Casa Cabo Pulmo

I had the pleasure of joining a group of friends recently, for a week's stay at Casa Bahia de los Frailes, a beautiful new beachfront home on a gorgeous bay in the Sea of Cortez. The house is only about a 90 minute drive from the airport at San Jose del Cabo, but it might as well be on the moon. With few other homes on the bay, we were able to enjoy quiet, peaceful hours, dining on the patio, swimming in the pool - and it's amazing swim-up bar, soaking in the spa, sipping cocktails around the sunken fire pit, or simply relaxing on a lounge chair with a good summer read. When we wanted more, stand-up paddle boards and kayaks were available for trips around the calm waters of this protected bay. Reef snorkeling was a short drive away, on the other side of the point, as was excellent fishing from the nearby village of Cabo Pulmo, where we also found several excellent restaurants when we didn't feel like cooking. We enjoyed catered dinners at home, starting with guacamole and frozen margaritas. A great deal of thought has obviously been put into the building of this house, as seemingly nothing has been left out that we could possibly want in a beachfront rental home: a water filtration system provides drinkable water right from the tap, a rarity in Baja California; spacious rooms, large bathrooms with open showers leading to outdoor areas; king size beds; lots of closet space; a well-equipped chef's kitchen; multiple patios (think breakfast in the shade on the mountain side, dinner in the shade on the east-facing ocean side); comfortable furnishings throughout. Air conditioning is available, but we never needed to turn it on, due to the cooling breezes that kept us comfortable. One thing: stock up on groceries and beverages in San Jose del Cabo before heading off to the house, as not much is available in the towns near Los Frailes. Another option is to have the hosts arrange for this, as well as the aforementioned catered meal options. Oh, and bring your own sn