Cabo June 09

[tusancho00]

Just a note to give some visibility to Cabo and the activities.

I stayed midway between Cabo and San Jose on the baja peninsula at a timeshare so I was able to visit both towns and had a great time.

Safety: Cabo-The town is overflowing with citywide improvements. So much that most of the main streets through downtown are either blocked off or open only one direction. This causes both positives and negatives. The clubs are open and people can still visit the tourist areas, but there's difficulty getting around and it is possible to get lost since the only thing guiding a person is one's sense of direction as it relates to the water. Most streets are not lableled and many prefer taxi trips to driving. The positives is that there is sooooo much money being dumped into infrastructure that one is constantly surrounded by investors, business people, corporate clones, etc... They're everywhere. It seemed that this year's tourism is down to an all time low. I was approached by so many locals offering assistance, that it was unbelievable.

San Jose-No longer the smaller, red-headed step-sister that kept all the tourists in Cabo. It now boasts over a dozen resorts and has a draw similar to Cabo with around 14 dance clubs/restaurants. For some reason, it felt like most of the people I partied with in this town were nationals. Nothing wrong with mexican women dancing and drinking with me, just that I wasn't expecting it. Traveling to Cabo in the past usually meant Americans getting drunk and partying their mind away.

Activities: Here's what I did, perhaps not your approach, but I had fun.

The bartender at our resort, Ruben, sees me flirting with his cutest waitress and tells me that he can guide me into the local scene where I can meet more ladies and enjoy a beer for $8 pesos. I tell him that I'd like to visit both of these scenes in San Jose and later in Cabo. Our first stop was within 10 mins of the beach and was a restaurant. No name on the outside, but I later found out is was called la plaza, small place, mostly a drinking establishment with a dirt floor and a bucket of pacifico for $50 pesos. Seven girls ranging from 24-40. Bored after a few mins, so I took the bucket over to my neighbors at the next table and asked them to enjoy. The next few places were similar to the first and within walking distance. I guess I was hoping for a lot more girls in their 20's. Anyway, most of these bars sit at the entrance to local motels. The girls mentioned it would be $300 pesos for her to get us a room. $500 if I chose her and a friend. The friend was closer to what I was looking for, so that's pretty much where the night ended up for me.

The next day, Ruben tells me that if I'm so inclined, he can get the two girls from the prior night to spend the day with me at the resort. I guess he thought they were really something else. I wasn't as interested, not because of guest issues, but because I wasn't really looking forward to relationships or new friends on this trip. I did notice that rules at my current hotel seemed very lax as the guests were drinking at the pool and skinydipping with no one mentioning anything. A couple of times I did see some HJ work in the public jacuzzi, but who cares, God bless 'em.

Cabo bars and brothels had a lot more to offer than San Jose by way of choices. Never less than a dozen girls available and a lot of energy in these establishments. The shows were pretty interesting and The only downside was that the places were full of locals. Not all of them were happy to see an american partaking of the local delicacies. A few mumbled racist crap as they told the bartender to move them to a different table and I figured I'd move on to friendlier environs, since there were six places within a two block radius. The main one was called 'centurion', I think. Again, no signage on any of these places only people walking in and out. From outside the these places, the noise levels were pretty low. Nothing like the nightlcub style bars found on the boulevard. It was easy to mistake which ones were actual family homes and which were bars & brothels.

Pricing in Cabo was a little higher as each girl mentioned that $500 could get us a room and $750 could get two girls. None of these places were indoor type establishments. They all had courtyards with plastic picnic tables and chairs. drinking and dancing in some and a couple had shows. For the most part, the girls were in their 20-30's with a few older ones to choose from.

I'm not sure if this was helpful to those looking to travel to Cabo, but I plan to go down before the end of the year and enjoy myself a little for the winter.

[tusancho00]

Here's a question regarding pricing, I responded with this info:

In pesos, $500 is about $38.50US

This was the average price for a girl+room at the bars in San Jose. They were all pretty much the outer courtyard of a property with an aluminum patio covering a dirt floor with about a dozen card tables placed about. It seems that this is typical for such a warm part of Mexico, since the five or so bars I visited in San Jose and some of the ones in Cabo San Lucas had this type of layout.

The brothels I visited were only in Cabo San Lucas. These were large bar type establishment with AC running and a bar alongside one wall with doorways leading either to a set of rooms in the rear or upstairs.

Most of the patrons were locals and had an air of general laborer about them. In all honesty, they weren't too happy that a gringo was in their bar with their local hotties (some 6's and 8's). It's easy to notice who the head honcho is at these places. They are the loudest ones with the better women sitting at their table. I sent them a round and a general head nod, and I was accepted right away.

This is why it is very useful for a non-spanish speaker to be accompanied by someone who does.

If I weren't too comfortable with spanish and wanted to enjoy myself in these parts, this is what I would do:

1. Speak to someone at my hotel, bartenders, taxi drivers or attendents are a good source of info.

2. If I were to feel more comfortable, I'd ask the guide to participate in mongering with me and pay for his drinks and perhaps his female company.

3. Plan it so that you know where you'll be, ask them to list out or explain where you'll be visiting. It makes it easier this way to know where you are.

4. Practice the basics of speaking in spanish.
Cuanto = how much
Cuando = When
Donde = where
Quiero contigo, que dices? = you and me, what do you say?
Sientate = have a seat
hola muñeca = what's up georgeous
Vamos = let's go
Vamonos = let's get out of here
a ver tu sonrisa... = let me see you smile
a ver que tienes aqui = let me see what you have here...
regalame un besito = let's have a little kiss