Barbara J. Hamby

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Cabo San Lucas 2003

Early in 2003, we were offered the opportunity to borrow a condominium unit in Cabo San Lucas for a week. Al’s sister and brother-in-law have a time-share condo there and were not going to use all of their available time. In this part of the country, the weather in January and February is not usually very pleasant, so we decided to take advantage of their generous offer and get some sun.

We flew to San Jose Del Cabo from Portland via Phoenix on January 28th and returned by the same route on February 4th. We were driven by van to to Pueblo Bonita Rose at Cabo San Lucas, but not immediately. Upon our arrival at the airport, we were directed to a counter where we were offered “free” transportation. Free may be a very good price, but their free had a lot of strings attached. After listening to a long sales spiel for a unit in a new building, we were finally allowed to board the van.

When we arrived at the gorgeous grounds of Pueblo Bonita Rose, we entered the building lobby and encountered more sales pitches. We were finally able to pry keys from the greedy hands of the concierge so that we could get to our spacious suite.

The unit had a large room (somewhat like a great room) with a kitchen on one wall, a round stone table with chairs, and living room furniture, a lovely bedroom, and bath. Off the main room was a balcony that overlooked the elaborately landscaped grounds. Directly below was a pool with swans swimming and cavorting for our entertainment. Beyond that pool was the long swimming pool that headed out toward the beach. A table and chairs on the balcony provided a place to lounge and enjoy drinks and/or food while enjoying the view.

Al walked to the downtown area almost every day we were there. I walked there with him one time, but we brought our purchases back by cab. We also rode a cart pulled by a bicycle on one trip. The man propelling the bicycle and cart had such strong looking legs that we didn’t realize he had a physical handicap until he got off the bicycle.

The downtown area was tourist oriented, with a lot of different shops and stores to explore. We bought hats and groceries, as well as souvenirs. We stopped for lunch in a cafe’ and I ordered lemonade to drink, thinking it was probably pre-mixed or made with filtered water. When it arrived I noticed ice cubes and feared they might have been made with tap water. I asked the waitress to give me a glass with no ice. She took the drink, picked up a spoon, and lifted the ice cubes out, then gave it back to me. I decided not to pursue the matter further and took my chances.

Al used his credit card to purchase groceries several times in the small supermarket downtown. He was dumbfounded when he produced it for purchases and it was refused. He knew his credit was good and couldn’t understand why he was cut off on the one card he had brought with him. Later he learned that, because he had added two cards to the account just before he left, purchases started showing up in Mexico, and they couldn’t reach him by phone to be sure the charges were his, they decided to protect him by denying further charges. Fortunately, I had a credit card with me which wasn’t affected.

Most days I spent a lot of my time in or around the pool. The water was warm and shallow, so gliding around in it was delightful. Al swam with me a few times, but he preferred to swim in the ocean. By slathering myself with sunscreen, I avoided being burned.

After a few days of watching the parasailors, Al could not resist trying it. We walked down the length of the beach to a concession stand where he dickered to get them to honor their advertised price. After he had our tickets, we waited a short time for an available boat. We boarded the boat and headed out into the water. I went along for the ride and to take pictures. I enjoyed the ride, but not as much as he did. He was ecstatic from the time his feet left the boat, until they were planted back on the deck.

When it was time to return to the airport, we purchased tickets for the van, to avoid any further merchandising by “in-your-face” vendors. The ride to the airport seemed much longer than when we first arrived and rode to Cabo San Lucas. Everything was new and exciting then and we had to look in all directions at once.

Our flight home stopped in Phoenix and Las Vegas. The people watching in both those airports made the waiting more tolerable. My son picked us up at the airport and drove us back to his place where we had left our car.