1/12-19/13
A
rare winter vacation for me. A
trip out of the country. Loreto is located far down the Baja Peninsula
on the Sea of Cortez side. My retired brother and sister in law own a
place there so I had a nice place to stay. Their home is at Loreto Bay,
about 8 miles south of the city of Loreto. Western North America was
undergoing a frigid spell. It was 25 degrees when we left Seattle. Only
54 in Los Angeles. Warm to me but unseasonably cool in Loreto too.
Temperatures in the mid 60s early in the week rising to the low to mid
70s for our last few days. It was very windy on the cooler days too.
Early morning the wind was light before building into the afternoon. I
chose to do most of my "city hiking" in the mornings. The development
at Loreto Bay was only partly finished when the real estate bubble
burst. The original development was mostly completed and is looking
very good. Plants are getting full grown. The second area to be
developed was only partly done in 2008. After a few years of no
building it is slowly getting back on track.
The idea is that cars all park on the main road. The houses are surrounded by narrow alleys that form the means of travel. Very appealing for folks to walk everywhere. The beach is also open and makes a great route for part of a hike. Day one was mostly all travel. On Sunday I went for a walk to the far south end of the development and back. About 2.5 to 3 miles round trip. There are a lot of birds here. Probably some birds that left Seattle in the fall heading for a warm winter. Along with tiny hummingbirds there are some very large birds. The biggest vultures I have every seen. Pelicans all over.
Kayaking is very popular here but with the strong winds and relatively cool temperatures I left that for another visit. Back to my Sunday walk. On Saturday night we walked to the south end. This time I was up early and headed out alone. The Mexican workers were clearly not happy with 59 degrees as they were bundled up. I, on the other hand, found it very comfortable. In mid summer when it was 100 degrees and humid the table would be turned. I followed the alleys south admiring the interesting architecture. Seeing palm trees and cactus planted as garden plants was a bit unusual for me too.
Down at the Inn I found walls along the road and a dead end. A trip through the condos did not help. I backtracked to the Inn and found my way down to the beach. Just south is a putting green on the golf course and "The Point". The Point is a sharp rocky high point right on the Sea of Cortez. It is several hundred feet high and looked to provide a great view of the development, the sea, and the Gigante Mountains farther inland. With that in mind I headed to the green. No golfers out at 8:15 am. The sprinklers were going as I approached but they all stopped. The only trick to the scramble is getting started. The rock forms a small cliff most all the way around on the golfing green side. One small break allowed access.
I knew I would not be the first to scramble up this and a short way up a boot path appeared. Lots of solid rock with tiny loose gravelly rock on top. Much harder to descend that ascend. Up I went to the ridge top just below the point. Great views as I had hoped. The last 30 feet was more of a rock scramble though with little exposure. The back side above the sea is the vertical side. Terrific views from on top. Well worth the effort. I took quite a few photos before heading down. I dropped down to the golf course and then down to the rocky inlet. Much different than the sandy beach on the other side. I headed back going through town.
Fast forward five years. It's April of 2018 and I came upon this partly written trip report. It's pouring rain outside and time to sort through 300 photos of my trip. Loreto made for a great January getaway. It was warm but not nearly as hot as it gets in the summer. The birds and the beach made for a very scenic spot. I may well get back again. For now I'm just glad to finally get this report up.
Click on thumbnails to get
larger pictures.
Trips - 2013
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The idea is that cars all park on the main road. The houses are surrounded by narrow alleys that form the means of travel. Very appealing for folks to walk everywhere. The beach is also open and makes a great route for part of a hike. Day one was mostly all travel. On Sunday I went for a walk to the far south end of the development and back. About 2.5 to 3 miles round trip. There are a lot of birds here. Probably some birds that left Seattle in the fall heading for a warm winter. Along with tiny hummingbirds there are some very large birds. The biggest vultures I have every seen. Pelicans all over.
Kayaking is very popular here but with the strong winds and relatively cool temperatures I left that for another visit. Back to my Sunday walk. On Saturday night we walked to the south end. This time I was up early and headed out alone. The Mexican workers were clearly not happy with 59 degrees as they were bundled up. I, on the other hand, found it very comfortable. In mid summer when it was 100 degrees and humid the table would be turned. I followed the alleys south admiring the interesting architecture. Seeing palm trees and cactus planted as garden plants was a bit unusual for me too.
Down at the Inn I found walls along the road and a dead end. A trip through the condos did not help. I backtracked to the Inn and found my way down to the beach. Just south is a putting green on the golf course and "The Point". The Point is a sharp rocky high point right on the Sea of Cortez. It is several hundred feet high and looked to provide a great view of the development, the sea, and the Gigante Mountains farther inland. With that in mind I headed to the green. No golfers out at 8:15 am. The sprinklers were going as I approached but they all stopped. The only trick to the scramble is getting started. The rock forms a small cliff most all the way around on the golfing green side. One small break allowed access.
I knew I would not be the first to scramble up this and a short way up a boot path appeared. Lots of solid rock with tiny loose gravelly rock on top. Much harder to descend that ascend. Up I went to the ridge top just below the point. Great views as I had hoped. The last 30 feet was more of a rock scramble though with little exposure. The back side above the sea is the vertical side. Terrific views from on top. Well worth the effort. I took quite a few photos before heading down. I dropped down to the golf course and then down to the rocky inlet. Much different than the sandy beach on the other side. I headed back going through town.
Fast forward five years. It's April of 2018 and I came upon this partly written trip report. It's pouring rain outside and time to sort through 300 photos of my trip. Loreto made for a great January getaway. It was warm but not nearly as hot as it gets in the summer. The birds and the beach made for a very scenic spot. I may well get back again. For now I'm just glad to finally get this report up.
 Loreto Market |
 Walkway Through Homes |
 Viewpoint From Beach |
 Cactus |
 Inlet Below |
 Loreto Plaque |
 Rocky Shore |
 Big Bird |
 Flying Over Water |
 Reddish Shell |
 Spiny Fish |
 Pelican? |
 Tide Is In |
 Fountain |
 Heading Home |
 Loreto Church |
 Church Interior |
 Church Info |
 More Cucti |
 Islands In The Sea |
 Colorful Homes |
 Reflected Homes |
 Nearing Sunset |
 Color Improving |
 Birds Overhead |
 Dark Viewpoint |
 Diving For Dinner |
 Full Previous Shot |
 More Birds On Rocks |
 Wide Angle Shot |
 Flowers In Bloom |
 Sitting On The Pier |
 Mountain At Morning |
 Scenic Mountains |
 Reflection |
 White Bird |
 More Birds |
 Homes Reflected |
 Morning At The Beach |
 Morning Cacti |
 Inlet & Rocky Coast |
 Golf Course |
 Looking North |
 On Rocky Shore |
 Panorama Of The Enclave From The Viewpoint |
 View Southeast To The Sea Of Cortez |
Trips - 2013
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