Around Loreto

Thursday, 18 March – Loreto (lat 26 00.904; long 111 20.521) , Canyon Hiking, Escondido, El Juncalito

1. The Coco Cabanas is our home in Loreto.

2. Early morning canyon hiking south of Loreto near Escondido.

3. Stephen and Josie of the Coco Cabanas meet us in the canyon.

4. Ray sits by the palm pool as I climb the canyon wall to get to the next cascade.

5. Swimming in the pools in the canyon.

6. The Loreto Malecon looking north from the south-end.

7. A mural decorates this hotel on the Malecon.

8. Green mangoes hang from the tree next to the mission.

9. This is the mission in Loreto.

There is a good museum attached that had a lot of English text.

10. The commercial/tourist street in Loreto.

11. A side street on Loreto up from the Coco Cabanas.

12. ould not tell if this dog wanted to come out and play ....

or bite my leg.

13. Loreto Malecon at sunset looking south.

Busy day.

It turns out the Coco Cabanas is another travel oasis. Run buy Stephen and Barrett Scalapino and their families, their hotel is a nice place to get off the road, get clean, and meet other travelers. The cabana setup includes a full kitchen and private bathrooms. The rooms are very clean and tidy (the best accommodations so far on our trip). The hotel is located one block off the north end of the Loreto Malecon and is a short walk to the historic district. To do a plug for Stephen and Barrett, here is their contact information:

e-mail: barrett@coco-cabanas.com
web: http://www.cococabanasloreto.com/
phone: 011-52-613-135-1729 (from the US)
phone: 613-135-1729 (from Mexico)

We chatted with Stephen last night about what to do in the area. Stephen, having been connected to Loreto since he was 14, was a wealth of knowledge. He told us he and his wife Josie were going hiking in a nearby canyon in the morning and offered to show us the trailhead if we could be ready to go by 7:00 a.m. Ray and I, never to pass on a good hike, were geared up and ready to go.

We drove south on Hwy 1 to Escondido and turned right toward the mountains. The hike was reminiscent of Guadalupe Canyon earlier in the trip but this time the water was much lower volume and contained in pools. The dry canyon made for an amazing hike allowing us to climb the river bed (something we could do in Guadalupe Canyon). The pools (which had some water flow) provided accent to the scenery. The canyon eventually closed and the dry falls to steep & tall to scale safely so we turned back.

We visited Escondido and walked about the new port. Then we drove up to Juncalito and navigated our way through a maze of dirt roads to the public beach. Another stunning location. We scoped out a camp site (we might use this later), hiked the headlands and coves, and took a nap.

Then we were back to Loreto for a daylight explore (it was dark last night when we got in). We walked the Malecon which has great views of the surrounding islands, mountains, and Gulf of California. Then we went to tour the Mission, the first in California. Then we had dinner. Loreta, like Todos Santos, seems to be cut from the Carmel and Santa Fe molds. It is a really nice town.

We are staying a second night at the Hotel Coco Cabanas and making it an early night. Ray is actually asleep on the couch already. We are gearing up for a trip up into the mountains tomorrow to visit the Mission San Javier and perhaps Mission San Miguel Comondu if the road allows. Stephen gave us some good tips of thing to see along the way. It should make for a good post when we return.