Cabo San Lucas Properties

Desierto Verde Real Estate

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Los Cabos

At the southern tip of the peninsula a four lane divided highway skirts twenty or so miles of the Sea of Cortez. The landscape is magnificent with the rugged backdrop of the Sierra de la Laguna mountains that seem to rise out of the blue sea. This highway called the Corridor links two very different towns. San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. Quiet and picturesque San Jose del Cabo is not much different from the 18th century colonial village it once was, maintaining a sleepy, small town charm. At the other end of the Corridor, Cabo San Lucas is a, bustling, traffic filled fun mecca.

Founded in 1730 San Jose del Cabo is the local seat of government and serves as the marketing center for the fruit and vegetables grown in the surrounding area. The divided main street Blvd. Mijares cuts through the centre of town. The history of this town dates back to the 16th century when navigators discovered a fresh water source at the mouth of the San Jose River. A sandbarrier separates this small body of water, (the Estero) from the sea. They named it "Aguada Segura" (reliable fresh water). San Jose became a required stop during the years of the Manila Galleons. It was renamed San Jose del Cabo when the Jesuits built the mission here in 1730.

The Estero of San Jose with its unique beauty is now protected as a sanctuary. The vegetation is dense and diverse, regulating the ecosystem. Water hyacinths, palm trees, an abundance of cacti and tropical forest make up part of the rich diversity of plants. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded here. Although many are transitory others make the estuary their home. There is an entrance to the Estero beside the Presidente Hotel near the beach, a footpath follows the estuary inland for a little over a kilometer and exits at Blvd. Mijares near downtown San Jose.

Cabo San Lucas, Kilometer One of the Transpeninsular highway is now the most exclusive resort area on the peninsula. Cabo has traded the Manila Galleons for the luxury yachts and cruise ships that now drop anchor. Until a few years ago when wealthy sportsmen and high profile actors journeyed down by sea on their yachts or flew in to private airstrips to escape their fame, relax, and fish the blue waters of the Sea of Cortez, Cabo drowsed lazily away in the sun. Hotels with fishing camps were built to service the rich before there was an airport. The same sheltered bays and calm seas along the indented coastline that had offered hiding places for pirates who plundered Spanish galleons during the 16th and 17th centuries now lured the rich and famous. In 1927 the Compania de Productos Marinos was established and fishing became its main source of livelihood until the completion of the Transpeninsular Highway, when Cabo's destiny changed forever. Long known to anglers as Marlin Alley the deep sea fishing here is unparalleled. No longer just a playground for millionaires, the recently developed golf courses and the beautiful beaches have been discovered by North American sunseekers and retirees.

Its scenic landmark, El Arco, a sculptured rock formation is readily recognized. It is said that beneath this arch the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet. Under the arch, Lover's Beach at low tide is a favourite. Beneath the surface, about 100 metres down , Jacques Cousteau discovered the famous Sand Falls, where the sand cascades into an enormous underwater canyon.

The weather in the southern region is much the same as Arizona, and rainfall can vary from year to year. The climate is regulated to a considerable degree by the ocean surrounding the peninsula. Warm tropical air masses from the Pacific Ocean move up the Sea of Cortez, channeled in the lower peninsula by the Sierra de la Laguna and the Sierra Madre mountains on mainland Mexico. Seasonal cooling occurs as the California Current off the west coast of the peninsula moves south from the northern Pacific. Basically the peninsula can be classed as arid or semi-arid desert. During the years of heavy rainfall the desert comes alive with blooms, at other times in other years rainfall can be negligible. Rainfall is heaviest during September in the Cape area, and temperatures can be oppressive in August/September when the thermometer may reach 100 degrees fahrenheit.

Tropical hurricanes called chubascos sometimes occur in late summer/early fall. They generate massive amounts of rainfall. These hurricanes are not an annual event and many years sometimes pass with no rainfall at all. The Capes offer the traveller a landscape that is dramatic, blessed with a rugged natural beauty and incomparable deep sea fishing opportunities.

The enormous popularity of the whole region means that the cost of real estate along the Corridor and in Cabo San Lucas can be prohbitive. Even in outlying coastal areas such as the road to Todos Santos are now home to new pricey housing developments. San Jose is also pricey but the nearby East Cape - an incredibly beautiful area where the dusty, rutted dirt road is dotted with houses overlooking the ocean - is already becoming an expensive alternative. It is, however, well worth the trip to take a look at this area even if the car ride on the washboard road can be bone throbbing and teeth clattering, the landscape is truly magnificent. The East Cape road begins at San Jose del Cabo and is unpaved to Las Barracas where a paved road begins. Bird watchers would also enjoy this trip: roadrunners perched on huge boulders, California Quails crossing the road in line, a variety of hummingbirds whizzing about the car, crested caracaras, white winged doves and a host of others, bobbing in and out of the brush. How long this abundance of wildlife will remain is in question because now (even on the road's most remote spots) small subdivisions are being promoted. For now, it is not for the faint of heart, it is some way from town, but if you're looking to the future take a look at the East Cape. Along this road are gems such as Los Barriles, Cabo Pulmo and Bahias de los Frailes.

North of Cabo San Lucas on the West Cape, houses are now being built for sale overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a wide, sweeping stretch of beach at Migrino. On a very hot day (100 degrees) we sat for a while on the cliff beside the deep arroyo and relaxed, enjoying the cooling breeze. Perhaps for potential residents the problem is not whether to choose the Los Cabos area as a retirement or winter home destination but which of the surprisingly diverse choices in this relatively small area is most suited to your lifestyle, temperament and pocket-book! Good hunting.