We woke up early so we could get breakfast in the hotel as soon as the buffet opened. That said, we woke up before our alarm went off so it wasn’t exactly a struggle. Plus we were all excited to get to our boat tour on time!

Back to the Marina

Since it was relatively early there was barely any traffic on our way back to the Cabo San Lucas marina. It only took about 15 minutes parking lot to parking lot. We ducked into a store to buy some sunblock and a few bottles of water for our beach time. We had somehow forgotten to bring enough sunblock from home. It wasn’t exactly cheap but we didn’t have much of a choice.

Our friends soon joined us in the parking lot and we headed over to the dock in the marina where we would get our boat ride. The driver arrived right on time at 9:00am and said he needed three minutes to get things ready. My youngest took that literally and timed him. It took 2 minutes and 43 seconds, so he kept his word!

The Boat Tour

We were the only group on the boat so we ended up having a private tour without having to pay extra for it. The driver took us to a dozen different rock formations and pointed out what they looked like. Scooby Doo looked like the outline of Scooby Doo. The four fingers looked like… four fingers. The sea horse looked like a sea horse.

For the most part you could see the resemblance. The names were a bit contrived, but I’m sure most tourists really get into that. It’s a great marketing tactic for sure!

We got some great pictures of the arch and the beaches. We also got to see an amazing number of tropical fish through the glass bottom of the boat.

We even got to see some sea lions hop on the back of a nearby fishing charter boat for a quick snack.

The driver then headed back to a beach adjacent to the marina where we got dropped off. The water was calm and very swimmable. It was not at all like the water in front of our hotel which was much more exposed to the current. This beach was well protected in the harbor. There were also umbrellas we could rent. The kids had a blast trying to build a sand fort and prevent the (small) waves from washing it away. Nature always wins that battle but kids (and adults) never stop trying!

My friend ended up renting a jet-ski and took Tomatico with him. My youngest wanted to go and my wife arranged for him to go with the guide that was taking my friend and Tomatico on the half hour tour. The three of them had an absolute blast!

Lunch

As it was getting towards lunch time we left the beach and made the short walk back to the marina where we had parked our cars. We decided to try El Toro Guero again. It was the place the rental agents had recommended to us on our first day and we loved it. That location was at least 30 minutes away, but Google Maps said there was another one with the same name located in Cabo San Lucas only 2 miles away. We decided to try that one instead.

The restaurant had the same name and logo and nearly the same menu so they are at least related to each other. The food here was was excellent!

We headed back to the hotel for the afternoon. On the way we decided to fill up the gas tank. We had to return the tank at least 3/4 full like when we got it from the rental agency. We figured if we just filled it up all the way. We knew we’d have at least that much remaining by the time we returned it (i.e. we wouldn’t need to find gas on our final day). My friend confirmed all gas stations in Mexico are full service.

There was a nearby convenience store and the kids wanted to see if there was any ice cream or frozen treats there so I took them inside while my wife waited in the car. It was so neat watching the kids take charge communicating with the clerk. They asked him if there was ice cream and made sure I knew how much everything was when it came time to pay. I of course could figure out what was being said, but they were so proud that they were taking charge!

Afternoon

Back at the hotel while we were on the balcony trying to figure out what we wanted to do for the afternoon when we saw some people swimming in the ocean. There were two lifeguards trying to get three people out fo the water. The waves were extremely powerful and the black flag was flying signaling it was NOT safe to be swimming. Anyone with any sense would know that without needing the flag to tell them that. These people were obviously missing that common sense gene.

The lifeguards were yelling, trying to get their attention when one of them closer to shore started getting pushed around and was losing control. The lifeguards both jumped into action and struggled in the surf to get the the women to shore. They got absolutely pounded by a half dozen waves in a row before finally being able to drag her to safety on the beach.

The people further out from shore finally headed safely into shore on their own once the waved died down for a minute. While the women was ultimately safe, I’m not sure she would have made it out on her own if both the lifeguards hadn’t been there. I’m not confident just one of them would have been able to save her. The waves were that strong. The ocean is not something to mess around with. It was no joke how perilous her situation was and she sat on the beach recovering for a solid 30 minute afterwards.

After watching that drama from our balcony the kids decided they wanted to go play in the nice calm pool for the afternoon. They met up with my friend and his girls and they had a fantastic time!

Dinner

For dinner my friend had made reservations as the De Cortez restaurant at the resort. It is a higher end restaurant on the edge of the resort property with a fantastic view of the ocean. We sat inside at a huge round table that fit all nine of us. It was an excellent setting and we were the only group there for much of dinner.

The food overall was excellent. While the prices were more expensive for the adult meals, the kids meals were pretty cheap, and the 6 and 2 year olds ate for free. We got the 15% discount for all the meals which added up to a significant amount for such a large party.

After dinner we walked down to the opposite end of the beach to climb on some of the rocks in the dark with the kids. We also walked along the beach and watched the huge waves break from a safe distance. The kids really enjoyed climbing the rocks as expected.

It had been a long day so we decided to head back and call it a night. The next day would already be our last full day. Vacation time goes so quickly!!