Cabo Detour: A New Road to Travel

During the past year, our travels haven’t slowed, but our destination has become more consistent.

After eight years of blissful annual treks to the One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we took our love and commitment to this sunny destination up a notch. We are now the happy owners of a home in Cabo.

It’s probably one of the craziest and most thrilling things we’ve done since marrying almost 11 years ago.

Instead of traveling sporadically throughout the year, Cabo will be our main destination for about half of the year. The other half we’ll spend in our hometown of Tulsa and exploring the world.

The tradeoff of less travel for more Cabo time seemed well worth the investment. We plan to just as vigorously immerse ourselves in the culture, food and sights of our new home as we do with the other new places we visit. Instead of spending a week here and there, we’ll be all-in as we get to know this beautiful country.

From there to here

I’m not really sure how we took this detour in our travel life. The spark started with a fortuitous plane ride. We sat next to someone on a Cabo-bound flight who happened to have a home near the resort we visit every year and who happened to know a realtor.

“What’s the harm of spending the afternoon checking out a few homes with the realtor?” we naively reasoned. Three return trips and a few months later, we were signing a power of attorney to close on our home.

Looking back, it seems to have happened with the blink of an eye. It really was more like closing our eyes really tight and running through an experience to see what the other side looks like. Sometimes that’s what it takes to muster up the courage to make a big jump in life – just run through it without overthinking it.

Buying a piece of property that’s not in your familiar home country can feel like a leap of faith. It is, but there are no sure things in life. What we were sure of at the moment as we envisioned our future selves in Cabo is what our hearts were telling us to do. When it comes down to it, buying a home and taking a chance on a new life is a heart decision.

We don’t regret a minute of it for the experience that has unfolded since that fateful flight and seat assignment.

Buying a property outside of your home country takes two parts heart and one part courage. A little tequila helps, too.

Living la vida Cabo

What’s to love about owning a home in Cabo?

The everyday routines of life feel like an adventure. Living in a new country is like being in your 20s again, but with the confidence that comes from middle age. How cool is it to relive firsts at this time in our lives?

With each trip to Cabo, we’ve been learning the expat life as we go. Getting temporary resident visas, securing drivers’ licenses and buying a car have taken a serious understanding of Mexican law and extreme patience. Fortunately, we’ve had a lot of help navigating the system.

We are pretty proud of our personal beach set-ups secured at the local Costco. Yes, there is a Costco in Cabo. Score!

A dynamic new restaurant scene is opening up to us. When you travel to a new location, it’s a scramble to choose the best culinary picks in a limited time. With more time here, we have the luxury of getting to know the special and off-the-beaten-path eateries. From casual to fine dining and exotic to down-home, we’ve been able to find something for every taste, budget and mood.

If we didn't live in Cabo, I doubt we ever would have tried this local gem. Barrio de Tango is now one of our favorite restaurants.

Being located near two diverse towns gives us plenty of opportunity to explore. One thing that makes our area special is the diversity of nearby towns. We live between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas – two completely different experiences separated by 20 miles of highway.

The historic and quaint San Jose del Cabo offers entertainment such as art walks and dancing in the public square while Cabo San Lucas offers more touristy, spring-break style entertainment. Fortunately, we’re located closer to the more authentic and calm San Jose del Cabo, which is more our speed. However, it’s nice to have both experiences just a short drive away.

One of the many beautiful historic streets of San Jose del Cabo filled with local art.

We have added motivation to finally learn a second language. While it’s pretty easy to get by speaking English in Cabo, my rusty high-school Spanish skills could use some reawakening. It’s pretty amazing what pointing and access to Google Translate can accomplish, but it’s no substitute for the real thing.

Now that bucket-list item of learning a foreign language has a chance to happen.

The line between vacation and home blurs beautifully. Waking up to new bird calls, rising with the sun as it peeks above the Sea of Cortez, and building a day with as much adventure and routine as we want are a few of the things I adore about our Cabo life. It’s the best of both worlds. Each trip feels like a vacation, but with enough familiarity to call it home.

After five years of serious travel, we’re thrilled our path has lead us to Cabo. It feels good sinking our toes into its sandy shores and slowing our pace a bit.

No hablo español yet, but we’re working on it.

Tweet