The next time you find yourself at the Los Cabos International Airport….turn left.
Point your car north and drive for 45 minutes to Bahia de Las Palmas, the picture perfect bay which is the weekend getaway for many of Cabo’s residents in the know.

Ask many tourists and even a few locals where the “East Cape” is and they will tell you to go to San Jose del Cabo, turn left at La Playita and drive the washboard dirt road until you find houses run on generators and trucked-in water. WRONG!

Much of the real excitement is up on the Sea of Cortez where the road is paved, the electricity is actually wired to your home and the water runs out of your pipes aplenty.

You won’t be disappointed. Federal Highway #1 is paved all the way and the time will pass quickly on the easy drive through the scenic Baja desert. Just watch your speed and keep an eye out for livestock which can wander onto the Highway without notice.

You will soon arrive at Bahia de Las Palmas, home to Mexico’s best sport fishing at least 7 months out of the year, as well as some of the Baja’s most spectacular white-sand swimming beaches, and where all variety of water recreation abounds.

In fact, the resort and artist community of Los Barriles is in the midst of an aesthetic make-over, complete with a wide thoroughfare entrance into the town beginning at a new landmark fountain on the highway and following classic wrought iron streetlamps descending to the entrance of the centerpiece Las Palmas de Cortez hotel. And more welcome news to the locals includes an announcement by the Baja California Sur Government that the completion of the beautification project for 2006 will include environmental improvements to the lagoon and the re-paving of the roads in town center.

The Los Barriles and Buena Vista area is now an official destination, and is currently being promoted by the State Tourism Department with considerable resources from both the public and private sectors. “Escape to the Cape” has generated a huge amount of interest in the area, and virtually all of the remaining beachfront development parcels have been scooped up by high end developers with deep pockets and a vision for maintaining the spectacular beauty of the bay and its pristine surroundings.

At the center of this commitment to area development is the Van Wormer family, who have long been the anchors of the local community, particularly in the town of Los Barriles. The Van Wormer hotels at Palmas de Cortez and Playa del Sol have provided employment and a steady economic base for many, if not most, of the area’s inhabitants. In addition, the family is developing several other parcels of land which it owns in the area, including the magnificent beach front resort of Villas de Cortez adjacent to the Palmas de Cortez property. This luxury resort-spa development currently under construction will consist of more than 100 beachfront condominium villas, each possessing a sweeping and unobstructed first row view of the Bay at a fraction of Cabo prices. In fact, more than 50% of the villas in Phase One pre-construction have been sold as of this writing.

Custom single family homes have replaced most of the primitive palapa and mobile dwellings which the first foreign inhabitants thrust upon the landscape a dozen or more years ago. Lot sales have exploded and most of the current inventory has been depleted in the same manner as in Cabo and San Jose. The good news for those who are not candidates for the upscale beach investment is that new land developments are being created and a quality home can still be built on a view lot for a modest price.

Many visitors have also taken note of the strong sense of community that exists in the town of Los Barriles and the local arts scene continues to attract artists and devotees of the theatre from throughout the Baja and beyond.

The lack of nightlife and Cabo’s sometimes sleazy after-dark street scene makes the town even more appealing for those who reject the din and frantic pace of traffic, sales promotion, and general day-after-day hustle of Los Cabos’ two towns. Los Barriles is still known for a good steak and excellent fresh fish or coconut shrimp, and you can still hear good music although rarely after midnight. People still rise early to enjoy a walk on the beach, or to get in a full day of fishing, kayaking, or wind surfing the consistent breezes on winter days.

Next door to Los Barriles, in Buena Vista, the historic Rancho Buena Vista resort has recently been sold and a complete master planned development is rumored to be in the works beginning in 2006. A similar buzz involves the various owners or developers of all of the remaining beach front property from Rancho Leonero at the far southern end of the Bay north to Los Barriles. Those in the know consider this to be more than fantasy and prices in the area are now beginning to reflect the growing market demand.

And why not? Considering the density and sky high prices already achieved in the Los Cabos corridor and the growing urban conditions within and around the town centers of San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, the environmental quality of life along the “Bay of Palms” has become very attractive to many. For those of us who remember, it is indeed reminiscent of the serenity of “Old Cabo”.

There is also every indication that those responsible for the future development of the Bahia de Las Palmas area, know the value of preserving the intrinsic reasons why people will want to live and invest in the area for many years to come.

If there is still a ground floor opportunity in Los Cabos, surely this is one for the prudent investor looking for appreciation, with recreational use and quality of life as the all important added benefits to enjoy with family and friends.

James Talley, a very special Nashville songwriter and friend of 30 years, drove the Baja to visit me last year and sent me a pre-release recording this Christmas entitled “Sea of Cortez”, which he was inspired to write during his visit. It is a love song and I offer you a lyrical taste:

SEA OF CORTEZ

A starlight moon on the Sea of Cortez,
Spreads its diamonds in the light,
And a guitar plays in the streets below,
Of love and longing tonight –
The world may be broken,
But love it remains,
And I see it now in your eyes;
And here tonight on the Sea of Cortez,
There are no troubles in sight.

CHORUS:
 
        The Virgin of Guadalupe, she watches in vain,
        The broken promises of men;
        The pain and the sorrow, she knows it too well,
        She’s seen it time and again –
        Oh, hold me tonight on the Sea of Cortez
        For the power and the glory it fades;
        Love me tonight on the Sea of Cortez
        With all your passion and grace.

I see the ships in the distance on the Sea of Cortez,
They pass like dreams in the night,
And the stars shine down from the heavens on high,
In mystery and beauty tonight;
We are here a brief moment in time,
To find the love that we can,
And here tonight on the Sea of Cortez,
You hold my heart in your hands.

CHORUS:
        Repeat first verse …

Free Download (mp3) of The Sea of Cortez by James Talley

Words and Music by James Talley
© Hardhit Songs 2005 – ASCAP
P.O. Box 120722
Nashville, TN 37212
615-329-9988
www.JamesTalley.com

Like my friend’s wonderful song, Bahia de Las Palmas is about the vermillion Sea of Cortez, where it is not unusual to see to the bottom clearly in 50 feet of water, and the turquoise glow close to the sandy shore on a sunny day is only surpassed by a full moon shining diamonds on the water through the crystal clear star-filled night. It is the kind of magical beauty that captivated and inspired the likes of John Steinbeck and Ray Cannon, and continues to fill the spirit of today’s fortunate guest.

Jay West is a Los Cabos Realtor® and Co-owner/Broker of CaboRealty with his wife, Teena Jones. He serves as the Regional Coordinator of Baja California Sur and Sonora for the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) and is a member of the National Association of Realtors (USA) having earned the designations of Certified International Property Specialist and Resort and Second-home Property Specialist as well as the Transnational Referral Certification from the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. He is Past President of AMPI Los Cabos and past Chair of the Executive Committee of Los Cabos MLS. Jay specializes in acquisition and marketing services to developers and also serves as Director of Sales at Villas de Cortez. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at: West@CaboRealty.com.

             
Contact Jay West