Sound healing therapist Javier Montiel Castillo places a bronze bowl on my belly then gently hits it with a long handled mallet creating reverberations emitting a pleasant tone.
I’m lying on a yoga mat, with my eyes covered by a mask that reads: “Let the sounds of the universe guide you” in my first ever sound healing class.
While it may seem like I’m in an odd predicament, without sight in the supine position, I find it extremely calming, especially given the class location. We’re on a manicured lawn near the beach, listening to waves crashing on the shoreline and “singing” bowls, struck periodically by Castillo, the founder of Sound Healing Los Cabos.
While this popular Mexican tourist destination has been enticing visitors with exciting experiences — from scuba diving excursions and camel rides in the desert to playing golf overlooking the Sea of Cortez — it’s also gaining a reputation as a wellness mecca.
Wellness is the goal for my four-day, mini-holiday in Los Cabos, so sound healing, a full-body massage at the spa and yoga class tops my “to do” activities list.
Prior to the sound therapy class, Castillo gives a brief explanation that sound healing is meant to “harmonize us on a physical, emotional and spiritual level.” Very New Agey stuff.
“It’s intelligent medicine. Each person will have a specific experience. The sound of the vibration helps us. You may feel the vibration and it will find the pain and help us balance the energy,” he says.
He tells our class of six people that the energy created from the sounds we experience will stay in our bodies for many days. On this day, he’s using 17 Tibetan bowls of various sizes, koshi wind chimes and one large, suspended gong “that helps to clear emotions.”
In the end, the 90-minute sound healing session felt like a mindfulness mediation and resonated with me, even if I can’t say with any certainty whether my aura was cleared.
Following the class, I’m definitely in a state of bliss, although I’m not sure whether it was the sound healing class or simply being at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Golf & Spa Resort, where it’s impossible not to feel relaxed. Everything at the all-inclusive, luxury resort is at your fingertips and done for you, like cooking, for instance.
A big bonus of the resort, located on a hillside near downtown Los Cabos, is never feeling you have to leave the premises since it offers a wide array of restaurants, from the four diamond award-winning LaFrida restaurant, specializing in Mexican cuisine, to The Market at Quivira, akin to the great food halls of Europe, open from early morning to late at night.
Besides eating great food, there’s also lots to do on the 21-hectare property overlooking the ocean. I had all of my wellness experiences in Los Cabos at the resort.
Besides the sound healing, I also did a yoga session on the beach, had a spa treatment and enjoyed swimming and lounging at the six pools spread throughout the resort. To get around, you can forgo walking in favour of chauffeured carts, easily reserved.
Another highlight of the resort was playing a half round of golf at its Quivira Golf Club, designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus.
The golf course was particularly impressive with its stunning ocean views. Its signature hole is an engineering marvel, since it is literally carved into the side of a cliff.
While it would have been easy to spend all of my vacation time at the resort, I headed downtown to see the distinctive, golden Arch of Cabo San Lucas, also known as Land’s End, at the tip of the Baja Peninsula, where the ocean meets the Sea of Cortez.
Another place worth leaving the tranquility of the resort for was the charming town of San Jose del Cabo, about 28 kilometres from Los Cabos, with its slow pace and where you can get another taste of Mexican culture.
The Art District of San Jose del Cabo has cobblestone streets lined with 18th-century buildings, radiating out from the centre of the town’s historic square. Here you’ll find The Mission San Jose del Cabo, the twin-spired church founded by Jesuits in 1730.
Be sure to allow time to simply wander the side streets, bursting with interesting art galleries and fantastic restaurants and cafes. Between November and June, the best time to visit San Jose del Cabo is during the weekly Art Walk, which happens Thursday evenings, between 5 and 9 p.m., when the main streets are closed to traffic.
For a unique culinary experience, it’s worth the 20-minute drive from San Jose del Cabo to check out the recently opened Monte Cardon restaurant, a dining experience that you won’t soon forget. The restaurant sits on a picturesque hill in the Baja desert and subscribes to the slow food movement, promoting local foods sustainably sourced and simply cooked.
Chef Ubaldo Martinez and his wife Ourem Urdapilleta, who bought the eight-hectare property two years ago, offer Baja Mediterranean cuisine. Guests can choose to either take a cooking class and then enjoy the fruits of their labour or forgo the cooking and make a dinner reservation in the open-air restaurant. Our group did the former and we enjoyed cooking mahi mahi, topped with fresh heirloom tomatoes, and learned how to make our own pasta to name just a few of my favourite dishes that evening.
Afterwards, we dined on an upper outdoor patio with a 360-degree view of the desert and the Sierra de la Laguna mountains to the west.
“It’s like being in the middle of nowhere but in a very special place,” says Martinez, adding he and his wife discovered the property while on a desert hike at sunset and fell in love with the site.
As I watched the sunset myself in their gorgeous restaurant setting, I realized my chef’s table experience at Monte Cardon was also a Los Cabos wellness experience, unexpected but very welcome.
Kim Pemberton was hosted by Los Cabos Tourism Board, which did not review or approve this story. Follow her on Instagram at kimstravelogue.
