My brother from another mother Mark Russell and his wife Jan finally put Cabo San Lucas on their schedule. Steve and I bid farewell to the birds in Cabo Pulmo, packed up and headed to San Jose to retrieve Mark and Jan from the airport. From there we headed to our timeshare, the Grand Solmar Resort, for our last week in Mexico.
Mark is a salesman. Actually he’s the CEO of Linstol, a manufacturer of products for the airline industry providing them with everything but the food for a flight. Headphones? Yup. Logo napkins? You got it. First class cabin amenities kits? He knows more about high-end beauty products than I do. And now an award winning “Super Cup”, but that’s a story for another time. So to get airlines to buy these products it takes a salesman, and that, indeed is what he is. I gave him (and Jan) the option of either taking or skipping the “owners update breakfast” provided by our timeshare annually, where they try (in vain in our case) to sell us additional weeks, upgrade our unit, or interest our guests in purchasing fractional ownership. We go because we get discounts on food and beverages at the resort, and discounted massages. In Mark’s case it was a busman’s holiday; he was up for it. He now calls it the most expensive breakfast he’s ever had.
Ultimately they purchased fractional ownership at the resort: 53 weeks of it. The negotiations were fun to watch; a lot of back and forth. Tough, but fair, comes to mind. He walked away with a letter stating no one else would get a deal at a lower price, a few additional developer’s weeks and a couple of bottles of sparkling wine. And I get to know that we’ll see them more often!
As we do with all first timers to the area we made the rounds. The glass factory, Nick-San’s for sushi of course, Alcaravea for fettuccini Alfredo, and the glass bottom boat tour to see the famous Los Cabos arch and sea lion colony.
We also went to Chileno Bay, a favorite beach and snorkeling area. Grand Solmar is on the Pacific side of the arch, with a wild rip current and no swimming allowed. Swimming in the ocean requires a trip up the road to the Sea of Cortez beaches. Medano is the spring break beach where all manner of debauchery is happening at any given time. Chileno Bay is more family friendly and has fish to boot. I had bought a bag of frozen corn to use as an ice bag for my post-surgery shoulder. I knew it’d end up in the trash at the end of the week so I dumped it in a ziplock and brought it to feed the fish. I asked Mark if he had a pocket, and he obliged by stuffing it in his swimsuit. And as soon as he hit the water, WHAM, fish and seagull alike had grabbed the bag and a feeding frenzy ensued. How did they know? He was relatively unscathed, and after the melee died down he retrieved the plastic bag. One less thing to end up in the Pacific gyre.
I don’t always mind that we cannot swim at our resort, for the amazing waves can mesmerize me for hours. Mark & Jan agreed. Mark so much so that he wanted up -close and personal pictures of the waves. A security guard on the beach warns guests to stay out of the water. He approached me to check my room number and he motioned to Mark, who was very close to the surf. I told him, “Don’t worry, he’s crazy but he’s not stupid.”
And I love the crazy in him, because I knew he’d want to swim with the whale sharks in La Paz with us. So I picked the most promising low wind weather day (it can get verywindy in Los Cabos) and we made the 2-hour trek to La Paz. Business as usual for the boat captain included a bribe to officials who claimed his license had expired. Maybe, maybe not. But since we were tied up to the official’s boat awaiting the OK to go into the area where the whale sharks congregate I don’t think he had much choice. The water was incredibly clear and the dolphins guided us into the vast cove with the whale sharks. Luckily there is regulation – no more than 5 snorkelers and a guide in the water with 1 whale shark, no more than 14 boats in a very large area, and specific instructions as to what we could and couldn’t do. First sight of them was amazing. These were the babies and they were bigger than the boat. I can’t imagine what mom and dad looked like. It’s great if these leviathans are feeding as they just hang out and let you look at them. But when they take off, well, holy crap, are they fast. Mark and Steve kept up, I couldn’t. But I did get to be in the water with them for a while and Mark and I both got some great photos.
Back at the resort after dinner we taught Mark and Jan a new card game we’d learned in Spain last year from friends Teresa and Pablo. Its new name for proper company is Poop Cabesa. Cabesa is “head” in Spanish; you can make the more crude translation. It was worth the price of admission to see Jan slam her husband with a pile of cards he neither wanted nor needed with the most innocent expression on her face. We’re looking forward to the next trip with them to pick up where we left off. And many more trips (to Cabo!) to come. It was an exciting, amazing week.
Made better by being with people I love.
I think Jan has finally stopped hyperventilating over our expensive breakfast:-) Always love time spent with you and Steve and looking forward to many more years to come.
As do we! Love you!
D.
Very funny, Deborah. It must have been one heck of a sales pitch for Mark, a master salesman himself, to bite! But I think what really got him was seeing the beauty and pleasure you two have enjoyed for years. Your photos are always wonderful – these are spectacular!
The whale sharks were certainly a first! 🙂
D.
Sounds like a grand time was had by all!
Excellent pictures and blog, love. You omitted the fact that the corn was organically grown and that was why the fish liked it. The couple on the beach next to us had processed corn and the fish did not touch it. It is also a fact that as soon as the whale shark heard that Rooster Cogburn Bullock was in the water, it quickly swam away to avoid danger. I am only reporting the facts – this is not fake news.