6 Things to do in San Jose del Cabo.
Number One--Estero San Jose
Many guests at Reflect Krystal Grand Los Cabos feel neither urge nor compulsion to leave this lovely and agreeable travelers’ cocoon which, after all, promises Unlimited Luxury®. But for those whose nature is to explore, there is a charming and historic colonial district filled with restaurants, bars and art galleries and assorted entertainments less than a 10 minute cab ride from the resort.
The first church (this one was rebuilt in 1940) was built in San Jose del Cabo when George Washington was 2 years old. The Spaniards chose this place to live because here on a dry peninsula of desert and rocks, there is water.
The San Jose River runs from headwaters in the Sierra de la Lagunas to the Sea of Cortez, part of the way underground. The estuary that results from the mix of salt and freshwater here creates a biological bubble of green in which flourish many plants and animals which can live in no other place in Baja.
The estuary is a sanctuary for birds like the Hooded Oriole.
And the Gilded Flicker.
Number Two--The Cactus Garden
A couple of minutes from the estuary one re-enters the desert, at the Wirikuta Botanical Cactus Garden. Most of the time this is a resource for landscapers decorating with hundreds of different varieties of cactus. The tens of thousands of prickly balls here can be seen everywhere in Los Cabos, decorating yards, traffic roundabouts, hotels and golf courses.
But on one evening a week, on Wednesdays during most of the year (check availability, especially amid Covid) the Wirikuta gardens are transformed into a Cirque du Soleil-style dinner spectacular, The Legend of the Blue Deer. It tells in song and dance, with fantastic costumes, the origin story of the indigenous Huichol tribe, which received the gift of peyote and its hallucinogenic visions from the Blue Deer. Call it Cirque du Psychedelia.
Here the Huichol market offers intricate and colorful objects crafted from beads and fabric.
The Huichol are the only ethnic tribal group allowed by Mexican law to use peyote.
Number Three--The Brewery
San Jose del Cabo claims 350 days of sunshine a year, and walking through cactus gardens in summer is thirsty work. Happily there is a brewpub nearby.
The Baja Brewing Company is the oldest craft brewery in Los Cabos, founded by a couple of guys from Colorado. They export north of the border now.
An outdoor beer garden has wood fired pizza! Chicago celebrity Mexican chef Rick Bayless says the red ale pairs best with the pizza.
With a burro as its logo, Baja Brewing offers oatmeal stout, black ale, amber ale, a Mexican IPA and Baja Razz Raspberry Beer.
Number Four--The Gallery District
The brewery is surrounded by art galleries.
There’s a wine-sipping gallery walk every Thursday night in the lighted streets behind the church.
Number Five--The Dolphin Encounter
Also a short ride from Reflect is one of multiple dolphin encounter opportunities in Los Cabos.
Cabo Dolphins in the hotel zone has a male performer, Alii, who seems pleased to share a performance pool with two females, Nahui and Aqua. All were raised in captivity.
Delphinus is a marine mammal research organization employing veterinarians and biologists committed to the welfare of the dolphins in their care. From dolphins captured decades ago in local waters, their descendants here were born in a nursery at Xcaret Eco-Park 50 miles south on the Yucatan coastline. All but one of the six dolphins here are related (father, son, half brothers, etc.).
Number Six--The Golf Course
I don’t golf, but our guide Alfredo insisted there is a golf course we had to see. Los Cabos has multiple public courses and three are not far from Reflect Krystal Grand. We went off to see Puerto Los Cabos Golf Club, carved into rolling foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains with elevated views of the Sea of Cortez. Its 3 courses designed by Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus climb a steep slope within a two thousand acre resort community decorated with mega-million dollar mansions.
Golf carts must be turbo to strain upwards sometimes at a 45-degree angle climbing the foothills from the lowest green just above the beach to the highest tee offering one of the best views in Los Cabos.
It is common to see road runners zip across the fairways. Desert rules apply. If a ball enters the desert you may drop a ball two club lengths away from where it vanished into the ravine, no closer to the hole, with a penalty of one stroke.
The fees include all-inclusive food and alcohol at three watering hole palapas on the courses. Delicious authentic fresh-made tacos and local delicacies. Again, I don’t play golf. But I would pay the greens fees just to drive the cart to this place and hang out all afternoon with great unlimited food and adult beverages with one of the most spectacular views in all Los Cabos.
You can come here too. Maybe you will meet the owner of that 13 million dollar 20,000 square foot home on the hill with 9 full bathrooms and 4 partial bathrooms. Maybe you both will fall in love and get married. Invite me to the reception. You owe me that.