Baja Road Trip, Mulege to Loreto

Wednesday, January 6th, Mulege to Loreto

We eat a hearty breakfast at a cafe around the corner; cappuccinos, fresh pastries, omelets and burritos. The coastal drive along Sea of Cortez is breathtaking; offshore islands, intoxicating turquoise water and sandy coves. The scenic road winds along the Bay of Conception. We stop at one camping playa and a man approaches us asking if we would like to motor out to the islands. We decline for lack of time, but this looks like an amazing place to spend a few days. 

We need to get our tourist visas in Loreto and when we called La Damiana Inn to confirm our reservations, we are told that the visa office closes at 1:00 P.M. We pull into Loreto about 11:30 A.M. find the tourist office with difficulty and pay for our visas. The price for 4 visas is $295 pesos each and after we all fill out the forms, I pass the official 1200 pesos. I wait for the 20 pesos in change but he is not forthcoming with the change so we leave, happy to finally have our visas and chalk it up to a small bribe. 

The Damiana Inn is funky but charming.  We are on the second floor, up a somewhat treacherous stairway but with John and Will as our “Sherpa’s,” carrying the luggage is left to them. We have two connected rooms, colorfully decorated and a shared bathroom. There is a separate sitting area shared by other guests on the second floor, but there are no other guests so we have the sitting area to ourselves. The cheerful and helpful owner, Donna shows us the lay out of the inn and the boys immediately take up residence in two of the garden’s hammocks. Art parks our car in the secure courtyard and stashes his bicycle safely upstairs and we all head out together to explore Loreto. The Mission is just a block away. It is the first of all of the missions and the beginning of the Camino Real. 

We part ways with the boys and Art and I eat lunch at a recommended corner restaurant. It takes entirely too long for our salads to arrive although they are tasty enough. After our late lunch, I want to stroll the tourist shops and Art wants to go on a bike ride around the town but we have plans to all meet at 5:00 P.M. at the Oasis Restaurant and Bar at the end of the Malecon.  I’m happy to be on my own but am soon bored with the tourist shops but see a photography shop at the far side of the main plaza. It belongs to Rick Jackson, acquaintances of mine from the Harvest Festivals in years past. I pop in to say hello but Rick is closing his shop early to go to a party and suggests that we meet at the Oasis later tonight. 12 years ago, Rick and Jill bought property in Loreto and have been developing their B & B ever since. I look forward to connecting with them this evening and head back to the Damiana Inn to shower and change. 

As I head back, John and Will, freshly showered, are just exiting the inn. As I dress, Art enters the room, sweaty from his bike ride and takes his turn in the shower. Shortly after 5:00 P.M. we walk together along the Malecon to the Oasis Restaurant and Bar.  Although we can’t see the sunset, it casts a rosy glow over the offshore islands and the ocean shimmers a steely reflective blue. We find a table on the patio of the Oasis beside a party of 4 seasoned Baja travelers or residents. The smoke from their cigarettes drifts our way along with threads of their conversation. They are from Florida and not of our tribe but I somewhat enjoy the rare second hand smoke, the rosy glow of the mountains and the warm glow of the margaritas that we are sipping on the edge of the Sea of Cortez. Jill and Rick do not appear but when the all one can eat, Wednesday night buffet is set up, the 4 of us secure a table inside and enjoy a remarkably delicious dinner of salad and pasta, cooked to order.  When I check e-mail later, there is an e-mail from Jill apologizing for not meeting with us at the Oasis.