It’s particularly good when you’re drinking high-end tequila or creating a tasting flight in the backyard for your friends.

Though its origins are unknown, sangrita was discovered by me in a nice restaurant in San Blas, Mexico, of course, on tour through the highlights of Riviera Nayarit.

You can do it, too. Recipes are as varied as those for pasta sauce. Here is mine below. (I freeze this in ice-cube trays.) You can also find recipes that include Clamato, grapefruit, cucumber, even grenadine (though, yuck). I think the onion is crucial, so don’t skip that.

How to Make Sangrita

½ cup tomato juice
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. minced onion (super fine)
2 dashes Tabasco
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper

THINGS TO DO: IN SAN BLAS

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Vibe: A very social atmosphere is promoted at the UNICO, with guests are encouraged to mix, not for anything as mundane as volleyball or aquafitness, but at live music events, mixology classes and cool off-property excursions that take you into the real Mexico.

Rooms: The 448 rooms have a glamorous but low-key hacienda feel, all rustic and homey, with natural materials, handmade décor elements and local art. Main-floor rooms feature a semi-private swim-up pool, while those on the floor above sport massive spa tubs right on the patio. (Wear your swimsuit!) The resort even offers hypoallergenic rooms put through a multitude of air-purifying paces, going so far as to employ a type of shock-treatment method to kill bacteria.

F&B: When the breakfast buffet has a carpaccio station—beef, salmon, tomato, cucumber, octopus!—you know you’re in for a fancy week of good eating. Lavish culinary offerings from UNICO’s five restaurants are culturally varied, each with its own spin, from simple to splendiferous. At Cueva Siete restaurant, one of four on the property, traditional Mexican dishes are given a modern twist by a rotating lineup of award-winning Mexican chefs.

ALSO EXPLORE: PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Extras: Traditional butler service has been replaced at UNICO by a local host, available 24/7 via smartphone app, where you can also find the daily schedule and connect with resort services. I’m simply too Canadian to ring someone to come over and draw my bath. I can manage the plug and the tap and a squirt of soap. At the Esencia Spa, I worked the water circuit like a pro, moving from the sauna to the cold room, where a large pipe from the ceiling spat fresh crushed ice into a bowl all day long. From there, I donned those funny paper underpants before being scrubbed down and wrapped in chocolate. Yes, chocolate.

Off-Site: UNICO has also joined the ranks of resorts taking guests off the property on local excursions to meet the people. My morning spent cliff-diving into the deep, fresh-water cenotes was followed by a barbecue lunch in an indigenous village, where I practically inhaled the best chicken I’ve ever tasted.

Rate: $$$

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Besides the requisite water sports, including great snorkelling and diving, Cabo San Lucas has plenty of outdoor adventure, plus a marina full of boats waiting to cast off for a secluded beach. This is also where more than a few Hollywood celebrities venture down to when they need a break from the limelight, so celebrity-spotting is also a regular pastime.

Don’t be afraid to step outside the all-inclusive resort. Cabo is not only brimming with excellent restaurants and lounges, it’s also a really safe place to wander around, even at night. Cap it all off with some of the most amazing sunsets you can imagine, and you’ve got a date made in paradise.

Visit the Arch. The tourist brochures weren’t lying when they touted the famous arch, El Arco at Land’s End, as a sight to remember. This is on the very tip of the Baja Peninsula where the Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of California (a.k.a. the Sea of Cortez). Hop on a glass-bottom boat or your preferred watercraft and breeze on over to the end of the world. A popular spot for sea lions, this sheltered neck of the bay is where can sink your toes into the sand of Lover’s Beach or hit the water for a snorkel. Take a quick walk to the Pacific side of the peninsula to watch the waves crash onto Divorce Beach—just don’t dwell on it for too long.

TASTE TO TRY: SANGRITA

Find calmer waters. While the ocean here is notorious for it’s riptides, there are many bays and secluded strips with calmer waters perfect for snorkelling. The thing to do is find a touring outfit that specializes in zodiac-type inflatable watercraft that can zip along the water at 50 mph, stopping at various spots for a snorkel. Some of these beach-hopping adventures wind up on a floating restaurant near the marina for lunch.

Go for the whales. If you can work in your visit around March, that’s the best time to marvel at the humpback whales that wander by Los Cabos in droves, often with calves in tow. You’ll also see sea lions and pods of dolphins that seem to like all the attention they get. Pontoon craft can put you as close to the action as possible, with some tour boats offering hydrophone listening technology that lets you listen in on the whale song.

ME Cabo is gorgeous. Relax in comfort with a cool beach club vibe and really the only swimmable beach in town.

MEBYMELIA.COM
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And just 40 minutes south from Cancun, the city of Playa del Carmen (population 150,000) sits near the middle of the Riviera, opposite the island of Cozumel. Calm, cool and collected, the vibe is assuredly unhurried. And whether you’re touring around, enjoying the water, hunting for souvenirs or just sitting in a chair, you’ll find great people, sublime scenery and amazing food.

Drag the main drag. Avenida Quinta (Fifth Avenue) is the main pedestrian strip, where you can get your shop on any time of the day or night. Hundreds of restaurants, bars and stores line this little main drag, catering to the daily influx of tourists popping off cruise ships for a poke around town. They dock near the south end of Fifth Avenue, making it more touristy; stick to the north end for some peace and quiet, plus a better quality of both shopping and dining.

Do a day trip. While sitting in a chair staring at the surf has it’s benefits, block off a day to rent a car for a drive to Tulum, and a visit to both the 13th-century ruins and the surrounding beaches. The only Mayan city built on a coastline, the Tulum pre-hispanic ruins are ringed by a limestone wall seven metres thick, with the prominent castle sitting at the top of the limestone bluffs. This is a very popular tourist site, so try to get there as close to opening time as possible (8 a.m.) to avoid the throngs and take advantage of the best sunlight of the day for your photos.

ALSO VISIT: COZUMEL

Check out the reef. Scuba diving put Playa del Carmen on the map. It was just a sleepy little fishing town until a ferry service began from there to the island of Cozumel, one of the best places to dive in the world. The Great Mesoamerican Reef, which stretches 725 kilometres from Cancun south to the Bay Islands of Honduras, is the world’s second largest reef. It marks the spot for surveying 150 varieties of reef fish and 100 species of coral.

Swim in a cave. Freshwater sinkholes, called cenotes, make for a fun afternoon of crystal-clear diving or snorkelling in and around caves where the visibility can reach up to 125 metres year-round.

Learn something. The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, at 1.3 million acres, is the largest protected area in the Mexican Caribbean, and includes the 23 archeological sites of the Maya civilization. Promoting ecosystem conservation and the sustainability of natural resources, the Centro Ecológico champions low-impact tourist activities, while educating visitors about the region at the same time. Pasttimes include flyfishing, kayaking, “ponga” boat tours and more, and you can even stay at the centre in deluxe, eco-friendly cabins.

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Quiet and unhurried, it is considered one of the best places in the world to SCUBA dive, with more than 30 incredible sites on the west coast and a burgeoning dive scene opening up on the east side. Multiple coral reefs are mere minutes from the shore.

ALSO VISIT: PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Dressel Divers, which operates from the Iberostar Cozumel dock, even takes short breaks back on land between tanks. The all-inclusive resorts are unfussy and quiet, definitely good value. If you feel like adventuring, leave your resort for the day and try out the fun beach clubs around the island, such as Beachclub Buccanos Bar & Grill and Money Bar Beach Club. Margarita, anyone?

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San Blas history dates back to the late 17^th century, but the town was founded much earlier than that, in 1530. While not exactly a day trip from either of these cities, it is a worthy add-on, despite being a relatively poor area, and particularly if you’re venturing to the beach town of Sayulita, from which is a mere two hours.

Dig old stuff. Lots of it! Trek through the Contaduría, a fort on San Basilio Hill, the spot for the accountants way back in 1770 when the hacienda was in full colonial swing. A few steps away are the ruins of the Nuetra Señora del Rosario Temple dating from the same time. A giant bust of priest don José María Mercado stands watch over the scene up there.

Look at the birdie. San Blas is also one of the most important natural bird shelters in the Western Hemisphere. In La Tovara National Park, you can find more than 300 different species of birds—pelicans, terns, egrets, blue heron, ocelots, the works—not to mention quite a few crocodiles.

Cruise. The tropical marsh that includes the El Pozo estuary, the La Tovara National Park, and the San Cristóbal River makes for a fascinating afternoon or two. A boat tour through the watery maze of vegetation and wildlife will remind you of every prison escape movie ever made. Turtles and herons and termites and snakes—this is every kid’s dreamland. You’ll also come across a movie set of floating wooden homes, replicas of those occupied by some of the first settlers here.

Cuddle the crocs. No, you can’t do that. The crocodile sanctuary Cocodrilario Kiekari down the river rounds out the critter list.

Catch a wave. The fine, golden sand of El Borrego beach stretches for three kilometres and is an optimal spot for surfing—or if you’re me, watching others surf. From here, hop on a boat to Isla del Rey for a little quiet me-time on the sand. The beaches are also the best places to savour the traditional seafood dishes served up in the wee thatched huts.

Savour the flavour. Speaking of dishes, you are staying at the Hotel Garza Canela, home to El Delfin Restaurant, headquarters of celebrated Mexican food ambassador, chef Betty Vázquez, the Riviera Nayarit region’s unsung hero of the regional cuisine. Before an incredible meal, I had a tequila with a lime and a sangrita chaser—a mix of orange, onion, lime and tomato juices. Try it at home.

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