It's Premium Tequila

I somehow managed to board my flight and return home last night from an exhausting, but great whirlwind of a weekend in Cabo San Lucas. The fantasy bball crew and I wanted to celebrate my impending nuptials with ew, and after throwing around the typical spots, some more sophisticated haunts, and crazy international locales, we settled on a mix of all three in Cabo.

Not knowing much about Cabo, we pretty much embraced the idea that MTV's The Grind presented back in our junior high days: a place where young, attractive women go looking to have fun, much like Vegas, but without all pressures that come with Vegas's glitz and glamour. Plus, there's a wider range of day activities that don't make you lose all your money (for nothing).

So what was Cabo really like? I think maybe the best way to address this it to go through it piece by piece.

Worst Of

People

So let's just say we were probably a bit naive to expect Spring Break action in September. In fact, one of our taxi drivers said that September is probably their slowest month ... and it showed wherever we went. Our pool resembled more of a male Turkish bath than anything you'd see on TV. All the clubs/bars seemed to have guys outnumber the girls, and there seemed to be more local Mexicans than tourists. This led to places like Squid Roe and Cabo Wabo being pretty sparsely populated, and with the people there, it was usually dominated by Mexican males or groups of people that were older than we were expecting. Given this population, suffice it to say that a group of Asian men weren't the most popular group around, making it a bit tough to get things going.

Premium Tequila

So again, this is probably our fault for being naive, but we asked one of our taxi drivers to recommend a place to eat. And wouldn't you know it, we end up in a huge tourist trap, as he takes us to a restaurant that immediately forces us to enter, tries to act friendly with us, gouges us on the bill, and then feigns ignorance about the whole scam. The only explanation for the entire price gouging, including $40 for a pitcher of margarita? "It's premium tequila, bro." Stay away from that seafood restaurant behind the National rental car place near downtown Cabo San Lucas.

Tourism

Cabo's biggest industry is tourism, and it shows in everything they do there. You don't get the local Mexican rates for anything, everything seems a little bit like a scam, and it's hard to understand if there is really any value to be found. It's like that feeling you get when you follow a Lonely Planet guidebook in a developing country and find that every recommendation is populated only by foreigners.

Best Of

Beaches

When you begin to descend to the Cabo airport, you can't help but wonder if you went to the right place. In fact, you may wonder if you were actually in some place like Tijuana or Mexicali. I don't think any water is in sight from the airport, only desert and rolling hills of more desert. But as you make your way down the 1, you begin to see the city take shape, with its gorgeous haciendas dotted along the coastline, all the way to the famous arch that Cabo San Lucas is known for.

The beach itself was sparsely populated, probably because of the strong rip currents and waves, but for the moments when the waves didn't send you crashing to the floor, the water was warm enough to enjoy and the movement fun to dive around in for a short time. But the real treat of the beach is lying in that sand, whether it's from playing a game of tackle football or staring at a sky full of stars while having a heart-to-heart. It's soft and inviting, and you can imagine falling asleep on it.

Taxis

Whenever the group of us guys go to Vegas, we inevitably end up splitting up the group to take cabs somewhere. So much to our surprise, Cabo taxis include vans that can seat up to 12 people. I'm not sure why Vegas doesn't follow suit with this, because I guarantee most groups in Vegas are more than 4 people, and it's always more fun sticking together.

People

So among the masses of people who had no interest in Asian men, we found pockets of fun from some unpretentious, easygoing, and really nice groups. Ay asked me why girls find the need to act cold when you just want to start a conversation; upon reflection, I don't really know why either. Why go to a club or bar if you're not at least interested in talking to someone beyond who you went with? But thanks to d (or is it p) and her friends at Squid Roe, and the Chicago girls at Cabo Wabo, we had enough female interaction where the trip didn’t feel so, what’s the best way to put it, “manly.”

But it wasn’t just the girls that helped make the nights fun. Despite my earlier criticisms of the large number of Mexican males present, I found that they are actually pretty nice and generous, whether it is encouraging you to dance with their girls, or giving you advice on where to call a cab.

Tacos

Growing up in San Diego, I'm a bit of a sucker for tacos. So even though the tacos I had in Cabo weren’t particularly mind-blowing, I have to mention how they just do it right in Mexico: simple tacos that aren’t filled with lettuce, cheese, or any other topping; just meat on a tortilla, with fresh pico de gallo and some salsa on top. Add guacamole if you like as well. If the meat is halfway decent, then a fresh taco off the grill is delicious.

So What Does It All Mean?

I remember my sister said that Puerto Rico is basically the U.S. in Spanish. Cabo is pretty much the same, except if you went somewhere that only had people living there to serve the tourists. So it’s a bit of an odd destination with much less character than most of my usual travel destinations (though maybe similar to a lot of beach travel destinations), but it’s a pleasant place that with the right people, can be pretty spectacular.  Next time I go: VIPS and Mi Casa.