Vacation 2013: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

9.24.2013 - 9.29.2013 

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico 

At the end of last month, Cory and I were blessed to go to Cabo with my in-laws. 

Waking up early to head to PDX wasn't difficult. We had 5 days ahead of us of just sunshine, pools, and chips and salsa.

Our week forecast looked pretty nice. And the weather we had was even hotter than expected. 

After 2 plane rides we arrived. 

We drove about 20 minutes from the airport to our resort in a shuttle van. Along the way we dropped off two other couples at their resorts. It was so fun seeing where everyone was staying. The anticipation of seeing our resort building and building with every stop.

Day 1
The first night we spent exploring the resort and trying out one of the happy hours at Girasoles. 

Sex on the beach and blended Margaritas were enjoyed by us all. As well as my long awaited taste of chips, salsa, and guacamole.   Heaven.

That night we swam a bit and tried a second restaurant out for appetizers at De Cortez. I had the best lamb raviolis with a dill mushroom foam sauce.  
The views from the restaurants were all stunning. Made us feel like we were on a movie set. 

We explored the rest of the resort and checked out the locations of all the pools.

I couldn't get over how beautiful the resort was. Because we came during the low season we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.

 

Day 2 

We woke up rather early and walked down to the beach to enjoy some early morning sun in the hammocks. The walk to the beach was so close. I seriously think Cory could have stayed right in that spot all day. I couldn't help but bask in all the beauty that surrounded us.

After the hammocks we had a breakfast buffet at Tomatoes. We stuffed our bellies then headed to the poolside, just in time for a happy hour. The theme of this day seemed to be food, pool, drinks, repeat. During one of our pool times a pelican was flying over the beach. It looked so beautiful and majestic. As we watched it we noticed it was coming towards to the resort. To most everyones joy it landed in the pool and floated around for about 20 minutes! As guests we were all so excited by this experience. 

After too many chips and Mai Tai's we all decided a Siesta was in order. We headed back to our rooms and slept. Wow did that feel good. It's amazing how tired you get from doing nothing! 

We finished the night with a nice dinner back at Tomatoes.

 

Day 3
We started this day back at the glorious hammocks. Not a lot beats waking up to sunshine, throwing on your swimsuit, and heading out to a sandy (warm watered!) beach to relax before breakfast. 

 

After a little bit of the beach we rented some snorkel gear from the resort and took a taxi out snorkeling. We went to Chileno Bay for our snorkeling adventure. Before this afternoon we had discussed whether or not we wanted to pay for a catamaran snorkeling cruise or just go out ourselves. We decided right. We saved money and took a taxi to a well known bay (just 15 minutes from our resort). To our delight 3 catamarans had dropped off their tours at this bay. We were pleased not only that we saved the money and time, but that the bay we chose was in fact a great one to snorkel at. 

We snorkeled for a few hours than grabbed a taxi home. 

Before going straight home we stopped at Costco. I know, Costco! TRAVELLING TIP: If you are in Cabo, go to Costco and get a case or two of bottled water. The only water that is safe to drink is the bottled water. But dishing over 5$ for a bottle at a resort =  not nice. 

After returning to the resort we went to the poolside for some lunch, some more sun, and some Margaritas. We then took another siesta. 

After waking up we decided to go out for our "fancy dinner". There is one restaurant on the resort that is known for its spending dishes, amazing food, and exceptional wait staff. We decided to check it out. To our happy surprise they were having a dinner special. Yay to us!!  Anyways... I had one of the most amazing meals in my life. 7 Courses from Clam Chowder, Infused Bread, Chilled Mango & Cucumber Soup, a Fillet Mignon and Creme Brulee. We ate and indulged over 2.5 hours. 

Umm..can we pause for a second and look at the sky and water in that above photo? Beautiful! And my in-laws, they've been married 30 years and are pretty darn adorable as a couple.

After dinner Cory and I walked around the resort. There was a live band playing by one of the pools. He took the moment to dance with me a bit. I fell in love with him a bit more that moment.

Day 4: Downtown Cabo & Dinner Cruise

This day started out, again, breakfast at Girasoles, poolside with a few drinks, nachos, and then a little nap. After sleeping a bit we all got a little dolled up for our night in downtown Cabo and on a dinner cruise. 

We took a taxi downtown and enjoyed the sites of the city near the waterfront. 

 

 

We walked around the pier and were able to see all the boats parked. Some were so big and beautiful. It made me almost want to live near the water all the time.

Along the pier there were restaurants and vendors. It was a good thing I didn't have cash on me - everything they were selling were so cheap and cute. Blankets..baby parkas..dresses..

 

 

We walked around and then headed to the end of the dock to our Sunset Dinner Cruise ship.

 For some reason we (all four of us) only brought one credit card to this downtown exersion. And of course, checking into the sunset cruise, it got declined. After puzzling looks by us all (seeing that we had just used it at a little store) we got off the ship and tried calling the bank. Unsuccessfully able to get through, we decided to not worry about it and make a night of our own in downtown.

We decided to check out the famous Sr. Frog restaurant. This restaurant really reminds me of some crazy little bar that you probably wouldn't want to take your parents to. Really outgoing (to say in a nice way) servers. Tequila shots offered to you every 5 minutes. We ended up getting some small items and eating rather quickly.

After dinner we walked back around the pier and found a water taxi ride to the sites we were originally planning on seeing. 

 

Our driver/tour guide. 

 

 

The boat we were supposed to be on.

 

 

The Arch

 

 

 

So called Lovers Beach

 

 

Umm..seriously? We had the best views. A real authentic way of viewing the shoreline. We were able to get up close and personal with pelicans, sea lions, and the beach.

 

One perk of having the water taxi rather than the dinner cruise was a little side adventure for the men. On the way to the Arch we saw some locals jumping off a large rock (see below photo) that was right off shore. Of course the men had to join in. 

 

After the Plunge

 

 

Seeing the city from the water was so magical. All the colors of the buildings looked amazing. 

 

 

 

The sunset views were simply gorgeous.

 

 

Day 5

 

Today we woke up late and lounged by the pool all day. Yes. That was the theme of most every day. Later on in the afternoon my mother-in-law and I were pampered at the spa with massages. My second one every and I fell even more in love.

 

We came back to the boys sleeping off some happy hour food. We all re-joined at the pool and had an early dinner of Sushi.

 

 

 

Day 6: Our Last Day

 

Our last day we woke up early and headed to Girasoles for our all-you-can-eat breakfast. After enjoying all our favorites we went to the poolside and relaxed for our last few hours in paradise. We ordered our favorites from the bar and stuffed ourselves with chips and salsa. After stuffing our faces and swimming for the last time, we said our farewells and headed home.

 

Cory and I were so blessed by this trip and are already planning when we would like to return. This trip definitely gave me a better appreciation for Mexico. The country is beautiful and rich with culture. Cabo is a beautiful part of the country and one that I would difinitely recommend visiting.

 

 

 

happy travels,

 

xo leah