cabo san lucas information source - los cabos guide

Los Cabos Magazine - Issue #10 - 2006 - Articles

Beaches - A Beach for Every Body
Los Cabos Magazine Beaches and Outdoors Article.
With over fifty miles of spectacular beaches, Los Cabos has a beach for every body and activity level. Whether your idea of beach bliss is swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, or surfing, you won’t have to go far to find the beach of your dreams.

Los Cabos Magazine article - Issue #10 - January 2006 - by: Ann Hazard

Part 2 of 2 - Beaches Article - Part One

Exploring East Cape Beaches

The East Cape, from Los Frailes on the south to Bahía de Los Sueños (formerly Bahía de Los Muertos) on the north, encompasses over sixty miles of virtually unspoiled coastline. The beaches are wide and empty, the water calm, warm and clear. Every so often, you’ll find an enclave of upscale homes or a small town. Most are accessible only by dirt road. The hotels are small, spread out and intimate. Fishing tends to be the primary draw in the resort towns of Buena Vista and Los Barriles. With more than 850 species, the East Cape is one of Earth's most prolific sportfishing areas. The area also offers SCUBA, snorkeling, wind surfing and kite boarding, kayaking, bird watching, and just hanging out at the beach. Expect to be seduced by Mother Nature. Expect a sky that is a perfect pale shade of periwinkle, spreading endlessly overhead until met by the jagged mountains of the Sierra de La Laguna. Expect to be captivated by these mountains, layered back in rows, shaded dark to light and hiding oases, waterfalls, and ranchos where every manner of tropical fruit grow. Expect seas that range from pale jade green in the shallows, blending to aquamarine and cobalt blue as the water deepens. Walk along the shore, watch a roosterfish race by, fins in the air, chasing down lunch as pelicans, frigate birds and osprey follow behind, ready to dive at a moment’s notice.

Los Frailes and Cabo Pulmo
Heading north out of Los Cabos along Highway 1, turn right at Las Cuevas, about 40 minutes north of the airport. Go east toward La Ribera and Cabo Pulmo. The most southern of the East Cape beaches, Los Frailes and Cabo Pulmo are a 40 to 45 minute drive, part paved, part not. You’ll come to Cabo Pulmo first. In June 1995, Cabo Pulmo was declared a marine preserve by the Mexican government—it’s off limits for fishing. The underwater park is eleven miles long with eight different coral finger reefs. A Mexican fishing vessel, the Colima, sunk in a 1939 storm, lies in 18 feet of water offshore, with the added wreck a dive for SCUBA enthusiasts. Visibility ranges from 60 to 100 feet, and ocean temperatures range from 65 to 80 F. Hook up with Pepe Murietta, a certified dive, sailing, and kayak instructor. He’ll take you to Los Arbolitos, a palapa-studded beach where you’ll swim with needlefish, triggerfish, rainbow colored parrotfish, goliath grouper, yellow and gray-striped tiger fish, spiny brown-spotted blowfish, eels, and sea turtles. Paddle a kayak out to the sea lion colony near Los Frailes.

Buena Vista and Los Barriles
Ten minutes northeast of Las Cuevas on Highway 1 lands you in the twin towns of Buena Vista and Los Barriles, along the edge of Bahía de Las Palmas. Baja’s quintessential beach community, this area is made for ocean lovers. There are several small resorts and RV parks, the Buena Vista Beach resort, an expatriate community, and water sports galore. In the winter months windsurfers come from everywhere to play here. In the spring, summer, and fall, it offers the best in fishing, diving, snorkeling, and kayaking.

Punta Pescadero
North another 40 minutes along the spectacular coastline will land you in Punta Pescadero, a fly-in fishing resort with a few homes. Stop anywhere along the way and enjoy an unspoiled beach all to yourself. Take a picnic and spend the afternoon. Underwater rock formations and abundant sea life make for first-rate snorkeling.

Bahía de los Sueños
An hour north of Los Barriles by boat and 45 minutes east of La Paz by road is Bahía de Los Sueños, the East Cape’s new happening place. The plan calls for 600 upscale homes, a resort with golf course, and two marinas. Now, there are less than a dozen homes and the Giggling Marlin Beach Club. Anyone who has been to Cabo has heard of the landmark bar Giggling Marlin. The palapa restaurant in Bahía de Los Sueños bears no resemblance to its Cabo cousin. With breathtaking views of mountains, sea, sand, and sky, you can enjoy a superb meal while watching panga fishermen return with the day’s bounty. The waters are warm and calm year-round, and the spun sugar sand is pure bliss. Watch Cubana rays fling themselves into the sky and slap down against the surface of the sea.

Part 2 of 2 - Beaches Article - Part One
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico - Last Revision - 27 July 2006 - jat