We were invited to vacation with my sister and her husband at their beautiful time-share in Cabo San Lucas this year. Leaving sunny, warm Florida for another sunny and warm locale may seem redundant, but the timing couldn’t have been better planned. The artic frost hit the whole East coast just as we were leaving!
Gary and I have been to Cabo before, a few years back, and enjoyed our visit. But this particular trip would prove to be more magical for us all. We upgraded the timeshare to a spectacular ocean front, three-bedroom villa, complete with our own butler, hot tub, and the most amazing view of that vast and endless Pacific Ocean.
To be exact, Cabo San Lucas actually sits on the Sea of Cortez, which interestingly is the world’s “newest formed” sea – a mere 3 million years old! The entire Baja peninsula was formed over 5 million years ago when it detached from the mainland of what is now Mexico due to the ever-shifting tectonic plates.
Cabo’s most famous landmark is the Land’s End Arch, a formation of several large ocean rocks jutting out from the peninsula, a favorite spot for boaters to navigate through and around. Swimming in most of Cabo’s waters tends to be discouraged due to the strong and dangerous currents and deep step-offs just a few feet away from the shoreline. But the many coves and capes (Cabo translates to Cape) along the shoreline offer snorkeling and scuba galore!
Aside from the tasty meals and infinity pools of our resort, the activity that won our hearts the most was our whale watching tour one gorgeous early morning. The captain and the guide were full of informative narratives about the Humpback whales that swim these southern waters.
These magnificent creatures came relatively close to our boat, providing us with a magical display of a mother and her calf playing in the water, slapping their tails and breaching higher and higher out of the cool water. We easily saw three or four whales daily from our 6th story villa but getting this close and personal was something altogether different.
We learned that these Humpback whales migrate back and forth from Alaska each December through April to mate and birth their calves. The warm, shallow waters are the perfect place for the young whales to learn all about “whale life” like diving, breaching, playing, tail flapping, what to eat and how to avoid their most dangerous predator – US humans and our boats.
Coming back from the tour and pulling into the marina, a feisty sea lion followed us in, almost seeming to smile and wave us through to our next adventure. We all felt blessed to have been given this gift of viewing one of life’s largest creatures in their natural habitat. They welcomed us and coexisted with us for a few precious hours.
As Gary and I strolled along the endless beach that evening, soaking up that incredible sunset, we held hands and didn’t talk much. We were just happy and content, having been witness to another of life’s magical wonders.
Traveling allows you to experience life in different ways. You can travel back to familiar places and feel the comfort and safety of friends, family, landmarks and locales. You can travel to newer, unknown spots and find interesting treasures and a wealth of interesting facts, meeting new people along the way. For us, traveling is a way of life, a necessary component of how we chose to live.
The next traveling adventure may not be until this summer, when we venture out in the RV once again – heading West, hopefully as far as Colorado/Arizona. In the meantime, we will spend the next four months enjoying the adventure of grandparenting our beautiful Avaya and keeping a check on her parents, our sons, and feeling content that no matter where we go, the most magical gift of all is family, and we have been blessed with the best!
We have been to Cabo and have been on the whale watching tours, they are truly magical. Thanks for sharing your story.