Los. Spanish for the definite article “the.” Three little letters. They can mean a lot. In the case of Los Cabos, the megapopular resort destination on the windswept tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, they mean everything – and yet, the los in Los Cabos is often jettisoned as thoughtlessly as a half-full water bottle at airport security. Find someone who’s traveling to this swath of desert between the Pacific and the Sea of Cortés and ask them where they’re going. Chances are they’ll simply say, “Cabo.” Which begs the question: Which one?

For those uninitiated to Cabo – sorry, Los – I like to describe the area as a barbell. On each side is a Cabo: San José del Cabo on its east and Cabo San Lucas to the west. As the collective destination’s two main towns, both brim with taquerias, cafés, boutiques, bars, jewelers, churches, cosmetic dentists, and real estate brokerages. But they’re very different.