocean.
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The water was a little too cool for our liking, but we did enjoy a delicious late-morning snack of fresh fruit, amazing guacamole and chips, and an outstanding virgin mojito for me!Our next stop was La Paz (the Capitol) beachfront!
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We very much enjoyed walking the beautiful coastal cobblestone streets of La Paz!
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In one of the jewelry stores we even learned how pearls are cultivated and harvested as one of the jewelers pulled an actual pearl out of its clam shell right in front of us. The pearl was raffled off and one of the members of our group got the pearl for free (too bad Brad and I are so unlucky!).We ate lunch just outside of La Paz with our group, which was comprised of 2 guys from Mexico, a couple who met in Ireland but the guy was from Costa Rica (Brad felt instantly connected) and the girl was originally from Cancun but moved to Cabo San Lucas where it was "safer", and a family of five from Mexico City that included 3 girls that were about the same ages as our daughters! We had a wonderful visit with all of them, not only during lunch, but over the course of our long day! Again, Brad and I really did enjoy hanging out with "the locals" and doing what they do!Not only was the company great, but my fish, rice, veggies and Hibiscus drink, was, in my opinion, the best meal of our whole trip! The fish was pretty much the best fish I have ever tasted (It did come highly recommended by our tour guide!).The last stop on our excursion was Todos Santos , and it was a great finale at the end of a great day! Todos Santos has a higher elevation than most places in Baja, so the weather is cooler with more trees, plants and flowers. Brad and I decided if we ever go to Baja again, Todos Santos is where we want to stay!!And I guess we are not the only ones that love Todos Santos since there is a very famous Hotel there, and a very famous song by the Eagles about that hotel!!
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The inner courtyard of Hotel California.The Hotel has been turned into restaurants and souvenirs shops, but it is still a neat place to visit, and about as long as the song written about it!After more souvenir shopping along Todos Santos' main street, and a quick stop for ice cream (Todos Santos is known for their strawberries and cream...but not having brought my lactaid with me, I opted for regular ice cream, which was also very good!). We enjoyed views of the countryside as we rode back to Cabos San Lucas after saying goodbye to our new friends as they were dropped off along the way. I would recommend this full-day excursion to anyone because it really was the perfected ending to a great trip!
