Our warm weather escape for January of 2019 was the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. I had never been to our southern neighbor at all and Justin had never been to that part of the Baja Peninsula. Once we locked in two of our favorite East Coast friends, the trip was confirmed and booked for Cerritos Beach. What we didn’t expect was the two extra days due to cancelled flights, so we ended up getting a few days to explore Cabo San Lucas.
I wanted to share some of the favorites that we stumbled upon in our 48 hours.
Cabo Wabo Cantina
Justin is a huge fan of Sammy Hagar, so we obviously needed to make a stop at his tequila spot. We had the famous Waborita and tried some of their appetizers. I would say if you are a fan of the man himself or want some live music, it’s a good place to check out.
Meet the Locals
Justin and I watched this man feed a sea lion in the marina while we were eating dinner and afterwards, we had to see what was happening. We found out that this man was fishing and found this sea lion, Cesar, injured badly by a boat motor. The man used fishing line to help sew up his new friend and has been helping feed him for the last few weeks as he recovers. I’ll admit that I have no idea if this will hurt the animal in the long run or if it will be able to make a full recovery, but you could tell this man cared so much about this animal.
Sanchos
We spent a lot of time wandering around the Marina and the main tourist spots because it was easy walking. This place drew us in with the live music and we stayed because Lily was the best bartender ever. We tried some Churro flavored Tequila and ate some fantastic food. I was a little sad that we couldn’t take these glasses as souvenirs, but we were lucky enough to make their Facebook page.
Resort Pools
If you are staying in Cabo San Lucas, you are probably staying at a resort. You should definitely make sure your resort has a decent pool. Because we made our reservation while using shitty WiFi at the airport, we didn’t have the luxury of reading reviews. Our pools were decent, but one was so cold that you couldn’t even get in. We still enjoyed dipping our toes in and enjoying the Pina Coladas.
Outpost Cabo
This restaurant was one of the best I’ve ever been to. We enjoyed tapas and smoothies on the Chandelier Patio. They have amazing deals of 3 for 1 Tapas in the middle of the day, so we were able to try a few different items for a great deal. The Carrot Mousse was my absolute favorite, but there was definitely something everyone would love. Everything is grown locally and we got to hear the whole back story from the server. I would recommend this spot to everyone visiting Cabo. You can go midday like we did or enjoy dinner and some cocktails later in the evening.
Embrace the Tourist Traps
When the cruise ships come in to port, it’s chaos. But when they leave for the night, you have all the street vendors to yourself. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of holding a lizard wearing a Sombrero. I had not, but that didn’t stop this kind gentleman from placing lizards on top of me. Just embrace it.
Sunrises
You should always seek out sunrises when you’re on vacation. We got up and walked down towards the beach for sunrise and it was magical. The birds were everywhere, fishing boats were heading out to start their day and the only people around were the locals getting their morning jogs in. Being out before the madness starts is my absolute favorite thing to do in any destination, plus golden hour is the best for photos.
Things We Missed
I wish we would have had time to see some live music on the beach at The Office, taken a day trip to explore San Jose del Cabo to see more history, visited Flora Farms and rented kayaks. We just have the time and we hadn’t done enough planning.
Final Thoughts on Cabo
Our #1 favorite thing to do has to have it’s own post—sunset sailing in Cabo. But Cabo San Lucas is a perfect place to head for a long weekend if you want to have your conversations in English, pay with the US dollar but get a slice of the Baja life. The cruise ships and all-inclusive resorts aren’t our thing, but we had a great time. Plus we were happy to be stranded in Mexico when the temps were 50 below zero in Minnesota.
