Baja: The Land of Cactus, Desert & Sea
Cactus, Desert and Sea. The essence of what I dreamt Southern California was, is really Baja: small communities strung out on a two-lane road with the sea on one side and the desert on the other with majestic cactus in groves. A land that is still a bit untamed.
Some friends of ours invited us to spend a week at their vacation villa located in enclave of Pescadero, about a hour north of Cabo San Lucas and we decided to bring the girls along with us. There was the paved main road that kept heading north towards towards La Paz but all the other streets were just bumpy dirt roads with shops, businesses and homes wedged between farms and open desert space.
With roadside tacos, world-class sushi and amazing restaurants in general along with the beautiful “magical town” of Todos Santos and snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez, I found Baja a beautiful respite.
Travel Details
Our Flight
We embarked on this journey from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on a direct 2.5-hour flight to Los Cabos International Airport (SJD).
Booking with Points
Initially, when we planned this trip, it was prior to our journey with Points & Miles so we purchased the tickets on American Airlines for $350 Roundtrip + a fee for checked luggage. However, when we decided to bring the girls on this trip a few months later, Dawn remembered that she had points banked up through an old Alaskan Airlines credit card. As luck would have it, Alaskan Airlines is in the One World Alliance which American Airlines is a partner in. We were able to use the Alaskan Airline points for redemption on the same flight with that we planned on being on for 15,000 points round trip per each ticket.
39,100 Points
1.08 Cents/Point
12,500 Points
2.86 Cents/Point
In addition to getting the girls on the flight on points, we were able to utilize a $200 Airline Fee Credit for incidental fees such as luggage through our American Express Business Platinum Card (one of the many benefits offered through this credit card) so our luggage charges were covered as well.
Our Itinerary
With limited time in Vancouver, we made an amazing trek through the City with much walking, taking a water taxi and Uber’s to maximize our day. Here are the highlights of our journey:
Granville Island
In the morning we headed to Granville Island, an island that harmonizes the industrial elements of the island with boutique shops and the famous Granville Island Public Market. From the shore of the island, there is a perfect view of downtown Vancouver across False Creek.
I love this public market. On a lazy, overcast Saturday morning, this was the perfect location to get breakfast as one of the many food stalls. We decided to get breakfast croissants at Market Grill. The croissants were a great choice and I really don’t thing that you can go wrong with any of the food stalls here.
Chinatown
From Granville Island, we took a water taxi across False Creek where we walked for about 20 minutes along the waterfront to Chinatown..
The thing that I appreciated about Chinatown is it’s laid-back atmosphere and how comfortable the neighborhood felt with the older brick buildings from the past centuries.
We stopped for lunch at Chinatown BBQ (130 EAST PENDER ST, VANCOUVER BC V6A 1T3) for bbq duck & crispy pork along with some greens. Perhaps my favorite highlight was our server, David. A very generous and knowledgeable man who provided us with complimentary tea and a lychee fruit dessert, once he found out about our anniversary weekend.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden
I think that this garden was the highlight of this trip. The spectacular urban oasis called the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden is Ming Dynasty style garden that first opened to the pubic in 1986.
I can spend half a day here easily wandering through the gardens. There are two segments of the garden: the public portion that is open to the public and a second area that is a private garden that has an entrance fee. I do recommend seeing both gardens.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden (578 Carrall St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 5K2 Canada)
Gastown
After our time at the gardens & Chinatown, we headed northwards to Gastown. This is the original neighborhood of Vancouver.
A very busy and touristy area, we explored this little stretch including the steam powered clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Streets.
There are many cute shops to explore that specialize in jewelry, native artwork and much more in this area.
Stanley Park
The crown jewel of Vancouver: Stanley Park.
Adjacent to downtown, a person could spend days wandering this little peninsula of dense forest, trails, beaches and features.
We spent a small fraction of time here walking a small portion of the sea wall trail as well as going through the Totem Park.
Many years ago, back in University, I had the opportunity to row here in a regatta and spend time at the Rowing Club.
The park is a beautiful respite from the city and is absolutely worth spending time here.
Travel Details
In Vancouver, there are many great hotels that you can stay at from Hilton to Mariott to Hyatt and beyond. For this trip we decided to stay at the Hyatt located in downtown Vancouver.
Booking with Points
We chose the Hyatt Regency Vancouver in downtown Vancouver. The nightly cost at time of booking was approximately $397 CAD ($285 USD) for a high ceiling room. On Hyatt’s website, we were able to redeem this for 12,000 points per night, using 24,000 points for two nights.
Hyatt Regency Vancouver
12,000 Points/Night
2.38 Cents/Point
As of right now, the only transferrable program available to transfer points to Hyatt is Chase. The process is very straight forward and clear to transfer the points and, in our case was instantaneous, and the points were in our account to make the reservation within moments.
In Conclusion
If you are looking for a fun getaway that includes beautiful coastal surroundings along with urban culture, Vancouver is a great place to be.
