Day Seven: San Pedrito Beach to Cabo San Lucas - Thursday

We had a modest breakfast at the restaurant at San Pedrito Beach and continued on to Cabo San Lucas, about 40 miles away. We arrived at the resort, Club Cascadas de Baja, at around 11:00 AM, and made a beeline to the beach where we met some old friends from previous trips to Club Cascadas, Dick and Sally Lundstrom. At this point, I will not attempt to cover our stay at Cascadas de Baja on a day-for-day basis, but simply cover overall the activities that we experienced.

Cascadas de Baja, Cabo San Lucas: March 13 - March 26

The first day is pretty much orientation as the club hosts a breakfast and describes the latest activities and perks that the club provides. After the orientation, we dropped off the weeks laundry at a little lounderia, and took a short drive down the corridor to San Jose del Cabo to see what development had ensued since our previous visit. The answer was that the entire corridor is in the process of rapid development, with condos, resorts, golf courses, and single family homes going up like mushrooms in a forest after a wet winter. This area is becoming one of the world's premier resort spots. It is not for those on a tight budget, however. The greens fees for the Cabo San Lucas Country club start at $132, and it is the least expensive of the world class golf courses in the area.

Club Cascadas also hosts a cocktail party on Friday evening while the restaurant provides an authentic Mexican meal for $14 which is far more than most of us can reasonably consume. We opted out on the meal this year and went into town to The Shrimp Factory for three kilos of boiled shrimp. We were accompanied by Bill and Bobbie, Jack and Janet Pontius from State College, PA and their two sons, David and Greg. Jack is suffering from lung cancer and the chemotherapy has rendered him quite weak, so we were happy to drive everyone into town. We returned to our villa, and Becky and I tried out the private spa.

Thursday, March 19, we all moved to our next villa - we to Perlita 7 and Bobbie and Bill to their Perla. Jack and Janet bid us farewell, and headed back to the "real world." We drove into town for a late breakfast at Mama's and while doing that, we had the car washed near the square by an elderly gentleman with a bucket of soapy water and a few towels. When we returned , the car was spotless! He quoted a price of thirty pesos, about $3.63. I countered that that was not enough, and pressed fifty pesos on him, around $6.00. He was overwhelmed.

That evening, after margaritas with Bill and Bobbie, Dick and Sally Lundstrum, and Rich and Barbara Eddy, we headed into town on a quest to find the tiny restaurante that, last year, had been a real hit with their potatoes - doesn't sound like much to most, but they are a delight as they are roasted in a pit behind the restaurant and stuffed with all manner of goodies. We drove around in heavy traffic, but being unable to find the relocated restaurant, we settled on the Mariscos Acapulco, or "Seafood Acapulco." It was far better than we expected, with a varied menu of both seafood and more conventional items. The kitchen, staffed with five or six hard - working men and women, appeared to be impeccably clean and extremely efficient. Bobbie had the most adventuresome dish - Calamari stuffed with seafood in a white wine sauce and cooked in its own ink. I tasted it and found it to be delicious, with the squid perfectly prepared and extremely tender. I had a appetizer; six oysters roasted on the half shell with spinach in a mustard sauce. Not Oysters Rockefeller, but even better in my estimation. My entré was Chili Rellenos Mariscos, poblano chilis roasted and stuffed with seafood in an identical sauce as the calamari. It was not quite up to the same thing that I had had in La Paz, but only because the chilis themselves were slightly undercooked. Bill and Becky had a Caesar Salad with shrimp and pronounced it excellent.

On Saturday, March 21, we didn't do too much except pick up some fresh fruit at a nearby fruit stand and replenish the beer stock. That evening, we were hosted by Dick and Sally for margaritas followed by a meal at the Cascadas restaurant. The meal was special, as Ron and Carol Mays, Dick and Sally's friends from Novato CA, had caught two large Sierras while fishing off San Jose del Cabo, and the restaurant had prepared them for us. They were simply prepared; grilled in olive oil with a touch of garlic, and were very good.

Sunday morning I took my daily bike ride into town to the old tuna cannery, and after returning prepared breakfast in the room, as usual, and came up with the idea of going to the SolMar and the Finesterra, two of the original hotels in Cabo, to see what changes had come over the years. The Finesterra has added an entirely new complex below the original hotel which effectively blocks the old "Whalewatcher," a bar that we had in the past gone to on the last night of our stay in Cabo to watch the sunset. The new hotel complex has multiple swimming pools and spas, a restaurant, La Palapa, with terrific views of the Pacific, and seems to be catering to tour groups. The SolMar has expanded as well, but has added condos and timeshare units in lieu of additional hotel rooms. We had a beer at the SolMar and a buffet brunch at the Finesterra. It is at least 10° cooler on the Pacific side as compared with the Sea of Cortez side where the Club Cascadas is located.

Wednesday, our last full day, is one of goodbyes and the traditional last meal in town. We try to pick the restaurant that we all enjoyed the best. In the past it has been the Shrimp Factory, Romeo y Julietta and others, but this time we returned to Mariscos Acapulco. I had to try the Stuffed Squid - Bobbie returned to them again as well. Dick and Sally, Rich and Barbara had fish prepared in a variety of ways while Becky and Bill had the Fetuccini Camarones - fetuccini with shrimp. The host made us feel as welcome as ever, and we promised to return the next year. Hasta proximo año.