Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Cabo San Lucas Marina

Cabo San Lucas, or Cabo, as it is commonly called, is a growing city on the tip of the Baja Peninsula in northwestern Mexico.  A bony finger of rocky desert land, BCS extends south from the California border.  The wild Pacific Ocean batters its western coast, the Sea of Cortez lies on its eastern side, and the southern tip of the Baja is crowned by magnificent rocks and arches that rise out of the waves to mark the convergence of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez.

Baja’s tip

The Baja arch

Cabo has grown up, U-shaped, around that southern point, a vacation destination for sun seekers, spring breakers, young families, newlyweds, retirees, and anyone else who wants to escape the winter cold for a week or more.  Although English is the most common language of visitors, Mexicans and Europeans also come to Cabo to enjoy the sun, salt air, deep sea fishing, golf, and a variety of water and adventure sports. The tourist life in Cabo is easy: payment can be made in US dollars as well as in pesos and almost everyone speaks such excellent English that a knowledge of Spanish is unnecessary (although always appreciated).  The drinking water is purified and the sewer systems are modern as opposed to other, older area of Mexico.  Bar food and traditional Mexican restaurants are abundant, but so are upscale restaurants that offer fresh, organic food prepared in innovative and exciting ways. It is easy to view Cabo as Southern California with a Mexican twist and that is a testament to Mexican hospitality, warmth, and a clear understanding of the tourist industry.

Cabo is an area of contrasts.  Huge, palm tree dotted resorts stretch from San Jose del Cabo along the area bordering the Sea of Cortez known as the Corridor to Cabo San Lucas and up the  Pacific side towards Todos Santos.  Green golf courses form irregular patches over the desert landscape. The sea itself, sparkling and resplendent in its cool blue, crashes against the dry, dusty, cactus strewn desert of the Baja Peninsula.  And beyond Cabo lie foreboding mountains with dry gulches and steep rocky slopes.  Wide dry arroyos give testament to the torrents of water that run from the hills during rain storms.  

Behind all the gleaming marble of the resorts, the iridescent blue swimming pools, the pink bougainvillea, and the well stocked bars, is a solid land, lit at night by the lighthouse on the mountain, warmed by the sunrise over the Sea of  Cortez, and caressed by the splendid sunsets over the Pacific.  The contrasts meld to reveal a lovely, complex, and lively area that invites visitors to return and experience all the different things the Baja has to offer.