Today I’m taking a break from Real Estate. Instead, I’m going to be your Tour Guide in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico āļø
In spite of Covid, I decided to plan a trip over the Christmas holidays! I think 2 days after I booked the vacation, the federal government put out a travel advisory because of Covid. Oh well, the show must go on š
The number one criteria were sun and heat. Actually, let me take that back. Sun and heat are numbers 2 and 3, adventure is always number 1.
With that in mind, the search began. I’ll be honest, Hawaii was always the front runner. As I started to research though, it was just too complicated with Covid. When I started looking at different options, Hawaii was still under lockdown to a large extent. The plan was to travel and be in the country over the Christmas holidays. They were welcoming tourists, but, options were limited. Hawaii, we will see you another time.
Next, I had family members coming from Toronto. I was looking for a destination that was mid-point for all of us. I also had a son flying in from Alaska, I had to be mindful of travel times for everyone.
We travelled to Guatemala a few years back, it was an amazing trip and I highly recommend it if you haven’t been. I was looking at neighbouring countries in Central America, but Mexico was lurking in the background. And, after a long 2 years of Covid, I felt like everyone needed some relaxation as well.
What options did we have in Mexico? The obvious choice was Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Tulum. And lots of off the beaten track gems, so many options!
I’m a little bit more inclined towards adventure. So I needed a location that could offer a little bit more than just sun and sand. With that in mind, I started researching some adventure options.
That’s when I ran into this little guy online:
This is what I was looking for! Swimming with a whale shark in the open ocean, sign me up. This is the actual whale shark that we were able to hang out with in La Paz, Mexico.
Once I found this opportunity I was locked into a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico. I think when I booked, it was only a month before our anticipated trip, now I had to find somewhere to stay.
A friend of mine recommended a resort in Los Cabos. I went online to see if they still had availability for our group, they did, sold !! And when we arrived, I knew this would be acceptable:
We ended up staying at the Playa Grande Resort in Los Cabos for 10 days. The resort itself had a good selection of swimming pools, hot tubs, and a beautiful beach, mission accomplished. Fyi, the resort itself was amazing. The staff at the resort give it all to make sure that you have a wonderful time. We were impressed! And let’s not forget these guys:
I think happy hour at the resort started at 10 am in the morning. Who am I to question a local tradition š
That beach that you can see above was an added bonus. The only downside was we couldn’t swim in the ocean. The rip tides along this beach are notorious. The beach itself drops off dramatically and gets incredibly deep just off the shore.
Sadly, tourists that have ventured in have been swept away by the local riptide. So only toes and feet are allowed in the water at this location. As tempting as it was to dive in, I watched the locals swim instead.
Maybe it was a good thing that we weren’t allowed to swim off the beach. This turned out to be a marine super highway. Every day, humpback whales, dolphins, seals, flying manta rays, sea turtles would swim by and put on a show. The humpback’s were so close to the beach, you could almost reach out and touch them. I’ve never seen this type of display from the beach, it was incredible.
We didn’t have to leave the beach for entertainment, but, I had some excursions planned so we did! Day 2, time to get the adrenaline pumping. We had a 90 minute ride to the site, only I knew what was coming.
I had booked an adventure with Cabo Adventures.
Rappelling from sheer rock walls, zip lining through extreme canopies tandem style and upside down before swinging high over the canyon on the āPendulum!ā The grand finale was a zip line called “The Superman”, the longest and fastest line in Mexico. 100 kph, and over 1,200 meters, with breathtaking views over a Unesco protected biosphere reserve.
My only comment on the Superman, is you wear a helmet, but, at 100 kph head first over a rocky canyon, it makes you contemplate a few things on the way down. Like, did I lock the door before I left Kits, what am I going to wear for dinner tonight, did I just swallow a bug? Don’t worry, I survived!
For the next few days, we relaxed around the resort, checking out some local restaurants and walking on the beach. We needed to rest up before the next activity. The restaurants were amazing, great food, fresh salsa and guacamole. You know those commercials, “Avocados from Mexico”, well, in country they are amazing. The locals were very friendly and outgoing. They were happy to have some Canadians back in town.
We had to get up early for our 2-hour drive to La Paz, Mexico. Whale Sharks call this community home during the winter months from October to May. Whale Sharks are the largest sharks in the world, they can grow to be up to 40 feet long. Our tour guide told us that they feed on plankton, not humans. And their throat is only big enough to ingest something the size of a tennis ball, good to know!
La Paz has a marine santuary. They allow a few boats at a time to venture in and investigate. When it was our turn, we had 2 hours to locate a Shark and jump in. The seas were a bit choppy that day, we thought it might be difficult to spot. Not so when you are looking for a 20-40 foot shark!
Some of the tourists on our excursion thought this was going to be a light swim in a swimming pool. Not on this day. It was windy, the ocean was choppy, and you had to swim hard to keep up. We were provided with a snorkel, mask, fins, and a wet suit. On the drive home I heard a number of people complaining to the operator about the rough conditions. They weren’t pleased with mother nature. We on the other hand had a blast.
Our last adventure was nearby. We walked over to Los Cabos Marina and rented a boat to take us over to Lovers Beach. An iconic spot in Los Cabos. The cost was about $15 US per person there and back. It’s a scenic trip out. The beach itself has a great view of Cabo, and you can swim off Lovers beach. The other side is called Divorce beach. As the name entails, jump in at your own risk. It’s a great spot to visit for the afternoon.
This wasn’t the end of our adventure. We were still in the middle of Covid and had to get tested at the resort. We marched down to the testing center, in the resort, the day before we were scheduled to fly out. We would get our test results the following day.
We packed our bags the next morning and went down to the lobby to get our results. Good news, all negative, oh wait, maybe not. The concierge looked again and said sorry, 2 of you have positive Covid results! Not what we had hoped for. A Doctor came by to give us the news. They had a resort next door where we did our time. Another 10 days in Mexico, not a bad outcome all in all.
The only problem was it wasn’t me. I got to fly home, damn! I had already had Covid once already, and it wasn’t too friendly with me, so I suppose that was a good thing. The Doctor was great actually. They used common sense. The direction was, you have this huge empty beach at your disposal, you might as well use it. Sounds good to me, except I was flying home.
And, as you all know. Vancouver was -15 and snowing when I arrived at YVR. Then, I had to go through the mandatory testing again when I landed. I was feeling fine, no worries.
I got back to Kits, looked out the window, and wondered what had I done to deserve this. It gets better, the next day I get a call that I tested positive. And, all the symptoms returned shortly after. Here we go again. I missed another 10 days in Mexico by about 8 hours I figure. That’s the end of my story. Another 3 weeks of headaches, coughing, lack of energy, and cold temps outside. I was seriously thinking about just going into hibernation until the spring. It was worth every cough though.
About the Author:
The above article Mexico: My Adventures in Cabo San Lucas was provided by Regan Pyke, a Vancouver Realtor and (Part-Time Tour Guide), and a leader in the field of sales, marketing, and real estate investing. Regan can be reached via email at [email protected] or by phone at 778-228-2448.
Thinking of buying or selling your Vancouver West, or Kitsilano home or Condo? I have a real passion for buying and selling Real Estate, as well as marketing & real estate investing. Iād love to share my expertise!
