389km (241 miles) NW of La Paz; 533km (330 miles) N of Cabo San Lucas; 1,125km (698 miles) SE of Tijuana
The unpretentious feel of the town of Loreto belies its historical importance. Loreto was the center of the Spanish mission effort during colonial times, the first capital of the Californias, and the first European settlement in the peninsula. Founded on October 25, 1697, it was Father Juan MarÃa Salvatierra's choice as the site of the first mission in the Californias. (California, at the time, extended from Cabo San Lucas in the south to the Oregon border in the north.) He held Mass beneath a figure of the Virgin of Loreto, brought from a town in Italy bearing the same name. For 132 years, Loreto served as the state capital, until an 1829 hurricane destroyed most of the town. The state capital moved to La Paz (see chapter 5) the following year.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Mexican government saw in Loreto the possibility for another megadevelopment along the lines of Cancún, Ixtapa, or Los Cabos. It invested in a golf course and championship tennis facility, modernized the town's infrastructure, and built an international airport and full marina facilities at Nopoló, 26km (16 miles) south of town. The economics, however, didn't make sense at the time, and few hotel investors and even fewer tourists came. In the past 4 years, however, this effort has been revitalized, and the area is seeing a welcome influx of flights, as well as the addition of its first new hotel in years, a sprawling Inn at Loreto Bay (formerly the Camino Real). The Loreto Bay residential development has been a major part of renewed interest in the area and is bringing homes, condos, and other facilities to the area, with a rental program in place for vacation stays (tel. 877/865-6738 toll-free from the U.S. for rental information).
Soon, Loreto may become the next "new" place to go, but for now, downtown Loreto remains the heart rate-relaxing fishing village and gringo hideaway it's been for decades. The celebration of the town's 300th anniversary in 1997 had the added benefit of updating the streets, plaza, and mission: Old Town Loreto is now a quaint showplace.
The Loretanos, or Loreto locals, are friendly and helpful; unlike the swarms of proprietary tourists that dominate the peninsula's northern and southern reaches, the mid-Baja region attracts a more unassuming set of visitors, and locals play the part of gracious hosts. Canadian and American expatriates who've settled in Loreto may be a bit more aloof with passing tourists, and who can blame them? They settled here when there was nothing, and they can't help but want it to stay that way for as long as possible.
The main reasons to come to Loreto center on the Sea of Cortez and the five islands just offshore, but the Sierra de La Giganta Mountains offer a wealth of opportunities for exploration as well. The reefs around Isla Coronado are home to schools of giant grouper, and beachgoers won't find a bay more beautiful than the one on Isla del Carmen or on Coronado's north side. The natural port of Puerto Escondido shelters a growing yachting community; and the area is so lovely that most of the sailboats stay put year round. Kayakers launch here for trips to Isla del Carmen and Isla Danzante, or down the remote mountain coast to La Paz, and history buffs head for the mountains to visit some of the oldest Jesuit missions.
