Occupy Cabo – Free Press in Winnipeg

Karina Arriaga encourages us to relax and let our personalities really shine: “Let the painting show what you see and feel,” she says.

Esoteric tips from Arriaga, service agent at the Grand Velas Resort Los Cabos on the tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula, blend perfectly with the tranquil setting.

My wife, Kerry, and I sit under large blue umbrellas at our easel and look out over the glistening Sea of ​​Cortez. A powder blue sky floats above turquoise water where it meets an ecru beach lined with palm trees and cacti. For us neophyte artists, it is truly an inspiration to paint a masterpiece that represents our time in this paradise.

To help or hinder our creativity and technique with acrylic paints, 10 campers in this class will be served a crisp and fresh Mexican Baja wine—Sierra Blanca Sauvignon Blanc. We sip and brush, we receive instruction, we entertain, we enjoy the whole concept of Painting and Wine. Our canvases are simple at best, but they are colorful souvenirs that will forever remind us of a wonderful holiday.

Grand Velas is a 307-room, all-inclusive, family-friendly luxury resort that is part of the Velas Trifecta between Cabo San Lucas on the ocean's “Tourist Corridor” and picturesque and colonial San Jose del Cabo.

Two other adjacent resorts are the adults-only and pet-friendly, 41-suite Mar del Cabo Velas and the new 79-suite, adults-only Velas Boutique. Of the three resorts, we don't have to leave for the quintessential Mexican experience. We actually sleep in Mar del Cabo – a penthouse suite, no less.

Mar del Cabo is Los Cabos' historic landmark built in the 1950s, with white villas spilling out into the sea on hillsides choked with palm trees and bougainvillea. Here we swim in the mosaic pool, relax on the beach and run six kilometers on the sand every morning to burn off the calories that turn into a holiday food fest.

We join Mario Rueda, executive chef of Mar del Cabo's open-air restaurant Encanto, for a poolside ceviche cooking class. She crushes all the ingredients while squeezing lime and orange to marinate raw fish, tomatoes, onions, peppers, herbs and spices. We eat the result while overlooking the pool, which of course pairs well with a perfect lime margarita, perfect ceviche.

The next day we meet Chef Mario again, this time for a taco and mezcalita tasting extravaganza on the patio at Encanto. Mezcalitas are often referred to as the margarita's bolder, funnier cousin because the tequila used in the cocktail is actually mezcal distilled from roasted agave for a smoky, textured flavor. So, bittersweet, pineapple, and rosemary mezcalites pair with fried oyster, short rib, and pulled pork tacos, respectively.

To fuel our food cravings in Mar del Cabo, we enjoy a romantic, flame-lit dinner at a solitary table on the resort's cliff. The lamb chops are paired with Casa Magoni's 2021 Sangiovese Cabernet red wine from Baja, Mexico winery. The sweet finishing touch is a S'mores dessert for two at the adjacent fire pit.

We will leave Mar del Cabo twice more. Once at Bar 51 at Velas Boutique to sip a signature whiskey and liqueur cocktail as the sun sets. The second is for the “Water Ritual” at the SE Spa at Grand Velas – a series of saunas, ice scrubs, steam rooms, sensory showers, cold showers and hydromassages.

All three Velas resorts in Los Cabos can be purchased as part of flight and accommodation packages with Canadian Airlines.

Check out www.velasresorts.com.

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