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The Upscale Shopper’s Guide to Los Cabos

September 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment

One can walk down almost any street in Los Cabos and find a varied selection of curios and keepsakes. For those whose ideas of souvenir shopping are decidedly more upscale, however, the shops and gallerias of choice are much easier to pinpoint.

Forget the flea markets, t-shirt shops and tequila emporiums, and concentrate on the small but outstanding group of high-end malls found in cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Here, in exquisitely appointed and maintained surroundings, are boutiques featuring the world’s best luxury brands, as well as posh offerings from Mexican and Latin American specialists in beach and resort wear, jewelry and adornments, and – for seasonal residents – arts, crafts and furnishings.

Cabo San Lucas

The most fashionable address in Cabo San Lucas is found at Luxury Avenue, a luxurious marina boardwalk based shopping destination far too distingué to be considered a mere mall. This is the place to go for your tropical weight Fendi bag, or the latest diamond encrusted accessories from Cartier.  Yacht dockage nearby is optional, but by all means make a grand entrance via the often red or white-carpeted front steps.

Alternative entry is available, however, from the adjoining Puerto Paraiso shopping mall. Puerto Paraiso lacks Luxury Avenue’s majesty, but boasts a much more comprehensive roster of shopping options, ranging from a bank and pharmacy to jewelers, art galleries, beachwear and resort style clothiers, and even a cinema with VIP service and recliners. Nautica, Lacoste, Tommy Bahama and Kenneth Cole stores are in residence here, and Puerto Paraiso is also home to the Land’s End city’s best steakhouse, a far-flung outpost of American chain Ruth’s Chris.

San Jose del Cabo

Luxury Avenue may be a hit with well-heeled visitors, but the preferred stop for flush locals is The Shoppes at Palmilla. Set near San Jose del Cabo and ultra-luxury resort non pareil One&Only Palmilla, this exclusive palm-lined shopping mecca features top-tier fashions and furnishings, and also offers secondary locations for the area’s best sushi restaurant, Nick-San, and the area’s premier organic grocery, California Ranch Market. And, should one become involved in any international intrigue, it also hosts the only U.S. consular agency in Los Cabos.

Plaza del Pescador is the newest of Los Cabos’ upmarket shopping plazas. This strikingly designed commercial center is set across from the Playa Hotelera, the picturesque stretch of golden sand which is home to the city’s biggest and best beachfront resorts. Not only does Playa del Pescador host retail shops showcasing top-of-the-line beachwear and Tommy Bahama resort clothing, it also is home to a silver jewelry outlet, excellent restaurants (including the superb Italian themed eatery La Forchetta), and it hosts the annual San Jose del Cabo Jazz Weekend.

For more information on shopping, as well as luxury villa rentals in which one can stash precious new purchases, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

Photo of Puerto Paraiso courtesy of Solmar Hotels and Resorts.

 

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Los Cabos Fishing Report – September 17, 2017

September 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment

September 17, 2017

Now in the final weeks of the summer season, we are seeing lighter crowds of tourists, as families are now getting settled into the start of the new Fall School semester. This is now peak time for tropical storms to develop and potentially strike the Los Cabos area, this week is the three year anniversary of the incredibly destructive Hurricane Odile. Two weeks ago we felt the impact of a direct hit by TS Lidia, clean up and rebuilding is an ongoing process. This week we have been following three separate tropical systems off to the south of Southern Baja, Hurricane Max is now dissipating as it made landfall in Southern Mexico, the other low pressure area off to the west is not doing much, weakening and is circling far away from land. The storm we are now carefully watching is Tropical Storm Norma, forecast to reach category 1 hurricane status over the weekend. This system is presently moving very slowly and gaining strength, latest forecast has showed it veering further off the west, off of Todo Santos, but ii is unpredictable exactly what path Norma will follow. So precautious preparations are necessary, we are expecting storm surf surges to increase as large as 15 ft. to 20 ft. on Sunday, hopefully not too high of winds and surely we will have rainfall, hopefully nothing like the 27 plus inches we endured from TS Lidia.

Calm conditions prevailed this past week, light winds in the afternoons, mostly clear skies, very high humidity, slightly cooler temperatures at night, with daytime heat index averaging 100 degrees. Ocean water temperature has cooled slightly over the past couple of weeks, now averaging 84 to 86 degrees. Off colored greenish currents are swirling throughout the region, varied clarity in certain areas from day to day. Most of the floating debris from the storm wash out has now dissipated.  The fishing has been on and off ever since the passing of Lidia, there were good numbers of dorado found, though the majority were juvenile sized, an occasional fish over 15 lb. Dorado were found in schools throughout the region while trolling medium sized lures. Also they world readily strike on a variety of bait.

Bait suppliers were able to find sardinas near shore early in the week and along with strips of squid, these were the main bait options available. We expect sardinas will not be obtainable over the weekend with high storm swells, but as those reside hopefully sardina supplies will return and remain steady. Yellowfin tuna were being found from the Gordo Banks and towards the Iman Bank, action was sporadic, from scratchy to wide open, depended a lot on clarity and currents that were running at a given time. Often the yellowfin tuna were seen boiling on the surface, but they proved to be finicky, some days biting right off the bat early, then slim pickings, coming back up late, hard to predict. Average size tuna was in the 10 to 15 lb. class, yellowfin tuna to over 50 lb. were accounted for, though numbers were limited. Reports of tuna to 100 lb. seen in the mix, though the larger grade of tuna have not been striking much. The majority of all tuna action was found while drift fishing with strips of squid or sardinas.

Only a handful of wahoo strikes reported, more of them lost than actually landed. We expect when the water temperatures cool off a bit more and we see cleaner blue water back close to shore, that wahoo activity will improve. Billfish were scattered, a few sailfish, striped, blue and black marlin hook ups reported, though we only had limited numbers of angler visiting now and most of these were preferring to target species such as tuna and dorado. No bottom or inshore action to really report on, besides a few red snapper and triggerfish.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 49 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 1 black marlin, 6 sailfish, 12 white skipjack, 155 dorado, 3 wahoo, 170 yellowfin tuna, 5 yellow snapper, 14 huachinango and 42 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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Destination Relaxation: Signature Spa Treatments in Los Cabos

September 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Although big-game sportfishing and beautiful beaches remain the chief attractions in Los Cabos, there has been an increasing emphasis since the 1990s on upscale draws like championship-level golf courses and pampering world-class spas.

The results, in both cases, have been spectacular. Los Cabos currently boasts three golf courses ranked in the top 100 in the world, and dominates yearly rankings of the best spas in Latin America so thoroughly that it frequently accounts for at least half the entries on annual top 10 lists.

Virtually all of the better resorts in Los Cabos now showcase onsite spas, and most offer a broad variety of quintessential massages and treatments, including romantic couples’ rituals. But what sets these soothing onsite oases apart from the competition are their signature therapies, one-of-a-kind experiences that only they provide.

Here are three unique treatments to try out on your next visit.

Vinotherapy at SOMMA WineSpa (Grand Fiesta Americana)

Chardonnay is available by the glass at Grand Fiesta Americana, but it and fellow grape varietals like Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are also integral parts of the wellness treatments at the resort’s unique SOMMA WineSPA. The vinotherapy focused spa is the first of its kind in México, using antioxidant-rich polyphenol extracts from wine grapes as key ingredients in massages, body wraps, scrubs, facials and other therapies.

Phases of the Moon Rituals at Luna Y Mar (The Resort at Pedregal)

At Luna y Mar, the onsite spa at the exclusive Resort at Pedregal, phases of the moon provide inspiration for a series of transformative two and three-hour treatments, each with a different point of focus, and a different protocol of wellness techniques. The Awakening Moon, for example, stimulates the senses with a seaweed and eucalyptus salt scrub before revitalizing both mind and body with a seaweed wrap and deep herb-infused chili oil massage.

Sea of Cortez Treatments at Saltwater Spa (Casa Dorada)

For many years locals have sworn by the curative powers of the mineral rich waters of the Sea of Cortez. The Saltwater Spa at luxe Medano Beach based resort Casa Dorada puts this belief to the test in its signature 50-minute treatment, as well as in a wide array of facials and body therapies.

For more information about Los Cabos spas and vacation rentals – including luxury villas – call Us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

Photo courtesy of The Resort at Pedregal.

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Los Cabos Fishing Report – September 9, 2017

September 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment

September 10, 2017 

The cleanup from the devastating flood damage produced by Tropical Storm Lidia last week continues. Most of the region has now had power, water and telephone services restored. Though many areas will never be the same after this event and recovery work will continue for months to come. So far the month of September has started off predictably unforgiving, historically always being the most vulnerable to strikes from Tropical Storm systems. Not many tourists in town this week, as local airport had been closed and many others canceled their planned trips due to concerns over conditions, others canceled because of damage to particular hotels. Weather has stabilized in recent days, though tropical cloud formations are present and have produced isolated rain showers. Ocean has been calm and sportfishing fleets resumed operations with not many charters launching because of light numbers of anglers. Good news is that no new storms are heading our way at this time.

Bait options were more limited, no sardinas so far this week, bait vendors remained local, involved in clean up operations, not enough action for them to travel long distances to scout out new resources of sardinas, with so few charters boats going out to make it profitable for them. Reports from the East Cape were that they had plenty of schooling sardinas in their area, but not many charters going out either. Local charters relied mainly on slabs of squid for bait, this seemed to work fine for the yellowfin tuna action. Trolling lures produced dorado and scattered wahoo action. Water clarity was stirred up, lots of current moving around as well. Early in the week much of the inshore zone was very dirty and green, conditions cleared rapidly, though lots of debris is spread throughout the entire region, so caution was needed when motoring about in order to avoid any collision with heavier objects.

The most consistent action found was for yellowfin tuna in the 10 to 15 lb. class near Iman Bank, drift fishing with strips of squid is what the tuna were striking on. On Tuesday there was one monster yellowfin tuna landed from a super panga while fishing on the Gordo Banks, the fish hit later in the late morning on a strip of squid and weighed in at a whopping 314 lb., making it the first official super cow landed this season for the local panga fleet out of La Playita. Other action on these same grounds produced a handful of wahoo and marlin strikes, the big tuna are definitely in the area, they had been late to show up this summer, but are lurking on these banks now.

Dorado were found in good numbers, mainly by trolling medium sized lures, once the schools were found they would readily hit bait. Sizes varied up to 20 lb., though the majority were smaller in size. Remember the limit on dorado is two fish per license, so it is always better to try and release the small fish, especially the females and hold out to try to fill your limit on a couple of better size specimens.

We did not try any inshore action this week, not really the time of year for that now. Not much bottom action found either, strong currents made that option tougher, plus just mot many charter boats were going out, most all of these were looking for species such as yellowfin tuna and dorado.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 24 charters for the storm shortened week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 1 striped marlin, 22 white skipjack, 82 dorado, 5 wahoo, 120 yellowfin tuna and 15 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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Los Cabos Looks Forward to Red Carpet Glamor at 6th Annual International Film Festival

September 5, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Last week’s tropical storm Lidia hit Los Cabos hard, but cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo are quickly getting back to their beautiful selves, and readying for what is expected to be a banner autumn season for high-profile events.

Sammy Hagar will welcome a host of rock star friends for his annual birthday bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina in early October, and the guest list will be even more star-studded than usual, since believe it or not, this is the 70th birthday celebration for the former Van Halen frontman. And of course Bisbee’s Black & Blue and Los Cabos Offshore tournaments, the former affectionately referred to as “the Super Bowl of Sport Fishing, return later in October to continue their tradition of turning fishermen into millionaires.

But when it comes to big names, star appeal and glamor, nothing tops the annual Los Cabos International Film Festival. The 6th edition is slated for November 8 – 12, and as always will provide a glitzy showcase for the area, featuring everything from red carpet premieres and VIP soirees to screenings of dozens of high-quality films competing for prizes and awards.

High quality films are well and good, but the first question most people ask is who are the movie stars attending this year? In past years, cinematic luminaries like Edward Norton, Reese Witherspoon, Matt Dillon, Monica Bellucci, Virginia Madsen, Oliver Stone, Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor have attended, and the latter two actually engaged in a playful “light saber” battle at El Pabellon Cultural de la Republica (the Cabo San Lucas cultural center that hosts red carpet premieres), reprising their roles from the legendary Star Wars saga.

And those are only the stars most familiar to English speaking audience. Stars of stage, screen and small screen in Mexico have also showed out in droves, and are in fact the biggest hit with the locals who line the red carpet railing with paparazzi and national and international media. Eiza Gonzalez is the biggest name to confirm so far. The Mexican born actress won raves for her work on From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, and is now working with legendary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, the director of classics like Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and Polar Express.

But bigger names are sure to confirm in coming weeks.

This edition is also expected to have a slightly different feel, since former festival director Alonso Aguilar Castillo has handed over the reins to Hugo Villa Smythe. Smythe is the current General Director of Mexico City’s Film Commission – an important national position – and thus his commitment to the LCIFF confirms its status as the premiere festival in Mexico, and one of the most important and influential in the hemisphere.

Under Smythe’s guidance, three new prizes will be awarded this year, adding to a list that already includes more honors than any festival in Latin America. Winners for contemporary films and those honored for career achievements will receive La Ballena de Los Cabos, a whale-shaped, gold or silver gilded award that was unveiled last year.

For more information on tickets, screenings, events and attendees, visit www.cabosfilmfestival.com.
For information about vacation rentals, including luxury villas, in Los Cabos during the film festival,
Call Us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

Photo courtesy of Los Cabos International Film Festival.

 

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The Golf Capital of Latin America: Los Cabos to Showcase Golfing Glories at Autumn Convention

August 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Los Cabos has the goods when it comes to championship-level golf. Despite building its first course only 30 years ago,
the Land’s End municipality now boasts three of the world’s 100 top ranked layouts, and was recently named as the 2017 Golf Destination of the Year for Latin America and the Caribbean by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

It is only fitting, therefore, that cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo have been chosen to host the 2nd annual IAGTO Mexico Golf Tourism Convention, a large-scale get-together that attracts golf industry professionals from around the world.

The golf convention is scheduled from Oct. 29 through Nov. 4, and will allow visiting tour operators to network with regional representatives, to play rounds on the area’s many spectacular courses, and of course to visit hotels and premier tourist attractions.

This familiarization process is important, as the IAGTO has tour operators in 61 countries, who last year generated over 2.5 billion dollars in tourism revenue. Forty delegates attended the inaugural convention on the Riviera Maya in 2016, and even more are expected this year due to Los Cabos’ prestige as an elite international golfing destination.

“Golf is one of the key drivers of tourism to Los Cabos,” noted Eduardo Regules Bukantz, Commercial Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board. “We are excited to welcome top tour operators so they can see for themselves why their clientele will have a great experience on and off our fantastic golf courses.”

Peter Walton, President and Chief Executive of IAGTO, agreed saying, “I had the opportunity to visit Los Cabos for the first time in 2003, and in my opinion it stands out as one of the most spectacular golf destinations on the planet. We will be taking hand-picked golf tour operators to Los Cabos for the 2nd annual Mexico Golf Tourism Convention at the end of October, where they will meet with members of the local golf tourism industry and plan their 2018 golf packages, group promotions and amateur tournaments.”

That means more occupancy in late October, early November, a time which already sees large numbers of travelers arriving for yearly events like Bisbee’s Black & Blue marlin fishing tournament and the Los Cabos International Film Festival.

It also means an even greater degree of anticipation around new courses from major champions Greg Norman and Fred Couples, which are expected to open in early 2018: Norman’s at Rancho San Lucas, on the Pacific Coast north of Cabo San Lucas; Couples’ on the scenic shores of Santa Maria Bay in the tourist corridor that connects the cape cities.

Photo of Puerto Los Cabos courtesy of Greg Norman Golf Course Design.

Los Cabos Vacation Rentals

http://www.loscabosvillas.com/los-cabos-golfing/ 

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Bisbee’s Back for Another Year of Turning Fishermen into Millionaires

August 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Earlier this month, Bisbee’s held its 18th annual East Cape Offshore. It was one of their most successful tournaments ever, with 136 billfish boated in the 3-day event, and a record spread of teams (11 of 64) claiming a share of over half a million dollars in prize money.

But as fans of fishing’s most celebrated series of tournaments know, the East Cape classic is only a prelude to Bisbee’s marquee annual events:  the Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue marlin fishing tournaments, held each October in Cabo San Lucas.

The Black & Blue gets star billing, of course. Not only is it the oldest of Bisbee’s three annual tournament in the Los Cabos municipality – it premiered in 1981 – it is also the most lucrative, living up to its hype as “the world’s richest fishing tournament” and “the Super Bowl of sportfishing.” The 2006 payout of $4,165,960 remains the largest in sportfishing history, and nobody turned their nose up at last year’s kitty of 3.5 million.

Cabo San Lucas in October is the place and time where skilled anglers can become millionaires overnight. In 2016, Julio Fernandez’s team aboard Quiteña pocketed a cool $2,183,000 for bagging a bruising 534 lb. black marlin.

This year’s Black & Blue is slated to take place October 24 – 28, with registration on the first day, an awards ceremony on the last, and three days of fishing in between. Those visiting the Land’s End city during the event can watch daily drama as fish are weighed on the marina boardwalk in front of Puerto Paraiso. The drama is a little more tense, however, if you happen to be the one who caught the fish! Registration remains $5,000 per team, or $71,000 across the board for all jackpots and challenges.

The Los Cabos Offshore serves as a warm-up – it is affectionately known as “Little Bisbee’s,” to differentiate it from the Black & Blue, or “Big Bisbee’s” – and kicks off the biggest nine days of the year on the Cabo San Lucas sporting calendar. Scheduled for October 19 – 22, the LCO is thought of as a friendlier, more charity focused tournament than the high-dollar main event that follows. That said, last year’s winners aboard Wild Hooker shared over a quarter of a million dollars. Not bad for a few days on the water.

There’s an old saying that “the worst day fishing is better than the best day at work.”

Where Bisbee’s is concerned, that could be rephrased “the best day fishing is more profitable than the best year at work.”

For more information about Bisbee’s yearly marlin and game fishing tournaments in Baja California Sur, visit www.bisbees.com.

For accommodations click here http://www.loscabosvillas.com/cabo-san-lucas-rental-villas/

Photo courtesy of Bisbee’s.

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Los Cabos Fishing Report August 5, 2017

August 6, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Aug. 6, 2017

Light summer time crowds of anglers enjoyed calmer weather patterns this past week, with no new tropical storms presently forming to the south, it appears conditions will be favorable at least through the later part of next week. It is hard to predict tropical weather forecast too far in advance this time of year. Humidity has increased, August is always a muggy month, there is more could cover, though heat is intense, with the combined heat index nearing 110 degrees. Ocean water temperatures are warming daily, up to an average of 87 degrees now, ocean swells are moderate, as no storms are near at this time.

The main target species which has been cooperating is the yellowfin tuna, with action now being found from the Gordo Banks, Cardon, Iman, San Luis to Vinorama. Sizes for the tuna has ranged from 10 lb. to 80 lb. Most all of this action has been found while drift fishing with various baits, from live and dead sardinas, caballito, chunks of skipjack and strips of squid. It is always beneficial to have as many bait options as possible for this style of fishing. Some days these fish were hitting early, other days late, so you also need to know how to ration your bait supplies accordingly. Just in recent days the yellowfin have been more active on the Gordo Banks, this will be a welcome relief for local fleets, which have had to travel as far as Vinorama to find action and then compete with all of the East Cape fleets that were traveling south to the same grounds. Numbers of tuna were not huge, but many charters were accounting for up to five fish, with many of these in the 40 to 70 lb. class, nice quality fish. A bit line shy as well, so using 30 to 50 lb. tackle has produced more action, though also many bigger fish have been broke off.

Wahoo and dorado were very sporadic, a scattering of mostly smaller sized dorado and wahoo which had bit well last week, tapered way off this week, as they often do become more sluggish when the water temperatures reaches into the upper 80s. Billfish bite was slow as well, who knows what is up with that. Plenty of sharks in the area, as many of the hooked up tuna were being bit into as they neared the boats, from the size of the bite marks, these were not small sharks.

Bottom action was not consistent, but produced a mix of huachinango, amberjack, pompano, bonito and various cabrilla species. Highlight were a few amberjack in the 40 to 50 lb. range. These fish were striking more often on yo-yo style jigs, some on whole and cut baits.

Not much inshore fishing action being dome now, some anglers did scout this option out, but did not have much to report, a few roosterfish, jack crevalle and at least one dogtooth snapper.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 76 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 2 sailfish, 22 dorado, 6 wahoo, 7 amberjack, 3 pompano, 1 dogtooth snapper, 8 bonito, 12 yellow snapper, 202 yellowfin tuna, 14 leopard grouper, 4 spotted cabrilla, 55 huachinango, 11 jack crevalle, 6 roosterfish and 72 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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Driving Down The Baja – August 4, 2017

August 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

This article/info is supplied by Greg Jackson who I have known for over 50 years. I made my first drive down the Baja with Greg & Phil Smith in October of 1985.

Hi Mike,

It’s easy to get the visa at the San Ysidro border crossing at Tijuana.  After crossing the into Mexico, you drive about 500 meters along the border fence before reaching the immigration/customs area.  They need to stay to the far right and enter the separate parking area adjacent to the government building and then walk through the lobby exiting the building and turning immediately to the left to find the immigration office.  Usually there are some tables outside the office with the forms they will need to fill out.  Then you go into the office where the officer will give them paperwork to take back into the lobby area where there are two bank cashier windows, one on the left and one on the right.  Sometimes only one of the two is open.  You pay about $25 USD per visa and the teller marks the paperwork paid which is then returned to the immigration officer who will then endorse the visas and stamp the passports.  Upon exiting the parking area, they can merge into lanes that take them through the customs area.

Upon exiting customs, stay to the right and follow the signs to the toll road.  Some of the signage might also say Playas de Tijuana or Rosarito Beach.  There will be 3 tolls of 33 pesos or $1.90 USD collected on the way to Ensenada.  A nice alternative is to take the “Ruta de Vino” through the Baja wine country with lots of good dining and boutique hotels.

Driving the highway is a great adventure and I am sure your people will enjoy it.  Here are a couple of tips just in case they are first time Baja drivers:

  1. Buy car insurance.  Baja Bound is an excellent source  and the policy can be purchased online and printed out.
  2. Don’t drive at night.  I like to keep it to about 6-8 hours a day of actual driving.  An excellent place to stay for the first night is at the Baja Cactus hotel in El Rosario.  The place is very well run with nice rooms and good king size beds.  A few steps away is historic Mama Espinosas restaurant for dinner.  It’s important to fill up in El Rosario at the station next to the hotel since the next station is about 4 hours  down the road.
  3. The new edition of the Moon publishing Baja is an excellent resource for the trip.  It was written by Jennifer Kramer who has a wealth of experience traveling the peninsula.

Thanks for all your help with our last trip down.  I will get the tuna shipment out to your dad taken care of in the next couple of days.

Greg

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Jim Flick Invitational Returns to Cabo del Sol Golf Courses in November

August 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Los Cabos currently has three courses ranked among the 100 Best in the World, but only one of them regularly hosts tournaments. That’s the Cabo del Sol Ocean Course, which along with its neighboring Desert Course, is the site of the annual Los Cabos Pro-Am and the Jim Flick Invitational.

The latter also showcases a pro-am format, with professionals competing for $100,000 over 72-holes of stroke play, and foursomes (featuring one professional and three amateurs) battling in handicap-adjusted best ball formats to win a 5-day trip to the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews in Scotland. The 2017 Jim Flick Invitational is scheduled for November 7 – 12.

Formerly the TaylorMade Invitational, the tournament was recently renamed in honor of the late Jim Flick, a PGA Professional and golf instructor for more than 50 years. Flick taught golf in 23 countries and worked with pros like Tom Lehman and Jack Nicklaus, with whom he founded the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools.

Nicklaus’s breathtaking Ocean Course is of course the star attraction. Ranked in the top 100 in the world for 15 years running by GOLF Magazine, the Ocean Course hugs the coastline, offering stunning mountain, desert and Sea of Cortez views before concluding with what Nicklaus himself has called “the three finest holes in golf.”

Although lacking the same accolades as its Ocean neighbor, Tom Weiskopf’s Desert loop also offers an unforgettable golfing experience, and is certainly worthy of sharing the Cabo del Sol imprimatur.  The scenically sculpted layout is currently rated as the 6th best course in Mexico, and was included among Golf Week’s 50 top courses in Mexico and the Caribbean for 2017.

The inaugural Jim Flick Invitational in 2016 was won by Michael Block, head professional at the Arroyo Trabuco Country Club in Mission Viejo, California; and in the team category by the foursome of Jason Marciniec, Alan Marthinsen, Chris Raftis and Bill Sarris. As a bonus, nearly $40,000 was raised for the PGA of America’s Junior League Golf during the post-tournament Trophy Night.

Jack Nicklaus was honored with the first ever Jim Flick Trophy last year, an appropriate selection given the relationship between Nicklaus and Flick, Nicklaus’ unrivaled status as 18-time major champion, and his contributions to Los Cabos golf.

Nicklaus effectively put Los Cabos on the golfing map in the early 1990s with spectacular layouts at Palmilla, Eldorado and Cabo del Sol (Ocean); and has since built upon this legacy with the magnificent Quivira, challenging Campestre, and a unique collaboration with Greg Norman at Puerto Los Cabos. His son Jackie accepted the trophy on his behalf.

This second edition of the Jim Flick Invitational will boast an impressive list of sponsors, headlined by the PGA, Corona, Pepsi and Adidas. For registration and other information, visit jimflickinvitational.com.

For tips on resorts or rental accommodations, including luxury villas, Call Us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

Photo courtesy of the Jim Flick Invitational.

 

 

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