Every year, I eagerly await the turtle season that takes place between August and late November. During this time turtles come to our Capella beach to lay their eggs. The coast along the Baja California peninsula is home to five of the seven species of the world’s sea turtles. These are the Hawksbill (Tortuga Carey), Loggerhead (Tortuga Caguama, Amarilla o Cabezona), Leatherback (Tortuga Laúd), Green Turtle (also Black Turtle, Tortuga Prieta, Negra o Verde) and most common of all the species of sea turtle, Olive Ridley (Tortuga Golfina). All of them are endangered and four are ecologically extinct.

I have actually been lucky enough to help with the release of the baby turtles into the ocean, which is one of my favorite experiences. Last November Grupo Tortugero counted up to two releases per week. Unfortunately, turtle releases are much more rare than they used to be. Poaching, incidental captures in fishermen nets, collection of eggs and meat for consumption, coastal development and ocean pollution are some of the most threatening factors to turtles extinction.

Several organizations, like Grupo Tortugero or ProPeninsula, and beachfront resorts are taking measures and a precaution to address the main threats to turtle’s survival. You can often see organization members and hotel staff on the beaches leading short educational seminars for the public, who then participate in the release of the baby turtles.

Releasing baby turtles into the ocean is one of the magical life moments. During a recent release, we gathered at the hotel’s beach with guests and staff to watch the turtles hatch. Next, we drew a line in the sand and stood behind it, each with a baby turtle in hand. When the word was given, we placed the turtles on the sand and cheered for them to reach the ocean. This was truly an amazing experience for everyone who participated.

November 2nd is the Mexican holiday known as Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos. This is a happy day where families gather to celebrate and honor family members who have passed on. Visits to the local cemetery will find many families at the grave sites, cleaning, planting and communing with their loved ones. Altars are set up in homes with many favorite foods, such as turkey with mole, tamales and pan de muertos, bread shaped in the form of skulls and skeletons. Drinks such as tequila and mescal are also offered to be enjoyed by the spirits when they come to visit. Photographs of the dearly departed are displayed prominently and the altars are scattered with lit candles to help guide their way.Days before the celebration, you will find death represented in stores throughout Mexico by objects commemorating the dead in the form of tiny skulls of spun sugar, ornately decorated coffins and delicate sugar skeletons.

Our photo here highlights the beautiful tradition of altars.

Dia de Los Muertos

Remember this Joni Mitchell song from the 70’s? It is very apropos for what is going on in Cabo San Lucas these days. Cabo is FINALLY getting some long needed attention to urbanization issues that have been neglected and set aside. This past year has seen many of our downtown streets closed off, dug up with new drainage, electrical, sewer and water treatment installations put into place. Without a doubt is has been a big inconvenience with traffic patterns being altered and daily changes to the route coming as a surprise, but it’s almost finished and the improvements that are currently in place are definitely appreciated. Your next visit to your Cabo home will highlight these improvements, so please be patient and grateful for a better and more efficient downtown area. Those of us who live here year-round are very happy to see our tax revenues being put to work!

Here in Cabo we gauge the economic recovery based on the number of tourists we see downtown, in the restaurants and at the airport. One indication of the continued recovery happened a week ago when five cruise ships all entered the harbor on the same day! Hundreds of happy cruisers came to our shores to enjoy Cabo. The marina promenade was full, restaurants were bustling and tourists were picking up lots of souvenirs to take home. We knew they were coming so everyone was ready and even the ongoing road construction didn’t dampen the mood! For us here in Cabo, this was a great day and high season is just around the corner. October starts fishing tournament season, so stay tuned for all the news.

Tourists Return to Cabo

Friday, July 11th was the perfect night to enjoy a free jazz concert on the Marina down by the Capella Yacht Club. The stage was set up in front of Solomon’s Landing, but my guests and I scored the best seat in the house at the Capella Pedregal Yacht Club! We were two stories above the stage and had a perfect view of the performers.

Getting the crowd going at 8:00 pm, Dudley and Kevin of Dos Huevos started out the evening with great songs from Sting, Van Morrison and many of our favorites. Kevin and Dudley were long-time Cabo residents until Dudley decided to go back to his native New Zealand for a while. That didn’t last too long. Now he and his family are back in their Mexican home away from home. Dudley and Kevin were definitely missed on the music scene here, so many of us came out especially to welcome them back! The final act was Daline Jones who has quickly become a permanent fixture making the club circuit here in Los Cabos. Sultry, sexy and perfect for a balmy summer night, Daline and her group rounded out a great evening of music. For those of you who would like to hear more of Daline, she can be found at Amarone’s on the Marina and at the Cerritos Beach Club on Sunday afternoons. There are lots of fun things to do this time of the year so take advantage of the cooler evenings and get out there and mingle!