Back from Cabo

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The Z

Head Chef
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
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Hi everyone!

Just got back from holiday in Cabo San Lucas (interesting place). I'll post a full vacation report (incl pictures) when I have a little more time. It was a great week with plenty of good eats. I hope all has been well with all my friends here.
 
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Welcome Back
(couldn't resist!)
Hope you had a fantastic time.
More importantly, how was the food???:rolleyes:
 
PA Baker said:
Good to have you back, Z! I'm glad you had a nice vacation. When do you start your new job?

I started the job a week before I left... Had one week of orientation/training, then off to Cabo.
 
a few pics

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Cabo...

These are some rocks at the very southern tip of Baja California Sur:
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This one might have been nicer... if not for the glass bottomed water taxi... grrrrrrr :mad:
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Here I am doin' a little fishing... I didn't catch anything, but one person on our boat (went with another couple) brought in a nice Dolphinfish (aka Dorado, Mahi Mahi).
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This is a picture of the grounds of the hotel at which we stayed. In the foreground you can see the 'spa island' complete with massage tables and sweat lodge. The larger tiki hut in the background is the hotel reception area... just a hut with no walls. Pretty cool.
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And, of course, the famous Cabo Wabo Cantina (nope, didn't see Sammy there).
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Vacation Review

Now that The Z has had a couple of beers, it seems easier for words to flow. I can only hope that it makes sense.....................................

((note: after writing and later reading this, I appreciate its length... so I appreciate your patience))

It was with a great deal of excitement that I approached my first "major" holiday (i.e. outside U.S.) in several years. I really didn't know too much about Cabo San Lucas:
A) that it was in Mexico and a lot of folks there habla'd a little espanol, and
B) that it was on the extreme southern tip of the Baha peninsula, and
C) that it was home to the famous Cabo Wabo Cantina, and
D) ummm... well, that's about it I guess.

Anyway, we caught a direct flight from Vegas and landed at a small (international) airfield in the middle of nowhere. Upon arival, we were immediately accosted by a number of what we learned later would be called "body snatchers" (recruiters for............. * deep breath *...... Time Share). Little did we know that this would be the first of very many attempts at getting us to attend a "90 minute presentation" for the reward of wonderful gifts. Long story short... we listened and signed up. Heck... we WERE on vacation and we DID have a little time.

Wait, wait. Things were not so bad. We got a free taxi ride to our resort and then a free taxi ride to the Time Share presentation the next day (near where my girlfriend's family was staying in a nearby town). We attended the free breakfast buffet (not too bad) and endured our Time Share presentation by an Italian expat. I noted that it took a little longer than the promised "90" minutes, but it wasn't too high pressure and we got the agreed gifts, so I was fine with that. The units in the place were actually quite... ummm... well.... lovely. I gotta say that I was tempted. But we WERE actually only there for the gifts.

Well..... It turned out that almost EVERY local person to whom we spoke was involved in this activity.... We went to a WalMart kinda place (called "Mega") and the freakin' greeter showed us what we needed in the Kitchen Gadget area (knife to cut limes... heh) and then waited for us as we paid and tried to exit the store.

These guys are so good. They're not like the chumps in this country. The Time Share folks in THIS country need to RECRUIT some of the fellas from down there. It is really amazing. As we tried to leave our resort to attend a presentation, we were practically tackled by people from our OWN resort saying that 'whatever we were offered - they could match it or beat it'.

* sigh *

Anyway - - Everywhere we went (everywhere), Time Share recruiters were present. When we went to the 'locals' bars/restaurants in the barrios.... we were met with questions about activities we were interested in.... Eventually we learned how to talk to them... and found out that basically anyone who is interested can recruit for Time Share appointments and earn a $50 commission (whether you buy or not) and an additional 1% of any sales that resulted from their referral AND a bonus for every 5 (or 10, depending on the season) that they sent. So it's easy for people to accost tourists as a second job... right? We quickly learned the drill and ended up attending TWO (only) presentations and ended up with some pretty decent 'gifts'. One of them was incredible.... the "90"-minute presentation lasted almost 4 hours. It's a really long story.... and pretty interesting, but I think you get it by now. I've already been raving on about the Time Share scene there.

In other news.... Los Cabos is an interesting place. One can go there and, if you're interested, you can stay at places that actually advertise that you won't have to deal with the local culture (pause and let that sink in for just a moment). There are a lot of tourists and expat Americans there. The language and monetary barriers are minimal. You might pay someone in Pesos and get US$ in change. Nice, huh? It's almost like the locals there have accepted the usurpation of their beautiful land to those who would pay huge amounts for their beachfront property and then allow the locals servitude in their own communities. Everybody has their price, right? Personally, I found the whole thing more than a little repulsive.

The food was nice. My girlfriend and I AVOIDED the tourist places in hotels and resorts as much as possible (although I THOROUGHLY enjoyed a perfectly lovely steak at Ruth's Chris Steak House... one of the best I have EVER had - - provided, naturally, as a Time Share gift). Nothing was particularly cheap.... although the dirtier and farther from the tourists we could get the cheaper and BETTER the food was.

I know this review may seem a little 'negative'.... but it was a beautiful place. It was eye-opening in many ways. Of course there was the usual bargaining that we all enjoy, but there were no REAL 'bargains' (only on junk, actually) - - oh, wait.... am I getting negative again? I really don't mean to.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this holiday a 9. The place was beautiful. The food was great (except the coffee at the resort where we stayed.... which sucked). The 'value' was tolerable, just not as great as I had hoped.

If you want a great vacation but you don't like a real cultural shock... enjoy Cabo.
 
Great photos, Z!
oh, and by the way, if you'd like to spend time at a lovely 4-star resort, and attend an off broadway musical and get a 2 for 1 deal at the local soup kitchen, have I got a deal for you! And, er...um....I'll only need ninety minutes of your time...................
 
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