Great Escape: Cabo San Lucas
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Sunrise over the sea of Cortez. A squadron of sea gulls take flight, an advance search party for a fleet of fishing boats pushing off from the Marina in Cabo San Lucas. Together they head for a spot on the horizon, beyond the place the locals cal Land's End. Offshore, they greet a pleasure boat gliding over the aquamarine waters toward the horizon A new day begins in Cabo.
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In the first maps of Baja, 16th century explorers erroneously depicted the peninsula, the fourth largest in the world, as an island. The maps have long since been corrected and the Conquistadors have been replaced by a new breed of explorers seeking the treasures of Baja.
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Daily, legions of tourist transverse the 806 miles that extend from the US-Mexican border to the peninsula's southernmost tip, and the 144 miles across at its widest point.
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As it was in the beginning, and increasingly in modern times, many of the new explores are black.What they are finding is an environment of hypnotic beauty that is both pleasing to the eye and the spirit, desert resort living in a Shangri-La by the sea.
Four centuries, Baja has managed to resist
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the pressures that come from being wedged between the United States, the world's wealthiest and technologically advanced country, and Mexico, which is struggling to take her place among the world's newly developed nations. Civilization, which goes hand and hand with miners, missionaries, developers and tourist boards has yet to spoil this paradise. Baja resists.
The jewel of Baja is Cabo San Lucas, a place of pristine beaches and where fishing is a trip to bountiful. In the Sea of Cortez, 800 varieties of fish have been identified, out of an estimated 3,000. Ninety percent of all these can be found close to the shores of the peninsula of offshore islands.
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Baja is the world's capital for sailfish and blue marlin fishing, as well as a snorkeling paradise. In Cabo, most of the better hotels can arrange for a boat and while success is not guaranteed, a good time is a sure bet.
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Los Angeles photographer Howard Bingham, is regular Cabo visitor. Together wit Bill Burke, president of the LA Marathon and his wife, Los Angeles supervisor Yvonne Burke, they set out every year to enjoy the fruits of Cabo San Lucas. Bingham has been fishing the water of Hawaii and Baja since the late 60's. "My first marlin was 350 pounds and it took me an hour and a half to bring him in. That was in Kona Hawaii, but Cabo is by far my favorite, " says Bingham. "The fares are cheap and by plane, it's as close as Palm Springs. We meet friends from all over the country in Cabo."
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But it's not just the rewards of the sea and the surf that offer the greatest challenges for the intrepid traveler. For many, the peace and quiet of Cabo brings them face to face with a greater foe: themselves. In few of the better resorts, rooms come without telephones. This has sent many guest at the Hotel Twin Dolphins into a real panic. For some, it passes in a few days, while others need the immediate connection to the outer world.
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Management at the Twin Dolphins will arrange for a local cellular hookup for those who bring their own equipment and feel the need the need to have a telephone at their side. But it's not encouraged.
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Tucked away in a rocky cove, the Hotel Twin Dolphin is an oasis where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. Designed "to soothe the soul," for the first 20 years of its existence, it remained the guarded secret of its selected clientele, a seaside playpen for the world's corporate elite and those who enjoyed the company of cacti, starlit skies and solitude.
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The newest addition to beachfront resort luxury living is the beautiful Westin Regina hotel. There is no chance of missing the 243 room edifice that was carved out of a mountain at a cost of $150 million dollars. Like the beautiful surroundings, it too is a feast for the eyes and the spirit.
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