To Travel is To Live

Yesterday, before leaving beautiful, sunny and hot Cabo, I took a walk to take some pictures and capture some more memories to hold me over until my next vacation (and for dreams of returning). View from Casa Dorada restaurant The Medano Beach Fisherman "Sleeping" Jet Skis Land's End Lover's Beach Medano Beach Swing Seats at the Baja Cantina bar

Lee and I have been fortunate to meet a few Canadians who now live and work down here in Cabo San Lucas, and it's making us both ponder the possibilities. Today we took a whale watching tour with Whale Watch Cabo and our guide, a lovely young marine biologist, is from Canada. She told us how Cabo is her base but because tours like this one are seasonal, she needs to take on projects elsewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean. She is also a dive instructor/master and supplements her merger income with odd diving jobs. While she doesn't make a lot of money, Lee and I both agreed the sacrifice to live in this climate would be worth it. And because I'm so easily bored and like work projects that have a fairly defined end date, the lifestyle she has seems ideal for me. I would also enjoy taking small groups out for tours where I can help them understand, respect, and appreciate nature more. This makes me wonder if an ecotourism program might be up my alley. What also made m...

An early start after a great sleep, we got our runs and gym time in before heading to the beach. I'm not sure what was in the air today but the vendors on the beach were especially irritating. They were whistling at us, yelling "hey! Hey! Hey ladies", and interrupting us during conversations. Usually a quick shake of the head or a "no thank you" and they are on their way. It wasn't so today. We tried the Casa Dorada beachfront restaurant for lunch. This is still the hotel I want to stay in next time. Food was great, staff were very friendly, and we were well protected from the beach vendors. Today was another lazy day. We suntanned, had drinks at Billygan's, and relaxed. We witnessed a second couple get engaged on the beach too. We had dinner reservations at Baja Cantina at Cabo Villas. This was one of my favourite places from last trip and their selection of fresh seafood did not disappoint. The scallops for an appetizer were light and fre...

Today we planned nothing. It was nice to get up when we wanted (7am for me, for an early run) and just get going at our leisure. Lee wanted to go back to the mall for a couple of things, so after some tasty veggie juice and coffee from downstairs, we ventured over to the marina. The mall was nice and quiet at 10 am so it was pretty quick to get things done. Dogs on our way to the Marina Side street from the marina By 11, I think we were at the beach. A lunch of salad and yummy corn tortillas at The Office was followed by some time laying on the beach. We though we'd be safe from the super annoying vendors by parking ourselves away from the crowds and against a hotel rope but, nope. They swarmed us! We only got away briefly during a quick dip in the near-frigid ocean. After repeating "no thanks" one too many times, we decided to head out to Lover's Beach. Negotiating with the taxi people ahead of time for our round trip wasn't nearly...

So, I did it! I am officially an Advanced Open Water diver! Today, I completed my dives. The deep dive was alright but, goodness, cold! I don't remember much because I was shivering so much. My buoyancy was better but my ears hurt a lot. I saw a zebra eel, or three, huddled in a rock crevasse. I'm sure I would have failed the naturalist dive if it had been a test but I did okay. Sea cucumbers, little slug-like things, moray eels (yuck!), rays, and fish. No sea lions, again, or whales, unfortunately. This dive had massive drift which was interesting. At times I couldn't get anywhere! My night dive was actually pretty cool. I could become quite disoriented during these dives but crustaceans are way more active and there was this disgusting, long eel out on a rock. Nothing exciting happened when we shut our torches off but that's okay - I have seen bioluminescent creatures before. I found out it's about a 15-20 walk from our hotel to the Manta dive shop. This sav...

Coming back to Cabo has been as wonderful as I remember and I'm still experiencing new adventures. We are staying in the same hotel as in October due to price and location and I couldn't be much happier. Maybe one day I'll choose to stay in a larger hotel on the beach but this one is great. I think they've improved their Wifi since I was last here because its working great from inside our room. Of course, we were still told it would only work in the common areas. No problems yet though! The weather is great - around 28 degrees but it cools off as the sun goes down. No sitting out all night in a tank top and shirts for me but I'm still okay with light pants and a t-shirt. The sun is hot during the day so I'm happy as can be! Today was Day 1 of my Advanced Open Water dives. I took a taxi to the dive shop this morning and found the guys without any issues. My dive master/instructor is from England and very helpful and accommodating. He took me first on t...

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! Today I thought I would do some research to find out how Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world.   It’s always exciting to visit another country and experience their traditions first-hand, and a look into those traditions that would intrigue me enough to specifically plan a vacation seems like a fitting task for today’s post! When Valentine’s Day is considered here in Canada, most people think of flowers, chocolates, and husbands scrambling at the last minute, getting ripped off by knowing vendors!   Stores are full of cheap, useless pink and red decorations (because, honestly, aside from perhaps elementary school classes, who actually throws a Valentine’s Day party?), and everyday chocolates come out in heart-shaped boxes at slightly higher prices.   It’s a fun day – I love Valentine’s Day, but not for these traditions.    Valentine’s Day is based upon St. Valentine , a patron saint from the 5 th centur...

On most Friday evenings from September through June, people looking for a place to dance to music from big band era jazz to current Top 40 hits can swing by the regular, yet informal, west coast swing dances held in Calgary.  Hosted by a great group of friendly, experienced dancers, these events are meant to help people enhance their west coast swing skills and keep on dancing - as any dancer knows, this is what is most important! Everyone is welcome, no matter what their experience.  In fact, what draws newcomers into this group and makes them members for life is the welcoming atmosphere and the lack of judgement by their peers.  Everyone is there to enjoy themselves, and most people are willing to help beginners out with their techniques and steps without criticism.  Dancers who have competed in west coast swing across the world attend, as do local instructors.  The music is diverse and there will be at least one song that is easily recognized by every atten...

“Angie!   Angie!!” bellowed the short, compact man in front of us, adorned in his cooking whites, surrounded by the tools of his trade.   Chef Paulo Monti beckoned his assistant without so much as a second thought, while continuing on with our Tuscan cooking lesson.   Ten expectant and curious pairs of eyes eagerly awaited his next instruction as we peered over each other’s shoulders to catch a view of the next tip or trick our wise leader would share.   Angie, the meek mannered yet agile assistant, raced between our counter and the kitchen 40 feet away, keeping the dishes clean, the food supplies stocked and setting up all sorts of Italian cooking gadgets and utensils.               CucinaItaliana , run in the back of a quaint hotel restaurant in the outskirts of Lucca, offers cooking classes that range from half day marathons (as was our adventure) to 7-day treks involving examination of ingredients...