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 a week in Baja, we had time to leisurely spend time in the locations around Pescadero with the following places we visited:
Pescadero
Located about an hour north of Cabo along Highway 19, Pescadero is a quiet Pacific enclave that initially seems to have little to offer. However, as we explored its dusty backroads, we discovered a hidden side to the town including the beach Playa el Menudo: a long stretch of sand to walk our hearts content.
While it remains a quiet enclave stretching toward the ocean, now home to a growing number of beautifully designed expat residences, it is also a spot for chic restaurants, cafes, and yoga studios along its dusty roads.
The absolute highlight of our trip was my birthday dinner at Noah Japanese Food, where we had the best Mexican-inspired sushi I’ve ever tasted. I would go back in a heartbeat.
Todos Santos
An artistic “Puebla Magico”, Todos Santos is indeed nothing short of magical. I absolutely love this oasis of a town!
The downtown is a center of old 19th Century brick buildings along with a classic town square.
We had fun walking the streets and exploring the myriad of shops that were lined along the way.
Punto Lobos Hike
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)
Isla Espiritu Santo & Playa Balandra
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.
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.
