Loreto Mexico – Baja
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Loreto is a small coastal city on the Sea of Cortez about 200 miles north of Cabo San Lucas and 700 miles south of the US border. As the second largest population center on the eastern side of the peninsula, it serves as the hub of commerce for a large area. The downtown area bustles with shops, restaurants and a very pleasant open air market well away from the traffic. Although it occasionally hosts a cruise ship, Loreto is much more popular among Mexican tourists than Americans.
The scenery around Loreto is truly dramatic. The Gigantica Mountain range rises 5,000 feet above the cobalt blue waters of the Sea of Cortez and the desert runs right up to the ocean. The coast is ideal for exploring in sea kayaks and the 800 square mile Loreto Bay National Marine Park is a haven for adventure tourists.
The hotels in Loreto may show well on the internet, but in general do not live up to US standards of maintenance, service and cleanliness. The trade-off, however, is a town with the motto, “Loreto, where even the sun is not in a hurry”. Who can resist a promise of rest and relaxation like that?
I suspect a road trip from California to Loreto, camping at quiet beaches along the way would be an experience to treasure. In the meantime, I’ll stick to the puddle jumpers that fly in and out of Loreto’s small, but adequate airport from Los Angeles, San Diego and the Mexican mainland. If you’d like to trek off the beaten path and enjoy scenery and adventure more than nightlife and pampering, give Loreto a try.
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