SCUBA DIVING AT CABO SAN LUCAS, TRULY A DEAL
© by Gordon Adair 1994
While in search of a good diving deal, I spotted in the Phoenix Republican
travel section a trip to Cabo San Lucas which included airfare and four
nights at the Plaza Las Glorias for $310.00. A deal I could not pass up.
We arrived in Los Cabos airport Sunday July 30 in the afternoon and
boarded a very hot taxi/van for a thirty minute drive south to Cabo San
Lucas. I asked the driver to turn on the air conditioning to which he replied,
"No aire condicionado". That explained why the regulars were sitting
in the front seats. There are no windows in the back! It's a good thing
my dive buddy and I are used to the Arizona heat as that hot and stifling
taxi ride could be very uncomfortable for some people. About halfway to
Cabo San Lucas the taxi stops at a roadside store. A beer stop! The van
was sweltering, along with the fact that they were delaying our arrival
at our destination, our dive destination! Approximately ten sweltering minutes
later, two men who appeared to be fishermen returned back to the taxi/van
with four cases of beer. Those two were lucky they decided to share their
beer.
With my attitude only slightly improved we approached the Plaza Los Glorias
reservation desk with my ritual fight for a water front room at standard
rates. "No problem" the clerk replied. That sums up the wonderful
treatment we received throughout our stay. Our standard consisted of a king
size bed and a sitting room opening to a porch with a spectacular view of
the bay.
After a quick change into shorts and tank tops we scampered off in search
of a dive shop. We located three dive shops in the hotels plaza. Only one
of them was open during their stated hours. The open dive shop Pacific Coast Adventures
offered a package for $239.00 which bought seven tank dives over three days.
This package proved to be a big savings. The entire staff was helpful, professional
and amusing. They used small boats servicing two to six divers avoiding
the "cattle boat syndrome". Gear storage and rentals were available.
With the marina in front of the hotel and dive shop it was an easy walk
saving taxi fees.
The weather was perfect for diving. It was 85 degrees with a fairly constant
cool breeze off the pacific ocean. The water temperature varied from 70
to 85 degrees with upwellings from the ocean depths which offers rich nutrient
water that attracts abundant marine life that makes Cabo San Lucas famous.
During our dive experiences in Cabo San Lucas we saw turtles, stingrays,
eels, puffer fish, scorpion fish, octopus, sea worms and lots more.
Being an Arizona wimp I carried both a 1/4 and 1/8 inch dive suits, deciding
which to use at each location. The first dive location offered with our
package was at Cabo Pulmo. Cabo Pulmo is a two hour drive north by van through
Mexico's rural areas ending at a remote bay. There, the calm waters allow
coral reefs and tropical fish to exist peacefully. The 40 to 60 foot depths
were excellent for beginning divers or expert divers requiring 1/8"
dive suits or less. Before leaving we were treated to a typical yet excellent
south of the border lunch which was a nice end to a great diving experience.
Day two included three dives (one being a night dive) in the Cabo San
Lucas Bay by Pelican Rock. This area is where the bays 30 foot bottom drops
sand down sloping granite canyons to depths around 2000 feet. At 90 feet
sand drops off a ledge creating a sand fall. Unfortunately the sand wasn't
falling the day of our dive, so our guide Juan pushed sand down to give
us the effect that we had come to see. On the second dive Juan introduced
us to his trained fish that on cue pushes your finger away from his home.
I wonder why Juan only trains small fish. Our night dive was uneventful
other than that my buddy made a unscheduled ascent to the top from a depth
of 40 feet and lost her flashlight and says she is never going night diving
again (it was her first night dive).
Our third day and final dive was at the Blow Hole. The Blow Hole is a
rock formation with an opening above the water where the surge pushes water
up inside and out the opening. Unfortunately the day of our dive the currents
were strong making our dive a work out instead of the usual sight seeing
tour.
The town offers plenty of restaurants from quiet water fronts to party
hardy cantinas on the main drag. The best deals on food are up the side
streets. Water and food seems to be safe all over town for gringos.
I definitely recommend this trip, especially at the sale price. We really
needed at least one more day to truly enjoy everything Cabo San Lucas has
to offer. Because nothing was as expensive as we had been led to believe
we spent less money than expected, so we decided to treat ourselves to a
private taxi with air conditioning back to the airport. After we prepaid
for the taxi ride and were settled we asked the driver to turn on the air.
"No aire condicionado" he replied. Oh well, they lied.
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