Cabo San Lucas Fishing

Los Cabos and in particular Cabo San Lucas, water conditions are ideal for gamefish. The tropical currents bring nutrient rich waters that attract squid and small bait fish like sardines, anchovies and mackerel close to the coast and submerged banks. This plentiful supply of food then attracts the larger predators like tuna, dorado, and marlin which swim up into the Sea of Cortez to feed and to spawn. Other fish species include roosterfish, pargo, jacks, yellowtail, Spanish mackerel, pompano, wahoo, and sailfish.

Cabo is acknowledged as the marlin capital of the world because more marlin are caught here than any other part of the world. As a nod to this status, Villa Sombrero boast beautiful marlin-embossed entry doors. We were wondering if one of the original owners of the house was a sports fisherman and chose the doors. We also recently purchased two beautiful wood carvings of a marlin and a sailfish to fill up a couple of alcoves in the entry atrium.

The Upcoming 2011 Fishing Tournaments

The first event on the calendar is the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament from October 11 – 15, 2011. It is a three-day big-fish team event with top honors going to the team that tallies the most points per pound during the tournament and pays down to third place (first, second and third). A release trophy and cash prize will also be awarded to the boat releasing the most eligible billfish. This is the first divisional tournament in Los Cabos that includes a release division for billfish and with high prize payouts it gives credibility to the idea that events that support conservation are worth considering.

Next up is the Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore from October 14 – 16, 2011 which takes place a few days before the main event, the multi-million dollar Bisbee’s Black and Blue from October 18 – 22, 2011 . Many teams that fish the Black and Blue will also take part in the Offshore so it is regarded as a “warm-up” event. The Black and Blue tournament takes it’s name from black marlin and blue marlin that are the target of the tournament but striped marlin are also prevalent in the local waters. Only marlin over 300 lbs can be eligible so any which do not meet the weight requirements must be released back into the sea. Having grown in fame since it’s start in 1981, he event is televised and attracts sports media from all around the world and boasts of having “fishing’s most spectacular “Shotgun Start” from the Baja Cantina Beach Club on Medano Beach”.

As October draws to a close, the last tournament of the month is the Puerto Los Cabos World Cup with three days of fishing. There are dual starts from Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Los Cabos as well as golf and a rock ‘n roll concert with some major names!

The WON Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot falls just outside of October from November 2 – 5, 2011. The tournament slogan is “Fish hard, party harder” which is some indication that the draw is not just the fishing with parties each night and other cash prizes and drawings including $100,000. With an entry fee of $800 this is considered the tournament the “average joe” can participate in.

Accommodation

If you’ll be visiting Cabo San Lucas to participate in one of the deep-sea fishing tournaments and are looking for accommodation, renting a private villa can be a good option if you are traveling with other members of your fishing team. Villa Sombrero is a vacation rental villa with four separate Master Suites that offer privacy together with large, comfortable living and dining spaces for shared meals or hanging out with a drink after a long day on the water. This really is the perfect setup for a group of guys traveling together and at just 4 miles to town is convenient for early morning “shotgun” starts from Medano Beach, hotel Tesoro and kick-off and cocktail parties around town.

If all you want to focus on is fishing then let us take care of the details like transfers, stocking the villa with food and beverages and organizing charters.

Look forward to seeing you down in Cabo!

Welcome to Villa Sombrero! Chill, Laze, Snooze, Gaze!

From the blueprints we have been able to add to our Spanish vocabulary some of the common terms related to homes and architectural structure.

Here we go with the house tour:

Accesso Principal – Main Entrance
Vestibulo – Entrance Hall and Outdoor Landing
Estancia – Living Room or Great Room
Comedor – Dining Room
Cocina – Kitchen (although I did know this one before)
Patio – Patio – no translation required there
Recamara Principal – Master Bedroom
Baño – Bathroom
Vestidor – Closet
Estudio – Study
Bodega – Storage Room
Recamara – Bedroom
Pasillo – Passage
Alberca – Pool (although it seems Jacuzzi is still Jacuzzi)
Palapa – Gazebo – great place to meet and eat
Acceso Estationamiento – Driveway – lots of off street parking
Cochera – Garage – there is a double garage!

Since we will be renting Villa Sombrero out as a Cabo San Lucas vacation rental we are trying to make our site as informative and appealing as possible. We hope adding a floorplan will make it easier to see how everything fits together than just looking at the photos in the villa tour gallery. What do you think? If you have any suggestions on how we could improve this website please let us know in the comments or email us at info@villa-sombrero.com

We eventually succumbed to the insistence of the timeshare sales people and went to a presentation at Fiestaamericana. We bought a week in a studio room and have come to love our stays at Fiestaamericana. It suited us as a couple and once we had our daughter we came to appreciate the kid-friendly pools, easy access to the beach and quiet for nap times. Hotel/timeshare is always somewhat noisy because you invariably have people above and on either side of you who may not be as conscious of trying to avoid noise that might disturb their neighbors. We resolved this problem by finding a room on the top floor with no adjoining room and one side and have requested that same room each time we visit.

In December last year we visited Cabo with a large group of family and friends, arriving the day after Christmas and staying through new year. We rented a villa for the first time and it was the perfect accommodation arrangement. The cost of the villa was far less than we would have had to spend for four separate rooms at a hotel or resort and we could gather to prepare our meals and eat together in the dining room or on the patio. We would not have been able to do that at a hotel but would have had to eat at the reataurants for every meal which would have been too expensive. The villa we chose was located in Pedregal which seemed ideal given it’s location walking distance into town but in hindsight we didn’t walk to town all that frequently and when we did the children would happily walk into town but then wail and whine to be carried home – not a fun prospect given that it is all up hill! The particular villa we stayed in, while lovely, was not very kid-friendly. The furniture included many sharp glass tables and the swimming pool was set up a flight of stair behind the house. Wonderful for the view over the Marina but not ideal for a family because the kids want to be in the pool all the time and it isn’t feasible for an adult to be watching them away from what needs to be done in the house. I prefer a pool that is central to the home and can be seen from the main areas like the kitchen or living room where adults can keep an eye on things while preparing meals etc.

Having recently bought our home in Cabo San Lucas and being in the position of having rented a villa for a family vacation in the past I can honestly say without reservation that Villa Sombrero is the perfect vacation rental for a family or families travelling together. The four separate master suites provide a measure of privacy while still being close to the heart of the home. The large pool and jacuzzi can be seen from the main living areas as well as outdoor dining areas. The pool has large shallow step for smaller children and the jacuzzi can double as a ‘baby-pool’ when not being used by the adults as a hot-tub. We also have a supply of pool floaties, noodles and toys to keep little swimmers happy. Special precautions have been taken to ensure that cleaning supplies are stored away behind lockable doors and their is no furniture with sharp glass edges. For families with older children they will enjoy getting to have their own ” master suites” where they can escape from their parents when they feel the need to a little privacy.

If you are planning a family vacation to Cabo for a reunion or are travelling with other families consider staying at Villa Sombrero. Whether you are planning a summer visit to take advantage of the lower summer rates or will be visiting for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year you will enjoy your stay in our special villa. We are very focused on making sure that every visitor to Villa Sombrero feels at home and has everything they need. Our local, english-speaking property manager will be available to provide whatever assistance you need and we are open to any suggestions you have for ways to make your stay perfect! To see if Villa Sombrero is available when you plan to travel check our availability calendar.

Here are our Top 10 Reasons to Rent a Villa for Your Vacation Rental:

1. Affordable
2. Privacy
3. Convenience
4. Shared spaces
5. More living space
6. Private outdoor space, pool, jacuzzi
7. Uniqueness
8. Live like a local
9. Professional hospitality
10. Special Amenities

Our most recent trip was different though – while completing the purchase of Villa Sombrero we found ourselves dealing with local escrow officers and notarios and then once we got the keys to our new house we had to communicate with the staff at Santa Carmela, the gated community where Villa Sombrero is located. Suddenly a little buenos días and la quenta por favor weren’t cutting it! We realized that if we plan to spend as much time down in Cabo San Lucas as we hope to then we need to learn some functional Spanish as quickly as possible.

Now having returned home the security staff and maintenance people are sending us emails and while they speak a little English we wanted to make sure our instructions are understood so I wanted to respond in Spanish. I started out using Google Translate but soon found that the Spanish translation is different to the Spanish that is spoken in Mexico. After searching for a Mexican Spanish translator I found one which seems to work quite well and has a useful web widget.

I wonder if we can learn Spanish just by needing to translate emails and talk to people or if we should still get Rosetta Stone or some other Spanish Language course.

You can try the translator below and see what you think. The ads are a bit distracting but it works.

Translator

Our house in Cabo San Lucas, Villa Sombrero is available as a vacation rental and with 4 bedrooms that sleep up to 12 people is the perfect getaway for couples or families vacationing together, a group fishing trip or corporate retreat. To inquire about rates or availability click here! Ask about our special summer rates – info@villa-sombrero.com

Until tomorrow, June 13th Volaris have a special offer of 50% off flights between November 1st 2011 and February 29th 2012. This really is a wonderful time to visit Cabo San Lucas. The price of a ticket will be just around $200 per person depending on date of travel and how many of the cheap tickets are left.

The cost of the transfer will be about $50-$60 per person depending on how many people travel.

Stay at Villa Sombrero for $90 per person per night for 8 adults with up to 6 kids staying for free. You will have your own private villa with an amazing pool, jacuzzi and everything a grown up or kid could want in a vacation rental. Ocean views and a short walk to the oceanfront with a small beach and tide pools make it a easy relaxing vacation spot. Four families or couples traveling together would be very comfortable in the four suites:

Book your Volaris tickets at http://www.volaris.mx/Inicio.aspx?culture=en-US with Promotion Code VOL50 and Coupon Number QNHZTW5.

Book your stay at Villa Sombrero by filling in the booking request – http://villa-sombrero.com/the-villa/rates-and-availability/

Almost every table at Puerta Vieja has a view down to the Arch at Land’s End and there is a small patio with two or three tables if you choose to sit outside. We chose to sit just inside so we could enjoy looking at the décor as well as see out to the arch. We arrived at 12:15pm and were the only people there for the entire time. I wondered if it is more popular in the evenings. They have a Sunset Menu for $16.95 USD which is a three course offering. The first course is a Green Garden Salad with choice of dressing. The main dish can be selected from three options; Grilled Chicken Pasta with Sundried Tomato Sauce or Lasagne or Grilled Fillet Mignon with Linguini Alfredo or Penne Piccolini with Garden Vegetable Tomato Sauce. The choices are a little heavy on the pasta for our family but if you want to eat gluten-free in Cabo San Lucas you could always get the Fillet Mignon without the pasta choices and request vegetables instead. A good gluten-free dessert choice would be the Caramel Flan because the Key Lime Pie and Carrot Cake would not work.

The menu has a variety of choices from local flavors like Shrimp and Carne to New Zealand Lamb Chops. Prices range from $29 on the high side (the lamb chops) to a reasonable $16 for the Hearty Mexican Fillet or $14 for the Chicken Breast Enchiladas. We are often amused by the grammatical or typographical errors on menus at eateries around Cabo and San Jose and Puerta Vieja did not disappoint in this regard. We guessed that the “Heart Mexican Steak Fillet” should actually have been “Hearty” and since it was our choice for lunch we can confirm it was!

While waiting for our lunch they served chips, salsa and marinated vegetables and cactus. It was our first time trying cactus and will likely be the last. We did not like it. We ordered a salad to start which was beautifully presented – even if it did look a little too much like a bug. Fresh greens, pear, blue cheese, prosciutto and candied nuts made a delicious combination but the dressing was a little sweet for our tastes – I think it is probably a good rule of thumb to always order dressing on the side because it is almost impossible to remove it if you don’t enjoy it. The hearty Mexican steak fillet is a hearty meal and will not leave you hungry. A 300 gram fillet is served with guacamole, beans, green pepper and a chicken enchilada. It was all yummy! The kids menu choices were limited to either fish fingers or chicken sticks both of which are breaded and not an option for us since we are a gluten free family. They accommodated us by letting us order a half portion of the shrimp which could be prepared several ways. We opted for grilled with butter. There were about 5 shrimp and they were good but maybe a little too chewy.

We ordered a bottle of water, a few cervezas and two agua minerale with limon and the check was $83 with a standard 15% tip.

Before you leave before to check our the ladies room – it has the most fun wash basins in all of Cabo!

The best thing about Puerta Vieja is that it is about 5 minutes away from Santa Carmela so it is very convenient when we are staying at Villa Sombrero. We wanted to try it so we can offer some local dining choices in our Local Guide which we have available for guests who stay at Villa Sombrero as a vacation rental villa in Cabo San Lucas. The other nearby dining choice is Sunset Da Mona Lisa which is more expensive. Read our review of the Sunset Wine Bar which is above the restaurant.

The waiter immediately brought over the menu’s including an adorable Etch-A-Sketch Kids Menu. The menu is attached to the back of the Etch-A-Sketch and offers a nice selection for the kids including a protein rich scrambled egg & bacon breakfast (which they were happy to turn into a fried egg for us). We are a gluten-free family and typically kids menu’s are only pancakes, toast or quesadillas. They had a wide choice of $10 mimosas ranging from the typical to the exotic. With prices ranging from about $14-$18 (the Huevos Rancheros we chose were $17) and sides like potatoes or bacon for between $4 and $8 the menu was less expensive than we expected and there was a good selection even for those of us avoiding wheat. We ordered avocado on the side for our Huevos and very much enjoyed the meal. Our coffee cups were kept filled – I probably drank about 6 cups and they provided half and half instead of standard cream when we requested it.

Esperanza and El Restaurante are beautiful and definitely worth a visit when you are visiting Cabo San Lucas!

Villa Sombrero is located in the Santa Carmela gated community about 4 miles from downtown Cabo San Lucas and is available as a vacation rental.

Update 16th June 2011: Popsugar just posted a video about how to live like a celebrity in Cabo San Lucas and featured our neighbor Esperanza. If you can’t afford Esperanza you can still enjoy the privacy, seclusion and “barefoot elegance they offer at our private vacation rental – Villa Sombrero.

When first you see Villa Sombrero it is easy to see where the name comes from. The sweeping lines of the roof resemble the brim of a Mexican sombrero. Villa Sombrero captures the essence of Spanish colonial architecture with its arches, columns, enclosed courtyard and flat roof. The architecture of the villa incorporates many elements of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture which incorporates characteristics of Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean architecture in a more modern design.

Spanish Colonial homes are typically at one with their surroundings and feature a common set of architectural elements. They are typically a single story home centered around an enclosed courtyard that extends the living space and acts as an informal gathering spot for extended family and friends. Traditionally, the family would move the cooking, typically a heat generating activity, outside to take advantage of the cooler air. Villa Sombrero home is built around a central courtyard that is bordered by a colonade with Spanish arches and columns. It is a welcoming space for gathering to enjoy the pool and jacuzzi or do some outdoor cooking and dining under the beautiful handmade Palapa. As is common in Spanish homes, three of the four suites face out onto the central courtyard and enjoy beautiful views of the waterfall, rock formations and blue water.

The simple elegance of Villa Sombrero’s architecture is typical of the limited ornamentation found in Spanish Colonial homes which was often limited to arches on entrance ways and interior passageways. These homes also featured thick, stucco-clad walls which are ideally suited to a hot climate as the thick walls absorb the day’s heat and then radiate it back into the home as the evenings cool.
One story. The Spanish Colonial is the ancestor of our ranch-style house. Also typical of these homes is a flat roof which in Villa Sombrero’s case has allowed for an expansive rooftop deck which has been tiled to create the perfect platform for enjoying the beautiful blue waters of the Sea of Cortez and watching the sun rise or set on the horizon in an array of splendid pink, purple and orange hues!

Some interior features which speak to the Spanish Revival style of Villa Sombrero include the arches, built-in alcoves and one of our features of the home, the beautiful hand laid tile bóveda above the entry. Outdoor accents like hand painted tiles on stair risers and the extensive use of terracotta tile are common to Spanish Revival homes.

Watch a video about the art of boveda making!

What is most important about Spanish Colonial homes is that they invite comfort. They call to you to kick off your shoes at the door and just relax into the inviting spaces and al fresco living areas. Come spend some time at Villa Sombrero and we guarantee you won’t want to leave.

Contact us today to check for availability – you won’t be sorry!

Those Were The Days

We first started visiting Cabo San Lucas in 2004 when there were just two of us and at that time there were no plans for any additions to the family, in fact the plan was to not have any children. Our first trips to Cabo San Lucas were spent lazing all day next to the pool with a good book (this was pre-Kindle and iPad), taking long leisurely sundowner walks on the beach and then heading out to try a different restaurant each night with a post-dinner visit to Squid Roe (a standard) or one of the other bars or clubs. What’s not to love about that right?

When we first started visiting Cabo we would always stay at Hotel Finisterra on the pacific side just behind Land’s end. This is a beautiful hotel with gorgeous pools and the cool Whale Watcher bar. The best thing about Finisterra is that it is an easy walking distance into downtown Cabo, a walk we do daily on our stays. As we strolled around the Marina and headed towards Restaurant Row we would hear the constant call, “Hello Honeymooners”, from the persistent sales people trying to pedal their glass bottom boat rides or timeshare presentation. We did eventually give in and attend one of those timeshare presentations which led to the next chapter of our relationship with Cabo. We bought a Gold week in a Studio room at Fiestaamericana. Now anyone who knows anything about timeshare will know that this meant we were still clearly in the no-kids frame of mind. Gold weeks do not fit well with the school calendar and Studio rooms are best enjoyed by couples or friends and not families. We have never for a minute regretted our decision to buy points at Fiestaamericana and love every minute we spend there. The pools are fantastic, the beach is perfect and there is amazing snorkelling just knee deep into the water, the staff are all incredible and the overall vibe elegant but relaxed.

Keep on Dreamin’

On each of our trips to Cabo we would pick up the real estate rags, glossy Dream Homes Cabo magazines and Gringo Gazette on our walks into town and then pour over them back in our room. Well, honestly it was more me than Gavin. I loved looking at the beautiful homes overlooking the ocean and thinking “What if” … Each year we returned I would follow the same ritual but as the years passed it changed from just paging through to actually dog-earing the pages of homes I thought might be a distant possibility
someday.

A Brief Pause

In 2006 we missed our trip to Cabo because we had just become new parents. Cailin joined our family in March and turned our world upside down … in a good way. Yeah I know I’d said our plans were not to have children and how we got to the point of having our baby girl is a long (well, not really so long) story for another day.

We resumed our annual trips to Cabo the next year and our love of Cabo continued to grow – so much so that we found an annual trip was no longer enough and sometimes visit two or three times in a year. We bought some more Fiesta Americana points on eBay so we had enough for a one bedroom suite and each visit would stay in our favorite room overlooking the ocean and member’s pool. Fiesta Americana is a wonderful resort for young families with a range of pools and one in particular goes from one end with about an inch of water to the other ending in a deep infinity edge overlooking the beach and ocean.

As Cailin has grown we have progressed from spending our days in the shallows watching her splash and play to watching her master holding her breath and treading water. Cailin wishes she could be a mermaid and so much of her time in the pool is spent under the water perfecting her mermaid moves despite my encouraging her to try practicing her swimming strokes.

The Big Step

On every trip I continued to pour over the real estate booklets and glossy magazines still dreaming of eventually owning our own little piece of Cabo. On our most recent visit we had a few hours to kill between check out at Fiestaamericana and check-in for our flight home. On a whim I suggested we contact a local realtor and spend the few hours “just looking” at some properties to get an idea of what was out there. Needless to say the “just looking” turned into something more and we are now the proud owners of Villa Sombrero. When we first saw Villa Sombrero I was immediately drawn to the unique architectural detail and Gavin loved the huge big boulders or Sombrero Stones (yeah, I said it) outside and dotting the pool and surrounding courtyard. We both loved the fact that the house has beautiful views of the blue sea from the front rooms, terraces and the amazing deck.

On several trips we have taken friends and family along with us and have enjoyed introducing newcomers to Cabo. Without fail everyone thoroughly enjoys their stay and we are looking to sharing our new home with them and since we are not able to spend all year in Cabo we want to share it with you too – to learn more about the accommodations and availability click here – ‘The Villa’.

We’ve posted some of our favorite Cabo moments in our Flickr gallery. Have a look!