Los Cabos: Timeshare and San Jose Flora Farms

I realize that I have delayed this post, simply due to the fact that I like to write about traveling in some sort of cohesive time frame, and on reaching this day I was almost lost for words. This would be the day that we booked into the owner's meeting at the Grand Mayan Hotel in San Jose del Cabo. There are redeeming features of this day in the life of a traveler in Mexico, but the morning left such a poor impression that I feel I should at least mention it again in passing without being too nasty about it (but I would really like to be).

To elaborate on my first commentary http://hooliganting.blogspot.ca/2013/11/los-cabos-2013-grand-mayan-and-san-jose.html Do NOT ever agree to sit through a timeshare presentation at this resort. Both my friend and I were required to attend, so in good faith we walked down and went to the desk. I informed them that I couldn't make any financial commitments that day, nor could my guest. The timeshare people work on commission, so we wanted to ensure that our presenter had the opportunity to make a living. The manager persuaded us that they just wanted to show us the property and make sure that we were getting the most out of our stay. Fine. We did the tour and it was lovely. Mind you, this is after maintenance refused to fix a locked door and had been to our room several times. It is after all the tours we booked through the front desk had glitches. It was after we heard about theft at the gift shop and shady practices by their accounting. So, we weren't really buying the whole glitzed shebang of a tour.

Breakfast was pleasant but nothing spectacular, and by the time that was done it was already 10:00. Then, round two of presentation, following by financial heart attack numbers, followed by sales pitches started. You are forced to say I am sorry, we can't afford this over and over again and it is very demeaning. From here, you say no and get sent to round 3, followed by round 4, followed by a last ditch attempt at round 5. At 11:10, we left to return our rental car completely worn out.

Now, I had been through this before and knew we hadn't been given a decent gift to even warrant that behaviour and I decided a long time ago that unless you are actually able to purchase something, don't even waste your time. Discounts and payments are not worth 2.5 or 3 or 4 hours of your time. I walked out with my friend and we got in the car and went for a spin before we had to return the car. During that ride, I got my friends take and realized how insulting the crew had been. So, I went and demanded an apology for treating a guest of mine badly and of course, they never issued one.

To recover, we spent some time by the pool and went to the concierge to book dinner at Flora Farms. The concierge, by the way, was delightful. The rest of the hotel staff were good to us, just the timeshare sharks were not. So, he booked us in and we went for dinner.

Now Flora Farms is a MUST do if you can swing it. The location is incredible. The staff was awesome. Live music played and blended right in. The food was organic and incredibly tasty. They have a couple of shops and homemade ice cream. There is a vegetable garden and the most amazing bathroom. This was by far worth the $20 cab ride and the $100 price tag. I would definitely say this was one of the best meals I have ever had. I am still annoyed I wasn't able to finish it. Sigh. So, to finish off this post...here are some images as my words don't do it justice.

Roast chicken

Homemade bread

Beet root and carrot gnocchi...oh...could live off these!

 

And you can even stay here

The bathroom! Seriously awesome!

Mail included.

Hooliganting: Los Cabos: Loafing and La Paz

Hooliganting: Los Cabos: Loafing and La Paz: Glorious sunshine streamed through the double deck doors and woke me up. So, the following day in Los Cabos became nothing more than a beach...

Los Cabos: Loafing and La Paz

Glorious sunshine streamed through the double deck doors and woke me up. So, the following day in Los Cabos became nothing more than a beach and pool day. The sand was warm on the feet and the bartenders were very attentive. By the end of the day, the skin was warm and the brain was relaxed. Just what I ordered!

We finished the day by wandering the streets of San Jose Del Cabo. This time, we did find the downtown and a very intriguing art district. The plaza was wide open with locals wandering in and across the roads. School children roamed the streets freely and we wondered about the school timetable. The vendors were inviting us in but laughed with us as we refused their almost free offers. Cheapo Phillipo was charming and fun, despite being over priced for our lowly budgets. Eventually we wound up at the Baja Brewery for supper after enjoying the street life. Fabulous food and a great outdoor eating area. What’s not to like?

Cheapo Phillipo (he tattooed himeself with the nickname)

Main Plaza

The following day we managed to snag a rental car for the day. Lesson learned: Either rent from the airport or the concierge. Do not rent from the travel desk as they were unreliable and not even apologetic. The concierge got us a great car price and size quickly and in the meantime, we had a cup of coffee.

The car was brought right to the hotel so we were able to complete all the paperwork from there. That was very convenient and so we set off for La Paz. Now, driving there was not that difficult. First thing to note is that speed limits seem to be guidelines, as are the stop signs and even traffic lights. In addition, with all of the construction they sometimes use real people and sometime cut out men with flags. The only road issues that were taken seriously were the Mexican military check stops.

In the meantime, we drove north through Cabo San Lucas on highway 19 through to Todo Los Santos. The rolling highway with the scenic blue ocean views added in with the mountains and tall cacti were spectacular. There were construction detours that required a bit of an adventurous spirit and I swear that neither of us saw the Hotel California (seriously – how did we miss it?).

The road to La Paz took about 2.5 hours. Once there, we decided to stop at Serpentario de La Paz. Outside the gates, we had some lunch and then wandered it. This place is volunteer run and can definitely use the visitation and funding to rescue animals. There were turtles and snakes, birds and an alligator, bunnies and more tortugas. I enjoyed the aviary where you could feed the birds. They were so trusting and landed willingly on arms and fingers. The bunnies were quite happy to be petted and even the large tortoise tried to get his share of the attention. However, the place isn’t that large so we headed out for more exploring.

 The little car bounced through the roads and we found ourselves down on the waterfront. So, we parked the car and walked towards the Marina and viewed the Malecon. Then, we found a delightful little museum tucked into a gorgeous building. There was art and views that took a bit of time to enjoy. From there, you can easily walk to the Cathedral Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Paz to take in the lovely art works, the ambience and Lady’s chapel. I was amused to see a day of the dead Halloween style display.

Next up was the Museo de Antropología  where you can get a sense of the history of the region. It seemed to have some displays that were still being redone and honestly, it doesn’t take very long to go through. We were done in under an hour. In fact, by the time we found a coffee shop and had some coffee, we were feeling like La Paz didn’t really have that much more to offer. So, more adventures of road works and bumpy roads ensued. We twisted and turned our way to Bandaros Beach and that should possibly have been our first stop as it was stunning. From rock formations, to a lovely bay and gentle breezes, you can feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.

 The only hiccup we really had was our stop there meant that we were driving home in the dark and we took an alternate way back using Highway 1. You are warned to watch for cows sleeping on the road, but I never saw an alive one until much later in the drive. What was more alarming was the crazy speed bumps that signaled a village ahead that you couldn’t see until you were pretty much impaling your head into the roof. My poor co-pilot didn’t even have anything to hang onto. In the meantime, I will say that the roads minus the speed bumps are really fun to drive. I just think that perhaps daylight might have helped. All in all, it was a great day.

Hooliganting: Los Cabos: Cabo San Lucas and Sonia

Hooliganting: Los Cabos: Cabo San Lucas and Sonia: These were the images that flashed on the screen at the hotel, just prior to setting out for the day. You see, I can be a terri...

Los Cabos: Cabo San Lucas and Sonia

These were the images that flashed on the screen at the hotel, just prior to setting out for the day. You see, I can be a terrible optimist. After waking up reasonably early on the Sunday, we wandered out on the deck and then had breakfast. The clouds were heavy on the horizon and there was no promise of a beach day per se. Instead, I grinned over to my intrepid traveling pal and said something along the lines of "It rains, we get wet." Lunch was assembled and instead of wallowing in the hotel, we wandered down to the desk to see if our zip lining tour was going to go.

Those images flashed up and after about 30 minutes, we heard that zip lining was not happening due to the weather. From our point of view, there was a light mist and nothing much happening so, between us, we decided to catch a bus to Los Cabos. $20 for a taxi or 54 pesos for a bus ride. Having a healthy sense of adventure mixed in with a practical budget mind, the bus was appealing.

Yes, we had directions. Yes, we still missed the turn to the Mega and purple flower and so walked the long way around to the bus stop. Then, the clouds opened up and the rain poured down. Warm, windy and wet, our clothes were soon soaked and hair dripping. But, the bus pulled up and we ran for it.

The bus to Cabo San Lucas from San Jose takes about 30 minutes or so, depending on the stops. Plus, the adventure comes into play once you realize that you have no idea where you are, where you are going, or where the bus driver intends to go. The stops are just a guideline. Of course, we missed our stop and finally had the sense to get off when the other adventurous American pair got off the bus with new directions to take transport back the other way. JR were fun and just as lost as us.

The next bus took us back into town where we saw the stop we should have used. For the record, it is right across the street from the fire department.

The Fire Department has some interesting feature vehicles and is apparently a tourist stop complete with gift shop and coffee shop. Of course, we don't have a map and we don't have landmarks so we decided to try and find the beach. The beach in the rain...by now, you know I have no sense. 

Do we go this way?

So, off we went. All four of us were now traveling in a pack. We were in fact heading towards Medano Beach but due to the weather, and a very insistent pedicab driver that was vehement that we were going the wrong way, we never did get there. Instead, we were persuaded to get into his cab (all four of us) and let him pedal towards the Marina. The bike had an epic failure with the chain coming off and the pedicab was finished. So, his friend decided he would try and for the fun of it, we let him.

pedicab bike ride

So, we found ourselves deposited in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. We shopped and then JR decided to find a bar and we went exploring the Marina. We walked through and around soaking in the sights. We found the artisan market and spent the rest of our morning haggling for wares. I think the lack of people due to a closed waterfront meant that we got some better deals than usual. However, it was dry with bathrooms and that was all we needed. In fact, the rain had been on and off and so we ate our lunch perched on the steps of the market where it was dry. We shopped our way around the waterfront to get back and tried to dodge the worst of the rain. The rain circled in and out and was very unpredictable.

The rain was about to pour.

With the weather looming, we opted to try and get to Cabo Wabo to have a drink and relax for a bit. The sky laughed at us and the rain poured out of the sky, turning perfectly good roads into rivers.

A river ran through it.

The water was knee deep in the middle so we bounced our way along street corners and wound up at the Cabo Wabo as perfect contenders for a wet T-shirt contest. I think dripping on the floor actually cleaned it.

The funniest part was meeting up with JR again here. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out and drying out. More shopping ensued and then we decided to bus back to the hotel for dinner and drinks on our much appreciated DRY deck.

Lessons learned: Get a map. Get directions before setting out and it rains, you get wet. VERY wet. The weather forecast was pretty much accurate.

Hooliganting: Los Cabos 2013: Grand Mayan and San Jose Del Cabo

Hooliganting: Los Cabos 2013: Grand Mayan and San Jose Del Cabo: Northern climates tend to get a little chilly at this time of year, so my friend from Texas and I met up at the airport in San Jose del Cabo...

Los Cabos 2013: Grand Mayan and San Jose Del Cabo

Northern climates tend to get a little chilly at this time of year, so my friend from Texas and I met up at the airport in San Jose del Cabo. That in itself was not easily done as there are more than one terminal at the airport and as luck would have it, we wound up at different terminals. In Mexico, there are the timeshare sharks that lurk in the interior lobby of the hotel. Once clearing customs and having your bag, it is wise to remember to walk quickly straight through the gauntlet of timeshare sharks to find your transportation. I would strongly advise to have a shuttle meet you and many resorts will provide you with that info. Ours had a free shuttle so that was good.

The Grand Mayan Resort was lovely. While it is surrounded by the San Jose Del Cabo work force putting in water lines, the Bell staff came to be some of our favorites during the week. Vegas and Oscar were delightful, checking us in and seeing to our bags. Check in at the front desk was smooth and then we got turned over to the timeshare sharks.

Do NOT ever agree to sit through a timeshare presentation at this resort. The discount options offered could be found better in town at Magic Tours and the massage places across the street were great. In addition, they state 90 minutes and in reality, we arrived at 8:30 and left just after 11:00 after trying to not so rudely extricate ourselves. Repeated questions about income, martial status and such were designed to make you feel inadequate and that really dampened the holiday mood for a moment or two. Mind you, we didn't do the presentation right away, but you do have to make a decision on the spot.

Our room was gorgeous. We had ocean views, full kitchen and it felt palatial. Some of the touches I enjoyed was the nightly turn down service, daily cleaning, an abundance of towels, and the deck area. The pools were gorgeous and the beach stunning. Things that had us questioning things were the locks on the doors that maintenance took three days to fix and prices being charged at the resort for drinks and food.

I have strayed from my story though...

After checking in and getting settled, we knew that we needed groceries. We had some time so after getting directions, the walking shoes were pointed in the direction of old town San Jose. Wandering the streets, we found a delightful plaza and then some restaurants. Thinking we had seen old town, we turned to the left and walked up to find Walmart. Since it was there and we were, we loaded up with groceries. I did have my wheeled carry-on with me, so that got the flat of water and we lugged the rest. We walked along the highway to try and figure out our way, but since going into Walmart darkness had descended. After looking at a map, we turned to the left, thinking that we were going the right way.

We weren't.

After walking for a bit, I saw two gentleman parking their car and I piped up "Ummm I think we are lost, can you help?" These two men turned out to be American and on vacation with their wives. We must have looked pathetically done in as they offered us a ride to the hotel. I think we must have scared them as they referred to their wives a lot and I wonder if we got them into trouble. For the record, we were very grateful for the ride as we were still a good couple of kilometers away. Being grateful and not wanting to put them out any further, we got out on the side of the road so that they could avoid the construction. That meant we had to cross the street.

The cactus tree took one look at me and stood up tall, fierce and mean. I tried to sneak past it but no...it reached out and the next thing I knew there was blood everywhere. It oozed through my fingers and pooled fast and furious into the earth on the median. My friend was like where are you and I was muttering " I think we have a problem." She managed to haul groceries while I dripped my way to the bell men. They called me a medic and the relationship was born between Cactus Girl (me) Southern charm (my partner in crime) and the fabulous bell men. Turns out that a pin prick into an artery/vein can spew a lot of mess. (Sorry about the clean up men). A bottle of rubbing alcohol, band aids and lots of gauze later and we were good to go.

Tomorrow was a brand new day, with no mistakes in it yet...but that is another story for tomorrow, or as soon as I get around to it!