Update #5 Loreto to El Receson, Bahia Concepcion

Buenos Dias Everyone;

Our next stop was Loreto. This is a smaller city with about 12,000 people living here. It is considered to be the oldest settlement on the Baja with a history that goes back 12,000 years. It is also where the first European settlement was established.

The Jesuits came here in 1697 and founded the Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto. This was the base for expansion of the mission system up and down the Baja Peninsula and also into Alta California. Loreto is also the beginning of the Camino Real.

There's a ship is port here for 2 days so the place has been very busy. Policemen at all the pedestrian crossings to make sure everybody gets across the road safely.

The good news for us is that there was music and folkloric dancing in the square. There were also some dancers from a Polynesian Dance School. I even got a chance to do some dancing at the end when they chose 6 people to dance with them. The ship left, the policemen left and the pedestrian mall is now open to cars. The malecon is extremely quiet.

One day we drove up to the San Javier Mission which is back up in the mountains about 35 kms from Loreto. It is a paved road and the sign calls it a “camino sinuoso” and that pretty much describes it. 

I should also tell you that this area of Baja had torrential downpours last summer and there's a lot of evidence with road washouts, bridge washouts and piles of gravel everywhere. The Southern Alberta folks should be able to identify with this. This mission was built in 1699 as an offshoot of the mission in Loreto. There was a source of water here and they put in irrigation and grew crops. 

 An olive tree was planted in 1699 and it's still alive today. It's a twisted and gnarled thing. The missionaries did everything in the name of the King of Spain but received no money from the crown. They had sponsors who would give them money yearly to support the missions.

We also spent a day exploring the beaches south of Loreto. Ensenada Blanca is a beautiful beach and bay with a hotel on it. Ligui is a dry camping beach. Then is was Puerto Escondido which is a marina (Porto Bello) that someone is trying to develop with condos and homes along the water where you can moor your boat. There's also a hotel and RV Park here away from the water.

Then we stopped at El Juncalito which has a permanent section on one end and a boon docking section on the other. The road to the boon docking beach was washed out last summer so it was pretty quiet with only a few tents and vans here. 

Then we visited Nopolo which is a huge home/condo/golf course development.

Our next stop was El Requeson on Bahia Conception. This is a boon docking (that means no services) campground right on the beach. We managed to get sites facing the beach with a palapa. At low tide there's a sand spit that goes out to an island. This gave us very good views of the bay.

We went north along the bay and checked out several other sites. We stopped at Buenaventure for coffee and e-mail. 

El Coyote Beach is mostly folks set up for the winter. Which begs the question what do they do with the grey and black water??? Burro Beach is permanents with palapas that are much more elaborate. Walls made of plywood and other assorted materials. Some are even for sale. All you're buying is the structure and the next hurricane/storm could take it out. Santispac is the next beach and it's quite large, quite busy and aimed at a more transient crowd. Most caravans stop here. 

As this is Valentine's Day we went back to the campground for a candlelight dinner on the beach. Beef, camirones, (shrimp), asparagus, red wine and chocolates were on the menu. What more could a girl ask for!!!!

 One of the other campers, Sunny, took us out on his boat to see a huge pod of dolphins that had come into the bay. They swam with the boat and it's amazing that none got hit.

Each morning we were treated to a sunrise from the beach ...... so we will leave you with this beautiful morning greeting! 

Adios till next time. Drew and Donna.