Tinbergs on Tour: Thursday, February 16, 2017–Loreto, Mexico–Sunny

Distance from Guaymas, Mexico to Loreto, Mexico: 114 Nautical Miles

Port Information. Loreto was capital of California for 80 years (when California reached all the way to the Oregon Border. A hurricane in 1829 nearly destroyed Loreto and the capital was moved to La Paz. Loreto is home to the oldest Mission in the history of California – the Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto was build in 1697 by an Italian Jesuit Monk. The Mission still sports its original bells.

The most beautiful day of the cruise so far. Blue skies and not a cloud in the sky.

Loreto from the Ship

NOTE: Due to weather conditions in Cabo San Lucas, the itinerary has been changed. Instead of an overnight in Loreta, the ship will sail for Cabo San Lucas at 10:30 PM. Quest will arrive in Cabo at 2:00 PM and the AzaMazing Evening will be held the evening of the 17th instead of the 18th. The ship will overnight in Cabo and leave late at night for San Diego. This will avoid the weather issues in the desert.

There were no tours we wanted to take in Loreto so we will take the tender to town and walk around.

Loreto is a tender port – we hopped on an early tender to town so we could maximize our time there…it is out first time at this port. As the tender pulled away from the ship, I was able to get a good look at our cabin – arrow marks the spot.

I also got a picture of Ellen on our crowded tender.

On Our Way to Loreto

I got some great shops of the Quest at Anchor from the tender.

At the entrance to the harbor at Loreto, there is a very interesting statue of a sea lion.

From the tender pier I was able to get a nice picture of the ship out in the harbor.

Loreto has been slowly developed by the government into a resort locaton – it has a new Malecon and several new condos and hotels along the beach.

On the Malecon, we came across a fantastic statue of a shark – just had to document that.

The Loreto Shark

Many of the towns in Mexico are now installing signs with their town’s name – a great option for picture taking.

Loreto has a pedestrian walkway lined with shops and restaurants. I was able to use the facilities at one bar.

Pedestrian Walkway

Beyond the tourist section, the town resembles a typical small Mexican village. We walked a few blocks into the actual town. Ellen was able to find lip balm at a Mercado for $2.70 and was able to charge it for the best exchange rate.

I’m not sure of the occasion, but the town set up chairs and tents and put on a folkloric show involving dancing girls. It was a pretty entertaining show.

We looked around for a spa or estetica salon for some pampering but the only option in this town was the Spa at the Hotel La Posada. The Spa, recommended by some passengers who had been here before, offered two Body Scrubs and Massages for 1900 Pesos. Based on the 20 to 1 exchange, the pampering will cost about $95 for the both of us. A little pricey for Mexico but it is a fancy hotel and spa. The sessions were very nice. Perhaps the hotel will have some competition the next time we visit this port.

Loreto boasts the oldest mission in California. It has no doubt been renovated over the years.

The First Mission in California (Baja included)

We didn’t get back from Loreto until around 2 PM so all there was to eat was salad and a pretzel. That works for me.

We went to the Discoveries Dining Room for Dinner mainly because they offered Gazpacho. I also ordered the Yellow Fin Tuna Asian Style. Both the soup and entre were very good.

Topping off our day in Loreto was a beautiful Sunset.

Tonight is the White Nights Party. We scored great seats on a couch on Deck 10. We were far enough away from the barbecue smoke and had a great view. The pre-show was the usual folkloric put on by the locals. This show was pretty good with a lot of synchronized dancing, Some of the dancers came up to the upper deck.