What better way is there to start off a day in Baja than with a meal of huevos rancheros? The Mexican-style egg breakfast was served, along with orange juice, tortillas and salsa, by a delightful local girl named Maria. I enjoyed the meal in a small restaurant located in the heart of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur.

Once a 30-ton gray whale has held you in its gaze while allowing you to rest your hand on its head, your perspective of life will never be the same.

There is no place on earth where you are more likely to have this experience than on the San Ignacio Lagoon, located on the central Pacific coast of Baja. Every winter, thousands of gray whales migrate to Baja to mate, calve and nurse. The whales relax and grow playful in the safety of the warm, salty lagoon. About 10% of the winter population has a penchant for approaching boats and interacting with the tourists.

Cancun is so new that it seems almost artificial. It's an island jutting into the Caribbean Sea, off the east coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. According to Wikipedia "When development was started on Jan. 23, 1970, Isla Cancún had only three residents, caretakers of the coconut plantation of Don José de Jesús Lima, who lived on Isla Mujeres, and there were only 117 people living in nearby Puerto Juárez, a fishing village and military base."