Article# 1 - Cabo has Activities for Everyone Cabo San Lucas is celebrated for its sportfishing -- and serious anglers can devote almost every waking hour to this obsession. However, many spouses do not care to do that: After one fishing cruise, they’re ready to do something else. Fortunately, Cabo San Lucas offers a wide array of things to see and do -- and something that will please every member of the crew. Fishing Is King Worldclass sportfishing draws thousands of boaters to Cabo San Lucas each year -- whether they arrive in their own sportfishers or charter a boat once they get here. Black marlin, blue marlin, roosterfish, dorado, wahoo and other hot game fish make every angler’s eyes pop and fingers twitch to grab hold of a rod. This fall is packed with events. The Los Cabos Offshore tournament is scheduled October 11-13, and the Bisbee Black & Blue marlin tournament takes place October 15-19. These two popular sportfishing competitions are being held two weeks earlier than normal, so boaters need to plan their visits to Cabo San Lucas accordingly. For details on both tournaments, visit www.bisbees.com or contact Wayne or Tricia Bisbee; (949) 650-8006. November 6-9, Cabo San Lucas hosts the Mercury Tuna Jackpot Tournament, a big-dollar high-stakes event that also has four drawing prizes worth $150,000 in cash, plus tackle and trips to Panama, Alaska and Baja California. By the beginning of December, the warm waters usually are receding, and the fishing fare changes into the winter mode, with different species. Fortunately, at Cabo San Lucas, the fishing never stops. Whether you decide to participate in a tournament or go fishing on your own, here’s what you need to do: * Find out exactly what’s biting, where and on what. * Get all your rods, reels, lures and bait lined up or figured out. * Top off your coolers and fuel tanks the night before. * Rise and shine about 4:30 a.m. (Yes, the stars are still out -- and we don’t mean Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.) * Buy or catch live bait on your way out of Bahia San Lucas. * Beat most other boats out to the good spots. * Don’t let any other anglers know where you’re going or what you’ve caught. * Remember to drink plenty of water, not cervezas. Wear a hat -- and the most protective sunscreen you can buy. * Return to Bahia San Lucas -- probably with an aching back and limbs, exhausted and with reddish skin. * Try to stay awake until at least 8:30 p.m., while recalling each boil and fin sighting. * Repeat this process for the next five to eight days. Solace for the Angler’s Spouse The term “fishing widow” refers to any spouse who -- for myriad intelligent reasons -- chooses not to accompany their lifemate and assorted buddies on every single fishing trip. Don’t cry for the fishing-weary spouse: There are plenty of other interesting adventures in and around Cabo San Lucas, whether your family’s liveaboard boat has gone fishing or not. Being hotel-based is not a hardship here, because 36 resort hotels surround the marina area and fill all the beaches of Los Cabos. Taking a room the night before the big fishing cruise lets a fishing widow sleep in and avoid being shoved off onto the dock in the dark. Some resort hotels around the marina also offer “day rooms,” so fishing widows can stay “anchored” in safety and comfort until their boats return to the marina slip. While the avid angler is out fishing, the fish-free spouse can choose from a long list of possible diversions. Breakfast The best breakfasts in Cabo San Lucas (besides the ones on your own boat) are at Mama’s Royal Café, located one block north of the marina at Zapata and Hidalgo. Order a decaf cappuccino, a mimosa with fresh squeezed juices and an avocado-stuffed omelet -- and then ponder what kind of cold sandwich your spouse is eating for breakfast. Snorkeling and Scuba Taking advantage of calm morning waters, try snorkeling along Land’s End’s spectacular rock formations. Linger at Pelican Rock, Neptune’s Finger and Lover’s Beach to enjoy watching Garibaldi, blue tangs, sea fans and other colorful beauties. Other excellent snorkeling spots are Bahia Santa Maria Bay and Chileno Reef. (Never swim on the Pacific side, because it has a dangerous undertow.) Enjoy scuba diving (from 30 to 90 feet underwater) to watch the waterfall of sand cascading into a submarine canyon at Cabo San Lucas’ famous “Sand Falls” -- right below Pelican Rock. Then, continue south to Neptune’s Finger (at a 120 foot depth). Another good dive spot around Cabo San Lucas is Cabo Pulmo, the only living coral reef system in Mexico. Four dive shops around the harbor rent gear, give resort scuba certification courses and offer guided diving tours. All-Terrain Excursions If you’ve had enough of the water, you can join some friends and rent all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), motor scooters or mountain bikes for a guided tour on offroad trails to El Faro Viejo (the Old Lighthouse) just north of town. You can also head farther toward Todos Santos to an ancient Piricue Indian village, El Candelaria -- famous for “white witchcraft” and local handicrafts. Botanical lectures and a stop at a waterfall are en route. ATVs are prohibited from Baja California’s beaches, to protect endangered sea turtle nests. Trips start at Baja ATV Tours in downtown Cabo San Lucas -- and Tio Sports, Baja Bicycle and Karla’s Rentals have bikes and scooters, too. Rock climbing is popular on the boulders forming Land’s End. You can take a novice lesson in rappelling down to Lover’s Beach. A local group called Rip Tip offers rock climbing gear rental, lessons and guided climbing tours. (The novice class is a hit with cruise ship passengers.) For a Bo Derek-style experience, you can gallop down the beach and along the anchorage on a trusty steed. Private trails through the sage-covered sand dunes and La Laguna mountains are another option at Cabo San Lucas’ three noted stables: Cuadra San Francisco Equestrian Center, La Rosa Riding Stables (behind Cabo San Lucas Country Club) and Rancho Collins. A Day at the Spa For the ultimate in luxury, you can relax at one of Cabo San Lucas’ 10 health and beauty spas. Visitors can enjoy various kinds of relaxing massages, mineral mud baths, body wraps, foot reflexology, aromatherapy, herbal facials, Temezcal steam baths and dry saunas. Hair and nail salons are available within the spas. Water aerobics classes, personal trainers, gym equipment, basketball, tennis courts and free weights are also available. Aside from Club Fit, all other spas in Cabo San Lucas are found within the resort hotels -- and most have reasonable day spa packages for hotel visitors. Art Tour of Todos Santos An hour north of Cabo San Lucas on Highway 9 to La Paz, you can explore 13 art galleries, two coffee houses and myriad boutiques in the quaint, historic village of Todos Santos. This spot, where 1900-vintage red brick buildings have been renovated into hip shops, is often compared to Taos, New Mexico. Most winters, the venerable Hotel Todos Santos organizes van and “mule train” excursions up into La Laguna mountains to a working ranch, with a night’s stay in a bunk house and a return trip the next day. Sea Turtle Rescue At Rancho Punta San Cristobal, 15 minutes north of Cabo San Lucas, you can visit a sea turtle nursery. Here, marine biologists protect egg nests, raise hatchlings and track Mexico’s endangered leatherbacks along the Pacific by satellite. ASUPMATOMA is the nonprofit group’s acronym. For details, phone Sandy Mirisch in Encinitas, California; (760) 436-7113. Salsa Dance Lessons Where better to learn the latest salsa and merengue dance moves? Royal Solaris Cabo offers one-hour lessons -- and the hotel’s babysitting service has face painting, puppet making and supervised swim fun. After those lessons, you’ll be prepared to show off with your spouse at Cabo San Lucas’ many all-night discos and nightclubs. Golf If you love to play golf, you’ve arrived in a golfer’s paradise. Five courses provide a Monday through Friday selection: Cabo del Sol, Hotel Palmilla, Cabo Real, Cabo San Lucas Country Club and El Dorado. Amid this desert climate, golf courses provide a lush green ambiance and good exercise for boaters weary of too much “blue over blue.” All courses in Los Cabos have food and beverage service, but reservations are required. Up, Up and Away For a real adrenaline rush, why not try parasailing? Scoot down to Medano Beach behind Bahia San Lucas and take flight on a parasail, for an incredible view of Cabo and its surroundings. You might even spot your boat -- to see how many fish flags are flying on the way back into the harbor. Several parasailing and jet boat providers are found along the beach and at Baja ATV downtown. When All Else Fails: Shop “Compras, compras, compras” is the Spanish expression that translates to the well-known axiom: “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.” Put a few pesos in your pocket and grab a woven plastic shopping bag to stroll through the varied array of shops -- from boutiques to open-air farmers’ markets -- in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. By the time the angler and the non-angler reunite on the dock and swap stories of their adventures, the fishing spouse may opt to sit out the next day of fishing -- to tag along on some of those exciting shoreside romps. Capt. John E. Rains has been delivering yachts worldwide since 1976. He is the author of “Cruising Ports: Florida to California via Panama” and MexWX: Mexico Weather for Boaters” and is co-author of “Boating Guide to Mexico” and Passagemaking Handbook” with Capt. Patricia Miller Rains.