marla - 4-9-2005 at 11:50 AM
Hey kids we are leaving tomorrow for our first trip to Loreto for a week--AND our first time flying to Baja. I am very excited! Going with my kids and
also friend Ana and her son Jackson.
BajaNomad - 4-9-2005 at 12:17 PM
Have a great trip Marla. Same to Ana. Enjoyed meeting you both in Tijuana at Antonio's shindig last year.
--
Doug
backninedan - 4-9-2005 at 12:43 PM
Marla, My wife and I live in Loreto full time, is you need and last minute tips, send me a u2u
Sallysouth - 4-10-2005 at 08:56 PM
Marla, Please give us a trip report when you get back!Hope you and the kids have a wonderful time!
GeoRock - 4-13-2005 at 11:05 PM
Marla,
I thought you were driving??? How's the trip going. Wish I were there. I hate working on taxes instead of soaking up rays in Baja.
David K - 4-14-2005 at 07:58 AM
Marla, have fun... will you still be attending the book signing after your trip? It was two years ago at the book signing that I met your kids!
marla - 4-18-2005 at 04:05 PM
We got back last night from a week in Loreto. We had such a great time, I am looking forward to going back. It was quite a novel sensation FLYING to a
destination in Baja, but I must say it was very pleasant to get on a plane and be there in 2 hours instead of 2 or three days. We got to LAX to fly
out on Sunday afternoon, my first time flying on Aero California, only to discover that I am so used now to using E-tickets that I FORGOT the paper
tickets completely! Argh! They made me buy new tickets for all three of us, me, my kids Michael and Sandy. This was costly and annoying. But they said
I can mail in the old tickets and get a full refund I guess some time in the next year or so. We arrived in Loreto in the evening and were hustled by
a porter onto a big van into town with a bunch of other tourists, meaning that we paid considerably more than if we had just taken a regular taxi. I
am not sure if the van is the only method of transit out of the airport or not but it cost the five of us, two adults and three kids, something like
$28 when the taxi back to the airport only cost $12. Anyway, we arrived at the Oasis Hotel and were quite pleased with everything there. We had
planned on staying with Julie at the Nomad-recommended Iguana Inn, but she was full so we stayed at the Oasis instead. It was perfect for our needs
actually as the kids really enjoyed the swimming pool there, it was very clean and comfortable and pleasant. We had a giant room at the Oasis big
enough for all five of us. We fell in love with Loreto and even started looking around for real estate. We lolled around the first day or two, then I
got sick. I don't think I had tourist tummy, I think I just had stomach flu, but I was down for about 48 hours and poor Ana was stuck with the kids.
Even so, it was a pleasant place to be sick. As soon as I got well, we took a boat out to Coronado Island to go snorkeling. (more to follow)
marla - 4-18-2005 at 04:19 PM
Trip Report Page 2
We enjoyed going out on the panga and the kids loved see the sea lion colony on one end of the island. The sandy beach we landed on was the only white
sand beach we saw during our trip. My daughter Sandy went crazy finding shells and fish bones, she even found what looked like the bones of a sea lion
flipper. I told her it was a Mexican national park and she couldn't bring it back with her and she was quite upset, then later I relented and she
couldn't find it again! I had bought snorkels for all the kids, as the boat pilot did not have any. Sandy was the only kid brave enough to snorkel!
The snorkeling wasn't really great but it was okay. The beach was lovely. It was very crowded with some kind of youth group and then some other boats
there, I had mistakenly thought going out on a Thursday would mean fewer people. So it was not an ideal wilderness experience but it was pleasant. We
came back about 2 p.m. and went to the pool. On Friday, we went to the village of San Javier in the mountains. Ana had met a cab driver in town whose
girlfriend's godparents have a goat ranch near there. He offered to take us up to San Javier, all five of us for the day, plus a stop at the goat
ranch and the cave paintings for $90. So we did it and I'm glad we did. We went on a dry river bed southwest of Loreto that turned into the road to
San Javier. The road was a graded dirt road in good condition. I think any car pretty much could get up there, in fact it was a miracle to me that the
piece of sh--- Ford Aerostar van taxi we were in could drive it. In fact pretty early on we had a flat tire from a sharp rock that left me praying we
didn't have another flat, since I'm sure Oscar did not have another spare. The road to San Javier is only about 34 km but it takes 90 minutes or more
because it is hairpin turns all the way. About a third of the way up we stopped to see some faint cave paintings at a lovely terraced springwater site
that I am sure the Indians must have enjoyed very much. It was in a beautiful palm oasis. The kids liked playing in the spring and admiring the burro
poop much more than the cave paintings. It was easy to find the site, there was a big sign. San Javier was definitely worth our visit, the mission
church is beautiful and the tiny town with whitewashed adobe and thatched roofs was immaculate and charming. Cobblestone streets. It almost looked
like Greece to me. We had lunch at the town's only restaurant, it was very very hot at noon in the sun. There is a cute little lodging there, Casa de
Ana, with charming little casita you could stay in with an outdoor dining room. After lunch, Oscar showed us the gardens behind the mission planted
initially by the padres. They are all overgrown but beautiful that way. He showed us the 300-year-old olive tree planted at the founding of the
mission and the original stone aquaducts that are still there. There were millions of butterflies and it was lovely and cool. After that, we left San
Javier and drove back down the canyon. The Sierra Gigante scenery was spectacular. We stopped at the tiny ranch owned by Oscar's girlfriends'
padrinos. The rancher told Ana that he had been given the ranch 15 years ago as thanks for being the mayor of San Javier, or something like that, we
didn't exactly understand what he meant. (more in part 3)
marla - 4-18-2005 at 04:28 PM
Trip report part 3
The kids absolutely loved being on the little ranchito. There were chickens and baby chicks and a big tom turkey and goats. The purpose for our visit
was so the kids could milk a goat. We went into the goat pen, there were about 2 dozen goats there but only 2 were ready to be milked. At first the
kids did not want to have anything to do with milking, and then they were unable to get any milk out, but when they finally did they were thrilled.
The milk did not always end up in the bucket, and the milk they got ended up being fed to the dog because it was contaminated, but it was a great
experience for them. Then, the family showed the kids how they make cheese out of the milk they just got. They made the cheese right there on the
spot. The kids also played with the baby chicks and a puppy and had short mule rides around the farmyard. All in all it was a very successful visit
which was ironic because I had been worried the kids would be miserable stuck in a hot car all day. We got back down from the mountain with no more
flat tires in the late afternoon and immediately jumped in the pool and stayed there until dark. Great day! Although my 4Runner could have gotten to
San Javier faster, it was much more fun going with Oscar who was himself raised on a goat farm. Luckily for me Ana speaks fluent Spanish so she was
able to translate. Also I would not have known about the beautiful mission garden, which was hidden, without Oscar. The following day, Saturday, Ana
took the kids at dawn to the marine where they hired a fisherman to take them out for a couple hours. The kids caught the first fish of their lives
and they were absolutely thrilled. They brought the fish back and the restaurant fried them up for dinner. Ana and her son Jackson had to get on a
plane and go home then, sigh, while Michael and Sandy and I had one more night and left early the next morning. We met quite a few nice people and I
still need to go back, because being sick meant I didn't have time to do much exploring of the town nor did I get a chance to meet Julie as I had
planned. We're already thinking about when we can go back! I felt a pang lying around the pool ordering from the pool waiter, thinking maybe I am
getting old and soft and I should be primitive camping. But it felt really really good to watch that pina colada arrive frosty on a tray. Sigh. Also
it was so low maintenance and kid friendly that I couldn't imagine a better time. Some people had questioned whether we could find enough to do in
Loreto for a week and my answer is Yes!!! Now I am just trying to figure out how I can move there