Do You Know The Way To San Jose????

The road between Todos Santos and CaboSan Lucas didn't get any better - even after a good meal at the Hotel California and an amazing trip to visit Anna's "Earthouse." In fact, if anything the addition of some late afternoon daredevils who obviously had NASCAR aspirations and who were apparently oblivious to the roughness of the road gave our return trip a sense of adventure that you would normally only get when participating in the famous "Baja Road Race." But - we made it back without too much trauma and headed back toward the Playa Grande to plan our next adventure. We had read that there was going to be an "Art Gallery Crawl" in Cabo del San Jose the following day and thought we should check it out. Of course we had to stop at one of the local convenience stores to pick up some snack items for the journey. The store was essentially the Mexican equivalent of a 7-11 or something similar but I found it interesting that - as with the big "box" stores we had visited, the range and quality of goods offered was a notch or two above what we would have expected back home. We were also treated to a rapid-fire, Spanish explanation of the vagaries of the currency exchange rate but it kinda zipped over our heads - our Spanish skills being more in the range of "Hola!", "Gracias", "Bano?", etc. Later we went out for an enjoyable evening at the wonderful "El Coyote" restaurant. where we were unexpectedly treated to a performance of Flamenco-style dancing by a team of local girls of about middle-school age. Their costumes, make-up and natural Latina flair for drama combined to generate an exciting and very professional performance. Great job kids!!!









Next morning, after breakfast and planning our itinerary for the day we set out to retrieve our car from the parking garage and hit the road. I'm not sure if inanimate objects have emotions but, if they do, our car was real apprehensive about getting back on the road with us!!! Fortunately for the car - and us - the roads between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose were excellent and not under construction. The beautiful Pacific rode off to our right, with many public beaches, resorts and hotels dotting the coastline. Not far out of town we took a side-trip to one of the beaches. We met some interesting people there - including a couple from Iowa who have vacationed in Los Cabos for many years. They enjoyed walking the beach collecting "sea glass." I found a rather large, well etched piece to add to their collection. We also found an "ancient Mayan statue" (?) perched a little way from the shoreline, moodily observing the swimmers and sunbathers.








After leaving the beach we found that we had worked up a thirst and decided to visit "Hacienda Encantar," a beautiful resort hotel sitting high on a rocky section of the coast, for an "adult beverage." The place was gorgeous so I'll let the pictures get in their "thousand-words worth."


Back on the road we basically settled in to "sight-see" our way down to San Jose. But, before long, about half way to our destination, we encountered another enticing spot to visit - the Westin Resort. Again, I'll let the pictures do the talking but let me add that after we got home there was a segment on "The Travel Channel" that listed the top ten resorts in all of Mexico and the Westin was right up there amongst them!!!!






This was some absolutely incredible architecture!!! It was highly modern, abstract, almost stark in the lines and forms but it complimented - and was complimented by the arid landscape in the distance and the warm Southwestern tones found in the rocks and brush so prevalent in this area. But as arid as the surroundings might seem, the grounds of this marvelous place were teeming with flowers, trees, brush, succulents and cactii all arranged in the most artistic landscaping you could imagine.












And, to top it off, while we were walking through the grounds (toward the magnificent pool-side bar with it's requisite "infinity pool" we were visited by two old animal friends!!! A hummer and a gecko (who tried to sell us car insurance!!!! )









So .... as we we mentioned, we were headed for one of the hotel pools/lounges that absolutely abound in this remarkable place. As we walked we continued to remark on the simply stunning level of architectural excellence, organizational efficiency and downright "class!" But it was only later that we learned that the "Presidential Suite" and other VIP accomodations at the Westin have .... THEIR OWN PRIVATE POOLS!!!! Whoa!!!!




But - we were on a mission and could not be diverted for long. Soon, after a very delightful visit to the poolside bar and great conversation with the personable young bartender, we were itching to get back on the road to San Jose. So we bade our farewells and returned to the road. Before long we were entering the charming "sister city" to Cabo San Lucas and it did not take long for us to understand why this is such a popular place with both touristas and local residents. In fact, the visit was so special that I'm going to have to give it a separate post of it's own. I don't want to overload you for now so we'll close out at the Westin and get ready for a thorough visit to the picturesque Cabo del San Jose. See ya.