The other Cabo (based on what I thought it would be)

I just got back from my second annual Mommy Trip. Four moms in our late thirties who just want to travel without recreating scenes from The Hangover. Last year was Vegas. This year we chose Cabo. I knew absolutely nothing about Cabo and was fine with turning over all the planning to my ultimate travel buddy Becky. Everyone needs a friend who has the exact same travel style.

I pictured Cabo to be a spring break party destination. It very well could be, but that wasn’t at all the trip we took. I left wanting to know when I could convince Josh to go back with me. It felt more like Costa Rica than the Mexico I had visited before.

We stayed at Hilton Los Cabos, about halfway between the airport and downtown Cabo. I didn’t see inside any of the other resorts but I can’t imagine getting more bang for your buck anywhere else. The infinity pool was heaven, the turquoise beach was actually swimmable and all the prices were surprisingly affordable.

Our flights arrived mid-afternoon so we spent the first evening at the resort. We dined at the Mexican restaurant on property and took advantage of the $30/person three course menu. We all agreed it was great. After dinner we took turns hopping from the hot tub to the warm pools while catching up. There was a wedding down on the beach that provided live music and a full firework show lit up the other end of the property.

Our second day was a complete pool and beach day. We took full advantage of our relaxation opportunities before cleaning up and heading down to the marina for a sunset cruise. We booked a sailboat cruise with Cabo Adventures. Our 2.5 hour boat ride took us out to The Arch for photos before going deeper into the sea and having dinner. The highlight of the sail was definitely when we crashed sideways into a wave that came over the full boat. We were luckily on the backside and only got half wet. The other side of the boat was completely drenched. We might have been laughing a bit harder than them. The transportation coordination was a little iffy. We heard horror stories from another couple, but we made it back to the hotel safely.

The third day was the we had pretty much booked out. Becky had heard of a place called Flora Farms where they offer multiple activities based on their farm-focused community. We started the day with a private yoga class in a light filled room overlooking one of their gardens. The spa pool looked like something straight out of a Southern Living magazine. We were completely drenched but quickly changed clothes and headed to a group of huts where we joined up with the rest of our culinary class. The next three hours were filled with touring their gardens, learning to make several salsas, guacamoles and tortillas in the traditional manners and eating lunch served straight from their gardens. It was delicious. For $100 it seemed extremely reasonable. At the end, the chef and staff even gave us a list of all their favorite local restaurants to try out. Next time. You wrote all those down, right Becky?

We already had dinner reservations for the highly acclaimed Edith’s back in Old Town Cabo. During our cooking class, Becky and I met a set of best friends from the US who told us about the amazing dinner from the night before. It was on the property next door. They talked so highly of it that I went onto Opentable and made a reservation right then. We had high hopes but never imagined how great that decision was going to be.

Acre Baja might be my idea of heaven. Our taxi driver dropped us off at the entrance. This was after he insisted waiting on us for dinner to drive us back. We tried to convince him to let us call him when we were done but he refused. We walked along a path through a tropical forest and ultimately emerged at the restaurant. The most energetic host ever trotted down the stairs to welcome us. He saw us eyeing the Mezcal building and told us to go do a free tasting before dinner. He would check us in and let them know we would be late. Thirty minutes later we were the owners of several bottles of mini Mezcal and were now extremely informed on how to identify a good bottle. Let me know if you need help.

The restaurant is impossible to describe. I told the girls I had never been to a place that hit all of my 5 senses so perfectly. It was outdoors, in the jungle, lanterns lighting the space, breezes blowing, loungey club music playing in the background and the food… We were told we had to order the 7 course tasting menu for $77. That seemed a bit steep to me but for the experience I went for it. Our 7 course dinner was actually 12. We started laughing when we thought dessert was next but instead an entire chicken was dropped off to our table. Hands down it was the best culinary experience I have had, anywhere in the world.

Our meal ended up being 3.5 hours. Poor Gustavo was still waiting for us in the parking lot like he promised. He was the perfect example of the service we received the entire trip. Over the top kindness. Everyone was “real” nice as I described it. Not nice to get a bigger tip or because they had to be. Everyone was simply nice because they were.

The last day my flight was 2 hours earlier than everyone else so I headed to the airport alone. It was the only time during the trip that I was nervous as I realized I was in Mexico alone in a car with a man. I let out a sigh of relief when i saw the airport come into view and headed on my way back to Charlotte. I’m supposed to pick an east coast location for next year. How will I top this?