For my hotel friends .. May I present the JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa

Greeting friends!  This will be a short post to share a little bit about the JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa.

On my last night in Los Cabos we decide to stay in a hotel, take a hot shower, sleep in a big, comfortable Marriott bed!  Then get up the next morning and head to the Airport.

Upon arrive to the hotel we were greeting by a friendly staff and refreshing Arnold Palmer with Alcohol 😀 After a speedy check in we went to our room to drop our backpacks (traveling very lite) and go take a look at the property.  They have a family Pool, Adults only pool, a Salt Water Pool, a Waterfall pool, a swim up bar pool - get the picture?  Lots of water features here.

We took a tour of the spa which has all all the normal spa treatments you are looking for, plus the unusual pre-Hispanic Temazcal, a sweat lodge used to promote heath and overall well being.  They also had an amazing looking 'Vitality' pool.  You have to purchase a spa treatment to try it.  If I was going to be there for more than just over night, I certainly would have loved to check out this spa and get a treatment (or two!)

There is very easy beach access at this property so between the pools & the beach you should be able to get your swimming fix in.

Our room was beautiful!  The Bathroom had a large tub as well as a huge shower,  After being on C-YA for a week, we used both - took a nice long soak with a glass of wine and then showered - cleanest I had been all week, LOL!  And then of course an amazing king-size Marriot bed - heavenly nights sleep!

the view from our balcony 

Lastly, we were there on a Sunday Morning and they had a brunch going in their restaurant - When checking in I was told it was the most amazing brunch in all of Los Cabos.  Having working in the F&B industry all my life - I've seen a few hotel brunch - it was going to take a lot to impress me.   Happy to say, I was truly blown away.  Every thing you could possibly want and then some!  I think one of the things that impressed me the most was that they were backing their breakfast breads in  small amounts right on the line - every half hour!  Talk about fresh!  Here are a few pics for your enjoyment

Day shot from our room

Night shot from our room 

7 Days in Los Cabos on Sea Vessel C-YA

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love to sail.  I can't afford (and am not skilled enough) to have my own sailboat, so I tend to attach myself to friends with sailboats 😁 This summer I made a new friend (GS for future reference)  with a beautiful sailboat - C-YA is her name.

They were docked down in Chula Vista as GS made preparations for a sailing rally in October.  I was fortunate enough to be invited to sail with GS a few times this summer.  Fell in Love with C-YA. she is amazing, and just the right size in my mind.  She is an Island Packet 40 - two staterooms, each with their own head and a nice sized salon.  GS has put a lot of work in to this beauty and it shows.

The Baja Ha-Ha is a sailing rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  This year was the 25th sailing. GS & a friend took off on October 29th.  If you want to hear that story - ask me for GS' blog and you can read all about it.

Shortly after the rally I received an invite to fly down for a little sailing - pop up trip, but who could say no to that!  A friend told me about flying out of Tijuana & using the Cross Border Express(CBX).  If you live in San Diego and are planning to go to Mexico - this is a great way to do it.  CBX is an enclosed pedestrian skywalk bridge exclusively for TJ Airport passengers to cross the US/Mexico border.  All you need is your boarding pass & passport - $20 dollars will get you a round trip ticket.  EASY!  I flew on the Mexican version of Southwest (Volaris) - it was very affordable.  All things said & done I probably save $100 - 120 by flying this way rather than out of SD Airport.

I arrived at SDJ - San Jose Del Cabo airport - this is the area that serves the Cabo area - Los Cabos is a municipality located at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, in the state of Baja California Sur. It encompasses the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo linked by a twenty-mile Resort Corridor of beach-front properties and championship golf courses

GS met me at the airport and off we went - first had to stop for some provisions, then it was off via water taxi to C-YA.  She was anchored in just off the shore in front of some of the popular hotels like RUI.  At night we could see the hotels fireworks & light shows as the entertained their guests

It was a rock & roll kind of night at this anchorage with the sea waves tossing us around and almost out of bed at times!  GS had been at this anchorage for a couple of days already and had enough !  At the first crack of dawn he was up and pulling the anchor and getting ready to get out of there!

here is an except from GS' blog - when I read his description of the morning his blog it made me laugh - accurate but funny (to me, not so much him LOL)  I woke up to this sunrise  - no complaints.

Here is how GS described it....

The morning of the 12th woke up to a very high surf, so where I was anchored it was like riding a roller coaster.  Few times during the night was tossed around in my bed sleep was not a given that is for sure.  I scrambled up .......  Once the anchor was clear and I could see it I hurried to the back of the boat and spun the wheel pushed the throttle and C-YA and I went into the sunrise.  All this before a cup of joe jeez I wanted to get out of there badly.  Headed out and got things straighten and pulled some lines and out with the sail's and very nice to sail but unfortunately going the wrong way.  Since I did not fully check the weather the Northerlies came in.  For you folks in California the Santa Ana's.

After GS got things settled we motored in to Puerto Los Cabos Marina where we got fuel & water as we were going to sail towards La Paz - hoping to stop and snorkel.  Off we went and quickly discovered that the wind was not going to be our friend this day.  After bashing about and trying to sail north, we decided to chuck it for the day, turn around and head back to the marina.  

Upon arriving back at the marina, there were not any slips available - but they did have an anchorage we could moor in - however, the style of mooring was a Mediterranean Mooring, which neither GS or I had done before.   Mediterranean morning, aka 'Med-Mooring' is a technique for mooring a vessel to a pier or anchorage at a perpendicular angle.  Basically we had to tie off two lines from the back of the boat. It was quite the experience - there was already a big Catamaran moored there and the skipper of that vessel was giving us some helpful hints on what to do.  There was help from the marina staff to catch our lines and tie us off as we put out the anchor, but in the end, they weren't that helpful as they kept pulling us in closer to the rocks!

GS - not thrilled with the Med-Mooring

see the Osprey?

Many sailing vessels from the Baja Ha-Ha were have the same issues trying to go north, so through out the afternoon, many motored in to the same mooring area and we repeated watched as other struggled like we did. One thing I absolutely adore about the boating/sailing community is how everyone helps each other out.   As more sailboats came in to the anchorage, everyone pitched in and helped each other.

Once we settled in/went to the office to pay our fee for the day,  there was time to relax.  Sitting in the cockpit of C-YA and I hear an Osprey!  "Ospreys are very large, distinctively shaped hawks. Despite their size, their bodies are slender, with long, narrow wings and long legs. Ospreys fly with a marked kink in their wings, making an M-shape when seen from below."(wikipedia)   I look up and there she is, sitting on the mast! Beautiful birds, but you don't want them pooping on your vessel!  Bang the mast with something to make it vibrate and she fly's off.  But wait, she is fond of C-YA and comes back repeatedly!  

GS has a solution for that!  Don't worry, its not fatal - just a little glass BB to encourage the pretty bird to move on!  It worked!

Yep, that is a sling shot

GS sees the Osprey!

Sculpture

Without the cooperation of the wind, there was no point in trying to sail - everyone was in agreement, so we decided to explore our surrounding area.  On the way to the Marina office we discovered and 'Art Walk'.  The installation was of a local artist - Lenora Carrington (b.1917 - d. 2011), a surrealist.  Here are a few snaps of what we saw:

Lenora Carrington

Walking the art trail

Interesting sculptures and surrealist paintings, sprinkled in between the story of her life.  She was a rebel born in England, but lived the majority of her life in Mexico City.  She wrote about her life in 'Down Below'.  I read her bio on Wikipedia, she lead a very interesting life.  Worth a read if you are interested in art.

standing next to the Harp sculpture

As I mentioned above one of my favorite things about sailing is meeting others in the boating community.  Everyone is so friendly and happy to share information.  I met so many lovely people while we were in the marina.  C&C, the couple moored right next to us, J & his two sons who he was teaching how to sail, CJ & M my new girlfriends from the shower room LOL!  But possibly my favorite new sailing friend is this gentleman - HR (with GS on his boat) 

 Man does he have a sweet vessel!  And what a lovely man.  He has been sailing all his life, and is now sharing his passion with his grandchildren.  We enjoyed several meals with HR and I hope I cross his path again - Got his card, maybe we will get to sail together some day! (fingers crossed!)

Well by now have you figured out that we never got the wind we hoped for?  So what do you do when the weather just won't cooperate ?  Enjoy the beauty of where you are, with the people around you that's what!  We explored the area, ate and drank with new friends, took the bus in to San Juan Del Cabos, and were blown away with the spectacular sunrise/sunsets.  

This cross glowed different colors at  night

The view of the marina from a local cafe

good times with new friends

Sunrise at the marina

Saw this sign & had to stop 2 for 1 Margaritas!

also amazing Enchiladas 

The aforementioned Margaritas!

This map shows Cabo San Lucas to San Juan Del Cabo - the Corridor

Beautiful - yes?

Pano of the marina during sunset - from the deck of C-YA

So while we did not get to sail much, it was still a wonderful, relaxing week.  Before flying home to San Diego we spent one night at the JW Marriott Los Cabos Resort.  Another spectacular JW resort - I'll do a separate post of pictures of the property for my hotel friends that like to see the hotels I travel to.  Love my Marriott benefits!

The key to a successful, enjoyable vacation is not to stress when things don't go as planned. The world is a big beautiful place, there is always something to do, find, explore!

Until next time, remember  to relax & enjoy your travels no matter where they take you
Susan

Travel Tips: Try using CBX when traveling in Mexico!
https://www.crossborderxpress.com/node/1

Hello Travel friends & family - yes I am still a live

Anybody still interested out there ....? 😀   I know it has been so long since I have posted - I have traveled since my last post, I just haven't been motivated for a while to blog - but I think I've got my mojo back, so I plan to try and catch up and write a bit about what I have been up to -   I just got back from a week in the Los Cabos area of Mexico, and will write about that first.  I have several other trips I have done and will post some info & pictures of those as well.

Hope you will come a long for the adventure!
Susan