Cabo (Crew)

By Michael Petrella on June 9, 2008 9:47 PM | Permalink | 0 Comments

Now that the "Cabo Fog" has lifted ...

Even before pre-production began, I could have told you that Cabo looks different through a camera lens than it does through the haze of Spring Break.

I had been to Cabo San Lucas three times before filming our episode. It's a place that's easy to fall in love with, and when you get the chance to show it off to your college chums, you do it. But more than seven years had passed between my last visit and escorting Ms. Brown.

It's admittedly amazing how much that part of the world has changed (there's actually a MALL in town now), but what really struck me was how much more towns like that have to offer - other than beaches, bars, and beautiful people. To be fair, we saw our fair share of all three, but I also discovered some things that may not be on most vacationers' radar.

For many, a weekend on the beach would consist of waking up late, stumbling to the sand, ordering a daiquiri or six, eating at a fancy restaurant at the resort, listening to technofied versions of '80s pop songs at the cookie-cutter watering hole/neon-lined club, and stumbling back to bed. Then, repeat as needed.

For this show, however, we were interested in showing this destination (and all the others) as a place that's not only good for the weekend warrior in need of a recharge, but also for the adventurous bunch that's not afraid to find the gems that may be hidden a bit off the main drag.

There are miles of beaches along The Corridor (the stretch of utopia between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo), but if you keep your eyes peeled, you'll be able to spot some intimate spans. You may even unearth a small beach tucked within the rocky coastline that no one else has found yet that day.

In the States, we're all familiar with the ice cream man. On hot summer days, kids whose ears are properly tuned to that catchy jingle can hear him coming from the next neighborhood. Well, in Cabo, we were lucky enough to spend a few minutes with "The Coconut Man" - that's what we dubbed him, since we didn't really catch his name. He parks his pickup - full of freshly picked coconuts - on the most amazing lookout point over a surfer's paradise and, for a few pesos, hacks the ends off of a coconut and adds a straw. Not only was the view from his "office" a sight to see, but the diversity of his customers was, as well. A crew of bikers, a lot of locals and a handful of tourists all lined up for the same simple delicacy.

I'll leave you with this insight: Never had I woken up in the morning (okay, afternoon) in Cabo San Lucas and thought to myself, "hey, let's go soaring 300 feet above the desert through a canyon!" but chances are good that I will from now on.

Tags: cabo , samantha brown , blog , petrella