We were delighted to welcome our friends Sharon and Ernie from San Francisco to spend a few days with us aboard Magic. They were making a road trip down Baja to experience the kayaking, scuba, beach camping, and off road exploring that are the staples of the Baja peninsula. We agreed to meet up in Loreto.
Loreto is a small, dusty town of about 10,000 and long believed to be the area of the oldest human settlement on the Baja peninsula. For sure, Loreto is the site of the first permanent mission -- established in 1697 by Jesuit Juan Maria Salvatierra. Today Loreto is also the home to the Parque Marino Nacioanl Bahia de Loreto with over 500,000 acres of protected islands and water. It is truly a recreational mecca for fishing, scuba, and other water sports.
Sharon and Ernie had a car, so we drove to Loreto for provisioning and lunch. We also took the time to explore the Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto. It is amazing to think that this was the first mission and there is a mission just down the road from my home in San Rafael!
We left the anchorage and made our way to Ballandra on Isla Carmen -- about 9.5 miles east of Loreto. There was time for plenty of water activities -- too bad the fresh water rinse afterwards attracted every bee within miles! We also did a very long hike across the island to view Bahia Salinas and the abandoned salt ponds. The highlight of the hike was spotting several desert, bighorn sheep! The peninsula populations are under pressure from development and haitat loss, so in 1995 the sheep were introduced on Isla Carmen. Apparently they hope to re-introduce the sheep back on the peninsula.
Here are some pictures from our time together:
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| Sharon and Ernie waiting for fish tacos at McLulu's |
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| Everyone's favorite: dolphins on the bow! |
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| Interior of the Mission |
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| Sunrise leaving Ballandra |
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| The pedestrian walk way in Loreto | | | | | | |
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