Cabo San Lucas?

[SayGudday]

Gudday! My wife and I will be visiting Cabo next week (flying sadly, not sailing) and was looking for some local information. Things to do, must sees, etc. We are not very touristy but we like historical and cultural stuff. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. If anyone is living down there, maybe we can meet up for lunch or a beer.

[Coyote]

Get out of Dodge.

If you have a car, wander up the peninsula. How much time do you have and how much mobility?

[SayGudday]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Get out of Dodge.

If you have a car, wander up the peninsula. How much time do you have and how much mobility?

Got about a week and a car is not problem. We've been lucky enough to be given a free timeshare to stay in, which is why we are going.

[Coyote]

Todos los Santos is pretty and interesting. San Jose del Cabo and Los Barriles are both nice enough and close for a day trip.

If you had time, my favorite places in Baja California Sur are Mulege, Loreto, and La Paz. All of Conception bay is pretty and quiet. These might be more than you want to do on a day trip as far as distance goes.

La Paz is 2 hours. Loreto is 6 hours and Conception is further, so you would really have to be committed.

Los Barriles is just an hour and a half and will give you a small taste of what Baja California will be when you get away from the big tourist cities. Los Barriles isn't a "real" Mexican town, but a lot of ex-pat Americans and Canadians live there and at least they live there.

Cabo san Lucas is good for drinking, hookers, and fishing. If you are a hard partying type, there it all is. It feels a lot like Tijuana to me, but with better beaches.

Behind that there is still a nice Mexican town somewhere. Take the time to look for it.

All in all, I'm jealous.

[SayGudday]

Originally Posted by Coyote

Todos los Santos is pretty and interesting. San Jose del Cabo and Los Barriles are both nice enough and close for a day trip.

If you had time, my favorite places in Baja California Sur are Mulege, Loreto, and La Paz. All of Conception bay is pretty and quiet. These might be more than you want to do on a day trip as far as distance goes.

La Paz is 2 hours. Loreto is 6 hours and Conception is further, so you would really have to be committed.

Los Barriles is just an hour and a half and will give you a small taste of what Baja California will be when you get away from the big tourist cities. Los Barriles isn't a "real" Mexican town, but a lot of ex-pat Americans and Canadians live there and at least they live there.

Cabo san Lucas is good for drinking, hookers, and fishing. If you are a hard partying type, there it all is. It feels a lot like Tijuana to me, but with better beaches.

Behind that there is still a nice Mexican town somewhere. Take the time to look for it.

All in all, I'm jealous.

Your feedback really is very much appreciated and I'm significantly more excited about this trip now than I was before. Can't wait to see it all for myself.

[Auzzee]

Me too!

[Coyote]

It is probably worth taking some time to look at Google Earth and zoom in on some of those areas. Baja California is very dry and mostly empty. The Sea of Cortez is full of life and is beautiful. The stark contrast between the dry land and the abundant sea is compelling, at least to an old desert rat like me.

There is a lot of nothing out there. This is one of the things I like best about it. I could easily find a cove or beach where I could feel truly alone.

There is usually good street food on the towns and often people create little restaurants in or attached to their homes. The older generation of Mexican women are amazing cooks and can create delicious food out of almost nothing.

Be careful of the water. This is not the same as it was 30 years ago where you REALLY had to be careful. Water served is reverse osmosis treated and is good. You can buy good water for pennies. But don't drink water you don't know the source of. If the locals drink it, you are probably good.

Mexicans are a diverse bunch. There are a lot of really good people down there, but there are a few scoundrels too. Most people have an attitude that your business is your business and none of theirs. It is really a very free, independent society. I've run into many small acts of kindness like people sending me home made food when mine looked less than appetizing.

Some percent of the "Mexicans" you find on vacation are really Americans of Mexican decent on vacation from California.

Be a little careful on the roads. Things are better than they used to be but dangers are not always well marked. I don't know what your driving experience is but coming from California where EVERYTHING is marked, it took a little time to get used to. I've seen washed out roads that just end. I met one guy who drove off one in the middle of the night and his right front wheel landed on a rock. This was a pretty tough 4x4 truck and the rim was crushed. I don't ever drive any faster than I can easily stop by the end of my vision.

If you see someone in trouble, help. Everyone gets stranded sometimes.

Dirt roads sometimes have terrible tire cutting rocks. I've several times seen people with two sidewall blowouts in a few miles and it has happened to me once. There are tire stores "yanteras" all over and you can usually buy a used tire for 20 bucks and get back on the road. Most of the tires are thrown away in California and there is no point in buying expensive tires for dirt roads. Some of the guys working there are doofuses and some are true geniuses with tools. You never know.

Almost all gas is "Pemex" and is government controlled, but the smaller towns often have places to buy gas. Always start out full, but if you get stuck, ask around. Some guy might sell gas out of a 55 gallon drum in his yard.

Mexican time is different. Sometimes you just have to wait. "Yes, we have gas here! It's sold at the Pemex over there. They will have some on Tuesday, if the truck comes."

Pacifico is the best beer.

[redbopeep]

Coyote--lots of great advice there. On the tires, take a tire repair kit with you when going to Mexico. We've done extensive backroad driving trips up and down the west coast of Mexico and can say that you'll pick up thorns and things which will give you a flat. Can't say we ever got a cut by a rock we did have some big thorns end up in the sidewalls as well as the tires. A little trip down one road to a beach resulted in more than 10 thorns--3 or so in the sidewalls. The lifesaver was the "plug" type patch kit. You take out the offending object, insert the plug (w/rubber cement) wait a bit and go on. Even works on small damage to sidewalls. The other thing you need for this, of course, is a cheap bike air pump. Nothing electrical, just a foot pump will do.

[SayGudday]

Well we just got back from the airport and, according to the man from the ASA, we are NOT going to Cabo San Lucas today =(

[Coyote]

SayGudday - I'm sorry to hear that.

Peep - I agree wholeheartedly on the plugs and compressor for a Baja road trip. Those have saved me many times with thorns and cactus. It's the flint-like rocks that are the beast. They sometimes just slash your sidewalls.

As far as patching sidewalls - I've done it out in the sticks and have made it back to a llantera, but I would be very careful driving one on the highway for very far. Not that I haven't done it under duress.

'Course the cheapy tires you can buy aren't much better.

When I've used real off-road tires I have done much better.

[SayGudday]

Thought I'd update the post to tell y'all what we DID do since you were all nice enough to take the time to give me some input. Since we weren't allowed to fly (thank you ASA) we decided to take a road trip up the coast. We had already driven San Francisco to Seattle so we decided to load up the truck and drive Los Angeles to San Francisco. Great time was had by all, especially when we got to Jack London's bar and made some new friends. Thanks again for all your input. it didn't go to waste, I posted your suggestions and feedback on my blog so at least other travelers could benefit from your experiences and knowledge.

[anilkumar]

ohh it was sad that you couldn't board the plane but I must say it would have been lots of fun on the road with your wife..Its good you had a great time...

[Trim50]

I highly recommend doing a day fishing trip out of Cabo. The fishing on the outside of the arches is some of the best in the world. I caught a 40lb yellow fin and a 210lb striper. Everyone else on the boat caught something substantial to take home. We worth the day out.

[anilkumar]

I agree to the moderator..that fishing would really be fun out there..and at this age the more time you spent together in making fun the more you will enjoy life and be contented through out the life time..

[SayGudday]

The road trip was really great. I got to see my friends along the way, including some lunatics (great guys but maybe a little whacko) who are building their own 60 foot catamaran in the San Rafael marina. It's been a hot topic in certain sailing circles, has anyone read the story or seen the interviews? It's really an inspiring and somewhat frightening story.

[pats]

I love Cabo San Lucas, I was there 3 years ago. I highly recommend doing fishing or scuba diving activitie.

Have Fun!