A PRIVATE PARADISE ON THE CABO COASTLINE

A favorite among Cabo San Lucas hotels on the beach, Chileno Bay Resort & Residences sits along one of Cabo’s most swimmable beaches, a half-mile stretch of golden sand that leads to some of the calmest, most tranquil waters in the region. The Blue Flag-certified beach is also home to one of Los Cabo’s best snorkeling reefs, where you’ll discover a hidden underwater world brimming with colorful sea life. “You’ll feel like you’re swimming in an aquarium,” says one recent fan.

Just over 30 years ago, golf was practically unheard of in Los Cabos. That all changed in 1987, when the 20-mile, sun-kissed stretch between the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo got its first golf course, the 9-hole Punta Sur, now known as the Course at Vidanta Los Cabos. While partially flat with modest views, it foreshadowed the future: a boom in Los Cabos golf resorts and the region’s emergence as a premier destination for golf, with more than a dozen championship courses and even more on the way.

There’s something so enchanting about sitting with your feet tucked under the warm sand while a salty aroma passes by with the breeze. Gazing into the eyes of the Sea of Cortez and up at the orange and pink-streaked sky, tasting the tender gifts of the ocean. It’s that unforgettable intimacy between yourself and nature and the people you love most that makes a moment truly special, that grounds you in its fairytale. 

“I don’t buy coffee,” Jesús Salazar, founder and CEO of El Cafeologo in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, once said. What Salazar does is far more involved. He works directly with small coffee farmers in the southern state of Chiapas to develop their coffee production, teaching picking techniques and processing methods, then helps with roasting and cupping. In 2010, Salazar worked with just four farmers. Our coffee shop El Molino proudly buys premium, fair-trade, organic beans from Salazar, and thanks to partners like us, Salazar has increased his network to 35 “micro-producers.”

There is a cliff at Esperanza where I go to retrieve live sea urchins that cling to the sides of the warm granite, as they sunbathe and seek refuge from the constant crashing of the Sea of Cortez. The cliff is one of my favorite spots at the resort and I climb up there to carefully collect the urchins and bring them to my kitchen to prepare and serve them.

Soothing percussive beats of pre-Hispanic music is the soundtrack to my Huichol inspired ritual. Instruments made with turtle shells, wood, bone and sea shells intertwine rhythmically, calming me and drawing my mind into clarity, peace and an openness to the cleansing and purification of my body.

There are seven sea turtle species in the world, and Baja California Sur is home to a remarkable five of them—the hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, black turtle and olive ridley—all of which are endangered. These amazing sea creatures can hold their breath for up to seven hours at a time, slow their heartbeat to once every nine minutes, and most can dive to depths of up to 960 ft. (or nearly 100 stories underwater). But there’s another trait that’s even more astonishing, and the reason we give each of our guests a wooden sea turtle when they leave.