A Cab to Cabo
We were up bright and early to pack up and get a cab to the Toluca, Mexico airport. I had read that this was a much easier place to get to from the area of our hotel, to navigate within, and it was much cheaper, too. So at 6 am we were hurtling through western Mexico City in a big GMC Yukon, or the Mexican equivalent.
The trip out of town passes the usual small businesses and urban sprawl, but after climbing the small mountain range outside the City we came across a jumble of high rise buildings containing the Mexican headquarters of lots of international corporations. It's like a city unto itself, and we had no idea it was there until this morning. Foggy and eery at 7am.
Following that, the land levels out, crosses some water (our driver didn't know if it was a lake or a river) and eventually runs into the eastern edge of Toluca, which is basically a bedroom community for the corporate high rises and their executives.
The airport is right there. Yesterday another cab driver said we needed to allow 2 hours to make this 45 mile trip, and we took him at his word, figuring he would know. We ended up making it in just over an hour, so we found ourselves in a (cold!) tiny airport with limited food options and 2 hours of waiting for the airline to begin processing baggage, etc.
Finally we checked bags and got through security, which is much simpler and the personnel much friendlier than in the US. The attendant helped us see what to do, there were clear signs explaining what went where, and we kept our shoes on!
For some reason the flight was delayed 30 minutes, but we got to Cabo just a few minutes late. We flew fast! The whole experience with Volaris Airlines was very smooth, methodical and pleasant.
There are hundreds of time-share "sharks" all over the Cabo airport, trying to talk you into a sales pitch and promising huge discounts on all activities and other expenses. After the first one, we declined to talk to any, and got to the rental car counter. That process also went very smoothly and we were quickly on our way in the Mexican equivalent of a VW Jetta (the "Clasico"). First stop was in a neighboring town, San Jose del Cabo, where we grabbed a quick bite and then some supplies and groceries for the condo.
The road to Cabo from there follows the coast, with one beautiful view after another, although many are hidden by the condo developments and high rise hotels. It isn't called the Tourist Corridor for nothing!
on the way
driving into our condo
The roads are set up strangely. The center 2 lanes in each direction are like a limited access thruway, and on the right side of each is another lane for turning off. There are no left turns at all, and to get off the thruway you have to know way ahead to get an exit. If it's on the other side of the road (like our place is) you have to drive another mile or so, get off, use the exit to "retorno" and then use the exit lane until you get back to it. Lots of extra driving, especially if you don't know where you are going.
Most tourists apparently use taxis and buses to get everywhere. Everything is located in the town of Cabo, which is a 5 minute drive from our condo. This place is very nice and the kids are loving it. 2 pools (one had a lizard visiting)
and one with a swim up bar and grill, and a short walk down to the beach.The balcony overlooks the ocean, with crashing surf on a rocky shore one way, and the channel where cruise ships and other boats come in on the other
.
After we unloaded and got acclimated, we drove downtown. It's the off-season here so it's easy to get around. We drove as far to the tip of the cape as you can. There's a Naval base after that. Then we came back through and found a restaurant I had read about. It's right on the main swimming beach, with most of tables actually on the sand. It was packed with people, and vary few of them were Mexican. This place is an American city in Mexico.
We got a table right away despite not having a reservation, and had a great view of the stage where another very good Mariachi band was playing. We all ordered fresh fish tacos, which ended up being made with Sea Bass, a plentiful and delicious fish here. We had guacamole, rice and beans, pico de gallo and house made tortilla chips too. Everything was really good, albeit a little pricier than Mexico City.
The stage show continued when the band took a break. A Mexican wrestler (luchadedor- see here ) was the emcee, and there were native dancers, male and female, contests for doing push-ups, kids breaking a pinata, audience chants and singalongs, and general craziness. We loved it, and plan to come back for our final night here next Wednesday.
We made a quick stop at Walmart on the way home to get the dairy products and meat items we couldn't carry in the heat this afternoon. Walmart is an overwhelming experience here. They have many American products, but other items are only available in Mexican versions, or not at all. We figured it out and drove back to the pretty grounds of our condo development and called it a day. We're now 2 hours behind Savannah time, and an hour behind Mexico City, so our sleep cycles are all akilter. We'll sleep in tomorrow and get back on a regular schedule for the week.
Going to the beaches tomorrow!
All pictures today are from Sarah.
Here are some more of hers from yesterday, around the Zocalo, Temple, National Palace, and Cathedral:
street scene, 9 person bicycle, Zocalo
views from our restaurant next to the Cathedral
Diego Rivera murals
inside the Cathedral (no pictures allowed, except everybody does)
shoeshine on the street
The Mexican stock exchange and financial center
Adios!
The road to Cabo from there follows the coast, with one beautiful view after another, although many are hidden by the condo developments and high rise hotels. It isn't called the Tourist Corridor for nothing!
on the way
driving into our condo
The roads are set up strangely. The center 2 lanes in each direction are like a limited access thruway, and on the right side of each is another lane for turning off. There are no left turns at all, and to get off the thruway you have to know way ahead to get an exit. If it's on the other side of the road (like our place is) you have to drive another mile or so, get off, use the exit to "retorno" and then use the exit lane until you get back to it. Lots of extra driving, especially if you don't know where you are going.
Most tourists apparently use taxis and buses to get everywhere. Everything is located in the town of Cabo, which is a 5 minute drive from our condo. This place is very nice and the kids are loving it. 2 pools (one had a lizard visiting)
and one with a swim up bar and grill, and a short walk down to the beach.The balcony overlooks the ocean, with crashing surf on a rocky shore one way, and the channel where cruise ships and other boats come in on the other
.
After we unloaded and got acclimated, we drove downtown. It's the off-season here so it's easy to get around. We drove as far to the tip of the cape as you can. There's a Naval base after that. Then we came back through and found a restaurant I had read about. It's right on the main swimming beach, with most of tables actually on the sand. It was packed with people, and vary few of them were Mexican. This place is an American city in Mexico.
We got a table right away despite not having a reservation, and had a great view of the stage where another very good Mariachi band was playing. We all ordered fresh fish tacos, which ended up being made with Sea Bass, a plentiful and delicious fish here. We had guacamole, rice and beans, pico de gallo and house made tortilla chips too. Everything was really good, albeit a little pricier than Mexico City.
The stage show continued when the band took a break. A Mexican wrestler (luchadedor- see here ) was the emcee, and there were native dancers, male and female, contests for doing push-ups, kids breaking a pinata, audience chants and singalongs, and general craziness. We loved it, and plan to come back for our final night here next Wednesday.
We made a quick stop at Walmart on the way home to get the dairy products and meat items we couldn't carry in the heat this afternoon. Walmart is an overwhelming experience here. They have many American products, but other items are only available in Mexican versions, or not at all. We figured it out and drove back to the pretty grounds of our condo development and called it a day. We're now 2 hours behind Savannah time, and an hour behind Mexico City, so our sleep cycles are all akilter. We'll sleep in tomorrow and get back on a regular schedule for the week.
Going to the beaches tomorrow!
All pictures today are from Sarah.
Here are some more of hers from yesterday, around the Zocalo, Temple, National Palace, and Cathedral:
street scene, 9 person bicycle, Zocalo
views from our restaurant next to the Cathedral
Diego Rivera murals
inside the Cathedral (no pictures allowed, except everybody does)
shoeshine on the street
The Mexican stock exchange and financial center
Adios!
Just catching up on your blog on our little vacation to Gloucester. Awesome travelogue as usual, and great pics Sarah!
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