Spending A Day In Cabo, San Lucas

The Baja Peninsula of Mexico attracts thousands of tourists annually for its soft sand beaches, beautiful ocean scenery, trophy fishing, and delicious cuisine.  Whether you want to come of your own accord or whether you have been dropped off by a cruise ship, anyone who has only twenty four hours to spend in Cabo would be remiss if they did not take advantage of several opportunities once they are near the ocean.

Start as early as you are willing to rise in the morning and take a glass bottom boat out past the Arch and into the open ocean.  These water taxi tours, which cost only about ten dollars per person, take you out into the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, letting you see the sea life up close beneath your feet.  Though the coral reefs hum twenty four hours a day, the early hours are when the most fish are looking for their first meal and schools of countless different species of fish will be underfoot.  Bring a camera to get shots of corals, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks, and even the rare whales that congregate in the warm waters around the winter time.

A glass bottom boat is a great start, but many people would rather get close and personal to the corals and fish.  Snorkeling and scuba diving (for those who are certified) lets you dive into the shallow reefs and swim amidst the wildlife.  This tends to be pretty expensive at about one hundred dollars (or a thousand pesos) per person, but the sights are well worth the cost.  The contrast between cactus on the one side and an underwater landscape cannot be over-emphasized.  Few activities are more rewarding for kids and families than the chance to get out into the salt water and dive down to see the corals.

Cabo fishing charters allow novice and veteran anglers alike to capture some of the mammoth ocean fish in these rich waters.  Some charters like Pisces (http://www.piscessportfishing.com/) boast of having caught several thousand trophy marlins in a single year.  Some people travel from across the globe to fish in the Cabo region.  A charter allows you to plan out your day trip, whether you have a family of fishermen or whether you want to go out alone.  You can decide whether or not you want a specific fish, a bigger haul, or just the largest catch you can get on a line.

Vacations As A Family Strengthens The Bond

Do you feel like your family does not have the tight-knit bond that you desire? Some of the problem could be due to the influence of television, where picture-perfect families are put up on a pedestal, even though they do not exist. However, some of the problem could be that your family is not actually as connected as it should be. One way to bring everyone together, to strengthen the bond that you share, is by taking a family vacation.

Vacations work in a few different ways to bring people together. First of all, they simply force you to spend time together. Your children cannot go to their friends' homes if you are on an island off the coast of Greece. Even if your vacation just takes you a few hours from home, you are put into a situation in which you have to interact and communicate with one another.

A vacation can also remove the distractions that litter daily life. If you do not bring portable computers, people will not be able to check email messages, watch online videos, play video games, or do any of the other bland activities that count as entertainment. With these distractions gone, your time will be spent having real experiences together.

Furthermore, you will find that a vacation opens you up to new experiences. You may go to states or countries that you have never visited. You will see new things, meet new people, and expand the way that you see the world. This is very exciting, and it is a great way to make memories. This fun and excitement will also help people to get along better than they may have at home, which can strengthen their relationships in the future.

All told, a vacation with your whole family can have a lasting, positive impact on each individual. It can strengthen the bond between the members. When you look back at pictures and videos in the future, this bond will stay strong. If you really want to improve the way that your family connects, take some time to get away.

Author Byline:
Jack Holland has studied human interaction and the impact of family time on the development of adults and children alike. He has now begun writing about his findings in an effort to change the way that modern families spend their time together. You can learn more about this subject if you click here.

Baguio City, Benguet 2012

This isn't the first time that we traveled as a whole family.

Before Baguio, we have already visited Tagaytay and Leyte among others. But back then, Lana was still so young and our trips back and forth Manila and Leyte brought a lot of sad memories.

Baguio... Baguio... Baguio... We have waited 7 years before bringing Yona here. I don't know, perhaps we wanted her to experience Baguio as a kid, a time when she can vividly remember the place and enjoy the activities.

We visited Baguio last Sunday, October 27, 2012 just before the bakasyunistas filled the City of Pines. The weekend that came after that was a very long one. We didn't want our kids to experience a very crowded Baguio City hence the decision to go up North a week before the long vacation.

October 27, 2012 Day 1

We arrived in Baguio around 6am in the morning and heard the Holy Mass first. Afterwards we took our luggage to Hotel Elizabeth where we booked for a night's stay.

For breakfast, we dined in Cafe by the Ruins, the most talked about restaurant in the city. I'll post a review about it on my food blog.

It was raining that morning but we braved the streets of Baguio and went boating in Burnham. The place was perfect despite the rains. The pavements were very slippery but we walked from Burnham to SM Baguio --- who cares?!?! All those walking made the experience worthwhile.

Of course, the little girl was so game when we asked her to pose for us:

 

Our visit to Baguio wouldn't be complete without a pony ride, so for P200/30 minutes, we gave the little ate an experience she wouldn't forget.

After the pony ride, we took a cab to Mines View park and took a few shots before heading home. We capped the night with a very sumptuous dinner in Ketchup: Food Community, more of that on my food blog as well.

 October 28, 2012 Day 2

We started the day with a hearty breakfast buffet courtesy of Hotel Elizabeth then rushed to La Trinidad so little ate could experience strawberry picking!

It wasn't picking season yet but one lady farmer must have liked her so much that she picked one precious strawberry for her!

The travel to the Strawberry Farm made Day 2 so special.

The original plan was to stay for another day in Baguio but because most of our company has to head back to Manila, we decided to cut the vacation short and head home to Pangasinan immediately.