|
|
Send This Page to a Friend!
Exploring the East Cape
The Hotel Playa del Sol has 26 air conditioned rooms and like the Palmas de Cortez is also located right on the beach, in the small town of Los Barriles Baja California Sur. Most of the staff at the speaks English with the exception of the maids who speak limited English. Accommodations include standard and ocean front rooms. All rooms include three meals per day. Breakfast and dinner is served upstairs and you have the choice of dining on the veranda or in the dining room. Hotel amenities include two bars, one inside and one palapa near the fresh water pool. There is a loading dock for ease and safety when boarding the boats. |
||
This is the second in a series of articles in which I review some of the hotels and fishing at the East Cape. (11/14/99)
|
Prices range from $50 per person (double occupancy) a day to $55 per person (double occupancy) a day for oceanfront plus taxes. Activities nearby include quadrunner rentals, snorkeling and more.
October 31 was my first chance to revisit the Hotel Playa del Sol since last June. What a change to an already great hotel! I was given a warm welcome by hotel manager Chucky Van Wormer, who enthusiastically showed me the remodeling that had just been completed. Chucky informed me the hotel had spent $130,000 upgrading the rooms which now includes much larger tiled bathrooms and showers and new air conditioners. Some of the rooms now have small refrigerators for the convenience of guests. The inside bar was in the throes of renovation while we were there. Chucky informed that fiber optic cable was being laid which will eventually accommodate the growing demand for electronic communication by the clients. What makes the Playa del Sol so appealing is the quaint, small size. Because the size of the hotel is small, the staff is able to handle your needs with a personal touch, thus giving a weary fisherman the feeling of royal treatment.
The fishing fleet at the Playa del Sol is part of the Van Wormer family's fleet which is one of the largest, if not the largest fleet in Baja. All are excellently equipped and include restrooms. The boat captains and deck hands all speak some English; most speak fluent English. Boat prices include a captain, deck hand and ice chest. Boat prices range from $250 a day to $400 a day plus taxes for a 8-hour day of fishing. Overall opinion is the Playa del Sol is a great place to go if you want a small place with a personal touch, and includes great food at one of the best values for the price. Fishing Report for October 31 group trip Fishing for 3 days on 5 boats with 20 people This is the time of year when the fish are in and your only nemesis is the north wind. When the wind comes out of the north, it causes two problems: larger seas and bumpy boat rides. One good thing about the north winds: they normally blow a couple of days and rest a couple of days. This proved to be true on our trip. Day one: Awoke to a light breeze out of the north, approximately 5 mph which meant as the day progressed, the winds would increase. Most boats chose to run north in order to have a smoother ride coming home. Boats running north fished for tuna and dorado and found tuna in the 15 to 20 pound class and dorado to 15 pounds. The boats running south found dorado to 15 pounds, football size tuna and a few amberjacks.
Day three: The north winds subsided as predicted and were a balmy 5 mph at the peak of the day. Four of our boats ran north again in search of dorado, tuna and sailfish; they were not disappointed. While fishing for tuna many would get a hookup only to have it break off in less than a minute. The culprits were Sierra and Wahoo, which without wire leader are impossible to catch and resulted in a lot of lost hooks. Once they passed, the tuna fishing became fast and furious with an occasional dorado running with the tuna. All in all, it was a great day for everyone. Total tally for three days: 63 tuna to 40 pounds, 30 dorado to25 pounds, 1 sierra to 5 pounds, 5 sailfish to 100 pounds, 2 marlin to 238 pounds and 1 amberjack weight unknown. All sailfish and one blue marlin were released to fight again. Fisher person of the trip: Lilian Hubbard of Colorado Springs, Colorado who brought a 238 pound blue marlin to the boat unassisted. Congratulations! Other articles in the series:
Jim Roberts is co-owner of Cabo Fishing Tours and the article above is based on his own experience along with feedback from his clients. |
Most meals at the Playa del Sol are sit down dinners and you have the choice of dining indoors or on the veranda. All meals are of excellent quality. One Mexican buffet per week is usually the norm. Meals range from absolutely delicious seafood dinner to mouth-watering filet mignon. Soup, salad and dessert are always included and if you are still hungry, the waiters will be more than happy to bring you more of anything you wish. What more could you ask for?
Day two: In our group, all the boats but one chose to run north again approximately 30 minutes from the Playa del Sol in search of tuna and dorado and found tuna in the 15 to 40 pound class and a few dorado to 25 pounds and two sailfish. The boat running east in search of marlin resulted in one blue marlin to 238 pounds for the day.
|
Copyright © 1997 - 2000 The Fish Sniffer. All rights reserved. |