We have an amazing villa that overlooks the Sea of Cortez. There's a huge master bedroom, two bathrooms, full kitchen that came with all the pots, pans, silverware, dishware, dishwasher, etc that we need, a huge living room, two flat-screen TVs, two balconies, and the best part: an in-suite jacuzzi!! We literally have a jacuzzi in our master bedroom and it's the kind where it's in the floor, not one where you have to climb in. It is amazing! The whole place is amazing. And our view is incredible, we just don't ever want to leave!!
We arrived last Friday night, and we were supposed to have the hotel’s taxi company pick us up. But our flight was a little late, and somehow it all got messed up so we had to just grab a taxi (which was so expensive), but everything worked out. Once we got to the hotel, we checked in and got a tour from one of the bell boys/tram drivers. It was already dark since it was around 9pm, and we were exhausted from travelling so we went to sleep pretty quickly.
The next morning it was so great to wake up to our beautiful view! We spent a lot of time that day just absolutely shocked about how gorgeous it is here, and how lucky we got! So when we woke up we were really hungry, and since we hadn’t yet gone into town to grab groceries, we went to one of the restaurants here at the Club Regina called The Inizio. Breakfast was delicious, but so expensive that we realized we had to go get groceries fast! So that day we spoke to the concierge, explaining all that we hoped to do and getting prices for everything, and then caught the local bus to San Jose del Cabo to go to La Mega – the closest grocery store (which all the locals told us was even cheaper than Walmart). We spent a good amount of time there and took a taxi back, that way we wouldn’t have to walk the mile back to the hotel (since the bus drops you off on the highway in front of the resort, and you have to walk the rest of the way up to the resort, and since we are staying in the time share portion, ours is even farther away).
Grant at the bus stop...then a picture of both of us waiting for the bus (notice the sweaty forehead haha)
Sunday was our lazy day. We woke up late, ate a delicious breakfast of eggs and toast, and then went to the lobby to speak to the concierge again about the week ahead. We got some prices for her, and then went over to the activities center and got pricing from them. We soon found out it was much cheaper to book directly from them, instead of going through the concierge. We decided on three different activities: Wave Runner Tour of the Arch and Snorkeling at Santa Maria Bay on Monday, Monster Zip Line Tour in the mountains on Wednesday, and ATV Tour along the sand dunes and beach on Friday! We were very excited!!
The rest of the day we spent hanging out by the pool and the ocean, and then we went to 7 Seas for dinner – this really nice seafood place close to San Jose del Cabo. We got to sit on the balcony, which overlooked the ocean. It was so beautiful. And it’s Grant’s new favorite restaurant now – he got Mahi Mahi with asparagus and mushrooms, and then they brought us a surprise piece of cheesecake at the end since it’s our honeymoon! I thought it was delicious, and Grant nearly died he was so happy! I guess we’ll have to come back often!
Our view at the restuarant - we just looked out at the water and watched surfer's the whole night:
We went to bed pretty early that night since the next morning our pick up for the Wave Runner Tour was at 8:20am – and that’s pretty early for us since we were getting used to sleeping in! We woke up just fine the next morning though – since it’s so bright and beautiful, it’s not hard to get out of bed here. We got picked up near the lobby, and taken to Cabo San Lucas. We were dropped off at Medano Beach, where we were escourted to the Baja Water Sports Table – they have tours for wave runners, snorkeling cruises, kayaking tours, parasailing, and glass bottom boats. All the activities sounded fun, but I’m pretty sure we got the best deal. Everyone who comes to Cabo goes to see the Arch and Lover’s Beach. The Arch is absolutely beautiful, and it’s famous because it (and Lover’s Beach) separates the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. Most people who go to look at it just go on one of those snorkeling cruises where they put you on a big boat, and you sail up – a good distance away – from the arch and they give you information about it while you snap pictures. And then they’ll sail you to a close beach where you can get out and snorkel, and then they sail you back. But not us!
We got to drive the wave runner all the way to the arch and to lover’s beach – parking at each while our guide told us about it. We actually got to ride through the arch and all around it, on the Pacific Ocean-side as well. And because Grant and I were the only ones in our group, it was easy for our guide to go very very fast! He also took tons of pictures of Grant and I at each stop (which I loved!)
And instead of going to a nearby beach, our guide took us many miles away to Santa Maria Bay to snorkel. Grant was first up to drive the wave runner, so he drove all the way there, jumping like mad the whole time. It was so much fun! I just held on tight and giggled the whole time.
Santa Maria Bay was gorgeous, and so private. There were maybe four other people there besides us, and we were all snorkeling. It was Grant’s first time snorkeling and he really loved it. Our guide was cool too, he kept diving down and grabbing things and bringing them back up to us. I’ll admit – I was pretty scared the whole time and so Grant snorkeled right by my side, holding my hand the whole time, it was really sweet. I don’t know what it is but I hate knowing what’s under me. I hate seeing the fish swim around me, and I hate having my head under the water. So needless to say, I was pretty scared but Grant hadn’t done it before and I promised him I’d do it with him.
So we spent a good amount of time there, and then on the way back it was my turn to drive! I remember going to Lake Powell when I was about 8 or 10 and there being a wave runner, but I was never really allowed to drive it – so being able to drive this wave runner all the way from Santa Maria Bay back to Medano Beach was incredible! The water was much more rough on the way back, so we were jumping faster and bigger waves. I had so much fun, and again I was just giggling the whole time. It was the best thing ever.
When we got back to shore, we had about 3 hours until our taxi came back to get us. And since there’s a huge tourist town nearby we decided to go walk around and get something to eat. We were very dehydrated at this point and the sun was blaring down at us, so we went to the first restaurant we saw which we knew would have air condition – the Hard Rock Café. The food was surprisingly good actually and we got to cool off in there for a while. Afterwards we walked around the shops, but there wasn’t really anything good so after a while we headed back and spent the rest of our time on the beach. Then we caught our ride and once we got back into our room we took a much needed nap. We were exhausted from the wave runners and just being out in the sun all day really gets to you!
We only slept for about an hour because we had appointments to get massages on the beach at 6! It was so relaxing! We both changed into our robes in the dressing rooms at the spa and then were guided out to the cabana on the beach where we were to get our hour-long massages. The hour went by way too quickly and the massage felt so good. It was the perfect time of day to get them too because the sun was going down, casting a mix of beautiful colors in the sky, and the breeze from the rolling waves (which were right next to us) felt so nice. Plus the sound of the ocean was so peaceful and calming, it was perfect.
This is where we got our massages!
After our massage we spent a while in the sauna before reluctantly leaving and going back to our room. We were originally going to make dinner after our massage since we had already eaten one meal out, but we decided to go over to The Inizio instead. Grant got the Fettuccini Carbonara and I got the Steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus. We each ate half of our meal, and then switched and finished the other’s. It was delicious.
The next day was Tuesday, and it was another lazy day. We spent the entire day lounging by the pool and the ocean, and we didn’t eat out once! We swam, sun bathed, walked along the beach, played in the sand, and made all of our meals in our room. We were trying to save money, but we went to the little deli here to get some more spaghetti sauce to make pasta again, and ended up spending a whole meal’s worth anyways because of how much they charge you for Haagen Daaz ice-cream here! $21.00 for one pint of ice cream!
The next day was Wednesday. We went on our Monster Zip Line Tour in the mountains! Wednesday was the first day since we’ve been here that we’ve seen a single cloud in the sky. And we were really grateful for them! The sun was so hot and we were up really high, in the middle of the desert, so we were really getting the brunt of it. The zip lines was so much fun! We had to wake up early again to catch our ride, and there was a little scare because the front desk called us telling us that our ride was at the lobby waiting for us. This was at 7:50, and we had just woken up. The guys had told us our pick up would be at 8:30 so we were not at all ready. We ran around in such a haste and grabbed everything and threw it in my bag, and ran to the lobby. But when we got there – there was no van, no ride. We were so worried that they had left without us – since someone had called us and told us they were waiting for us! But it turned out that wasn’t the right van anyways, ours was indeed at 8:30 and so we had about 10 minutes to go back to the room, finish getting ready, and eat breakfast. It was a crazy morning – but it definitely woke us up.
The drive to the spot where we were going to do the zip lines was about 30 minutes and then our whole tour took about 3 hours. It was awesome! There were 8 zip lines in total, and after each one there was a huge hike to the next. On some of the lines we went singles, and some we went doubles, meaning Grant and I went together. I thought it was going to be so scary but it really wasn’t. It was so beautiful from way up there, and being able to just zip across the mountains like that was really really cool! The longest zip line was 2,675 feet! The other’s ranged from about 600 feet to 2,045 feet. The majority of them were longer – we only had one or two that was really short. It was a pretty big group that we went with too, but we were near the front so that was fun because we got to see everyone behind us go on the previous ones while we were up ahead.
That activity really exhausted us because in between each zip line was a huge hike (I know I already said this, but I want to emphasize it! It was very tiring!) So afterward we came home and made more spaghetti for lunch, then took a nap and used our jacuzzi. We went down to the ocean and for dinner ate at one of the nice restaurants here. Grant got steak fajitas and I got the buffet, which was delicious!
Then the next day, Thursday, was another lazy day (we really love those). We slept in and made breakfast before packing up for our day at the beach. We had decided on Monday that the Santa Maria Beach was just too beautiful to not come back to (this was the beach we went to for snorkeling during out Wave Runner Tour). So we packed a bag full of towels, snacks, water, and bread for the fish and took a taxi there. The beach is seriously gorgeous. It's a tiny bay enclosed by huge rock formations on either side, giving it a real private feel. When we first arrived there were tons of those snorkeling cruise boats there, so tons of people were in the water snorkeling. But after an hour everyone left and we had the beach to ourselves. We rented a big umbrella and one set of snorkel gear and spent about 3 and a half hours playing in the ocean/laying out. There was also a popsicle vendor, which was great for me! I got a strawberry one while Grant got pineapple flavor, and then later on I went back for a lemon flavor.
We got a great tip from Grant's sister Becky, who just visited Cabo with her husband a couple of weeks ago. She told us to bring pieces of bread in an empty water bottle and go snorkeling with it. So when we released some of the bread, we were swarmed with fish all around us! They could smell the bread in our hand, and at first I was terrified but after a while I got used to it and even let the fish bite the bread right out of my hand! It was definitely a cool experience.
We caught the local bus home from the beach to our hotel, and took a nap once we got back. We lounged around and that night went for some good authentic Mexican food in San Jose del Cabo. The restaurant was called Las Guacamayas and it was the best food we’ve had all week. Best part was it was SO cheap!! We got more food than we could eat for just $20. Each taco was only $1.50 and they were so so good. If ever we hear of friends going to Cabo, that is the restaurant I will recommend. It was very authentic – a small little outside restaurant and no one spoke English, which was great because it gave me some practice with my Spanish. Grant is so lucky to have me around – he’d never be able to communicate without me! Haha
So the next morning, Friday, we had to wake up very early to catch our ride to our next activity: ATV tour! It was a 3-hour ride all around the desert, sand dunes, and beach! We had so much fun, and got a few good pictures. The group experience was a little different than our other activities. For the wave runner tour, we were the only ones so we had a private adventure with our guide which meant we could go at any pace, and any speed we wanted to. And with the zip lines, we were in the front so it didn't affect us at all to have many people in the group. But with the ATV tour, there were several people and the ones in the back were very slow, which really affected us! I was first in the line, right behind our guide, and then Grant was behind me, so each time the guide looked around and saw the people in the back were far behind, we all had to stop. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad because our guide led us to several areas where we could just take off on our own, going as fast as we want. Plus I'm pretty sure our guide got pretty tired of stopping and waiting as well so after a while he just stop waiting and went really fast (which was great for us). We had a blast, especially on the sand dunes! They were up and down and swiveled around corners so if you got going pretty fast, you could jump your ATV over the hills, and really skid around the corners. It was great!
Since we knew Friday was our last full day we tried taking advantage of all the pools and the ocean right at our resort. So once we got back from the ATV tour, we showered and went to lunch at The Inizio again, which sits you right over the ocean, with a beautiful view. After lunch we took a small nap and then spent the rest of the day down by the pool. I enjoyed laying out for a while and Grant went down to the ocean, checking out all the small tide pools and whatnot. It was such a great, relaxing day. We were going to go out to dinner that night but instead decided to just make dinner in and we ate the last of our pasta. Then we went around the resort, trying to just get the most out of everything.
Sadly, the next morning we had to wake up to pack, clean up, and check out. We had a direct flight home and had a few hours in the airport to spare before boarding. We were starving and had no cash left from the trip, figuring we could just use our credit cards at the airport. But we soon found out that the internet was down from the storm coming in (we left at a great time because the weather was getting cold!) and so that meant all the ATMs and the card readers were not working. So we were stuck in the airport for several hours, without any means to getting food. Grant was ready to start selling me out as being pregnant and begging people to accept a check from us in exchange for cash so he could feed me and the baby....however it didn't come to that. Still though, our situation was pretty unfortunate.
So our conclusion was to get home as soon as possible, get a $5 Hot and Ready from Little Caesar's and eat at a rapid speed until our belly's were satisfied....we ate the whole pizza! It was disgusting, but so delicious.
So now we are home again, and missing Mexico. It really was a fantastic honeymoon! Some quick highlights:
- Our maids were amazing! They made us several swan creations that I got very excited over!
- The beach was so incredibly beautiful and we enjoyed our sunset walks every night and playing in the sand
1 comment:
love all the pictures! haha, now just gotta read the blurb. haha
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