by Afa Dollah on June 30th, 2007, 3:59 pm
Here's a trip report I wrote for our Message Board, remember that is is a travel site and people want to know details about the resort, activities and so on. In summary, it was a good time!
I stayed at the Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas for a retreat from June 08 – 11, 2007, here’s the skinny on the resort and what I managed to do over the weekend. To be honest, my itinerary and that of the retreat tended to line up if the words “cocktails” or “dining” were involved. All in all I have to say it was a good time.
Day One: Left Phoenix on US Airways, or at least we tried. We boarded on time but were delayed 45 minutes due to a mechanical problem in the cockpit. Still, that’s not so bad. It’s preferable to problems up in the air, if you get my drift. Got into my travel/beach read for the weekend, The Deadliest Art by Norman Bogner. It’s a thriller, suspense type of thing. The airlines, in order to save fuel costs, have begun to taxi on one engine. If you haven’t heard this, it sounds like an urbano bus with a bad starter because the oil hydraulics on the resting engine are still pumping. Nonstop to San Jose del Cabo airport from Phoenix is about 2 hours, a little less. Pretty smooth flight, bags of those little tiny, delicious pretzels were served. Makes your mouth water just thinking about them, doesn’t it? I pass on drinks and have water. We land just 40 minutes late and deplane out on the tarmac, then make our way into the terminal. And wait. And wait some more. The passport checking system is down. Two more planes land. The passengers from the third plane are outside because there is no more room in the terminal. An hour and a half after entering the building, I got my passport stamped. Someone could have made a fortune with a couple cases of Pacifico in there, most of it from me and the college guys in front of me whose airplane liquor buzz was quickly having the life squeezed out of it. Oooh Mexico, you sound so sweet and move so slow…Green light at customs. Locate the Apple rep and get on the group bus, straight to the Riu Palace. The ride is right at 45 minutes or so. Check in was very smooth, the welcome drink at the lobby bar was a pina colada, I requested the dark rum in mine. The view from the lobby bar of Lands End is great. My room was #4105, very nice ocean view with a sunken living area with TV, dresser and couch leading out to the balcony. There is a large fruit basket, a signed and dated art print of a Mayan mask and a bottle of Cuervo Reserva de la Familia in a painted wooden box there with a note welcoming me to the resort. It is next to the resort materials for the retreat so I assume they are gifts for the group. Very, very nice gifts; I snacked on the fruit all weekend and am having the print framed. As it turns out, someone at the resort put a Honeymoon package in the room by mistake – I figured that out later, leaving at the airport when I found out no one else in the group had gotten anything. Then I checked resort upgrades online, and there it was. SCORE! There will be more on the Cuervo Reserva later for those who are interested in very fine tequilas. The color TV worked and had lots of English and Spanish channels, but I wasn’t in Cabo to watch TV. One thing, the TV did not swivel, so you could only watch it straight on from the couch, and therefore only at an angle from the bed. There is an iron, ironing board and hairdryer. The mini bar is complimentary and stocked with top shelf liquors. Cuervo tequila, Bacardi rum, Smirnoff vodka, Presidente brandy, bottles of Corona beer, sodas and bottled water. The water from the taps is NOT potable. Free mini bar, color TV…why leave the room? The room safe has a shelf in the middle, so my camera bag would not fit, but the 35mm camera and telephoto lens fit separately in their cases. What the…? There is a plastic cylinder filled with pinkish/orange liquid next to the toilet, with a little round plastic brush lying across the top of it. The liquid tastes like some sort of disinfectant. (Gotcha) I wonder if it is for cleaning the toilet, but remember some episodes of ROME with the sponge on a stick thing. Possibly this is for guests from countries where the toilet paper is also used for removing layers of paint from old furniture. I decide not to test the theory. I change into my suit and beach sandals, grabbed the book and head for the sand. It was a Red Flag day. The beach at the Riu is not the best for swimming, it slopes off and there is a wicked undertow, but a few of us tried it anyway. The water was chilly at first but you quickly got used to it. There is a nice view from the Riu beach; plenty of loungers and shade trees back near the resort proper. I did not see any evidence of “towel games” while I was there. The swimming just south of the Riu is better near some of the other resorts. There are plenty of beach vendors here with silver and shell jewelry, hats, t-shirts, sunglasses, wooden carvings, etc. and as a single guy vacationing alone some of them offered me things that could have gotten me in trouble twenty or twenty five years ago or so, namely weed, coke and hookers, but again I elected to pass so far as I am willing to document here. I wasn’t in Cabo to watch TV, and I wasn’t in Cabo to go to jail. Anyway, just be aware that it could happen. Just say “No, gracias” if you’re not interested, or “Si, quantos?” if you are... I had a couple of margaritas and got some sun with the book, then got cleaned up for dinner, which was Mexican night at the San Jose restaurant by the north pool. The resort is two mirror sections, each with a pool, Jacuzzis and swim up bar. The water near the swim up bars seemed warmer for some reason. The south pool is where the spa and gym are located. The pools are not deep and have those tiled loungers built into them so you can recline in the water. The north pool is where the staff activities are located; the south pool is the quiet area. I had Dorado Veracruz, which was excellent. There were a lot of other specialty dishes and familiar standbys. The airport saga, sun and margs caught up to me and I decided to call it an early night. My room overlooked the north pool, but the activities were not a problem for me, they were for some others I spoke to who could also hear the disco/main bar music and staff stunts later at night.
Day Two: Woke up much refreshed. Turned on the TV, it still works! Paris Hilton got thrown back in the clink, that’s the big news of the day. I cast an eye toward the mini bar, thinking it might be something to celebrate. Shut the TV off and go to breakfast at the El Medano restaurant, which was very good. There were plenty of choices and the fruit was very fresh. There is a meeting, which I attend even though I am late. Then I head back to the room and change back into my swimsuit, T-shirt and wide brimmed hat, then slather on the sunscreen. I go down to the resort beach shop and try to get a snorkeling trip from a boat, but they need four persons and I was the only person at that time, so I decided to try parasailing for the first time. This was great. It was $40 for the trip, and you can also do a tandem parasail. They radioed the boat and soon a water taxi arrived and took me out to the boat. A word about the water taxis – listen to the captain about when to get in and out or you can get soaking wet. There is a two man crew on the parasailing boat that help you into the harness, and float the parachute out behind the boat. Then they hook up your harness and float you right off the platform at the rear of the boat. I think you are between 2 and 300 feet up at the most. It’s very quiet up there, and there is quite a view over the Sea of Cortez. I got some decent photos with the disposable camera I took along. At the end of the ride they reel you in right back to the platform standing up, you never get a drop of water on you. Next time I will take the 35mm and telephoto up. It is a risk, but not as big a one as I thought and I will rig an extra strap for my wrist. I used the big rubber wristband from my underwater disposable on the one I took up this time. I tipped the crew 10 bucks and the same water taxi guy picked me up at the boat and took me in. Lunch at the San Jose restaurant, it was Italian specialty day. All the dishes looked great, there were many pasta and sauce choices, both meat and vegetarian lasagna as well. I made a large salad with a grilled chicken breast. All the greens were fresh and crisp; the Caesar salad dressing was quite good. A Riu rep for the group came over and joined me. The new Riu Santa Fe, next to and just behind the Riu Palace is scheduled to be open on November 09, 2007. It looks to me like there is more work to do than that, but who knows? After lunch I go back to the beach with my book and alternate between reading about psychotic violence and frankly, checking out lots and lots of bikinis the girls are almost wearing. I decide to take a water taxi over to The Office and some of the other beach clubs on Medano beach. I have heard the food here is good and from what I see it looks great. I order chips and guac, a couple of Pacificos and a shot of Don Julio reposado, which is good tequila but overpriced at this venue. The guac was good, when I get back I will check out some real food there. I check out Mango Dock and Casablanca, two beach clubs in the area; there are lots of vendors here hitting the beach clubs as well. Just say “No, gracias,” a thousand times or so to get in shape for the experience. I did succumb and got a nice t-shirt from a fellow here then grabbed a water taxi back to the Riu. It is a Red Flag day again, but I jump in the Sea of Cortez anyway. After a few minutes I try body surfing in and got dragged back out to the breakers, scraping my knee open on the sand. Discretion dictates I leave the ocean and remain on the beach, reading and doing critical swimsuit fashion reviews. There must be a reason they call these Red Flag conditions. After a shower, I grab some chow at the buffet restaurant; again the food was very good. The evening finishes with a quiet drink at the main bar overlooking the Sea of Cortez.
Day Three: I wake up early, feeling great. The TV still works, Paris is still in jail, the TV goes off. Breakfast at the El Medano again. It is consistently good again. I hope to set up a snorkeling excursion today, if I can’t arrange it then it will be a waste having brought the gear along, but if not that is okay too. The shop is not open yet, so I grab a lounger and do some more reading. I watch as four older folks try to board a water taxi. One fellow listens to the captain and boards safely. The two ladies, with their giant open wicker purses, do not listen and try to board as the captain is saying, “No, No…” A wave comes in and the undertow pulls their feet out from under them and they are totally soaked. One makes it up and back on the beach before the next wave comes in, the other does not and is knocked down again and pulled out further. Another fellow and I run down and pull her out of the surf. Their digital cameras and cell phones were instantly ruined. They abandoned their trip and the one fellow got back off the taxi. I was hoping to get some photos out at Lovers Beach and the Arch before there was a lot of boat traffic, so I checked on a trip out. It was $10, the best $10 I spent all weekend. There was a note about renting snorkel gear, so I went and got mine. The water taxi picked me up then stopped at the beach club area for a couple from Indiana. We arranged with the captain to stay on the beach for an hour then he would pick us up and take us to the Arch and around Lands End. He showed me where to snorkel and warned me not to try to swim on the Pacific side. In order to get to the coral and snorkeling, I had to swim out around a corner and this was much easier said than done. I tried backing out into the water with my fins on, but got my feet sucked out from under me. I took the fins off and swam out past the breakers to put them on, which was not much easier, but the boat traffic was increasing and made me nervous. I saw a couple of small fish but had a near miss with a water taxi and decided to go in. Got dragged across the sand by wave action and banged my shin on a barnacle encrusted rock. It was too bad, but I don’t recommend trying to snorkel from shore there between the undertow and boat traffic. Snorkel from a boat where they will let you in and out from the boat and keep an eye out for the water taxis. I got a Pacifico from the guys selling snacks and drinks on the beach and wandered over to the Pacific side. Divorce Beach, I believe they call it. Took some photos, wandered back and waited for the water taxi guy. He picked us up and showed us the Little Arch, the Arch and the sea lion colony. That was pretty cool, we were fairly close and yes, they smell. A lot. Then it was around Lands End and back to the resort. That trip is definitely worth making; you can arrange to stay for an hour or two, which is long enough, and as I said, it’s the best 10 bucks you can spend. I cleaned up and had a light snack at the buffet, which was very good. I grabbed a water taxi to the marina, because I had a driving need to check out some of the famous clubs in Cabo, even though it was early afternoon. The water taxi was $10 and he dropped me right by the Mercado at the marina. I wandered through just in case I could find a jaguar of some kind, but no luck. A timeshare guy followed my down the sidewalk for a while, but left me alone when he found out I was leaving in the morning. I checked out El Squid Roe, but didn’t actually patronize them. It’s across from the Hard Rock, which I also did not actually enter. I got directions to the Giggling Marlin from a tourist information guy and walked there. I decided on fish tacos, chips and guac. Delicious. The waiter said the fish was fresh caught dorado, I had it grilled not fried. There was a fighting cock named Julio patrolling the place. He had spurs the size of my little finger, mas macho. The waiter got him to activate, which was interesting to see. Cockfighting is definitely not my thing, but the birds are beautiful. I mean as beautiful as a chicken can be. Sated on delectable fish tacos, I walked across the street, through a little Mercado and upstairs into the rear entrance of Cabo Wabo. The main bar was closed, but I walked through and then downstairs to the little cantina in front. The Cabo Wabo reposado is really quite good; I preferred it to the anejo, so I got a couple of sample bottles. Some people there tried to give me directions to a place called The Tequila Store, where I would be able to find some interesting agave products, but for some reason, they weren’t very clear. It seems they give samples there. Next time for sure. Walking back to the marina, I passed a small local liquor store and got some small bottles of Tequila Corralejo reposado, which is still my favorite to this date. I looked for the anejo, by he didn’t have it there. I got a water taxi back to the Riu and cleaned up in time for dinner at The English Garden, the gourmet restaurant at the resort. I had crab bisque, grilled grouper with calamari and shrimp, and little cream puffs covered in warm chocolate. There’s a name for those, something like prissrolles or peserolles, back home we call them little cream puffs covered in warm chocolate. Delicious. Then I went up to the main bar and watched the entertainment for a little while. The music was good, and the staff did a nice job with the volunteers from the audience stuff. Eventually I went back to the room.
Day Four: Day of departure. I breakfasted at the El Medano, it excellent again. I had a towel left over and so traded it back for the towel card. I packed up the bags and went to the lobby. We arrived at the airport at 10am for the 12:30 departure, but it proved more difficult to leave Cabo than I thought. The return flight on US Airways was three hours late, delayed in Phoenix by mechanical problems. They came across with nine dollar food vouchers, which helped somewhat. I spent mine at the Subway there, but we had to go back out into the terminal and check back through the detectors again. After five hours, I knew that part of the airport pretty well. At this point I realized that I had two 100ml bottles of tequila and the two Cabo Wabo samples in my carryon bag. This was stupid on my part; I had gotten careless while packing up. I had gotten two more bottles at the duty free, but that bag was tagged and waiting outside the terminal so I could claim it when I boarded. They were hand checking the carryons again before boarding and warning about liquids. They were confiscating water and soda bottles. I stuffed the samples in between a couple of t-shirts and hoped for the best. Finally the plane arrived. An anxious moment as the customs lady took my bottle of water and then searched the bag. No problema. Relieved? Si. Lucky? Si. It would have broken my heart to pour out those fine agave products. The flight back was uneventful; those tasty pretzels were served again. I must get the recipe. To summarize, the Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas is a luxurious resort. The food was great and the staff was very friendly and helpful. They were on top of things. For example, someone had dropped a bottle of Corona in one of the elevators and within ten minutes the mess had been taken care of. The liquor at the bars was top shelf, Jim Beam, Bacardi, etc. Corona is the beer on tap and in the rooms. The room was fantastic and the bed comfortable. The beach is great but the ocean swimming is not the best there. I have no problem recommending the Riu Palace for anyone looking for a top notch All Inclusive in Cabo. Just do your snorkeling from a boat.
Cuervo Reserva de la Familia: Finally, a Cuervo product that is actually drinkable. This tequila was originally served only to Cuervo family members and guests until the mid 1990’s when it was released to the public for the 200th anniversary of the Cuervo distillery. Production is limited to 18,000 bottles per year, the bottles are hand blown, hand labeled, numbered, dated and sealed with red wax. Aged a minimum of three years in the cask and then blended with tequilas up to 30 years old, a fortunate member of the Cuervo family still samples each cask to ensure quality. A different artist is commissioned to design the wooden boxes for the bottles each year. The liquor is brown, like a cognac, and has very little of the agave flavor tequila is noted for. If anything, that is its only drawback, discounting cost and the fact that it mysteriously vanishes. Cuervo Reserva is unbelievably smooth and mellow with an excellent aroma and hints of smoky oak among a fairly complex array of flavors. Like a fine cognac, it should be sipped out of a snifter and savored, not in pounded down in shots; and if you mix it with anything or use salt or a lime while consuming it, you should be beaten to death by a gang of midgets with pointy sticks.
That’s about it. If anyone has any questions, I will be happy to answer to the best of my ability.
"Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"
