Adventure at every turn!
Octavio owns a fleet of five vans and his company, Turispancho, offers a variety of excursions to see the baja area's sights. Some of the excursions and (the driving time from Casa Cardonal) include:
- Cabo San Lucas (2 hours)
- San Jose del Cabo - El Centro (1 - 1/2 hours)
- La Paz - Capital of Baja California Sur (2 hours)
- Todos Santos on the Pacific Ocean (3 hours)
- Mateo Lopez - Whale watching (5 hours)
- Santiago - Swimming hole (1 hour)
Cabo San Lucas
This is of course the tourist city of the baja. Extensive resorts, shopping and dining options. Casa Cardonal is huge contrast to Cabo and a day in the Cabo is a chance to see the place and do some shopping. Our guest at the Casa said, "I am glad I saw Cabo, but now I'm sure I am staying at the right place here in Cardonal."
San Jose del Cabo - El Centro
San José del Cabo is quiet and peaceful, the ‘mild’ sister of ‘wild’ Cabo San Lucas. San José offers quiet shopping, an attractive plaza, a beautiful church and excellent dining opportunities. We enjoy visiting San Jose very much and often stop in for a few hours on our way home from Casa Cardonal. It is a great place to shop for a few pottery items or gifts for people back home.
La Paz - Capital of
Baja California Sur
La Paz (The Peace) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important regional commercial center. It is a real Mexican City and offers a variety of Shopping and tourist sites. Indulge in delicious local cuisine and explore historic museums or shop for authentic Mexican arts and crafts. A walkway along the waterfront of La Paz, the Malecón, provides more than 5 kilometers of beautiful scenery, wonderful people and a taste of what is La Paz. The Malecón is one of La Paz’s most endearing features and has long been a focal point of La Paz life. The word 'Malecón' literally translate to levee or jetty, but in this case it really means boardwalk.
Todos Santos on the
Pacific Ocean
Todos Santos is located on a mesa to the west of the Sierra de La Laguna mountain range on the Pacific with spectacular views overlooking the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Todos Santos is a haven for artists, craftsmen, surfers and travelers seeking adventure and natural beauty. It has fine dining, excellent shopping and renowned galleries. It is often about 10 degrees cooler in Todos Santos than it is in Cardonal, La Paz and Cabo. Todos Santos has the original "Hotel California" which is reputed to have never been visited by the Eagles.
Mateo Lopez - whale watching
After spending the summer feeding in Alaska, gray whales begin their migration south to winter in Baja California . They travel for 2-3 months to reach the warmer southern waters where they mate and birth from mid-January to end of March. Large numbers of gray whales congregate in 3 bays along Baja's west coast; Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Laguna San Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena (the southern-most bay, only 3 hours drive across peninsula from La Paz). These shallow and highly-salinated bays increase newborn calves' buoyancy and help keep them warm, despite their lack of protective blubber at birth. The baby gray whales will sometimes swim near the small whale watching skiffs and allow themselves to be touched.
Mateo Lopez is the destination for whale watching excursions. It is a small town on Bahia Magdalena, just north of the City of Insurgentes. The excursion often begins with an early start from Casa Cardonal with an arrival in Mateo Lopez about 1:00pm. After lunch you take a two hour trip to see the whales in a comfortable whale watching skiff. In season, they are almost always there and easy to find. The skiff follows along with the mother and her babies as they surface every couple of minutes. The tour includes a visit to the sand dunes. They are vast dunes of soft white sand. Great fun.
Dinner was an amazing seafood meal of fish, scallops, shrimp and lobster. The accommodations are modest but comfortable. The next morning is another two hours visit with the whales and the return dive back to the Casa. We had a great at lunch Rancho Viejo in La Paz and were home again by 5:00pm.
Santiago - swimming hole
About five miles northwest of the town of Santiago is a pristine swimming hole at the base of a beautiful waterfall. The place is called Cascada Sol de Mayo en el Cañón de la Zorra or the Waterfall of the May Sun in Fox Canon. It is a short hike down a steep trail with fixed ropes for climbing assistance. It is a great place to spend the afternoon swimming and cliff diving into the natural pool. Plenty of places to lie in the sun and a few places to hide from the sun. Definitely worth the trip.
More Testimonials