May 28 - June 5, 2002
We flew America West out of Phoenix (Sky Harbor). The flight was pretty uneventful, but a friend who had visited Baja California had told me to look out the window as we approached, because it looks like a living map, the Baja peninsula with the sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific on the other. She was right, it was beautiful.
We also saw lots of little islands, and the water surrounding them was beautiful. When we landed in San Jose I was surprised how quickly the customs procedure moved along. All would have been perfect, except for the fact we were missing a suitcase -- the one carrying all of my husband's (Bill) and daughter's (Danae) clothes.
If any of you have a pre-teen daughter you know what a tragedy this is. Second problem: Bill wears a 2x in clothing. If you have tried to purchase shorts or swim wear in San Jose, you understand our problem. The lady who took our lost luggage report understood as much English as I do Spanish. She ended up giving us a piece of paper and told us to call the next day to see if it had arrived.
Anyway, we took a taxi van to the La Jolla resort. We had five people and paid $10US each. We were in no mood to bargain, we just needed to get to the resort. Once we got to the resort we were very impressed. Nicely manicured grounds, wonderful friendly people -- it was great.
We had rented our condo from someone who owns it there, so had access to a few "homeowner" pools. What a great thing that was! We basically had the pools to ourselves. Quite a few of the homeowners were from B.C., and only a handful were there this time of year.
We went to the activities desk and talked with the concierge. She took up our lost luggage battle for us calling the airport for us (we were having problems figuring out the phone/calling card thing, and I need to brush up on my Spanish). Booked a rental car to be delivered, and scheduled our Panga trip. My brother (Troy), Danae and Bill were going. She then gave us free drink coupons and of course told us how much we could save on our rental car if we went on a timeshare presentation. I told her that I used to sell timeshares in Arizona and had no interest in attending a presentation that I used to give. She was nice and never asked us again.
About this time my best friend (Julie) came strolling up to the lobby, her flight out of San Diego had just arrived, and the shuttle bus dropped her off. OK .. people count: 4 adults and 2 children. Our rental car? The convertible Volkswagon. It was delivered and we decided we needed lunch, groceries, and clothing for my husband. My daughter was able to fit into my clothing so it was fine.
We parked the car and started walking in San Jose. We were told about a place called Rossys Tacos and we kept asking around for directions. Everyone we asked gave us different directions. The last guy directed us to Cafe Rosys. Wrong place. But it was awesome food, the owner was very nice, and we were the only people in there at the time. Fish tacos were excellent. Fresh tortillas and fresh salsa. Great place.
Off to the Municipal Mercado. That place was really neat. Wonderful fresh produce, the groceries like cereal, paper goods and such, were cheaper here then at the Castros grocery store. We ended up visiting the market several times, and even purchased fresh shrimp there.
Baggage was located by our concierge. It was in Phoenix -- it was separated from the flight tags somehow. It will be in on the last flight the following day. My husband was very happy at this point, and we went to the hotel bar Estrellas for happy hour. Modelo was $3.50 each, but it was two for one.
We got our beer from a place called Casa Chillenga, aka the liquor store. It was approximately $11.00 a case with a 10% deposit for Pacifico. We also were buying six packs of cans of Modelo for $3.50. My husband and brother went there to get beer and dinner. 10 peso quesadillas. They were pretty different, never having a "real" quesadilla before. Only the american cheese crisp version. They had a few shots of Don Julio , and my brother tried the tequilla from the big oak barrel. This place is not to be missed. They have several reptiles in residence as well as pretty cool artifacts. The people are very helpful. One of the owners had a scorpion on his hand and was petting it ... while venom dripped from its tail.
The next morning we dropped the fishing party at the beach, where many panga fisherman asked if we needed to rent a boat. I was told later by a gentleman who is down there three times a year to go directly to the beach and bargain with the captains, but he said the price we paid was pretty good. $135.00 for three people plus bait and tip.
I packed the lunches and off they went. Julie, my daughter Rachelle and myself set off back to San Jose for more produce, zucaritas, and a laundromat. Julie speaks pretty good Spanish, She just doesn't believe it. She forgot the word for laundromat, so we are walking around downtown San Jose, two gringas and a 9 year old with a laundry basket. Finally she asked someone where she could clean her clothes. We were given perfect directions. Problem. The lady in the laundromat didn't speak or understand English, and I was not sure if she washed the clothes or we did. She was very nice and we figured out thats what she did ... wash and fold, all for 15 pesos.
Great, so we went back to the mercado municipal, bought produce and went into the loncheria there and had a smoothy. Very tasty. We must of had on our gringa hats ... it cost us 150 pesos.
We picked up our fishermen/girl and their Dorado. One thing I have to add for those of you who have never been on a panga. When they come in, they tell you to sit down and be still. Thats because they gun it and run right up on the beach. If you are not expecting this it is quite a shock!! The captain was understandably peeved because only one dorado was brought in. We kept half of the meat and gave the captain the other half. BBQ'ed dorado that has been marinated in lime juice, salt and garlic is wonderful!!!
The bags were at the airport!!!! Bill was taking no chances on having it delivered, so we hopped into the VW and off we went to the airport. Bill's whoop of joy when presented his suitcases brought many curious glances our way ... but now our vacation could be enjoyed fully. Bill had clean choneys and his bathing suits. My daughter had all of her stuff. I could finally wear my new bikini that my daughter had been using.
We stopped into Casa Chillenga for a nice shot of Don Julio, and the owner commented on a tropical storm hurricane that had turned our way. Not what we wanted to hear, but it did explain the large waves! As you probably know it turned away, but the snorkeling was no good for our trip, the water was cloudy, visibility was next to nothing.
We went into Cabo had a great lunch at Como Oye Va. Best fish Taco I had! I returned another day and had breakfast there. Wonderful. The guy cooks it all right in front of you. We will return there next year.
We basically ate and drank our way through Cabo. We had to check out Cabo Wabo ... not much going on there during the day, so we ate a taco at a little place out in the courtyard there, El Taqueira, and had a beer.
Did some shopping, went into Giggling Marlin and had a few beers -- my daughter chased a chicken around the place. We then went down to the dock and hired a glass bottom boat tour with a guy named Witzy, or thats what his friends call him (his real name is very hard to pronounce). He was an awesome guide, even pulling up to the marina so we could get apple soda and beer. We shared our Pacifico with him, and he gave us a wonderful tour explaining every thing. It cost us $10 a person, plus tip. If you are in Cabo look for Witzy. He made the trip, even calling out to the seals to make them look up.
Off the boat we were accosted by street vendors ... not so many as in San Jose, so it was a trip. I just smiled and said no gracias and kept moving. On to the pharmacia for Tagamet, Bill and Julie were getting heartburn! Last, but not least, El Squid Roe -- we were the only people in there. They were just getting things ready for later I suppose, but nevertheless it was awesome. They brought the girls virgin Pina Coladas in the yard glasses, and later said here is your first shot! Gave them a kiddie shot with a straw and whipped cream. We drank Bohemia and Tequilla. Caught a cab and went back to the resort.
We did spend lots of time just hanging out by the pool and stuff, also quite a bit of time at Brisa's Trailer Park. Happy hour: two beers for 22 pesos. Saturday night Buffet ... good food for $14.95 adults. Again friendly people and good slow service. They don't rush you at all.
The Rusty Putter had good food, but it was real pricey, the minature golf course was fun. Santa Maria bay was by far my favorite beach to hang out at, but chilleno was fun, we went on a Sunday and there were lots of locals enjoying the ocean. The mango on a stick was good and the fresh coconut was too.
We are going back again next year. We had no problems with police, theft, or anything at all. It was a great time