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Loreto: Baja's best kept secret
http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/034205/travel.html
By Bob Mackin
Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico: A local woman walks briskly into the mission courtyard under the late afternoon sun and opens her hand to reveal
a hummingbird with an injured wing.
The tiny bird jumps to the cobblestone pavement below and the woman leans down to pluck the delicate creature to safety. A visitor to the town of
13,000 suggests feeding the delicate bird droplets of sweet fruit juice. She smiles, nods and disappears into the church containing a statue of St.
Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
It was from this mission, founded 308 years ago by Jesuit Juan Maria Salvatierra, that Franciscan priest Juniperro Serra ventured north in 1769 and
set up church settlements in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Sacramento and San Francisco. They became American cities, big and small. Loreto is still a
charming, little Mexican town.
Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto's landmark clock tower rises above all in the oldest colonial habitation in the Californias. Until an 1829 hurricane,
Loreto was the capital of the Californias. These days, Loreto is the best-kept secret on the Baja Peninsula.
The Sierra La Giganta mountain range spills into the Sea of Cortez and prickly cactus gives way to the rustling palm tree as the 26th parallel cuts
through Loreto.
Bougainvillaea arches cast refreshing shadows on Salvatierra Boulevard, Loreto's main street, where craft stores and outdoor eateries sit side by
each. Aggressive merchants and beggars are seemingly non-existent. El Canipole, over the mission wall, is situated around a centuries-old well and
offers ceviche and taco-making classes when it's not so busy. A girl in traditional blue and white dress struts back and forth in front of the town
hall's sun-bleached maize fa?ade. A mariachi band plays by the mauve Posada de Las Flores hotel, which boasts a transparent swimming pool embedded in
the roof.
Salvatierra terminates on the east at the malecon waterfront promenade where an abandoned hotel and vacant lot scream out for redevelopment. As I sip
beer with my companion at a beach bar, pelicans at the marina huddle around sport fishermen who unload their catch from pango boats. MS Ryndam, a
Holland America cruiseliner renovated in Victoria, is anchored offshore in the foreground; Isla del Carmen and smaller sisters Coronado and Danzante
float in the background among the 2,065 square kilometre Loreto Bay national marine park. Eight of the world's 17 whale species live in what Jacques
Cousteau called "Mother Nature's aquarium."
The picturesque natural harbour of Puerto Escondido is worth the 20-minute drive south of Loreto on the Transpeninsular Highway. It's the departure
point for the yacht El Don. Our excursion took us to the far side of Coronado to view a California sea lion rookery. En route, we spotted a massive
finback whale in the distance. A trio of dolphins greeted us on our return to port as a flock of terns glided amid the low, cotton clouds above.
For an up-close encounter with marine mammals, the village of Puerto Lopez Mateos on Baja's Pacific coast is a most memorable 90-minute drive west.
The two-lane highway winds through Basalt canyons and valleys where turkey vultures nest atop giant cardon cacti. The mountains yield to flatlands and
the farming town Ciudad Insurgentes. Lopez Mateos is across from the north end of Magdalena Island and serves as a winter home of the California grey
whale. If you stand long enough on the dock, you're sure to spot a spout. Pango boat tours of the lagoons, where mothers nurse their offspring, are
offered daily from November to March. It's truly a humbling experience to look right into the eye of a creature bigger than a bus that will soon
migrate north to Alaska for the summer!
Back on the Cortez side of Baja and eight km. south of Loreto are the cacti and succulent-covered hills of Nopolo that beckon for hikers and mountain
bikers. Nopolo's shallow, white sand coastline is ripe for easy kayaking, from which one can admire an estuary that forms the signature 14th hole on a
golf course being redesigned by the PGA Tour's David Duval.
Another David-Victoria's David Butterfield-is transforming Nopolo into a 6,000-home network of solar-and-wind-powered, car-free, adobe-style villages
in partnership with FONATUR, the Mexican tourism agency that put Cancun and Los Cabos on the map.
Butterfield's nine-phase Villages of Loreto Bay is slated for completion in a decade or so, which means now's the time to catch lovely Loreto while
it's little.
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Pompano
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You have got to be kidding..right?
The Nirvana you describe doesn't exist anymore in Loreto.
[Edited on 3-26-2005 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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elgatoloco
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Se?or Pompano
It's in the eye of the beholder. 
Nirvana is relative.
Memories are forever.
You are in the distinct and envied category of those who have a long and storied history enjoying the beauty of the area.
What was your very first memory of the first time you laid eyes on your little bit of paradise in Baja?
Please continue to post those great photos and stories of your experiences.
We here at casa elgatoloco enjoy them and we can't wait to lay eyes on Loreto again.
Paz.
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Gypsy Jan
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Don't know Anonymous (Duh!) and
I don't know Loreto (haven't had the pleasure of visiting yet).
But, this so called *news story* smells from the first sentence to the end graph like an undigested press release regurgitated without any kind of
critical editorial review.
'Tis very sad, so many people wishing to spend their latter years in a paradise investing their hard earned moneyh in a fake, "Don't look behind the
curtain!",
Foreigner Fantasy Disneyland Village.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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elizabeth
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I agree...sounds like a Loreto Bay press release to me.
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Phil S
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Loreto
Elizabeth. You could be right, as it is posted as vancouver, huh??? Gypsy Jan. You've got to come down sometime & see this wonderful community of
Loreto. What's keeping you?
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elgatoloco
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Loreto experts. Exactly which parts of the first ten paragraphs would you change if you were editor?
MAGA
Making Attorneys Get Attorneys
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Phil S
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About Loreto
I must say for myself I don't think I could change any of it. It pretty much describes (embellished for sure) what we found in Loreto 13 years ago
and the surrounding mountains, and the beaches, that caused us to pause and decide whether we needed to explore any other parts of BCS. Well, we
didn't. We came back the next October and have been returning every winter since then. I know that I couldn't have written such an elegant article
as this one. And it is going to be rediscovered a million times over, whether anyone likes it or not. Stand at the airport at each flight, and count
the numbers of people who have set foot here for the first time. Stand on the highway, and watch the numbers of automobiles with California plates
that turn into the main blvd to downtown. Drive by the hotels, or even better, drop in and have a Pacifico or whatever at the hotel bars, and visit
with the "first timer". They will be back for sure. And so will their friends and relatives. Last night we decided to go into town and have dinner at
the restaurant on the plaza that reopened recently. E Gadss. It was full, including the outside seating. We ended up at the Four Corners, and it
had just one table left empty. (this is not a huge place to start with) Many gringos and some Mexicanos. And the cabrillo was excellent. I've never
seen the restaurants so full, even though I know that it is Easter time. How wonderful for the restaurant owners. We even commented from the second
story view we were enjoying, of how, over the past thirteen years we've been coming down, that the age of the "locals" cars have vastly improved.
You don't do that without jobs. Jobs come from money created by "visitors" and gringos coming to live and or play in Loreto. So it is happening.
Like it or not. And I guess I sort of liked it 13 years ago compared to today. Wished I'd bought some of those $8,000.00 beach front lots in Skeets
neighborhood then. Now selling for over $100,000.00 each!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hmmmmmm. Lets see. If you could find one in southern California, I
think it would be around $1 million on up. So why wouldn't someone want to spend $100k for a lot here with hardly any population. Traffic, etc. to
deal with. No freeways. No gangs roaming the streets at night. No major graffiti problems. We certainly do love Loreto. And hope our friends will
also come down and share it with us.
[Edited on 3-26-2005 by Phil S]
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capt. mike
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right on Phil
as usual you have it right.
Loreto is magic. i'd live there in a minute if there were other pistas besides MMLT.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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Pompano
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Loreto......
Here's a short list of what I personally like about Loreto....
It's mountain range, La Gigantas, and their trails and wildlife. Burro trips to remote places where time backs up.
The malecon, where I can watch the panga fishermen head out before dawn, and unload their catches in early afternoon.
Ole Cafe (We call it Ole's as spoken in Norway..Oh-Lee's...private thing!) where it's nice to have a good breakfast, gossip with some locals, and
people-watch.
McLulu's for a great taco-building session and a good chat with Lulu.
Mission History..not so much for the native aboriginals as for the Europeans, but still interesting, nevertheless.
A curious English influence in the ensueing days of development after the missions..and getting to know the families borne of that influence.
An inspiring drive south along the coast..remembering some old beach camps, mountain pack-trips, and fishing days from long ago. Enjoying a
beautiful seascene unfold before you. Stop at the overlook and just relax a little before the long drive to La Paz. Check out who I knew at the
Escondido anchorage..maybe wet a line at the old wharf. Old times and faces.
Loreto airport ...hilarious times there..like a Chinese fire-drill..sometimes your guests would actually arrive!!...how many airlines have gone out of
business during previous stays, how many flights were somehow not there or cancelled abrupty...creating longer holidays for our visitors!! Hey, what
can you do?..It's Baja...relax and enjoy! Red light - green light!!!
Fun times at El Nido's, Cesar's, shopping the old CCC, finding treasures here and there in the old shops, meeting my old friend, Trudy, etc, etc. Yup
it was/is a nice place.
Sure, I love Loreto too...just hate to see another old Baja amigo get put on the auction block. But hey, that's just my opinion...and I could be
wrong. 'Sides, I live in the Bay..where life is muy tranquilo...at least for now, sigh.
[Edited on 3-26-2005 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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bajalou
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Pompano
When are you going to publish a new book? We're all waiting.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Pompano
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Bajalou..you must have ESP?
I just finished the April book last night....here it is a little early, just for you.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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LaTijereta
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Four Stops..
Phil..
Great place for hambergers in town...
Just around the corner from our house..
Loreto has always been a special/ magical place in our hearts..Since first driving into town on it's dusty streets in 1974
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Osprey
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Loreto Magic
Some years ago my wife and our two grown daughter took two rooms at the old mission on the beach. We stayed a week, charged all the booze, food and 2
days fishing to the room. We knew when we checked out the bill was gonna be a whopper -- it was, $1,750,000 pesos. At the time the peso was just
over 3,300 to one - $530 for a magical week in a true paradise. Now, umpteen years later, I still carry around some guilt about the number of dorado
we kept -- found a big tree, twice, before the other boats arrived -- well, you know the rest.
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Phil S
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Loreto & the drive South & North
I swear every time I drive down in October, I'll never drive it again. But I'm tired, and worn out. Then after resting, I reflect back on the drive,
and there truly is nothing like it anywhere that I've enjoyed so much as that 700 mile drive. Come April. I'm ready to go North, and I arrive home,
pooped, saddle sore, and after a few days, I reflect again of what I experienced and had seen. I don't think I'll ever tire of the beauty one see's
in that 700 miles. Yes, I'll certainly tire of the drive, that's for sure. Today we served an Easter Brunch. 18 friends came to share it with us,
each bringing something. 18 excellent reasons for being down here, plus thousands of other reasons too.
[Edited on 3-28-2005 by Phil S]
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woody with a view
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i can honestly say, as a passer-byer of loreto most of the time that last summer when my boy and i "had" to go into loreto to resupply the bankroll my
boy was totally enthralled.
i told him that as far as baja goes, loreto is a pretty, historical, and magical old city that has the feel of many towns on the mainland. the sparkle
in his eye i noticed as we looked for the bank, and made a few "detours" so he could soak up the timeless beauty was worth the "wrong" turns i made.
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marla
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Well, I am a Loreto "newbie," though not a Baja newbie, and I figured it was time I went to see it. Last week for the first time. And it was
absolutely delightful. Now I am trying to figure out how I can retire early and move there!
If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a
speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. Henry David
Thoreau
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wilderone
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Personally, I don't think Loreto Bay (in any guise - periodical article, through its Foundation or otherwise) should use this message board to market
its product. You don't see other real estate companies using the message forum to advertise; or hotels or restaurants or tour agencies, etc. There's
a difference between hard news and advertising, and advertisements of this sort degrade the quality of the Board.
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BajaNomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Anonymous
http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/034205/travel.html
By Bob Mackin
...Butterfield's nine-phase Villages of Loreto Bay is slated for completion in a decade or so, which means now's the time to catch lovely Loreto while
it's little.
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This hardly looks like any sort of endorsement for the project.
--
Doug
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
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