The best of Loreto – the best kept secret in Baja California Sur /

“The landscape looks like nothing,” says our guide Victor as we drive from the airport to Loreto Baja California Sur, “but there are owls and woodpeckers in those cacti, and bighorn sheep, gray foxes, mule deer, raccoons and mountain lions. in the arroyos, the valleys.” The green and gold hills dotted with lanky cardon cactus, copal bushes and spiky chain-link cholla seem to my untrained eyes as static as a Western movie playing out. The town of Loreto and the surrounding towns of Baja California Sur have their own surprises and I was more than ready to sample them all.

The best things to do in Loreto – Baja California Sur

At least I had a guide. When Jesuit priests arrived in Baja California Sur in 1697, they had high expectations, no money and a promise to build a Camino Real, a royal road, for the King of Spain. The first mission they built was the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó in the center of what would become the city of Loreto.

Mission of Our Lady of Loreto Conchó

This beautifully restored stone church near the town square still welcomes worshipers. The bells ring every hour. For a city of 15,000 inhabitants, the church is a busy place. Celebrations and services are held every day and continue into the evening when the lights of the church take to the streets. Within the grounds of the church is a museum of early artifacts, along with a small gift shop selling carefully crafted religious souvenirs. This was the first of the missions that stretched from Baja California Sur across the border to San Francisco, 1,400 miles away, along the Camino Real.

Of course, the Jesuits were not the first people to live in Loreto. They were met by the Monqui, the indigenous people of Baja California Sur who had lived there for thousands of years and were very happy with their nomadic lifestyle and polygamous culture. The Monqui were called upon by the Jesuits to build the missions, which offered them a reliable food source and the promise of salvation, but in less than a hundred years their small population was decimated by European diseases.

Book this tour

Petroglyphs and icons

Their culture remains in various locations in Loreto in the form of petroglyphs and pictographs. The two closest locations to the city are Cuevas Pintas, 15 km to the west and La Pingüica, 60 km to the north.

Many tour companies in the city organize guided tours to the sights. On my first day in Loreto, I took a one-hour drive and two-hour hike to see the pictographs and petroglyphs at La Pingüica with Juve Orozco from Sea and Land Tours. Our group clambered over dry streambeds and made our way through sandy washlands filled with many varieties of cacti, shrubs teeming with butterflies, and trees dotted with cat’s claw vines. Juve was generous with his knowledge of the terrain and plant life. He told us to be on the lookout for cat’s claw, or uña de gato. It is a woody vine that the indigenous people of Baja California Sur used to heal digestive problems and inflammation. But his thorns are as sharp as his name and we gave him a big head start.

When we reached the site, Juve pointed out the fine details of the painted petroglyphs, some of which were symbolic, and others clearly showing moving animals and people. The sheltered environment and dry environment have kept the colors bright. A little further up the rocky arroyo he showed us geometric patterns picked out on the rocks thousands of years ago to form petroglyphs. The most impressive cave paintings in Baja California Sur are found in the UNESCO-designated caves high in the Sierra de San Francisco mountains, but they can only be reached via a three-day trek by mule or horseback. You can find these larger-than-life images of Loreto’s indigenous past engraved in concrete along the pedestrian street that leads to the Malecon, Loreto’s sea wall, on the beach.

When I returned to Loreto, I was pleased to find that my spotlessly clean room at Bugambilias Suites had a powerful, hot shower and plenty of fluffy towels. There was also a full kitchenette, perfect for a long stay, and upstairs on the terrace there were plenty of sun loungers and panoramic views of the mountains, tinged with blue.

The Malecon

If you visit the Malecon as the sun rises, as I did the next day, you will encounter fishermen casting their fishing rods into the sea, cyclists pedaling furiously along the boardwalk and joggers taking advantage of the cool morning breeze.

Hotel La Mision

At Hotel La Mision, a classic Spanish Revival-style hotel, I pushed open the massive wooden doors and walked up the cool marble stairs to find Los Olivos, an elegant dining room with a shaded terrace overlooking the beach. A plentiful morning buffet of fresh fruit, omelettes, pastries and excellent coffee was offered. Next to me, a local family enjoyed several types of breakfast tortillas and chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican breakfast dish made of lightly fried corn tortillas covered with red or green salsa, mozzarella cheese, onion, cilantro, sour cream and beans. It was a great start to the day.

Playa La Negrita

Loreto is full of delicious restaurants. After a day on the quiet sandy beaches of Playa La Negrita (Bold Beach) along the Malecon, or an afternoon spent browsing some of the many jewelry, pottery, art and clothing shops on Juan Maria de Salvatierra, the town square be the place. The lights shining through the trees around El Zopilote Brewing Co. hang out, start to glow at sunset while delicious pizzas come fresh from the brick oven to be washed down with an IPA, Bandito Stout or Blood Orange beer. For the adventurous, there is also a fried locust appetizer on the menu.

For the best homestyle Mexican food in town, locals, expats and tourists alike head to Asadero Super Burro. At this hole-in-the-wall restaurant, you can watch the staff as they chop, toss and bake large platters of traditional favorites over a roaring wood-burning stove fueled with dried cat’s claw vines, a perfect use for those pesky vines. The Super Burro on the menu lives up to its reputation: it is huge. Come hungry.

Heroica Mulege

If you’re up for a road trip full of beautiful scenery, water sports, and a history lesson of Baja California Sur, head to the pretty town of Heroica Mulege, about an hour and 50 minutes north of Loreto via Highway 1.

Rent a car or go with Wild Loreto Tours. You’ll pass many secluded beaches along the way, but halfway up (75 km/46 miles) you’ll stop at El Burro Beach at Conception Bay. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Baja California Sur. The water is clear and warm and La Burra Tours is located right on the beach.

They can take you to visit all the islands in the bay, or you can rent kayaking and snorkeling equipment to explore the shallow reefs. JC’s Restaurant is located near the water. You can sit with your feet in the sand under a shady palapa while owner Juan Carlos Osuna brings out freshly caught snapper “pescado zarandeado” style. It’s a traditional recipe from Sinaloa and Nayarit that tastes even better if the fish on the grill was just swimming in the bay that same morning.

Kayaking

For more intensive kayaking tours, including personal training from professional kayakers, try Peninsula Incognita Tours. I learned more about kayaking with them in two hours than in any of my previous kayaking trips. Contact them via their Facebook page where they also list their whale watching tours in March and April and the dolphins, sea lions and marine life you will see every day around the islands of Baja California Sur. Read all about kayaking Baja California Sur – Sea Kayaking Baja Mexico – A remarkable 10 day journey

Santa Rosalia de Mulege Mission

When you arrive in Heroica Mulege, make sure you visit the Santa Rosalia de Mulege Mission, a beautiful and evocative church located near an oasis about five minutes from the center of town. It is a cultural heritage monument, built in 1766 and lovingly restored. The viewpoint at the church offers beautiful views of the Rio Mulege River valley, the oasis’ carpet of palm trees and the Sierra Giganta mountains.

Mulege Museum

Heroica Mulege has a very unusual prison, now the Museo de Mulege, to explore. It was called ‘the prison without walls’ because the prisoners could leave the prison at dawn to work and had to return when the warden called them back by blowing through a conch shell. In reality, they had nowhere to go because there was no road out of Mulege. It existed as a prison from 1907 to 1974 and now has a collection of handicrafts made by the prisoners, exhibitions on the history of the local indigenous Cochimi people and friendly guides. Admission is by donation.

Historic Las Casitas

Before heading back to Loreto, stop by Historico Las Casitas, where you’ll be sure to be blown away by the multi-colored floor-to-ceiling Mexican decor and an amazing meal. The house specialty of yellowfin tuna can be found on the English and Spanish menu, along with traditional favorites and vegetarian dishes.

Far from being a landscape full of nothing, Loreto Baja California Sur and its surrounding towns are rich in hiking, adventure, horseback riding, snorkeling and diving and are proud of their history. It’s a more relaxed and authentic side of Mexican life, away from the all-inclusive experience. If this sounds like your kind of place, I’ll see you there.

Debra Smith was a guest of Visit Baja California Sur. As always, her opinion is her own. For more stories from Debra, visit her website at WhereToLady.com and follow her travels on Instagram @where.to.lady and on Facebook