We started the day with packing a lunch for the crew so we could hang out on the beach, which was one stop on the harbor tour we chose. It was a quick drive to the harbor and then finding a place to park. The lot next to the harbor is only $15 pesos an hour so we waited about 15 minutes for a spot in the lot. The tour place was easy to find and we signed in and were assigned a spot on a boat that was leaving in about 15 minutes. We all had to wear life vests and once on the boat and out in the channel we all posed for the obligatory photo.
The tour is a quick guided ride out into the harbor and along the rock formations that is called Land’s End for Baja California. There are several beaches at the beginning of the tour that are good for families, scuba diving, and snorkeling due to the reduced waves and currents. At the snorkeling beach, the glass-bottomed boat allowed us to see fish swimming underneath, however there were more if we just looked over the sides. We spent a few minutes gazing over the fish before continuing on to the other sites, many of which were caves or rock formations with stories or names to make the tours fun. The final beaches were Lover’s Beach and Divorced Beach before we cruised through some of the channels into the Pacific Ocean side. We all took a bit of time to take photos at the famous arch in Cabo’s bay with the hundreds of other boats that stop throughout the day. On the way back we stopped at Lover’s beach, got off, and made a quick camp in the sand for lunch. We spent a bit over an hour there before heading back to the tour boat.
The beach was pretty fun and we made the mistake of feeding a seagull, which of course invited dozens to join him. We gave them crackers and some pringles until one of the more daring birds grabbed the cracker bag out of Kathy’s hand and took off, intending to break the slow feeding into a shared feeding frenzy with dozens of them fighting over the crumbs. We are not sure some of our neighbors appreciated it, but it was fun for us. On the way back, the seals were in the harbor and were following the fishing boats into the harbor to get the remains of the bait that were not used. This of course provided opportunities for some photos.
We exited the tour after about three hours (HAHA!, a three hour tour), and dropped stuff back at the car. We headed into the port to do some shopping and have a beverage after the scorching day at the beach. The first place we stopped for margaritas and mojitos because they advertised 2 for 1 happy hour. It turned out to be not good, which is probably why no one was there, and the price was like $500 pesos ($30 USD) for 4 small plastic cups of badly mixed drinks. We left and crossed over into the town and visited the many shops along the route. We ended up finding the Cabo Wabo Cantina and went in for a hopefully better margarita and some guacamole. The bill was paid for some good (and expensive) drinks and on the way out we stopped by the shop to get some stickers, shirts, and Tim bought a bottle of their Tequila for about $72 USD. (More on that later).
Shopping continued and the ladies made their deals while they sent us off for a promotion $1 beer at a tequila shop. We met the shopkeep (barkeep) and she began a tour of the tequilas on display. Many were in fancy bottles and she explained that the tequila was the same in those bottles as in the regular bottles, but people like to collect the ceramic, beaded, or painted collector’s editions. She then asked if we wanted an education on tequila and mescal. Of course! Our experience with tequila is pretty much body shots in college and margaritas (which I recently leaned how to make, properly).
Silver, Reposido, Anijo, and Mescal are three different versions of a similar product. First, the worm story… It was used initially to differentiate between Tequila silver and Mescal Silver in the early years. Mescal has the worm, which we found out should be complete and in tact, otherwise the bottle of mescal is likely old and of poor taste. Tequila is made from 100% blue agave while Mescal is made from any and all other forms of agave. Second, when the agave is shaved and the resulting “pineapple” is harvested, Tequila (blue agave) are baked in ovens until the pineapple is sufficiently dried and the “honey” can be pressed out of the core. Mescal is similarly harvested, but the drying is managed in a pit where a fire is lit above the pineapples and result in an earthy, smokey version of the same “honey”. The different drying method along with the blue versus “any” agave is what distinguishes tequila from mescal.
So on with the tasting. Silver tequila is basically the fermented honey that has been distilled several times, as the initial fermentation yields 160 proof tequila. It is distilled several times and cut with water to make the 38-40% (76-80 proof) tequila we drink. There is a bit of a scandal going on these days in that some of the tequilas are no longer made from 100% agave and are cut with corn, resulting in only 30% sugar from the agave. The ones we sampled were certified 100% blue agave. Lilyanne made us understand that you mix drinks with silver because using reposido or anejo, you were removing the extra aging and flavoring that made those types special. Reposido tequila is aged in barrels for 2-12 months only giving it a rested flavor. Anejo is aged 12-18 months usually, but up to 3 years in a variety of barrels. Extra Anejo is 3 years and above and can contain a variety of spices and flavors. There are a couple of other ones, like anejo but filtered (cristalilo) or Joven (gold) tequilas that are silver mixed with aged…
And how to drink… The lime, salt piece is for a couple of real reasons; or at least the lime. You are supposed to taste the lime to prepare your mouth and throat for the tequila. It causes you to produce saliva that will reduce the burn and allow for full flavor. Good silver tequila is easy to drink this way as is the reposido. When you get to the Anejo, no lime should be needed. You first kiss the tequila, putting a bit on your lips in the glass (not a shot glass) and then breathing in the tequila. When sipping it, you take it in your mouth, swish it around a bit, and then swallow, then breathing out to get the full flavor. It is definitely not the way we have experienced tequila. It is very good, tasty, and warm feeling. Reposido that we tasted was rested 12 months and the anejo was a 3 year. Anejo was very sweet and full flavor, much like a brandy or good whiskey. The Reposido had the best flavor for our liking.
The Mescal is consumed similarly, except that you finish it with an orange slice instead of lime. The smokey flavor is rather interesting and nothing I had ever experienced. It is easy to drink and does not really burn, as we typically experience. It is also a sipping drink that us usually consumed cold or with ice (as with anejo). Lillyanne was a good salesperson as we decided to purchase 3 bottles from her and provided her with a tip for the education.
By that time we had decided that Sammy’s Cabo tequila needed to be returned for a couple of reasons… no taste test for us on the 6 types they sell, and it was $72 ($1200 pesos) where this really good reposido stuff we just experienced was $50. The ladies took Sammy’s back to get a refund. And here is where the story comes in for the Cabo Wabo Cantina. When they came back they were given $140 pesos… two 50’s and two 20’s. We said hold the phone and headed back to the cantina shop to get the correct amount. When we got there the ladies behind the counter tried to accuse them of swapping bills. Kathy saw the cameras and we asked for the manager and said we would wait for the security to inspect the transaction. The sales ladies said something like “they would have to take it from their personal money, but wanted to make it right”. Bottom line, they gave us back two $500 peso bills along with the two $20’s. They still managed to steal $160 pesos from Tim, but at that point we figured it was lucky we got anything back. Sammy, check your people!!!
We finished off the night with more browsing and then a quick bite at a street side restaurant. The tacos were good and the drinks were ok and overpriced, but hey, we are in Cabo at the heart of the tourist money making machine….