Los Cabos, Mexico - May 2016
Friday, October 07, 2016
It has been a little over 5 months since we went on our first out of country trip as parents and I am now finally getting the chance to blog about it. It was both our first time to Los Cabos and this trip wouldn't have been possible without my parents. Not only were willing to watch Tristan for us, but my Dad hooked us up and booked 3 nights in a villa at Cabo Azul (that they own a timeshare with!) It was so hard leaving Tristan behind for the first time ever, but it was also nice to have some alone time since he was born! We have both been itching to go on a trip since last year, which was the only year we didn't go out of the country since we started the tradition in 2012. So it was a mix of emotions the morning we left. We were in Cabo from May 9th-12th, because we wanted to be back in time for Tristan's 5th month birthday (Yeah, we celebrate monthly).
We flew out at around 10am from San Diego via Alaska Airlines (our first time flying Alaska btw!) it was a short 2 hour flight and we landed in Cabo just a little after 12noon. First order of business, exchange money before heading off to immigration. When we arrived we were advised to not stop in the room just after baggage claim and immigration area. Why?! Its the room filled with people who sells Time Shares! As soon as we got to that room, we were immediately greeted by someone who claims to know our bus driver who was supposed to pick us up, and instead walked us over to the counter where the man tried to convince us on going to a 'meeting' to check out Time Shares and we get all these wonderful deals while were there. Of course we opted out because I had the driver and pick up info, we just needed to know where the heck to exit! When we found the exit, we looked for the people with orange shirts. I booked reservations for pick up with TransCabo via the booking company we reserved all our activities with, Cabo San Lucas Tours. They were recommended to us by a friend who was just in Cabo a month before us. We booked our Santa Maria snorkeling activity through them, as well as our ATV Tour! :)
When we were on the car ride to the resort, I was looking out the window and observing the surroundings. It was about a 30-45 minute drive from the airport to our resort because there were a few other people we had to drop off as well. It had a very dessert like vibe, felt secluded almost until we got to the main part of San Jose where Cabo Azul is located. It reminded me so much of the Philippines for some reason. San Jose is not as populated as Cabo San Lucas. It was a very charming little town. We were the last ones to get dropped off, and when we arrived at our resort we were greeted by a very a couple of staff who made us feel welcomed. I was just in awe of how beautiful the resort was! My dad reserved us a one bedroom villa and it was gorgeous! I almost didnt want to leave the resort to galavant! So we decided to stay around the resort our first day there just to sit back and relax. Of course our main topic during conversations was Tristan! I facetimed my parents as soon as we got to our room just to check up on how things were! After our quick call, John and I grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants they had and the seafood ceviche and Tamarindo margarita was to die for!! Oh my goodness. We definitely took advantage of the delicious mexican dishes and margaritas! Plus we had a $100 voucher! After lunch, we took a dip in the pool and hung out at the swim up bar! That was pretty neat! John definitely got a little tipsy the first day! After the pool, we just walked around the beach and took a nap in the cabanas that they had along the beach. Gorgeous resort I tell ya! There was actually a proposal on top of the parish area (where I am standing in that picture above) that night and we got to watch it from the pool!
The next day was a little more planned out. We had reservations for the ATV and Horseback riding Tour and our pick up person was there on time! Last time we ATVed was in the Philippines, but boy, it was nothing like it. This was definitely a lot more extreme and exciting! We went through the dessert and the beach and back to the dessert before heading back to main headquarters. It was such an adrenaline. We did the horseback riding first, that was a little bumpy on my end cuz my horse didn't want to do much. I felt guilty immediately after we got on our horses because it was a pretty warm day and Im sure they would have rather stayed in their stable where the shade was. And i guess thats why I couldn't really enjoy it. We did this for about 45 minutes before switching over to ATV! John and I did the shared ATV instead of individual because it was cheaper, and we just switched off driving it. Next time I definitely want my own! We went through Migrino Beach and we were the only ones there for the first 15 minutes and it was nice having the beach and view to ourselves! Our tourguide was nice enough to let us wander a bit and took pictures of us! We didnt pictures on the ATV, but you can watch our videos here. I also posted it on a previous post! :) We rode the ATVs for about an hour and a half before heading back to end our tour! It was a beautiful day and not too hot with just the right amount of cool breeze! Definitely a good way to start our first full day in Mexico! After our tour, we were dropped back off at our resort and we just relaxed for a bit before heading out for a late lunch across the street at a taco shop that was recommended to us by the concierge. It was called Rossy's tacos. And oh my goodness, it was delicious! Of course I ordered ceviche again plus 2 fish tacos and carne asada. If you didnt know, ceviche is a favorite of mine! Actually, I love Mexican food overall! The main Rossy's restaurant was in Downtown San Jose which was a drive away, the one we went to was their smaller restaurant, mainly an outdoor bar. After lunch, we took a nap for a couple of hours at the cabanas before hitting the pool!
We then headed off to Downtown San Jose. We took the risk and did it local style by using the bus and then walking vs getting a Taxi. Thats the joys of being in a different country, experiencing new things. Luckily, I still remembered some of the Spanish I learned in the 3 years from highschool and 2 years from college! Very rusty at that, but still got us around. We rode their local bus, I think it was painted purple, which were old school buses turned public transit. It was another thing that reminded me of Philippines! It was $2.00 for both John and I to get from the resort to the Cathedral. They didnt really have bus stops, so you just ask to get dropped off where you want in the area. We just walked around downtown, which was pretty dead at the time and day we went. I didn't mind cuz it was less people to dodge. Hah! As I've mentioned San Jose was a very charming little town and Downtown San Jose can attest to that! The cobblestone streets, the colorful buildings. People weren't rude, there were a bunch of live bands playing Mexican tunes at restaurants that we'd pass by.
After walking a few blocks, we were gonna hop back on a bus but we couldn't figure out which bus goes back to the main street. So we decided to walk hoping we were going the right direction! I was a lowkey scared because we weren't 100% sure where we were going, but I trusted John. He's usually really good at reading maps and finding a way back. It took us about an hour to get to the main road we wanted to be in. It was definitely a journey. It was nice getting to observe the things that were going on around us. From the houses to the business area to kids playing. Since we figured out where we were, we decided to grab dinner at another restaurant recommended to us by the staff at our resort. It was already dark when we were making our way to Las Guacamayas, and I can feel John getting a little worried about passing certain neighborhoods. I get it, he didnt feel safe and I dont blame him. It was little sketchy! But we made it out the hood alive and well. Haha! Las Guacamayas was worth the journey! The food was delicious!! Ceviche was definitely the main thing I ordered every time we ate out! I cant remember what else I ordered, but I remember having a margarita and it was so yummy! This place was so lively and packed with people! It must be a local favorite! And I can see why! It had a good vibe, food and entertainment. We opted to eat upstairs because it was so crowded downstairs. Upstairs was a little more laid back. We ordered so much food that we had to take some to go! Which was a good thing because I ended up eating them for breakfast the next day!
The next day was a little more planned out. We had reservations for the ATV and Horseback riding Tour and our pick up person was there on time! Last time we ATVed was in the Philippines, but boy, it was nothing like it. This was definitely a lot more extreme and exciting! We went through the dessert and the beach and back to the dessert before heading back to main headquarters. It was such an adrenaline. We did the horseback riding first, that was a little bumpy on my end cuz my horse didn't want to do much. I felt guilty immediately after we got on our horses because it was a pretty warm day and Im sure they would have rather stayed in their stable where the shade was. And i guess thats why I couldn't really enjoy it. We did this for about 45 minutes before switching over to ATV! John and I did the shared ATV instead of individual because it was cheaper, and we just switched off driving it. Next time I definitely want my own! We went through Migrino Beach and we were the only ones there for the first 15 minutes and it was nice having the beach and view to ourselves! Our tourguide was nice enough to let us wander a bit and took pictures of us! We didnt pictures on the ATV, but you can watch our videos here. I also posted it on a previous post! :) We rode the ATVs for about an hour and a half before heading back to end our tour! It was a beautiful day and not too hot with just the right amount of cool breeze! Definitely a good way to start our first full day in Mexico! After our tour, we were dropped back off at our resort and we just relaxed for a bit before heading out for a late lunch across the street at a taco shop that was recommended to us by the concierge. It was called Rossy's tacos. And oh my goodness, it was delicious! Of course I ordered ceviche again plus 2 fish tacos and carne asada. If you didnt know, ceviche is a favorite of mine! Actually, I love Mexican food overall! The main Rossy's restaurant was in Downtown San Jose which was a drive away, the one we went to was their smaller restaurant, mainly an outdoor bar. After lunch, we took a nap for a couple of hours at the cabanas before hitting the pool!
We then headed off to Downtown San Jose. We took the risk and did it local style by using the bus and then walking vs getting a Taxi. Thats the joys of being in a different country, experiencing new things. Luckily, I still remembered some of the Spanish I learned in the 3 years from highschool and 2 years from college! Very rusty at that, but still got us around. We rode their local bus, I think it was painted purple, which were old school buses turned public transit. It was another thing that reminded me of Philippines! It was $2.00 for both John and I to get from the resort to the Cathedral. They didnt really have bus stops, so you just ask to get dropped off where you want in the area. We just walked around downtown, which was pretty dead at the time and day we went. I didn't mind cuz it was less people to dodge. Hah! As I've mentioned San Jose was a very charming little town and Downtown San Jose can attest to that! The cobblestone streets, the colorful buildings. People weren't rude, there were a bunch of live bands playing Mexican tunes at restaurants that we'd pass by.
After walking a few blocks, we were gonna hop back on a bus but we couldn't figure out which bus goes back to the main street. So we decided to walk hoping we were going the right direction! I was a lowkey scared because we weren't 100% sure where we were going, but I trusted John. He's usually really good at reading maps and finding a way back. It took us about an hour to get to the main road we wanted to be in. It was definitely a journey. It was nice getting to observe the things that were going on around us. From the houses to the business area to kids playing. Since we figured out where we were, we decided to grab dinner at another restaurant recommended to us by the staff at our resort. It was already dark when we were making our way to Las Guacamayas, and I can feel John getting a little worried about passing certain neighborhoods. I get it, he didnt feel safe and I dont blame him. It was little sketchy! But we made it out the hood alive and well. Haha! Las Guacamayas was worth the journey! The food was delicious!! Ceviche was definitely the main thing I ordered every time we ate out! I cant remember what else I ordered, but I remember having a margarita and it was so yummy! This place was so lively and packed with people! It must be a local favorite! And I can see why! It had a good vibe, food and entertainment. We opted to eat upstairs because it was so crowded downstairs. Upstairs was a little more laid back. We ordered so much food that we had to take some to go! Which was a good thing because I ended up eating them for breakfast the next day!
Day three (our last full day) was our La Princesa catamaran snorkeling tour at Santa Maria Cove! We finally made our way to Cabo san Lucas! Its definitely more of a party, drink all day kind of scene! There were a lot of bars and restaurants along the beaches. We took a taxi and was dropped off at Puerto Princesa because we woke up later than we wanted and had breakfast on the beach before we left. It was pricey, but it got us there on time! We were originally going to take the longer route, by taking the bus instead of taxi cuz it was cheaper. But that breakfast on the beach at the resort restaurant was delicious and the views was something I could get used to waking up to, so it made up for it I guess! We got to the dock with 15 minutes to spare before they let us in on the boat. There were about 20 of us that did the tour. Our first stop on the tour was Lover's Beach and then El Arco. We didnt get to go down, but thats ok! We made our way to Santa Maria cove soon after stopping at El Arco for pictures. 20 minutes later, we arrived at Santa Maria. We got our snorkeling gears on and off to the water we went! We got to snorkel for about an hour before they called us back in. It was beautiful! I cant believe how much fish we actually saw and touch! I just wish we didn't have to have lifevests on so that we can go deeper in the water! John and I were one of the last ones to go back cuz we clearly were enjoying the water way too much! Haha! By the time we got back on the boat, food was almost ready and it was time for open bar. John definitely took advantage of that! Im not a big drinker anymore, so I only had about 3 total cocktails the entire tour. It was enough to get me feeling good though! The tuna salad sandwich they made was delicious and fresh! It was served with guacamole and chips! Mmm! It was a 40 minute sail back on the dock, so we just sat back, sipped on our drinks and enjoyed the views! We sat on the net part of the boat most of the time, which probably wasnt a good idea because by time we got back to the dock. I was burnt! I haven't been sunburnt this way since Cheer Camp in 2005!!
After snorkeling, we hung out and wandered around Puerto Princesa because we didn't want to head back to the resort yet. We walked along the beach and contemplated if we should head to Lover's beach or not. I regret not going, I was just too tired and to sunburnt to sit on an open boat again for 15 minutes. I just wanted to stay in the shade for a bit before grabbing dinner at The Office. It was a pretty long walk from Puerto Princesa Mall to the restaurant. We had to walk through the mall, through hotels, and finally the beaches to get to it. The Office is a very popular place and was on most of the lists that I looked up for Cabo. Its an outdoor restaurant and your on the actual beach. Price was food was ok, but the atmosphere was nice. I got a Pina Colada in a Pineapple and it was one of the best pina coladas ive ever had! While dining, we were solicited by people selling stuff along the beach. We were suckered in to buying a mexican blanket. We haggled down to $20 from $35. I like it and we use it for outdoor picnics! After the rest of the vendors saw that we were buying, they all came up to use to try and sell their products! But we just weren't interested. We finished dinner just before the sunset, but decided not to stay because we still had to catch a bus back to the resort and we didnt want to wait at the bust stop in the dark. We were a bit confused as to which bus to take, but there was a local who spoke good english and helped us out and got us on the cheaper bus. It wasn't the bus we were suppose to take, but it got us back. It was sketchy too. No AC, so all the windows were open. But we felt like locals for sure! We only paid $5 vs. paying $15 for the other one we were supposed to take. We were dropped off at a place called Mega, its their mall in San Jose I believe and had a 15 minute walk from there. I had never been more relieved to be back at the resort! Before washing up, we decided to take a dip in the pool. We started at the Adult only pool that was near our Villa, and made our way to the main pool by the beach before calling it a night!
It was time to go home the next day, but before packing up our stuff, we got up at 6am to watch the sun rise on the beach. I'm glad we did because it was beautiful. Check out was at 10am, so we packed up and left our luggage with concierge cuz our flight wasn't until 2pm. So we grabbed lunch and hung out at at the swinging cabanas and took a nap. It was so relaxing. The nice cool breeze and the waves crashing. It was bittersweet. We didn't wanna leave and go back to our daily routine, but we were also excited to get back to Tristan! The staff at Cabo Azul was very nice and accommodating that I would definitely want to make another trip to Mexico and stay in their villas. There were always people cleaning and keeping the grounds well kept. When Tristan gets a little older, I want to take a trip back to Los Cabos, but with the rest of the family this time! <3
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