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Cabo
By Samantha Brown on July 16, 2008 8:36 PM | Permalink | 13 Comments
Day 1
Started the day at the farmers' market, which is just outside the center of San Jose, down a long dusty path to an open field -- the Mexican version of where the Grateful Dead would play. I was a little nervous when all I saw were stands selling clothes, local crafts and honey, but we walked to the end of the field under a tall Mesquite tree where we found the fresh vegetables. The scene was like something out of a painting, it was so beautiful.
First I hadn't seen a tree this tall in Mexico and marveled at its size as well as the shade given by its ample arbor. Then there were the big wooden crates filled with tomatoes: red, teardrop, plum and cherry. There were beets and radishes and lovely lettuces in large galvanized pans, and the whole place smelled of freshly picked Mexican basil. When we were done shooting, we all had a handmade sopa from the woman with a tiny coal-burning make-shift stove, who kept repositioning her freshly made corn cakes over the hottest part of the fire, smearing them first with beans, then salsa and then cheese. Wash it all down with a honey lemonade or mint hibiscus tea and you have a perfect meal. A single acoustic guitarist was doing a very good job capturing the vivacity of the Gypsy Kings with his six strings. We were all sad to leave.
Day 2
While in Cabo, I got to do some pretty fun activities, like zip-line tour across the canyons, which I was excited about from the start. I have done a few zip-line tours now, but always through the canopies of rainforests. Gliding across a canyon sounds a lot more thrilling to me, and it was. Being out in the open like that and seeing birds of prey circling not much higher than you is very cool. At the end of the tour, participants are treated to handmade blue corn quesadillas with fresh salsas. I think my favorite activity was a ride in a clear-plastic kayak. I've never hidden my fear of being underwater, and in the eight years I have been with the Travel Channel, I have had to go snorkeling more times than I care to remember. The clear kayak allows you to see what's below you. It was a very difficult scene to shoot, seeing that cameraman Paul and soundman Tony were in a kayak of their own, paddling while doing their jobs, as well as doing their best not to get their extremely valuable equipment wet. We were hugging the coastline and then paddled farther out to sea.
We were facing the coast when my eye caught something moving right where we once were. I dismissed it as a wave when the wave suddenly reared higher, and it turned into the beautiful and awesome sight of a whale passing by. I instinctively let out an excited scream. What a fantastic way to see a whale, in an unobtrusive kayak, so close to the water that this mammoth elegant creature was in. We all felt better after seeing the whale and were hoping that we would see him come up again, but we saw that three other motorboats, including one large catamaran, were all zeroing in. My guide, Michele, said that the whale would know the sound of the motorboats and would not come back up until it absolutely had to. I thought about how amazing it would have been to be in the exact same place as the whale, had we not moved. Oh well, even from afar, it was wonderful.
13 Comments
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What was the name of the villa you rented and how can we find information about it? Thanks
Hi Peggy Slater, We booked Villa de la Torre for Ms. Brown. Our website is www.cabovillas.com and we would love to assist you with your villa reservation! Regards, Julie Byrd Director of Sales Earth, Sea & Sky Vacations info@cabovillas.com
Hi Samantha, Enjoyed watching the Los Cabos episode. My wife and I were vacationing in March and went to SJ during the Festival and parade. Loved our Los Cabos adventure, stayed at CSL. Sorry you missed the whales in CSL, but maybe on your next Baja go. Also, you didn't get the local specialty of fish tacos.
Absolutely loved this video. Beautiful site. The tomato salad looked delicious--wish I had the recipe for the dressing.
What a great looking villa. Loved the program but want to stay at the villa. What is its name.
I really enjoy Samantha Brown and the passport to Europe as well as Latin America episodes, especially since with all the channels we have available; There never seems to be anything worth while to watch these days. To be honest the new weekend episodes are missing something. The last one I viewed was Cabo. I myself travel frequently and have been to Cabo twice and Samantha doesn't even come close to representing what most tourist like myself experience there. I understand she went off the beaten track to experience the culture of the people. My thoughts are why call the episode Cabo when little or nothing was shown in Cabo. Everything that was filmed was outside of the city. No Marina, shopping, restaurants, night life, beaches were shown in Cabo. The only thing that came close was the sunset cruise. I doubt the average tourist stays at a villa outside of Cabo and has a chef come there and prepare a meal. Most people experience Cabo in a timeshare or hotel and stay in the downtown Cabo area. I realize the show is only 30min long and has time constraints, but all I'm saying is if your going to do an episode on Cabo, well it had better be filmed there and accuratly portray it. I've been dissapointed with the weekend shows, and I hope they will improve.
Nice show. You identified tequila as coming from the "agave cactus," which is somewhat incorrect. The agave plant is a relative of the lily family. It is not a cactus.
Hello, you can reach the owner of the Villa at 702-968-9349 or at shebgil@gmail.com. Thanks, Sheila Gilman
Hi Samantha We are headed to our timeshare in Cabo next week and our friends just saw Samantha's visit to Cabo and said there was a great local restaurant. They can't remember the name, could you let me know so I can surprise them. Is in in Cabo or San Jose? We will be taking them to both We have both been scouring the internet but couldn't find the restaurant info. Thanks Frank PS: I look forward to seeing more of your shows, we have been to Cabo a few times and are interested in NEW things to do outside the norm.
wow what a stay! sounds like you had an excellent vacation. i also have a travel blog about Mexico. Would love if it you stopped by to check it out www.mypueblobonito.com. happy traveling!
when will the cabo show air again, we missed it...thanks
Hi!
I was on the Cabo whale watching/sunset cruise with Samantha and her crew. It was great to meet you all, and it was a lovely evening. I am sad though because I still haven't seen the Cabo episode that was aired. Is there a way to order it online or something? Or way to view it online? Thanks.
We are taking a road trip thru Baja, and we are hoping to stay here for a few days.