Days 32 And 33: Loreto

Loreto is well known destination for sport fishing, water sports, diving, and sea kayaking.  The day before, I had wandered around town looking for dive shops and kayaking outfitters, only to find many offices closed.  I wasn't sure if it was because it was Sunday or because it's the off season, but I felt a bit let down until I wandered into the office of Sea Kayak Baja Mexico just off the malecon.  A quick chat with the girl working there and a phone call to the gregarious and knowledgable Ivette Granados Marines, and I was set up for a solo sea kayaking and snorkeling adventure out to Coronado Island while Gonzalo worked.

I woke up early and met Ivette at the office shortly after 8 am, where we went through all the gear and she introduced me to Rigo, who would be my boat captain and guide.  She sent us off with a cooler bag full of ice cold water, juice, yogurt drink, fruit, and snacks and an insulated bag full of delicious fish burritos made by Rigo's wife.  I knew it was going to be a good day when we had a pelican decide to hop on the boat and ride with us as we pulled out of the marina.

Rigo was a great guide with an eagle eye for spotting sea turtles, mantas, dolphins, and identifying the various birds.  He was born and raised in Loreto and has been working with Ivette for about four years, so he knows every nook and cranny of the various islands well.  I was really glad to be able to speak Spanish because we were able to chat the whole time.   

Coronado Island is gorgeous in the early morning when the sea and sky seem to merge together.  It's amazing to watch the colors of both change as the day goes on.  It's one of five islands off the Loreto coast.

One of many blue heron nests on this side of the island.  We saw five different nests with baby herons!

A corner of the island where pelicans reign supreme.  We saw three blue-footed boobies mingling with the pelicans out here.  While they aren't endangered, nearly half of all blue-footed boobies are in the Galapagos, and they aren't found anywhere else outside of Baja California Sur, Peru, and the Galapagos, so it's pretty special to see them!  Random factoid: Charles Darwin was the first to study blue-footed boobies extensively in the Galapagos.

Coronado Island is an inactive volcano with really awesome volcanic rock formations that have been shaped by wind and water over time.

More cool volcanic rock formations... this corner is the home of a small sea lion colony.  You can see the alpha male staking his turf on the very tip near the water.

The other sea lions were sunbathing and playing in the water nearby.

And then we saw a small group of dolphins.  Rigo explained to me that when you see a small group like this, it may be because there is a mother and baby to allow the mother can protect her child.

We watched these dolphins for about fifteen minutes before we finally moved on to make a little base camp at a small beach on the island.

I love how the water color changes over time and depth.  A pelican greets us as we dock the boat.  Rigo and I had some of the burritos his wife made, and ended up sharing some with an American couple that had come over to chat.

Time to explore by kayak!

I paddled to another remote beach, docked my kayak, and got out to explore with my snorkel... nothing like chasing around some poor rockfish in my own private corner of paradise.  

The water was the perfect temperature for me... pool water temperature (rather than the bathwater temperature of the Caribbean)... so when I got back to the boat, I decided to go for one last swim with the snorkeling gear.  Rigo pointed out a good place to swim where the fish liked to hang out and off I went.  By the time I returned, Rigo had packed up all the kayaking gear, gave me some time to eat another delicious fish burrito and some fruit, and we headed back to the Loreto marina.

Gonzalo and I ended the day splurging on a big seafood dinner of raw oysters, local clams au gratin, and a lovely fresh seafood soup chock full of crab, octopus, shrimp, and scallops.  After several days on the road eating canned tuna with pasta and tortillas with beans, it's always worth it to me to splurge on the fresh seafood when we get into a beach town.  We try to avoid the touristy places, looking for the places where locals and other Mexicans are eating, to get the best stuff at the best prices.

Sooo good.  This place was near the intersection of Salvatierra and Paseo Miguel Hidalgo, a bit further away from the fancy restaurants that are scattered around the mission and the malecon.  They had good prices and the seafood was very fresh... in fact, we saw some poor clams crawling around awaiting their fate in our bellies.

The next day was spent getting provisions for a remote alternate route out of Loreto that Gonzalo had discovered that takes us through the beautiful area where the mission at San Javier is located, doing research on hostels and things to do in La Paz, and visiting the mission museum.

We also meandered into a homey little bookstore called El Caballo Blanco on Paseo Miguel Hidalgo just two blocks off the malecon which is owned by a lovely American widow named Jeannine Perez.   The front section of her bookstore has a freebie box and used junk novels in English on the cheap, while the specialty Baja books (everything from birding guides, camping guides, detailed maps, and history) and books in Spanish are in the back section.  Colorful paintings she has done over the years decorate the walls and colorful clay mugs she has made ("bad hair day mugs" she calls them) line one of the shelves.  She welcomed us in and treated us to some lovely herbal iced tea and a crumbly delicious scone-like pastry as we browsed, and then invited us for coffee and more pastries in the morning should we have time before we head out.  I ended up nabbing an international intrigue junk book from the freebie box and trading in my National Geographic Baja California maps for a small Spanish grammar book to make productive use of downtime at camp lest my brain atrophy on the road.

I awesomely put the dead battery back in my camera and put my charged battery in the charger, so I am borrowing this picture from www.starkinsider.com to give you an idea of this place!

A few travel tips for cyclists:

• We stayed at the Motel Brenda on Benito Juarez set back a bit from the mission and malecon.  We just asked someone riding a bike for an economical hotel and they recommended this one.  It's one of the cheapest places we've seen, quiet, clean, has great showers, spacious rooms, air conditioning, ground floor room access (many places are multi-level and may be difficult to lug bikes up), free drinking water by the reception, and while not advertised, if you ask, they will give you free wifi access.  Lonely Planet lists the Hotel Posada San Martin as the best budget deal (though it is the same price as the Motel Brenda) and I know other bike tourists have stayed there.  I've read that the Hotel Posada San Martin has a nice common area and free coffee, but that the rooms are dark and it can be a bit loud due to it's more central location. 

• There is a water purification station just a couple doors down from the Motel Brenda.  We got 12 liters for 10 pesos and they also sell big bags of ice.

• I highly recommend Sea Kayak Baja Mexico.  I found the service to be impeccable and I like supporting businesses run by women, especially in Latin America, where it's not as common.  A kayaking and snorkel trip is a bit pricey if you are a solo traveler (though still worth it!), but if there are two of you, I think it's a good deal and a great way to get off the bike for a day.  Ivette is very friendly and was able to pull together my kayak and snorkel tour with very little notice... I think I called her in the late afternoon or early evening on Sunday and was on my way the next morning for a great day on the water.  The gear is top quality and they also have a retail storefront that has great waterproof bags, stuff sacks, and even some camping gear.  They also offer really cool multi-day kayak tours from Loreto to La Paz with camping in various ranchos and tiny beachside towns.

• If you are itching to do some serious exploration of Baja, the Baja California Almanac that Jeannine carries at her store El Caballo Blanco is the most detailed map you can get, to allow you to design any hiking, mountain biking, road cycling, off-roading adventure you could ever want.  It's big, but would easily fit into a rear pannier and has all of the topographical information you could ever want.  Otherwise, if you are cycling north from Loreto, I traded in some pretty awesome National Geographic Baja maps that are more compact and more than sufficient for this area. 

• Vegetarians rejoice, I found an awesome vegetarian omelet at Pan que Pan... stuffed with mozzarella cheese and chock full of zucchini, spinach (I had asked them to substitute spinach for the bell peppers), carmelized onion, and mushroom served with beans, queso fresco, and avocado on the side.  At 50 pesos (or about $4), it was a good deal, as was the fresh orange-carrot juice at just 20  pesos (or about $1.60).