I was super-excited to visit Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during our seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Disney Wonder. As an avid photographer, I could not wait to see El Arco, or the Arch of Cabo San Lucas, also known as “Land’s End,” since it sits at the end of Baja California. The Land’s End Coastal Cruise and Beach Break Port Adventure exceeded my expectations and allowed me plenty of opportunities to photograph Cabo’s stunning coastline and natural wonders.
On the morning of our port adventure at 10:45am, we met up with our tour group in the D Lounge on Deck 4. We grabbed a bunch of beach towels and then were led off the ship by the tour leader.
Cabo San Lucas is a tender port, meaning we had to take small tender boats to shore, as the ship was not docked (it’s anchored in the harbor). The tender boats were run and managed by a local company. Since we were on a Disney port adventure, we all were able to get onto the tender boats without waiting.
Here are some views of the Disney Wonder as we jetted away on the tender boat. You’ll also see a Holland America ship in the distance, which had the exact same seven-night itinerary as us.
Once the tender boat arrived to the dock, we got off the boat and waited briefly in a shaded area to get onto the Caborey catamaran. It was a fairly large boat, with both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outdoors at the front on an upper deck to maximize my photo-taking opportunities. We made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen, though, as there was no shade, and it was very sunny at almost midday.
Here are some views of the Cabo harbor, as we waited to depart:
This shot was taken towards the Pacific Ocean, which is where we would be headed:
As the Caborey departed and we started sailing towards El Arco, I took these shots:
As you can see, there were a lot of little boats around us. Everyone wants to see El Arco, so there are water taxis that regularly take tourists to it. I had researched this option but was a little wary about the potential safety (and reliability) of such small boats. Because of their small size, the water taxis were able to get even closer to the arch than we were able to, but I would have been paranoid on such a small boat if the water were choppy. I felt safe and secure in our catamaran and did not have to wear a life jacket! (Note: there were plenty of life jackets available, just in case.)
Here’s a little bit of a traffic jam, which I believe was because a lot of these water taxis have glass bottoms. They’re probably jockeying for position over this small reef:
As we got closer to El Arco, we came to “Lover’s Beach,” which is on the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja peninsula. This same beach on the Pacific side is called “Divorce Beach” (ha, ha!):
And, here is the moment for which I was waiting:
Even with all the boats, the view was simply spectacular!
We hung around El Arco for a decent amount of time and I took a ton of photos. Then, we made our way around the arch and into the Pacific for a view back through Divorce Beach:
The views from the Pacific side were just as spectacular, and there were less water taxis vying for position. It could be that the water currents and winds on the oceanside were too strong for them. Our catamaran did not have any issues with handling currents or winds.
Here is another view, heading north on the Pacific side:
Then, we turned around to head back south towards El Arco:
Our boat hovered around El Arco once we turned the corner for some more photo opportunities, so, of course, I had to take one last shot:
We then headed towards the direction of the Disney Wonder for our return to the dock. I think they took the long way back so as to avoid all the boat traffic trying to get to El Arco.
Here you can see a tender boat next to the ship:
As we headed around the back of the ship, we had a great view of Donald Duck attempting to paint the ship, while his nephew Huey tries to wreak havoc:
A look back to El Arco and where we were earlier:
Along the way, we saw Greg Norman’s $70 million yacht, which has its own helicopter!
When the boat returned back to port, we disembarked and then walked over to some air conditioned tour buses, which took us to Medano Beach. It was a short drive to our private beach club, which was called “Cachet Beach Club.” There was plenty of shade, cushioned beach lounge chairs, tables, and even security guards.
The security kept random people from coming into the private beach area, which was roped off. In order to get to the water, though, we had to go through the public beach area, which was quite an entertaining place. There were all sorts of folks hawking their wares:
Sunglasses, scarves, t-shirts, hats (of all shapes and sizes), toys, pottery, luchadora masks, cotton candy, mangoes on a stick, and even iguanas and lizards: literally EVERYTHING was up for sale on that beach! We kind of had to run through a gauntlet of hawkers, though, to get to the water. Kind of annoying but funny at the same time.
The water and views were gorgeous, with the Disney Wonder and El Arco in the distance:
The water was crystal clear and a little chilly, but it felt refreshing, as it was a pretty warm day. Be sure to tend to your children while at the beach. Occasionally a small wave or strong swell would come in. Also, you’ll want to guard against the hawkers approaching your child. The iguana and toy hawkers always tried to target kids – smart!
Included in our port adventure was lunch at the beach club. We had waiters who served us right at our beach loungers. Each person was allowed two drinks (which included alcohol, soft drinks, and bottled water), as well as a choice of one lunch entrée (fish tacos, chicken fajitas, quesadilla, and hamburger). We got everything but the fish tacos and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food.
And, of course, being on a Mexican beach…
Life treated us well that day! I highly recommend this port adventure for a great combination of stunning views of El Arco and relaxation on the beach.
This post also may be viewed on the Disney Cruise Mom Blog.