Cabo San Lucas reflections (Pueblo Bonito Sunset resort and Off roading adventures)
Cabo San Lucas holds a special place in my heart. When my children were younger this was our last stop during a week-long Disney cruise. Our first stop on the cruise was Puerto Vallarta. In my experience, I was a little turned off by the touristy sections of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Not that Puerto Vallarta wasn’t beautiful or possessed an old-world charm that only Mexico could capture; rather, there was a dark underbelly my family experienced which embedded itself deep within our psyche. The van drivers were challenging to speak with and overcharged us for short rides to and from the port, and the food prices were exorbitant to the point we felt taken advantaged of with no recourse other than to be compliant to a fault. Once we arrived in Cabo San Lucas, we felt a different vibe emanating from the city. We spent one day in the quaint little resort town and vowed to return for a longer stay.
Fast forward to our four-day all-inclusive Cabo San Lucas adventure. We arrived in Los Angeles for our departure flight and started the electronic check-in process. My three children and wife scanned their passports with ease at which point I stepped up to scan my passport to receive my boarding pass. Nothing happened. I scanned it again and noted the screen asked for a valid passport. Bewildered, I checked my passport and realized I had brought my expired passport! Tears welled up in my eyes knowing I was three hours from home and the plane would be departing in less than an hour and a half. My two adult children informed my wife of what was happening and everyone tried to console me, but I felt like I had let down the world. My wife corralled the family towards the gate trying her best to keep up a confident façade. I told her I would start calling friends to see if they would meet me halfway, and I promised to do my best to find a later flight that night.
Fortunately, I have a great group of friends. The first person I called agreed to go to my house, retrieve my passport from my bedroom, and transport it to a halfway point between Fresno and Los Angeles. Hours later, I was in possession of my passport and hoping (and possibly praying to any God who would listen) I could find an open seat on a stand by flight. Hope and reality crashed together as flight after flight departed with no open seats. Six hours on standby in LAX resulted in another hotel stay. The next morning I was up bright and early and able to commandeer a seat with no extra fees attached to the plane trip.
Upon my arrival in Cabo San Lucas, I walked through the maze of transportation salespeople and found private transportation just outside of the airport terminal. Instead of sitting with 10 other people in a van for the 45-minute trip to the resort, I spoke with the first professionally dressed driver standing next to a brand-new Mercedes, and I agreed to his $75.00 USD fee.
Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Los Cabos Resort and Golf Course
The all-inclusive resort is situated along the cliffs on the southwest side of Cabo San Lucas. The beaches are beautifully manicured and free of litter, but patrons cannot access the water because the waves create powerful riptides. Truth be told, enough people had died trying to swim in the ocean that no one is allowed in anymore. Driving into the resort along the lackadaisical winding road allowed me the opportunity to relax, leave my worries behind, and take in the ocean views which expanded exponentially the farther into the resort I drove. I checked in at the desk, was given a blue bracelet allowing unlimited access to six restaurants and bars for no extra charge (all-inclusive), and I located my family at one of the six large pools on the resort.
The rooms were clean and decorated in classic Mexican décor. The tile floors allowed for minimal worries about cleanliness if one were to track in sand or excess water and the golf cart drivers ensured we were able to be anywhere on the resort within minutes. The food was excellent wherever we ate and catered to whatever your palate desired: Mexican, Italian, sushi, Chinese, traditional American, desserts, and snacks were available and there were no up charges which surprised me. At first we couldn’t overcome how weak the alcoholic drinks were, but we quickly learned from other Cabo San Lucas veterans to order shots with your drink orders and add the extra alcohol to strengthen them to our liking.
One of the highlights of booking rooms at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset resort was the fact we had access to their other two sister resorts in Cabo San Lucas. We visited the Pueblo Bonito Rose resort and were able to use our all-inclusive status to eat and drink for free. In addition, the Pueblo Bonito Rose resort was located near a beach which had a dedicated ocean swimming area, private area to soak in the sun, and great tasting food.
Cactus Tours Off-Road and Camel Ride Adventures
My kids and I wanted to try an outdoor adventure while in Cabo San Lucas. We were torn between chartering a deep-sea fishing boat, go kart racing, or off roading. We eventually decided to try the Cactus Tours Off-Road and Camel Ride Adventures. The initial fee at the Pueblo Bonito Sunset resort concierge desk was $130.00 USD per person and this included transportation to and from the resort. At approximately 8:00AM the next morning, a Cactus Tours van promptly arrived at the resort. We spent the next hour picking up various people at other resorts in Cabo San Lucas and arrived at the sprawling facility located in the desert approximately 30 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas. Off road vehicles (dune buggies, ATV’s, motorcycles, etc.) were parked everywhere. The facility itself was an open air functioning mini-city containing a large check-in area, upscale bar to sample various alcoholic beverages, restaurant area, and communal space to relax while waiting for the tour to begin. I met with one of the employees at the front desk and the up-sell began immediately. My mind spun from the choices available: Can-Am turbocharged 4×4 dune buggy seating one to four people, automatic ATV’s, Off Road vehicles of every make and model, camel rides, sunset beach tours, and guided tours. I finally settled on my initial choice of individual manual transmission ATV’s for each person, and I begrudgingly agreed to add a personal guide for an extra $100.00 USD.
I wasn’t sure I had made the right choice about hiring a guide until I saw the Hispanic version of Mad Max reincarnated approach us asking if we were ready to start our tour. He was dressed in brown leather boots, tan military grade pants, a long-sleeved drab green shirt, a checkered brown scarf was tied loosely around his lower chin, and goggles hung loosely from his neck. His weather beaten skin reflected long days in the sun and scraggly beard reflected his rugged looks. My children were wide eyed and gawking at this unique individual who spoke broken English and exuded a dynamic positive energy. We walked outside at which point he provided a brief explanation of how the ATV’s operated and before I knew it we were following his dust cloud down a narrow dirt trail. There was no trial period or “getting used to the vehicles”; instead, we were forced to traverse the sandy trails at break neck speeds. I was so focused on trying to keep up with the group, I couldn’t worry about how my kids were doing. We traveled through dry river beds, carved the backside of hills and crossed over massive sand dunes en route to a mad dash along the shoreline. There were no breaks until he brought us to the top of a small overlook where we stopped and hung out with camels?! That’s right there were several camels kept in large pens. In the middle of the outpost was a small cantina serving beverages and bathrooms.
The tour lasted approximately three hours. When we arrived back at the tour facility, we were dirty, exhausted, but enthralled by the experience. Before I knew it, I was agreeing to pay an extra $100.00 USD for the picture package which contained approximately 75 pictures on a flash drive. It was worth it because my youngest daughter took pictures with the camels and whoever had been taking the photographs captured the essence of our escapades. If there were any questions about whether we made a good choice or not to go off-roading over the other options, the issue was settled when we arrived back at the resort and the overall consensus was we would do it over again in a heartbeat!