TravelStream™ news feed for member seattleman on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/seattleman en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:20:02 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1231103700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1231103700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1231103700/tpod.html Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:20:02 -0500 Soakin' in the sun at San Jose del Cabo!

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Seattle, Washington, United States

And so the vacation comes to an end. At the moment Gina and I are bouncing around in an AeroMexco 737 that is being buffeted by some fairly extensive turbulence. Behind me is a little girl who is alternately screaming in Spanish and kicking the back of my seat. Flying is so much fun. Let's see if I can recap our last day without emptying my stomach in the process.
Yesterday morning we cancelled our sunset cruise in Cabo and decided to spend the day at the pool and on the beach instead. There's a storm moving in and the waves were starting to get pretty formidable. Gina decided (and I whole-heartedly supported her) that today was perhaps not the best day to brave the waves so our plan changed to just hanging out at the pool. Lunch was at MamaMias (a huge cheeseburger that ranked about a "7" on the Kelly's cheeseburger scale). The afternoon was spent reading on the beach under one of the thatched umbrellas that are there for just that purpose. As evening started coming on, we caught a cab into San Jose del Cabo and went to a little taqueria called Guakamyos. This definitely ended up being my favorite "Cabo experience".
We had planned on going to a place called The Hangman which was supposedly superior to Guakamyos. However, when we went to have the front desk call a cab for us they told us that they didn't think it was open anymore and that Guakamyos was the best second choice. "It's where the locals go." And hey, after 7 days, we're as local as they get, right?
Guakamyos is in an old part of town and is basically an open garden surrounded by cinderblock walls with a ceiling that functions as a second floor. This was the only place we've been to where the waiter didn't speak any type of English very well. But it didn't matter! He was friendly and we all managed to figure out what everyone was saying. He handed us a menu with all sorts of entries many of which I really had no clue about. But what I did recognize was Taco and that is what we ordered.
Gina had two grilled chicken tacos and I had two grilled beef tacos, two grilled chicken tacos and one pulled pork tacos. My oh my... they were good. That combined with two softdrinks cost us all of about $8.00 USD. They were sooooo good! I told Gina that this is what I'd expected when we went to Todo Santos. I'll come back here if we ever come back (which if Gina has her way we will).
The downside to such is wonderful meal is that at 2;30 in the morning all the hot sause you put on the tacos comes back to visit in the form of some nasty heartburn which it did en force! Man oh man it hurt. I got up and took some Rolaids but realized that it was no use and spent the rest of the night cat-napping until around 5:00 when I just gave up. Instead, I wrapped myself up in a blanket and went out and sat on the veranda and watched the sun make a glorious entrance behind a mass of storm clouds out on the horizon. It was breathdaking; the colors finding their way through the cloud breaks were continuously changing from deep red, to orange, to fiery gold to bright yellow and then brilliant white as the sun finally broke free into the morning sky. The waves had grown in size by five -fold and were simply pounding the beach as they threw themselves onto the sand and then retreated to slam into the next set. Amazing. And out on the ocean, my favorite birds, the pelicans were alternately skimming the water's surface and crashing into then emerging from the water as they fed on the early morning fish that were foolish enough to be so close to the surface. It was an amazing show and one that I could watch over and over again if given the opportunity.
So now we're headed home and will hopefully not have too difficult of a time finding where Matt parked my pick-up (he used it while we were gone to move his and Julie's stuff to their new abode). And the time has come to pass judgement on the whole experience. Was it worth the trip? Yes and no. The resort was wonderful and ranks probably numero uno as far as places we've stayed as Trendwest members. It's definitely been an inexpensive vacation (even taking into account my experience "Bandito Buslines"). Everything we ate at the resort and the excursions we took all cost less that $250.00. However, once we got past the walls of the resort, I wasn't really overly excited. I think if I spoke Spanish better it would improve the experience but as my new friend Lester put it, "I feel like I'm in the middle of a con game and I'm the one who's always getting the short end of the stick." Next time I come (and yes, Gina, there will be a next time) I will do more before-hand research and discover the really interesting/non-tourist things to do; make some local friends, do a little fishing, exploring, and SCUBA diving. I think that's why I love going back to Kona so much - it has become a familiar place for me. I know people there who know me and it's easy to fall in rhythm with the locals. Gina prefers Cabo for the resort and I prefer Kona for the overall place in general... and because I usually get to spend time diving with my numero uno amigo/brudda
Well.. that's it! Turbulence has stopped and I still have my cookies... now if only the little girl behind me would give it a rest.... Adios Amigos!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230949800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230949800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230949800/tpod.html Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:28:17 -0500 Soakin' in the sun at San Jose del Cabo!

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Todos Santos, Baja California, Mexico

I had such high hopes for this excursion... Here's what I thought it was going to be like: At 8:00am a big air-conditioned tour bus would pick us up and whisk us away up some Mexican highway to the sleepy little village of Todos Santos; a place where time had seemed to pass the people by. Here we'd find the mysterious and rustic Hotel California complete with its lore and creepiness (and spirits). Here we'd discover the trye story of the song; how Don Henley stayed here back in the sixties and eventually penned the famous Eagles' tune based on the restless soul of the Seniora who had been wandering the ancient courtyard haunting the hotel visitors while waiting for the return of her lover who'd been lost at sea over a century ago.. It was going to be sooooo cool. It was going to be sooooo AWESOME! Yeah sure right... I hate it when reallity bites! Here's how the day actually panned out: at 8:15, 15 minutes late, a worn our mercedes bus driven by a tour guide (who went by the name of John Boy) picked us up outside our hotel. The bus was already packed by the time it got to us and some of the riders were very very strange. One of the ladies had voted herself in charge of "the getting to know you committee" and was bound and determined that we all knew where each other was from, our first names and something interesting about our pasts. She was first in my "cross-hairs". After us, there were still two more stops to be made to pick up even more people (folks from Michigan, Ontario, and Florida) so we had a very full bus by the time we finally headed north onto that not-so-dark desert highway. JB (as he liked to be called) turned on the bus's "custom" audio system so we could all here his interesting tidbits about Baja. Picture this if you can: the bus is only the size of a mini-van and we were quite able to hear JB perfectly without any sound system. Now we could hear JB much louder than we really needed (or wanted) to as well as the very irritating daughter of "getting to know you" lady who seemed to be a wealth of information on stuff that no one in particular was really interested in knowing. Add to that the fact that the customized sound system had a short in it somewhere and so the speakers were constantly crackling in and out which I for one found doubly vexing.

Heading north of Cabo we entered the desert (I mean the REAL desert) with it 300 year old cacti and mesquite bushes and tarantulas and scorpions and buzzards and, oh, yeah, genuine mexican tourist blanket shops whose proprietor, lucky for us, was a good friend of JB and so was the only honest mexican blanket maker in Baja... Yes, we stopped to shop. And no, for all you cynics, JB did NOT get any kick-back from any business that was completed (yeah right!) OK, OK.. they were nice blankets and "Pedro" was in the back making them on a very old loom and yes Gina did buy one and OK, she felt it was a great deal, but still... a trip that could have taken about an hour took 90 minutes by the time we finally got there. And when we did finally get there, after driving through town to show us where the best shopping and dining places were, BJ promptly took us to another one of his friends' shops where the "best prices on silver and jewelry" were to be had". Lucky for me, there was also a bathroom (forget about the fact that the lock didn't work and that "getting to know you" lady's husband barged in on me half-way through my "business".. but that's another story! Anyway, it was becoming clear rather quickly that Todos Santos is not some dreamy little village, but rather a full blown tourist trap with all the tourist trap trappings. In fact, Hotel California looked like something that had been built 10 years ago instead of 100 complete with a rather modern facade with large "Hotel California" letters above the front door. Sadly the pueblo style, run-down hotel with the open courtyard and exposed timber ceilings were nothing more than a figment of my romantic imagination. While Gina was out searching the streets for a good deal on Vanilla, I went in and asked the matron of the Hotel if she could tell me about the history of the place. She asked me what history? I said, "you know, about the song, and the ghosts, etc." She said, "ohhh... that. Well, two of the eagles may have stayed here back in the sixties and there are definately souls wandering the courtyard..." Wonderful... tell me something I didn't already know... and by the way, her eyes had a sort of "woo woo" thing going on so I wasn't sure I could trust her very far with her facts. I decided to do some research later when we got home.. which I did. What I found out is disturbing. It seams that not only was said hotel was not in existance before 1950 (the building used to house a chinese food restaurant before then) but Don Henley of the Eagles has always denied that the said hotel had anything to do with the song he and his co-horts penned. In fact, none of them have even ever been to Todos Santos. Oh... the pain and disappointment of the deception. I hate it when a legend slams into the cold pavement of reality. Now what do I do with the T-shirt I bought?? Oh well.

On the up-side, we did eat at a restaurant across the street from the Hotel called Tequila Sunrise (like I said, they are really pounding this Eagle connection to death!) and had a wonderful lunch. The owner there is nicknamed Mr. Martguerita because he has won so many awards with his recipes for that particular alcoholic concoction. He is also known for his shrimp and cheese chilli rejanoes. He did offer us a martguerita but refused to make us one without booze because, as he put it, "I would be a lier... there is nothing in it BUT booze". We opted for the softdrinks. He was very fun and the meal was very good so I guess Todo Santos wasn't a complete bust. And hey, all the way home we got to listen to Eagles tunes on the "custom" sound system (and Gina picked up 5 more bottles of Vanilla...)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230858000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230858000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230858000/tpod.html Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:23:17 -0500 Soakin' in the sun at San Jose del Cabo!

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San Jose del Cabo, Baja California, Mexico

Holy Cow! What a racket last night. This is supposed to be the "sleepy" end of Cabo but let me tell you, these Hombres y Mujheres know how to make some noise! Last night Gina and I decided to hit the sack around 11:00 pm. MamaMia's was doing its best to put on a New Year Eve's party but after listening to the music and the MC for about 5 minutes, both of us were very glad we had not spent the $70.00 to attend (it was pretty sad...). Anyway, we're watching the ball fall in New York (on TV) when all of a sudden BOOM!! BANG!! KaBOOM!! they were setting off fireworks from the beach right out our window. What a show. And these fireworks did NOT get to the Malad, Idaho recommended altitude before exploding... like maybe only 25 feet in the air. It was quite the show (I was surprised no one got blew up). Anyway, we figured that the show was over so we hit the sack. Then the noise really started. There was singing and dancing and muchaching all around us. I finally just gave up. Then at midnight the fireworks started all over again. Wow! Happy Mexican New Year! It was cool.

Today we just hung around here reading our books, hanging out at the pool, and basically doing nothing. At around noon we did go out and brave the waves. The beach here is supposedly not safe for swimming. In fact one of the first things they tell you at first day orientation is that "Esta Playa es no Segura para nadar" (this beach is not safe for swimming). But the last couple of days I've been watching little kids riding the waves with their body boards so we figured what they hey... let's live on the dangerous side. And it wasn't. Yes there is a back tow but really it wasn't that bad. I think they just don't want to be liable for anyone getting into trouble. It was actually quite enjoyable. It was also conducive to meeting other folks like Lester and Jolie Charles, a couple from Oregon who befriended us real quick. They have been Trendwest members for about 17 years and come here quite often. It was fun talking with them about their adventures. They like it here but still think Kona is the best (I'm with them on that one... but more about that in a later posting). Anyway, they'd been fishing earlier and had caught loads of fish which they needed to offload as they're heading home tomorrow. Guess who got the fish... yep... us. Mahi Mahi out our ears. Gina gave them her old magazines in trade... something to keep them busy on their way home. The sad thing is that we probably won't be able to eat the fish they gave us as we ended up going out for Lobster tonight at a place called the Tropicana here in SJdCabo. Now THAT was a lot of fun.. we picked our own spiny lobsters and had a meal which included live entertainment which was heads and shoulders above that we heard last night at MamaMias. Check out the pics!

Tomorrow is Toda Santos and Hotel California!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230743340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230743340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230743340/tpod.html Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:56:13 -0500 Soakin' in the sun at San Jose del Cabo!

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Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Mexico

the internet connection here is flaky at best. who knows if I'll even be able to post this today.. yesterday was a bust! Anyway...

Yesterday (12/30) Gina and I decided to catch the bus for the 20 mile trip into Cabo San Lucas, the fabled party town of Baja. As instructed we braved the main road running across four lanes of traffic to a concrete overhang where other "seasoned" tourists had gathered to await the blue/green regional bus that showed up every five to ten minutes (give fifteen or twenty.. we're on Mexico time here). The plan was to go to Cabo and see what was there, then hit Costco on the way back to check out the differences between here and home. Unfortunately Gina and I didn't have a clear picture between the two of us as to which would happen first... Cabo-Costco or Costco-Cabo. The bus driver (we'll call him Julio) absorbed the brunt of our confusion. Gina climbed on the bus and said Costco. I said, Cabo. Then Gina said Costco. Then I said Cabo. This happened a couple of more times with Julio (and the entire bus) just looking at us wondering what planet we hailed from. Finally I said Cabo Cabo which put an end to the siliness and handed Julio three 20 peso bills. We were of the understanding that the trip to Cabo was no more than 23 pesos para person (or 46 pesos total). I guess Julio felt the need to punish us 'cuz he only gave me 5 pesos in change... something I didn't pick up on until we were half-way to Cabo. I was really getting steamed until I realized it came to about $1.00 US. OK... fool me once... shame on me.

In Cabo we walked the streets and ended up at the shopping mall and then the harbor. There was a cruise ship docked in the bay and so the vendors were out in force. We walked up and down the street checking out their wares but ultimately didn't buy anything. I have to admit that there is nothing that remotely "spoke" to me.

After feeling we'd had the Cabo day experience we headed to McDonalds where we'd been told that the return bus to San Jose del Cabo would pick us up. Actually, it ended up being a couple of blocks from the McDonalds which the fine folks AT McDonalds were happy to clarify for us after we'd purchased a quarter pounder con quesa and a grande diet coke. Actually there was a gringo-girl from Seattle who was having lunch with a child who was very helpful. I was amazed at how well she spoke Spanish. Gina thinks she is a nanny. I think she's running from the law... Whichever, she told us to look for the white bus and it would get us to Costco for about a buck US. (Thanks Nanny-on-the-run!)

We made our way to the new bus stop (a street corner) and, sure enough, within about 10 minutes a white bus which had at one point in its life been a half-sized yellow school bus in the United States showed up with the words, RUI Hotel, Walmart, Costco painted on its windshield. We hopped in paid our 140 pesos (1.40) and off to Costco we went.

This was probably a highlight of the day. The bus was full of locals making their way to their destinations. Some were going to work, some were going shopping; there was a beautiful woman with her three little girls, all of which were very interested in us foreigners. One of her girls kept smiling at us and saying "hello". Precocious and sweet.

After about 10 minutes, the bus driver pulled over to the side of the highway, opened the door and said "Costco!" Gina and I hopped out (evidently we were the only ones heading to Costco) and scrambled across six lanes of busy traffic and headed for the entrance. We were really looking forward to seeing the many different items Costco had to offer here in Mexico. What we found was dissappointing... almost everything was the same as that which could be purchased in Seattle, or California, or Provo, or Kaialua Kona. There was very little real mexican products for sale. I'm sure the members here like the prices, but I can't see how it and places like Walmart and Sams Club really help the local merchants at all. Sad.

After our brief stay at Costco we again braved the traffic and got back to the "bus stop". In about 15 minutes we saw the blue/green bus coming our way and waved it down. It stopped, we climbed on, and I asked "Jaime" how much to the Baja Coral (Gina had already found a seat). He looked at the 50 pesos bill in my hand and said (wait for it...) "50 pesos". HEY! I told him 40 and he nodded, took my money, and told me to get back behind the line... I never saw my change. The Bandito Busline did it again. New rule: If you ride on the bus, make sure you have the exact change (or learn some Spanish so you can at least argue with the driver!)

When we got home, Gina hit the pool and I took a nice long walk on the beach (I was really steamed at Julio and Jaime). After that we headed out to a wonderful little restaurant just a bit north of our Hotel called "Cynthia". Gina had read a bit about it (and her) from other Worldmark members who had visited it. It was delicious and she was charming. I have never tasted better steamed vegetables or salsa. I highly recommend it.

After dinner we walked the rest of the way to Mega, the Mexican version of Costco. It was very enjoyable. We picked up some food for our own New Years celebration and then headed home where we watched some TV, did some hot-tubbing and played a game of 2500. I ruled!

Today we're going to kick it back here at the resort. Gina is out sunning herself and I think I might head over to a nearby bookstore... get a Spanish phrase book or something.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230597360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230597360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seattleman/2/1230597360/tpod.html Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:00:38 -0500 Soakin' in the sun at San Jose del Cabo!

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San Jose del Cabo, Mexico

Wow! This place is beautiful. We got in yesterday afternoon after a four hour flight from Seattle. Spent yesterday afternoon fighting off timeshare-oil salesmen (they're thick as stink on a manure wagon as you're leaving the airport). Finally got to "here", got checked in and then ran up to the Mega (a mexican version of Walmart) for the week's groceries. Dinner was tuna fish sandwiches and chips. After that we both just crashed.

We have a one room villa with a veranda that looks out over the pool, courtyard, and bright blue ocean. We're facing the Sea of Cortez (east side of Baja) and if we're up early enough can watch the sun come up. The room is big and very nice. Sleeps four so there is plenty of room (makes us wonder what we're doing here by ourselves...). The weather is between high 70s - low 80s and there's a nice breeze coming off the ocean. NO RAIN OR SNOW IN SIGHT!

Today we figured out what we're planning on doing the rest of the week, spent time at the pool, took a nap (Gina), practiced our Spanish (Rosetta Stone/Kelly), took a taxi into San Jose and are now kicking back wondering what we're having for dinner. Lunch was here at the resort ... great fish tacos and somewhat messy chicken nachos (not a fan of too much fake cheese sauce... actually not a fan of ANY fake cheese sauce). Dinner might be Subway (seriously... it's close and we're tuckered) or Dominoes.. (it's right around the corner and there's nothing like a cheap Dominoes pizza.. Vaminos to Dominoes..). Anyway, the evening will be spent in the hot tub.

Not sure what the week will bring but we are going for a sunset cruise and glass bottom boat trip out of Cabo San Lucas as well as a snorkeling trip to Lover's Beach and I would like to either rent a Waverunner or go paragliding on an ultralight. On Friday we're heading up to Todo Santos... the real Hotel California where "you can check out any time you like but you can never ever leave..." Good Times!
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