East Cape - Mexico

The area known as the East Cape, which is the stretch of coast just north of San Jose del Cabo, (SJC) is filled with beautiful secluded beaches, dusty arroyos and dramatic rock formations. The road snakes along the coastline above the sea, each new turn reveals another incredible vista of Baja beauty (as well as an assortment of cows and donkeys wandering along the road).




There are plenty of places where one can camp on a deserted beach or better yet on one of the small wooded hills (which offers sanctuary from the heat of the day) adjacent to the beach. There are no facilities to speak of except for a few “Palapas” on the beach but some people apparently spend the entire winter here. The area offers some of the finest fishing, surfing and wilderness camping anywhere.

About one hour into our journey, we came upon the Crossroads Country Club, a unique bar/restaurant. This is not your typical posh eatery like those in SJC; it is rather a small outdoor place consisting of a dozen or so plastic chairs under a simple roof structure overlooking the beach. The special of the day was a “bouillabaisse” which just happens to be one of our all time favorite things to eat which was served with warm butter/herb bread. The food was excellent especially with an ice-cold Corona.

Small communities consisting of mostly foreigners also dot the coast. It is surprising how many people are willing to spend large sums to build their dream home in an area without the most basic facilities such as electricity, city water and phone. However, some of them use solar power. We even saw a few satellite dishes. These people have really opted to disconnect from the day-to-day reality endured by the rest of humanity.

Another 45 minutes up the road brought us to Cabo Pulmo, which is the best known for its coral reef (the only one in the Sea of Cortez). We checked into the Cabo Pulmo Resort, which really is not a resort in the usual sense of the word, rather a collection of bungalows accommodating from two to eight people. Ours had a queen size bed and a single bed plus a kitchen and a nice bathroom. Very comfortable. Also included was a covered deck located above our bedroom with a view of the sea and the mountains. The perfect place for a glass of wine after a hard day of traveling.



We still had plenty of time to wander down to the beach and to snorkel out to the reef itself (although the water was rather choppy and cool). However, we persevered long enough to see a few fish before deciding to enjoy the sunshine and the beach instead. We were told that mornings were usually the best time to snorkel, as the water is often very calm earlier in the day.

After a quick beer on the beach and a shower, we headed off for dinner one of the five small restaurants. Dinner was okay (fresh fish) but nothing compared to the lunch we had at the “Crossroads”.

We were in bed early since there is not much to do after the sun goes down in Cabo Pulmo. No wild nightlife here. Nevertheless, we managed to have a bit of excitement when a strong wind came up during the night and I had to secure the patio furniture on the rooftop patio to keep it from blowing away. Unfortunately, the strong wind ruined any chance we had of going snorkeling the next morning as well. We opted to walk around the town before continuing along East Cape road.

After having lunch on the beach (we had to eat in the Jeep because of the wind), we opted to take the main highway back to SJC and stop en route at the town of Santiago, which we understood, had “thermal baths”. After asking several different people, we were finally given directions, which turned out to be for a different, site altogether. It is called “Cascada del Sol de Mayo” and is located in the mountains about 15 kms from Santiago. It consists of a small waterfall and a natural pool for swimming in one of the rivers originating high up in the mountains. The water in the pool was quite cold but not the waterfall, which was surprisingly warm. The people here gave us directions to the “thermal baths” which turned out to be approx. 10 kms on the other side of Santiago in a place called Santa Rita.

After getting more directions, we finally found the thermal area, which consisted of three small pools containing very hot water bubbling forth from the rocks. The water was so hot that we could not sit in the first pool, the second pool was just right and the third pool was too cool (sounds a bit, like the story of three little bears in knows). As an added bonus, there were many small fish in the second pool, which removed any dead skin from your feet and legs. A very ticklish process.


We then headed for SJC, home some 100 kms away, and drove through the tropic of cancer, which is the half way point between the equator and the north pole. We had just enough time to take a quick shower before heading out for dinner at Dante’s Restaurant, which is a restaurant we wanted to try, but we needed a car to get there. This place is a “Canadian hang out” where the food and service are excellent (especially the pork ribs).

That was our last side trip from SJC as we are returning to Ottawa on March 31. Too bad but we are now looking forward to going to the cottage (never a dull moment).

San Jose del Cabo (SJDC)

February 8, 2010

San Jose del Cabo/Mexico

We went back to the town square in SJDC and took a few pictures including one of the wrought-iron bandstand and Cathedral. We also took one of the Shooter’s Bar where we’ll go to watch the Olympics on a big screen TV and enjoy a few beers at 10 pesos/$0.85 each.

On a Friday morning, we walked around the ‘art district’ of SJDC and we were pleasantly surprised with the quality and quantity of the artwork. The art district is filled with galleries representing the works of 100s of artists, including paintings in watercolor, acrylics, oils plus bronze sculptures. In this district, there are also beautiful old hotels and restaurants, which have been completely refurbished. Every Thursday evening, the galleries open their doors to visitors and offer free drinks/snacks in order to encourage sales.

Every Saturday morning, there is an Organic Market located in a park on the other side of the art district (1/2 hr walk from condo) where hundreds of venders sell everything from jewellery, paintings and leather goods to fresh organic veggies, chicken and eggs, etc.

There was a comedy show Saturday night on an island in the middle of the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, which we wanted to attend. Since it was too far to walk, we rented a 1991 Dodge Spirit from a Cdn fellow living in an adjacent condo complex. At a rate of $80/2 days, it was a cheap transportation…


It was a beautiful setting and a warm evening surrounded by multi million $ yachts. We brought our dinner/drinks for the evening and luckily, there were two folding chairs in the car, which we used. The comedians were good but not great. We met some nice people and had a few good laughs. All and all we had a good time.


The next day we drove to ‘The Encantado’ neighborhood/beach (20 min. drive) where we saw multi million $ estates/condos. We had brought our cooler and had lunch on the beach. David tried his luck at fishing but unfortunately did not catch anything (again). We went for a swim since it was safe.


Since we had the car, we took the opportunity to visit some of the other neighborhoods around SJDC and were quite impressed with some of the places we saw, as well as the prices. There are some very WEALTHY people in Los Cabos… For example, a beachfront two bed/2bath condo sells for $750,000 US, and that is nothing compared to the $10 million villas, which are quite common around here.

Thats all for now.

Los Cabos, Mexico 2010

San Jose del Cabo

We are now staying in a beautiful 2 bedroom/2bathroom condo in San Jose, overlooking the Mayan Golf Course and a magnificient view of the ocean. The condo is very well decorated and very quiet. Since we are located in a protected bay, we can see whales leaping out of the sparkling ocean or just spouting (clearing their blowholes) while they are migrating to mate and give birth to their calves. Once we had a breathtaking spectacle of whales breaching, when a whale propelles itself out of the water and through the air to land on its back with a splash. Very impressive!!



Each day is more beautiful than the last, with bright sunny warm days with hardly a cloud in the sky. (+- 28C daytime and +- 15C at night). While the rays of the sun are very hot, it can actually feel cool in the shade since there is very low humidity. At night the cool temperatures make for great sleeping. No need for AC, which is wonderful.

We are very happy with the location of the condo since it is a 15 min. walk to downtown San Jose as well as a 15 min. walk, in the other direction, to a large shopping/grocery store (Wal-Mart style). You would not believe the view of the ocean that we have when coming out of the shopping centre. No where else have we ever seen such a splendid site from a grocery store.

Almost daily we buy all our fresh fruit, veggies, fish and meat at the ‘Mega ‘ store. While we had a rental car for a week, we took the opportunity to drive to San Lucas (22 miles from San Jose) to stock up at COSTCO where we were even able to find blueberries, raspberries and blackberries just like at home. In fact, a lot of the products (like the Kirklands brand) are available there as well as beer, wine, etc. So what’s not to like about the place...

We bought an old fashion charcoal BBQ which David has now mastered. We asked the property manager of the condo to buy a patio table which he delivered a few days ago. We already have had people over for a beautiful lunch on the balcony.
There is a big pool with 2 covered areas (palapas), and a beautiful seating area with wet bar/stools for get togethers. We have not used the pool too often as the water is quite cold. The only things lacking in the condo are the satellite TV and internet access. However, we are renting TV series that we never watched at home from a local BlockBuster. As for the internet, we found several places where we can go.


Los Cabos is a big tourist destination with nearly 2 million visitors each year. Most of the locals speak some English, which makes our life easier but makes it hard to learn Spanish. It is a beautiful place to stay but it cannot be considered an authentic Mexican town.

The area contains some of Mexico’s most lavish resorts, five major championship golf courses and master planned communities with multi-million $ homes.

David brought his fishing rod and has gone fishing twice, on the beach, sort of in front of the condo, and has caught 1 fish so far. He plans on taking a panga (23’ boat used by local fisherman) to improve his success rate but is waiting for the water to warm up and the fishing improves.

The beach in front of the condo (10 min.walk) is not safe for swimming because there are big waves crashing onto the beach creating dangerous undertows. However we went to a local beach (with some American neighbours with a van) which is safe for swimming where this is a rock formation, soft sand and lots of fish to see when snorkling.

We have explored a good portion of the old San Jose, with its beautiful main square adorned with a wrought iron band stand and shaded benches, a cathedral which was build on the site of an early mission. There are plenty of good restaurants which we are just starting to sample as well as lots of art galleries, shops, cafes, etc. This coming Saturday we are planning on going to the organic market with our friend from the Consulate. The market, located just behind the old San Jose can accommodate up to 150 vendors where we can find just about anything under the sun. It should be fun. We will write about it on our next ‘blog’.

La Paz

Last Sunday, we rented a car for a week and went travelling north of Los Cabos. We left early Monday morning, made a lunch, and drove through the mountains for about 1 hour until we reached Los Barrilles. We walked on the beach looking at the beautiful Mexican houses and less beautiful campsite. Pretty little town with more gringos , (baby boomers/hippies driving ATVs on the main road) than locals. Not really our style; too quiet, too remote, nothing to do but beach and fishing.

After lunch we kept driving to La Paz where we stayed in a hotel near the ‘Malecon’ for 2 nights. We had an excellent dinner at the La Pazta restaurant (Italian/Swiss); the trendiest restaurant in town! The following morning we took an all day tour to Isala Esperitu Santo and Los Islotes to swim with the sea lions. It is the largest sea lion colony in the Baja. There were stunning rock formations (whale and mask) and we stopped for lunch on a remote beach.

These sea lions are wild animals and blowing bubbles in your face is their sign of warning, not of play, which we took very seriously.
It was a wonderful day, with lots of sunshine,very little wind/waves. On the way to the island we saw a whale shark (just beside our boat) as well as a school of dolphins swimming under and around the boat.

That evening we had dinner in a local restaurant with a local singer (not the typical Mexican music for tourists, but very local and very very nice).

San Carlos

The next morning we drove 3 hrs through beautiful desert mountains with plenty of cactus and occasional awsome vistas of the sea on the way to San Carols/Bay of Magdalena for the whale watching. We stayed at ‘The Alcatraz Hotel’ in the middle of a very small and dusty Mexican fishing village. The Bay of Magdalena is a reserve where around 350 grey whales come between January and March to mate and give birth to their calves. At 8 :30 a.m. on a very cloudy day we left for our excursion with a young Mexican university couple who spoke little English. The water was quite rough and once in a while there was a drizzle (very unsual for this time of year, we were told), and of course very windy.



After being on the boat for 45 minutes, we reached the mouth of the bay and saw several whales swimming close to the boat. Of course, every time we wanted to take a picture, the wales dissapeared below the waves/water. We saw plenty of whales, took dozens of pictures, but only 3 showing their backs. By far, the highlight of this excursion was when a very young calf came within a yard of the boat to look us over. The calf kept swimming around and under the boat until its mother called him home... Unfortunately, all that happened so quickly and we were so excited that non of the pictures that we took captured the calf and mother. Apparently February is the best month to watch the mothers and calves swimming, so unfortunately we were a bit early to see the big show.
After 3 hrs of whale watching we had lunch in the only fishing village on Magdalena Island with of 110 adults and 30 children. Our lunch consisted of very big shrimp provided for free by our tour guide. After lunch we headed back to San Carlos where we offered the young Mexican couple a lift back to La Paz before continuing on to Todos Santos.














Todos Santos:

Todos Santos is not only a cultural oasis in the Baja, it is an oasis in the true sense of the word, and it enjoys an almost continuous water supply from the peaks of the surrounding mountains. The town consists of colonial style structures filled with shops and galleries and cafes.

We decided to stay at The Hotel California which is the source of inspiration for the Eagle’s song of the same name. A few years back it was a dilapidated guesthouse, but after an extensive renovation, it is now the hottest place to stay in the area. We had the second biggest room of the hotel, i.e. a suite, with 2 balconies; a small balcony with a view of the Church and a larger balcony overlooking an outdoor terrace and seating area around the pool. The décor of the hotel is a fusion of jewel-tone colors with eclectic Mexican and Moroccan accents.


It is now owned by a couple from Vancouver and we spoke to Ms Schreyer, the co-owner, whose father’s cousin is Ed Schreyer, ex-GG in Ottawa and ex High Commissioner in Australia when we were posted there… talk about a small world…

We had dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant; ‘Restaurante Tre Galline’ (stands for ‘the 3 chickens). We spoke to Angelo/the owner from northern Italy and he made sure that we had a fine Italian meal, which we did. The next day we visited many of the shops/galleries and Lucille bought some organic beauty products from Heartsease, a spa boutique owned by a Cdn woman from Winnipeg…who lives there 6 months of the year. After lunch we headed for home, which was 1 ½ hr drive along a single lane mountainous road following a bunch of double trailer trucks…, Passing was almost out of the question, very dangerous and slow, so we took our sweet time getting home.

We were very happy to get back to the peace and quiet of our condominium. The next day David took his clubs to the golf course, arranged to store them for the duration of our stay, and played his first round of golf, which he enjoyed very much. He did not want to rent an electric cart, so he walked the entire 18 holes. Congratulations David.

That is all for now folks, we will keep you posted.

David and Lucille

Carnival in Merida

We decided to go to Merida on Saturday February 21st and stay overnight to watch the parade. We booked a room in a hotel with a view on the street where the parade was taking place. Unfortunately there was Plexiglas outside of our patio doors so we could not see the parade very well, however, we were very happy to have that Plexiglas once the parade was over because it reduced the noise tremendously.

We took the local bus at 11:00 from Progreso and arrived downtown at 12:00 to meet some friends for lunch at an old hacienda a couple of blocks away. After lunch we went to our hotel, and had a good swim in the pool (water was very cold), spent some time around the pool and went back to our room for an afternoon siesta. The hotel had a wonderful indoor garden and lots of antiques (see photo).















We went out for dinner before the parade, at a lovely restaurant and had typical Mayan food, which was excellent. We looked around a bit and then decided to come back to our hotel where we bought our tickets to reserve our chairs to watch the parade. The tickets were $2.50/each, and sat on the last row (there were 3 rows of chairs). See photo.




















Merida´s Carnival is one of the five most important in the entire Mexican republic. The theme of this year´s Carnival was Carnival of Cinema. It ran from February 18, when bad humor and moods were symbolically burned, and ended on Tuesday February 24 with humor, happiness and joy in the hearts of all those who took part. There were 110 groups, which included dancers, parade floats, marching bands, lots of very loud music, pretty girls, etc. (see photos). We had a really great time (it was our first Carnival) and enjoyed our break away from the constant wind in Chicxulub.

Uxmal and the Puuc Route

Friday, February 6, 2009

We took a trip along the Convent Route which is off the beaten path and into the heart of the Yucatan. We visited Mayan villages and ruins, colonial churches, cathedrals and convents, courtyards and cenotes (large freshwater sinkholes) dating back centuries. Going through one of the villages we came across a market with a remarkable mural (see picture).














We also stopped in Ticul which is know for its pottery, went into lots of stores but have not found what we are looking for. We then went to Uxmal, which is the most memorable Maya ruins in the Yucatán, it contains some of the best –preserved architecture (between A.D. 850 and 900).

We were planning on seeing the sound and light show but it was cancelled because of repairs. We stayed at the Misión Hotel in Uxmal with our room facing the ruins. Quite a sight. The next morning we spent 2 hrs visiting the ruins, which were beautiful with the lattice work, the numerous masks, serpents and massive buildings (see pictures). We then followed the Puuc Route and saw numerous other ruins. As usual, the weather has been more than beautiful every day, sunny and very warm (+ - 28C).

Campeche City

February 2, 2009

Campeche city is the capital of the Campeche state which is approx. 2.5 hrs from where we are staying. Campeche earned its UN World Heritage designation primarily for its network of city walls, bastions and forts.














Most have been meticulously restored and contain small but excellent museums. We walked on the city walls as well as visited replicas of daily life within the forts. (see picture of Serge defending the fort, and David taking care of the daily water ration!!!).













We also saw some very impressive Mayan artifacts.


















We went wandering around the central plaza and city center where we found a number of historical churches and buildings worth peeking into and looked at the colorful facades and cobblestoned streets along the way. This city must get a lot of rain based on the height of the sidewalks. (See pictures)


















Every weekend, the city streets around the central plaza are closed for pedestrians only, restaurants place their tables outdoors, food and trinket vendors set up stalls, and bingo games get going in front of the Cathedral. Both evenings, the city hosts cultural events; typically a concert and people fill the park benches to enjoy the show. The weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor event, warm and windy. It was a perfect opportunity for us to stroll around the plaza and to get a sense of how Campechanos enjoy their city.

We also walked around the fruit and vegetable markets and the fish and meat one (stinky…) as well as the Malecon (very wide seaside boardwalk) under a very warm and humid sun. (not complaining though)

We stayed overnight in a very nice renovated small hotel, 2 blocks from the central plaza so that we could take full advantage of the evening activities. We also had a very nice meal at one of the local restaurants followed by a drink on the central plaza. On the way back we stopped at Calcehtok caves which Lucille did not visit because she does not like caves…

Merida and Celestún

January 30, 2009

As soon as we moved into our new home (see pictures) we asked the owner if we could have a BBQ. A couple of days later he delivered a nice little charcoal BBQ which we use almost every night to cook fish/steaks/chicken. It has been wonderful to cook on this BBQ.

Dave and Serge have been doing a lot of fishing from the beach. So far, their efforts have resulted in very few fish but they did manage to catch 2 pelicans. The pelicans were delicious…just kidding, in fact they were released uninjured (and undoubtedly much wiser).

Serge was able to arrange for a local fisherman to take both of us out fishing in his small boat. We left at 06.00 a.m. and came back at 11.30 a.m. We caught a few very nice grouper plus some smaller fish. At first, we both tried using hand lines but the only one who was catching fish was the fisherman. Not as easy as it looks!

Fortunately David had brought his own fishing rod and he was soon using it instead. He was able to hook a rather nice grouper (Mero) which gave him a good fight. We paid the fisherman $40 Cdn and kept just enough fish for dinner. All–in-all a nice morning on the water.














On Jan. 28 we drove to Celestún (2 hrs drive) to see the flamingos which are the biggest and pinkest in the world. They need to eat 12 hrs/day . If we scare them and make them fly, they loose important energy and can also brake their necks and wings. There were literally thousand of them enjoying the shrimp (from which their colour derives) rich waters of the lagoon. The boat tour included a trip through the mangroves (see pictures), very pretty and unusual.



















There is not much else to see in Celestún, although there is a nice beach where we had a couple of beers (temperature was very humid and 30C)not complaining, though. The temperature is a little hotter on this side of the Gulf of Mexido since there is less wind.














We also stopped in UMAN, at the central market which was filled with locals doing their shopping. UMAN has to be the town with the most tricycles (see picture) (not the kiddy type but adult size) both motorized and pedal power. It was really something to see all of the people being driven about in these contraptions. Actually, they are a smart rig for people with limited means.













We went to Merida (1/2 hr drive) visited the murals at the Governor´s Palace which displayed the history of the Yucatan. We also walked around the historical centre and the colonial street, as well as visited various huge local arts and crafts markets… There were A LOT of traditional dresses and clothes that are still worn by the locals today.

On another day we went to Merida shopping at SEARS, of all places, beautiful shopping centre (smaller version of St-Laurent shopping centre) since we needed another piece of luggage. We even had lunch in the food court (we felt at home) .
This week-end we are planning on going to Campeche and staying overnight. More on that trip in our next post.