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The art season has once again started in San Jose del Cabo. Every Thursday local artists and galleries welcome residents and visitors to celebrate art and artists. Plaza Mijares (the central square between the City Hall and the Mission) is the art garden. From about 4:00 pm every Thursday, artists display their original work - paintings, lithographs, photographs and even some jewelry. The plaza is often completely filled with a wide range of artwork. The Gallery District in San Jose del Cabo is centered on the street (Calle Alvaro Obregon) the runs along the back edge of the plaza from just alongside Casa Natalia for several blocks. There are also galleries that are on some of the side streets radiating from this main street. Gallery owners welcome in visitors and often offer wine or other items as well as giving people the opportunity to meet the artists. There was a formal ribbon cutting ceremony on November 14th at 6:00 to open the season for 2019 and 2020. Outside of the galleries, artists also display their works on the streets and in some of the plazas. There will often be music and other entertainment on the streets as well (e.g. mimes). Any visitor to San Jose del Cabo should plan to take in this weekly Thursday event. For more information on the Gallery District visit https://www.facebook.com/GalleryDistrictSJC/
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About a decade ago, the sleepy fishing village of La Playita on the coast of the Sea of Cortez just outside of San Jose del Cabo was transformed into Puerto Los Cabos by developer Eduardo Sanchez Navarro. What Puerto Los Cabos became and its master plan still to be finished is a self-contained community that offers all of the best of Los Cabos. The Marina One of the big challenges for Puerto Los Cabos was the marina. La Playita had been one of the main jumping off points for fishermen travelling to Gordo Banks, the main fishing area to the north east about five miles. The construction required the dredging of a harbor entrance and marina, while at the same time protecting the fresh water estuary that was adjacent. Currently, the marina has slips for about 250 yachts and room to expand to another 200 slips. There is a full marine service and storage facility for people to have their boats repaired or stored. The marina has a malecon that allows visitors to walk around the harbor and a store to get supplies if you are staying onboard or going out to fish, scuba dive or just tour the area. Plans exist to build a live work area with shops and condominiums on San Jose del Cabo side of the Marina. Accommodations Prior to the development of Puerto Los Cabos, about the only place to stay (other than in San Jose del Cabo was The Marina Inn, across the street from the beach where the pangas left for their daily fishing expeditions. Today, there are four hotels, ranging from the boutique art and music property, El Ganzo on the marina to Secrets, J.W. Marriott and the recently opened Zadun, Ritz-Carlton Reserve. The El Ganzo is known for its artist decorated rooms. Painters, musicians, fabric artists, electronic artists who have stayed in the hotel’s suites leave a unique work of theirs behind (on the wall, in an iPad) and the room is named after them. The hotel has a stage on the roof for concerts and a full recording studio in the basement. Secrets is an adult only hotel on the beach adjacent to the J.W. Marriott. Both hotels have direct beach access and all of the amenities that you would expect – fine dining, swimming pools, spas and fitness centers. At the end of October, the much awaited Zadun opened following the early launch of the West Enclave residences and condominiums, which have the advantage of access to the full services of the resort. Golf While fishing was the main attraction of Los Cabos in the past, world-class golf has become one of the main reasons that people now visit the area and Puerto Los Cabos is no exception. With two 18-hole courses planned (27 holes completed so far) designed by Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, visitors can have a great experience. There is a stunning clubhouse, driving range and putting green and the palapa rest stations on the course provide food and beverages to the golfers, who are experiencing incredible views of the Sea of Cortez and the mountains. Ultimately, the Jack Nicklaus course (now completed) near the water will become a private course available only to residents or guests in Puerto Los Cabos and the Norman course will remain open to the public. Jon Turk is the pro for Puerto Los Cabos golf and wants every player to have an incredible golf and hospitality experience on their round. Restaurants From a few local taquerias and seafood palapas, Puerto Los Cabos now boasts some of the best restaurants in Los Cabos. In nearby Las Animas (less than two miles from the marina) are three of the best and highest rated farm-to-table restaurants in Los Cabos – Flora Farms, Acre and Los Tamarindos. The hotels offer a range of dining options as well from the New York-based Café des Artistes and the Nak Grill and Bar at the J.W. Marriott to the El Ganzo Restaurant and Sushi Bar on its roof, there are lots to places and types of food from which to choose. You also don’t want to miss George’s Restaurant at the Marina Hotel, T’s Bar and Grill on the beach, La Ostra Seafood restaurant just to the right of the first roundabout as you enter the back of the marina and Buzzards Bar and Grill in La Laguna, just 5 km down the East Cape road. Other Activities Golf is not the only activity available in Puerto Los Cabos. The El Ganzo has a beach club on the other side of the marina. You can enjoy some of the best fishing in the world for tuna, red snapper, wahoo and mahi mahi from the marina. Gordo Banks fishing and a few other charter services are happy to arrange for a boat of almost any size to search for your favorite type of fishing challenge. And of course, snorkeling and scuba diving can also be arranged in Puerto Los Cabos. Wirikuta, a cactus and sculpture garden also offer an authentic Mayan experience with a dinner and show at the roundabout just as you enter Puerto Los Cabos. Hiking, bicycling and walking to explore the area, the beaches and the estuary are all close at hand. Thursday evening offers the Art Garden and Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo and the organic market is open each Saturday morning with produce and arts and crafts. Residences Of course, Puerto Los Cabos is not just for visitors to the area. There are a number of opportunities for home ownership. Flora Farms offers Culinary Cottages and Hillside Hayloft, all built environmentally. Homes and condominiums are available in two gated communities in the area that not only have access to golf and other amenities but also to a private beach club. The residences at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve West Enclave range from single family homes to large condominiums. All of these areas require entrance through a main gate and then through gates to each of the communities within Puerto Los Cabos. Close by, is the beachfront community of El Encanto (it is adjacent Puerto Los Cabos on the north/east side) as is Laguna Hills. So if you are visiting Los Cabos, take some time and explore Puerto Los Cabos and the start of the East Cape. It is truly worth it. The sign at the entrance to Wirkuta says "Take a Mystical Journey". This is because the location combines three unique experiences. As you enter the grounds, you have the opportunity to see hundreds of different types of cacti that are found in the deserts of Mexico. Undercover and with information about each type displayed. School groups often find this to be a very interesting tour. But beyond the cactus garden is a large sculpture garden that combines both traditional stone sculpture with modern metal sculpture spread widely across the field. Three natural stone pyramids make up a part of the journey, depicting the history of the Mayan culture. This is a central part of the only night time show of its kind offered in Los Cabos. The show combines a Mexican meal with the costumes and dancers depicting history of the culture as well as some modern interpretations. For more information about Wirikuta and the night time experience visit http://thewirikuta.com/index.html One of the favorite things for which people shop in Los Cabos is handmade Mexican products. From both a quality and a price point of view, there are some exceptional deals. When we built our home on the East Cape, we wanted the style to be Modern Mexican. To us, this meant modern lines but Mexican accents throughout. All of the bathrooms were designed with hand-painted ceramic sinks, toilet paper holders, inset soap holders, towel and toothbrush holders and towel hooks. These brightly painted ceramics give the house its style along with the saltillo tile floors. Add painted clay sconces for iighting, equipale (simple crossed wood and leather) furniture and some carpets and the colors and quality of Mexico come through. The main source at that time (and until today) for the design items was Artesanos on the main highway just outside of Cabo San Lucas. This is also one of the first stops for our guests when they are interested in glasses, plates, coffee mugs, pewter, silver or ceramic serving pieces. Whether furniture, fixtures, ceramics, glassware or artwork, this is great stop for any visitor or resident in Los Cabos to find unique items. In San Jose del Cabo, the Plaza Artesanos on Blvd Mijares is another great source. This is a whole square block of small shops that offers everything from apparel to rugs to ceramic fixtures, all kinds of glassware and artwork from which to choose. Unfortunately, neither of these locations appear to have websites or Facebook pages but there are lots of reviews on Trip Advisor.
Each Wednesday morning for most of the year, an organic market is held at Bajhaus in Zacatitos. Providing a gathering place for the community and beyond, Bajhaus not only is the location for the organic market but also on Wednesday evening, it hosts Off-the-Wall Cinemas nights with recent movies and the $50 peso admission goes to East Cape Critters to care for the animals in the neighbor hood. The organic market offers much more than fresh produce. You can enjoy freshly made empanadas, buy your fresh seafood for the evening meal, select from a wide range of hand-crafted jewelry, artwork and apparel and even make appointments for massages, yoga classes or a cranial massage. There are also organic soaps and fruit drinks made by people from the local community. With the slogan, "Don't Panic, It's Organic," this is a fun meeting place on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 am. A similar event is held at Vida Soul in Boca de Vinorama on Friday mornings. Come by and meet the vendors and residents in Zacatitos.
The Turtle Sanctuary on La Laguna Beach. On Saturday evening at about 7 pm, Paul Meredith was walking his dog along the beach when he saw a mama turtle leave the water and make her way up the beach to lay her eggs. As he was walking home, the man in charge of monitoring sea turtles just happened to be patrolling the beach and help her lay her eggs. There were a total of 83. It was amazing to watch. Thank you Paul for the story and the photos. Mary McGrath Keenan also added - Lovely way to end the day. Mama turtle laid 83 eggs! Thanks to Paul Meredith of Buzzards, a local turtle rescue guy stopped by to help protect the eggs from future ATVs and predators. Amazing! For more information about protecting the turtles in Los Cabos visit http://www.todostortugueros.org |
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