I’m awake before Art and John and I quietly make coffee and walk an hour alone on the beach in front of the marina. The fishing pangas’ have gone out for the day but I see Arturo, waiting patiently to catch his “fish” and book fishing pangas for the following day. He greets me warmly with his toothy smile. Back at the hotel, I sit on the balcony outside our door and write, waiting for my sleepy family to awake.
El Presidente; Hotel Intercontinental
We arrive at El Presidente later than intended, but check in is easy and our room is ready. Our room is lovely, but no larger than our room at the marina. The main difference seems to be in the thickness of the sheets and towels and of course the amenities available to us for the next 24 hours. We have missed breakfast and are too early for the formal lunch, so we eat taco’s and hamburgers at the pool side cafe. John takes off to explore the pools and find others of his kind. He joins in a beach volley ball game and is soon part of a pack of kids from Canada and Connecticut. We are glad that he is comfortable with himself and can make friends easily and it’s good to have some adult space this afternoon. Art and I eat, nap and read. Our room steps up to a small separate alcove with a table and I write, looking out our window overlooking the main pool below. I watch the employees preparing for tonight’s party; decorating and setting up sound and video systems. I realize that we have not been given a choice room, but I’m quite entertained watching the preparations.
El Presidente is the last resort hotel on the strip. Architecturally it blends in with the environment, just three stories high, terra cotta red and with the ideal location adjacent to the estuary, lush with palm trees and shore birds. There is a walking path along the estuary leading to San Jose del Cabo that we took several times when we were here before. Art and I enjoy the sunset from the beach and walk up the sandy strip to see watch the New Year’s preparations going on at the other high rise resor
t hotels.
The three of us meet for dinner at the outdoor patio buffet, candle lit and ambient on this New Year’s Eve. I don’t think that any buffet can offer stellar food, but tonight’s presentation is lovely and the food is reasonably good. It’s good to see that the majority of the guests are locals, and we watch the well dressed couples and happy families celebrate together. Art and I are not late night party goers and It might be more fun to be here with another couple, but we wander and watch the events of the evening unfold. John is off with his pack of friends and checks in with us periodically. At 10:00 P.M. a contemporary live Mexican band starts its’ first set. The female vocalist is excellent and we have fun dancing. The live band is followed by rather poor, pool-side floor show and after a few minutes of watching, we find comfortable chairs to occupy and wait out the midnight hour. Midnight arrives, champagne is poured and cellophane wrapped bags of grapes are passed around. I need to find out the cultural significance of the grapes? Corralling John at the midnight hour is a challenge, but we manage and the three of us retire to our room and watch the party wind down beneath our window. At 2:00 A.M. the music finally ends, the New Year is officially welcomed and we manage to sleep.