In seeking solace from the -40 degrees Celsius weather we are having here, what better day to reminisce about my vacation away from our cruel, ruthless snow storms and wind chills than now. To be honest, my body has already reacclimatized to our severe winter weather and what seems to be an indefinite amount of frost and snow (I am Canadian, after all). To quote a wise meme, “The air hurts my face. Why am I living where the air hurts my face?” Oy, quoting wise memes instead of wise men is me trying really hard to get with the times #oldtimer.
I have recently come back from a one-week family vacation in Cabo where there was no shortage in sun, sand, food and booze – particularly Mango Tangos, Bahama Mamas, Tropical Premiums, Mariachis, and of course Tequila. You know, all the basic needs of a 1st-world traveler in a 3rd-world country. I kid. All I personally need is good company, clean accommodations, and plenty of things to explore. Check, check, and check. Needless to say, I mostly thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Our all-inclusive resort of choice was Riu Santa Fe. Overall, this was a good resort. Great service staff, clean rooms and facilities, and plenty of shows and activities. My only qualm was that the food wasn’t as I expected. I have been to an all-inclusive resort in Cuba and have heard how bland their food was compared to Mexico’s. The main reason being the trade limits of the US embargo on Cuba. Contrarily enough, I found this to be the opposite. That’s not to say that maybe one resort was just better than the other because our meal excursion to San Jose in Mexico proved to be quite deliciouso.
For activities, we really only spent extra money on sea-dooing and massages on the beach for Valentine’s Day. I’m lucky to have an awesome (future) mum-in-law who is more of a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to tours and sightseeing. However, I am still really bummed out that I didn’t get to see my whales! My obsession with the whales stems back from a trip to Churchill that I have been pining over since I read that you can swim with hundreds of them on the Hudson Bay. Wonderballs, I know. Anyway, I found out that these whales actual swim from Churchill to Cabo at this time and just knew that it was meant to be. Well apparently it was not my destiny to see the whales just yet (UPDATE: I looked into this more and found out they migrate from the Arctic which is nowhere near Churchill… Definitely NOT meant to be). I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $100 for a tour to the Baja Peninsula where the Grays and Humpbacks roam. I’m sure it would have been cheaper for just a boat ride less the tour. I mean, I can do without the commentary anyway since these are more often misses than hits for me, historically speaking.
Anyway, Lover’s Beach and Divorce Beach are highly recommended places for “rock climbing”, swimming, snorkelling, chilling, and “cave-exploring”. To explain my quoted activities, “rock-climbing” was actually climbing a really rocky hill (or a tor) and “cave-exploring” was really just exploring a nook in the said hill AKA nature’s hole in the wall.
San Jose was among our other excursion. We bussed our way to the small town, missing stops along the way, but what’s travelling without a little unchartered adventure? Besides that, the locals were beyond friendly and offered their advice and directions without us even approaching them. Once we arrived at our destination, we visited the botanical garden consisting mainly of cacti from around the world. I’m really glad we went because I was able to put my camera to good use and was later rewarded with my favourite pictures of the trip. They had bike rentals which, in my opinion, is the way to go. Unfortunately, I was only able to use it to find the washroom since I was low on Mexican pesos. We ended this excursion with the Art Walk where we shopped for souvenirs in a district of quaint gallery shops.
Other than that and visiting Downtown Cabo, we mostly hung out by the pool since the beach had a strong undertow. However, by the end of the week, we were swimming in the ocean, riding the tides. We even managed to get the whole family into the “dangerous” water. I know Jon had a grand old time with it – rolling around in the sand with the waves pulling him out to sea then back to shore analogous to a conflicted Ariel choosing between land or sea. Yup – my man is a total catch, ladies (I obviously couldn’t resist a good pun).
This is getting pretty long so I will conclude that I had an amazing time with amazing people in an average resort. It was nice seeing my boyfriend’s brother again (I’ve only seen him twice in my life) and meeting his girlfriend and kids. Also, any extra time spent with Jon, his mum, and her boyfriend is always a plus. It was so nice and hot over there that I was kind of hoping that it would warm up here by the time we returned. In this case, wishful thinking got me nowhere and it is back to my cold, frigid reality.
