In downtown Loreto, the church bell rings every 15 minutes, day and night. It’s a gentle background sound during the night that I can sleep through if I’m already asleep. But at six AM, the bells go wild, bursting into a whole song. Must mean it’s time to haul my carcass out of bed and hurry the few blocks to the waterfront to catch the sunrise. It would be a shame to miss the sun coming up over the malecon, the 1.7-mile walkway along the beach.
This fishing town in Baja del Sur, population 10,000, is lively in the morning. Fishing boats are coming and going, hounded by voracious flocks of giant brown pelicans. The pelicans hang out on the docks like thuggish gangs, they fly in formation. Locals and tourists are out walking, jogging or doing yoga on the beach. And beneath the sunrise spreads the superstar of Loreto: gorgeous turquoise water that I couldn’t get enough of. An easy two-hour flight from Los Angeles, Loreto is a fun place for a weekend, a week—or longer, according to the expats I met there.
Enjoying the Marine Park
The desert meets the Gulf of California, aka the Sea of Cortez, in Loreto’s incredible landscape. Sometimes in good ways, like admiring cactus growing on the shoreline. Sometimes in questionable ways, such as watching my step on Rattlesnake Beach, where my little group of travelers boarded a boat loaded down with SUPs and tandem kayaks. We were bound for Danzante Island with Sea Kayak Baja.
Danzante is one of five uninhabited islands within Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto, or Loreto Bay National Park in English. The Mexican government established this 510,000-acre marine park in 1996. In 2004, it became a Ramsar site—a designation for international important wetland areas—and in 2005 it joined the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. These international organizations recognized the great diversity of the Sea of Cortez’ marine mammals, which is higher than in any other place in Mexico.
Ramon Arce, one of Sea Kayak Baja’s elite guides, told me about these awesome animals as we boated across the water. “Depending on the season, around the area we have dolphins, we have sea lions, we have whales– humpback, blue and fin.” Wait a minute. Blue whales?! The world’s largest mammal measures about 88 feet long—the length of 2.5 school buses. “They are huge,” Arce confirms. “Sometimes when they show up and you don’t expect them, maybe you get scared for a few seconds. But then they just pass nearby.” If you want to see blue whales, February and March are the best months. This experience must be mind-blowing when you’re in a little kayak.
I didn’t see any blue whales. But I did get the thrill of jumping off a boat into the middle of a sea lion colony. I really wasn’t sure this was a good idea, as I know the territorial males can reach more than 800 pounds and pack a gnarly bite. But our guides assured us that local sea lions will only chomp us if we get in their faces.
During my three-day stay, I had several opportunities to get in the water, whether on a stand-up paddle board or snorkeling. Judging by the colorful fish swimming by and the variety of shells washed up on the beach, I can see why Jacques Cousteau called the Sea of Cortez “the world’s aquarium.”
Learn a Little History
Ivette Granados Marines showed me around downtown. She’s a geologist by training who has done lots of fascinating things during her decades in Loreto, including being a research diver in the marine park, a kayak guide, and now operations manager for the central-northern region of Visit Baja California Sur.
The town of Loreto owes its existence to a fed-up mule, Ivette told me. Back in 1697, Padre Juan María de Salvatierra led a group of missionaries to “civilize” the indigenous people. They’d brought an icon of the Virgin of Loreto from Italy. While trudging through what would one day become Baja del Sur, the mule carrying the virgin decided it had had enough. It stopped and wouldn’t budge. Was it a sign from God? Or just an overworked mule? “The place where the mule stopped is the place where the mission is right now,” Ivette told me. Over the years, the Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto Concho grew from a simple building to its current grand iteration, complete with noisy belltower.
Loreto is so compact it’s easy to spend an hour touring the mission and checking out the history museum. Wander into the town hall to study the intricately symbolic mural by artist Alejandro Curiel, which depicts the history from indigenous people through domination by three different religious orders to the present. Perhaps when you need to take a break from the strong sun.
Try Some N/A Drinks
Baja has plenty of party people, but Loreto is a fairly quiet town. I was traveling with a small group, one of whom was allergic to alcohol and another who could take it or leave it. We had fun ordering matching mocktails, such as virgin margaritas and mojitos. The servers tended to joke about our abstinence—“You wanted double alcohol, right?” ha ha—but whatever. My favorite was a purple alcohol-free margarita.
You can also learn about the traditional talega coffee. A talega is a cloth sack hanging from a wire frame which ranchers use to filter their coffee in northern Mexico. (It also has a slang meaning for part of the male anatomy, so be careful when ordering!) One night my group went to Hotel Oasis, a beautiful property right on the beach, where you can watch the sunrise from your private hammock. They ceremoniously prepare this coffee using the talega method, reaching the pouring arm up high. It’s a fun culinary experience that doesn’t involve alcohol.
For ordinary morning coffee drinks, I favored the bike-themed Café Route on the main square. They could be counted on for a good cappuccino or fruit-filled smoothie.
Thriving Recovery Community
While in Loreto, I got the chance to meet some local 12-step folks. The town has both a thriving expat recovery community with English language AA meetings, and separate meetings for Spanish speakers. My part of the US—the dreary Pacific Northwest—is well-represented by sun-seeking expats who decide to spend two weeks, half the year or the rest of their lives in Loreto.
If you want to attend a Loreto meeting, expect to sit on the beach in town, or find your way to Loreto Bay, a gated community about 15 minutes away, depending on the day. Consult the meeting schedule. At press time, the Loreto Bay meeting happens in the early evening so people can drive back on the highway before dark. Allegedly it’s perilous driving after dark, because donkeys, horses and goats mosey onto the highway and sometimes even lie down on the warm pavement!
If You Go…
I loved the Posadas de las Flores, a beautiful boutique hotel on the town square, with its courtyard, colorful tile and wrought iron details. It got a little noisy on weekend nights, so be prepared for a few nightlife sounds. It’s on the high end, but here are places to stay in all price ranges. Loreto is a super walkable town, so you won’t need a car. If you want to go to one of the islands to kayak, dive, fish or snorkel, use a local outfitter like Dolphin Dive Baja or Sea Kayak Baja. I felt very comfortable there and look forward to visiting again.
All images by Teresa Bergen, except where otherwise noted.
Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, The Sober Curator did visit Loreto during a press trip. As always, The Sober Curator operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
About Teresa Bergen
Teresa Bergen had the great good fortune to quit drinking very young and has enjoyed long-term sobriety. She lives in Portland, Oregon but travels all over the world as a travel writer. She also works in the oral history field, helping to document and preserve history. Learn more HERE.
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