FABBO CABO
Isobel Dickinson samples the Mexican resort of Cabo San Lucas, home to Hollywood stars, stunning beaches and varied wildlife
Having someone shout, “There’s a whale!” when you’re sat in your swimwear isn’t normally something that would make me smile.
But this time, bobbing around in a boat off the coast of beautiful Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, it did.
Just a few feet from me an enormous humpback whale surfaced from the deep blue water.
And seconds later there was another one swimming along by its side.
Our tour guide tells us this one is its baby, although the ‘babies’ are born 15ft long, and mum can be anywhere up to 60ft.
From December to
March, these beautiful beasts come in winter in the warmer, shallower shores of Cabo from the North Pacific and they mate here before heading up to Alaska.
Stunning Cabo is located at the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula, a long stretch of Mexico no more than 200 miles across at its widest point.
Not to be missed is the famous El Arco, also known as Land’s End, a stunning arch which separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. You can take a water taxi or panga out to see it, along with the sea lions which bask on the rocks.
We moved on to Lovers Beach, a tiny beautiful sandy cove reached only by boat, and one of the most popular spots in Cabo.
On the other side of the arch is the aptly named Divorce Beach. This larger stretch of sand is on the Pacific side, its choppy waters making it harder to get to.
Locals say they were named that way because one side is considered calm while the other is turbulent.
Mostly, the coastline is peppered with large, glitzy resorts set on some incredible beaches.
It’s hard to believe Cabo San Lucas was once a small fishing village when you look at the beautiful marina today where milliondollar gin palaces bob cheek by jowl, flanked by modern high-rise apartment blocks, bars and clubs. For our seven-day break we based ourselves at the magnificent Riu Palace Baja California, a luxurious five-star, allinclusive hotel with incredible views over the ocean and Cabo’s stunning marina in the distance.
This modern, imposing building
Million dollar gin palaces float in the marina
has 600 rooms, yet there were plenty of options to find a quiet spot among the four pools, the spa and gym. The two pools with swim-up bars were lively with pumping music, but if that’s not your scene, there are friendly waiters on hand to serve drinks to your sunlounger all day.
There’s no chance of going hungry here either – the hotel caters to all tastes with a choice of Italian, Japanese and Indian restaurants, as well as a steakhouse, an all-day buffet and the swanky Krystal Fusion restaurant, its more high-end eatery.
On the menu is lobster risotto, braised sea bass and beef tenderloin, followed by its take on banoffee pie and chocolate financiers.
One night, we headed into town to Lorenzillo’s, a live lobster house and seafood restaurant by the marina where we feasted on lobster, fresh shrimp and seafood linguine before postdinner cocktails.
Cabo San Lucas is Mexico’s party capital as T-shirts for sale here testify, ‘Keep calm, you’re on the fun side of the wall’.
The most famous bar is Cabo Wabo, with an outdoor drinking area and an indoor dancefloor. It’s owned by former Van Halen rocker Sammy Hagar.
Good alternatives are El Squid Roe, where you can down vodka jello shots if that’s your thing and dance on tables, and The Giggling Marlin, where you can be strung upside down and hoisted from the floor. Infinitely more subdued is Vas Que Vuelas, just a few streets away from the marina.
This pretty Mezcal bar has more than 20 varieties of the smokey Mexican drink made from the agave plant.
Despite the wild bars, Cabo is also utterly charming. That’s probably why it attracts a string of stars including Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and the Kardashian clan.
George Clooney has a home in a nearby resort that I’m told was exclusively built for the actor and his equally famous pals.
On another day, when we headed out on a luxury catamaran with a mimosa in hand and a private chef whipping up some lunch, I felt like an A-lister myself.
The very swanky boat trip run by Cabo Adventures out of La Paz, about two hours from Cabo, saw us head to sea to the Unescoprotected biosphere of the Isla Espiritu Santo.
Here you can swim with the friendly sea lions, which number around 500, the younger of which love to come and play.
We were told by our tour guide that there are also more than 200 types of birds and 800 species of fish in these waters.
It’s no surprise French explorer Jacques Cousteau called it the “aquarium of the world”.
And, of course, there’s plenty to do on dry land as well.
I challenged my inner fear
and set out into the canyon of Miraflores to have my first experience of ziplining.
I felt like I was transported into a wild Western film as I e-biked across beaches and through the cactus filled Baja desert.
If you fancy checking out some other towns, then Todos Santos, about an hour’s drive away from Cabo, is worth a look.
It began life as a Jesuit mission and is now home to an artists’ colony and the infamous Hotel California, which locals will swear is the one The Eagles wrote about in their famous song – although the band deny it.
Whether they were singing about this hotel or not, the Eagles said you’ll “never leave” – and after a week in beautiful Cabo, I can understand the sentiment.