Feeling disoriented and breathless after a long travel day and wheeling our suitcases up the steep stone Callejón (pedestrian street), we knocked on the rustic wood door of the rental house and hoped that the housekeeper would be there to greet us as planned.
I was jet-lagged from the trip but, even more, I was emotionally exhausted. My husband, Hank, and I had returned to the States, after more than three years of living abroad, to attend a family wedding and ended up postponing our travels for the next five months due to a series of events that had left us reeling. This was our first foray abroad since then and I hadn't realized how tense I was until a woman with a kindhearted smile and a cheerful yellow apron opened the door and I felt a wave of relief flood through me. The intensity of the emotion startled me.
Snorkeling with sea lions, beach bonfires, cocktails to celebrate the full moon, stand up paddle boarding on glassy blue water, desert mule rides and not a port of call in sight. This is not a cruise. It’s an Un-Cruise. Unhurried. Unconventional. Unbelievable.
Discover ten trip highlights and the essence of Baja’s magic and the Un-Cruise experience in the following photos and videos.
We all have our favorite places. Maybe it’s the place we call home, or where we grew up. Perhaps it’s a vacation spot we return to often. A place we know inside and out; where to find the best cup of coffee, who to ask for information, and the businesses best avoided.
For me, one of those places is Ajijic, a quirky lakeside village in the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico, an hour’s drive from Guadalajara. For the past fifteen years, my husband, Hank, and I have called Ajijic home for extended stays in every season.
If you picture a Cabo vacation as a tequila infused episode of Girls Gone Wild, think again. Sure, you can find that scene if Animal House revelry is what you’re looking for. But, what Cabo does best these days is high-end hospitality – the whole enchilada from innovative cuisine to body, mind and soul pampering. Add in Windex-blue seas, a stunning desert landscape, lavish resorts and spas, golf courses, marinas and some of the most amazing marine life this side of the Galapagos and it’s no mystery why Cabo is Celebrity Central. And a Baja vacation need not be limited to Los Cabos – San José del Cabo + Cabo San Lucas. Be sure to check out Todos Santos and La Paz while you’re in the hood
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. She co-founded and publishes the group travel blog YourLifeIsATrip.com and is currently at work on her first book "I Could Live Here".
