Los Cabos - From Obscurity to Fame
When the Spaniards were a colonial force in the 16th century, Los Cabos was not feasible as a settlement because of its lack of fresh water. The pirates, however, were happy to use Los Cabos as a hiding place for them to attack Spanish galleons. Los Cabos didn’t become known until the 1950’s and 1960’s when the world discovered its magnificent deep sea fishing.
For years, the area was known as “Marlin Alley” due to what seemed to be an endless supply of marlins. When the TransPeninsula Highway was finished in 1973, international developers made the most of it. Fonatur, the government tourism agency, had the modern marina in Cabo San Lucas built.
Los Cabos is the official name of the most southern county of the Baja California Peninsula. It stretches 20 miles through a resort corridor between two towns, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. At the cape's very tip is El Arco, the most famous landmark in Baja.
This arch was naturally carved out of the granite cliffs by the warming Cortez current colliding with the cooler Pacific flow that runs down the peninsula from the west. This is known as Finisterra, or Land's End, which literally means the end of the earth. The rock formations around the El Arco are spectacular and something to see.
 Each place offer wonderful beaches but Cabo San Lucas draws the majority of tourists due to the harbor there allowing for large sports fishing and recreational vessels.
Despite the tourists, Cabo still has a small town feel to it. There is a beautiful underwater nature preserve, the only coastal resort in Mexico to have one inside city limits.
Los Cabos sits on the Tropic of Cancer and is the only truly tropical region in Baja, but the lack of rainfall makes it unlike most of Mexico’s coastal resorts. In the summer, (August through October) daytime temperatures reach 90 degrees F. The desert winters are sunny but temperatures are more comfortable in the low 70’s.
Hurricanes are possible particularly in September, but not frequent. Take advantage of wonderful shopping in Cabo where you’ll find handmade clothing, sandals, and crafts.
The black pottery made in Oaxaca and intricate hammocks are popular buys, and silver, blown glass, serapes and color resort wear can be bought at good prices. The shopping plazas and hotels have plenty of specialty stores for men/women, from Tiffany’s to Costco. |
