Hola, expats! I’m Kristin Bloomquist and I would like to welcome you to @cabolife, my new lifestyle blog on what life is like in Los Cabos, my new home.
As someone who has been visiting Los Cabos for over a decade and now happily calls this beautiful place home, my blog will bring you my take on a wide variety of topics of interest to expats in Mexico and those of you from around the world who want to make Mexico your home.
Today, I want to tell you about what to expect during the holiday season. In Los Cabos, the holidays actually kick off in a big way with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, which are huge celebrations in Cabo. There are decorations everywhere. The streets, as well as stores and houses, were decked out with Halloween and Day of the Dead decorations. It felt like Christmas but in black and orange, not red and green! Downtown Cabo was crazy the night of Halloween with costumed kids and adults out in full force.
Coming from Arizona, I did know a little bit about the celebration of the Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos. It is an ancient indigenous tradition of Mexico. In this annual festivity, the living have an opportunity to show their respect for their departed relatives, whose spirits are expected to return to their homes for this holiday. The altar is the most representative part of the traditional celebration. Its purpose is to act as a beacon for the souls of those who’ve departed and who journey back into the realm of the living on the eve of November 2nd. Anyway, the altars I saw in both Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo clearly illustrated celebrations of lives well lived. They contained photos, memorabilia and favorite food and beverages of their lost loved ones. I even saw one that was in honor of a much loved dog decorated with photos, toys and treats.
Now it’s on to Thanksgiving, which is right around the corner. It isn’t really a surprise that it appears to be pretty much a non-event in Cabo, particularly considering it is an American tradition. Many of my American expat friends are either having other friends and family down to celebrate or they are leaving Cabo to enjoy turkey dinner back home.
So, that brings me to the Christmas holiday. Every year the stores start to put out Christmas decorations earlier and earlier, and in Cabo, the same is true. Even before Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, stores like Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, and local stores like La Comer and Soriana, had big displays of lights, Santas, angels, wreaths and more. I haven’t seen a Christmas tree lot yet though! And while I saw witches hanging from street poles at Halloween, I have yet to see Santa around town. Cabo doesn’t go as all out at Christmas from a decorating standpoint as they do for Halloween.
You should know that sending and receiving packages is not easy during the holidays. It takes much longer and you really can’t get a guarantee on arrival timing even when you use FedEx or DHL. As a result, we aren’t expecting any presents from the States this year. A very small price to pay for living in paradise!
See you next time @cabolife.
