Loreto On Your Own

Getting Around

Your ship will drop anchor in the harbor, and your ship's tender will drop you off at the Loreto Pier. The tenders will run back and forth throughout the day.

Loreto is a small town, and it's very easy to get around the town on foot.

There's no reason to rent a car, as almost all venues around the town are easily accessible by taxi.

Taxis from the Loreto pier to the Loreto Bay Golf Club will run around $15.

Shopping

The quiet streets of downtown Loreto are lined with a number of boutiques where you'll find interesting Mexican arts and crafts. Many shops specialize in productos artisanias, or hand-made arts and crafts produced in various regions of Mexico.

Loreto's shopping district follows along the pedestrian zone on Calle Salvatierra, where there are several souvenir shops and other stores.

What's Special in Loreto

In Loreto, you'll find genuine silver jewelry, paintings, fine textiles from the mainland, ceramics, wood sculptures, blown glass, metal work and furniture.

Don't hesitate to ask questions about the piece or pieces that you want to buy, or to bargain with the local vendors, as this is how it's done in Mexico.

Recommended Shops in Loreto

El Alacran
El Alacran sells an interesting assortment of folk art, jewelry and sportswear.
Located on Calle Salvatierra.

La Iguana
Specializing in folk art objects.
Located on Paseo Hidalgo. Open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm daily

El Ala
Specializing in arts and crafts.
Located at Salvatierra #14. Open 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm daily.

Baja California Cuisine

Traditional Baja California cuisine consists of simple but nutritious dishes featuring meat (beef or goat), fish, shellfish and beans.

Regional Specialties of Baja California Expect to find the following dishes in traditional Baja cuisine; click on the links for the recipes of each dish.

• Gallo Pinto: minced beef with rice, potato and other vegetables served as a hot stew
• Cabrito al pastor: In this common main course, found throughout northern Mexico, a baby goat is cooked to a crisp, juicy perfection on a spit over glowing mesquite coals and served with guacamole, roasted onions, salsa and totopos (crisp tortilla chips).
• Machaca: dried, salted beef that is re-hydrated, lightly roasted over fire, soaked in water to remove the salt and to soften, then pounded to pieces, ideally over a mesquite trunk using a mesquite pole. Then it's put in water again to get out more salt, and finally squeezed and fried in a skillet. A salsa is made with onion, chili, tomato and oregano; the salsa is then mixed into the fried beef, and the whole thing is cooked for about five minutes. Most people expect to eat this dish with wheat tortillas and beans.
• Almegas Tatemadas: especially in Loreto, local clams are cooked by piling dry wood over them, then downing them with hot sauce, cilantro, lemon juice and salt.
• De Apoyo cheese: a dry cheese especially good for grating, produced mostly during the rainy season
• Chimangos: wheat-flour fritters topped with honey

Loreto Cuisine

Loreto restaurants are known for seafood dishes. Loreto is a fishing village, and the fishermen provide the city's restaurants with fresh, prime quality seafood cooked in a Loreto style.

Restaurants

Recommended Restaurants in Loreto

Mita Gourmet
Mexican
Serves a varied menu, from lobster ($25) to enchiladas ($6). The restaurant has "a quiet sophistication with a definite local flavor."
Located across from Loreto's City Hall.

Canipole
Mexican
The oldest restaurant in Loreto, reputed to serve the most authentic of Loreto cuisine. Features Mexican specialties, including moles ($12).
Located in a courtyard near the tower of The Mission of Loreto.

Cafe Ole
Mexican
A restaurant featuring an extended outdoor porch and a tiny kitchen, where they prepare excellent home-style cooking. Cash only, beer only, no reservations.
Located a block from the City Hall, by the port in Loreto's "historic district."

Chile Willie Restaurant Bar
Mexican
Offering Loreto's only waterfront tables, Chile Willie is the perfect place to take in the colors of sunset. MasterCard and Visa, full bar, no reservations.
Located at Lopez Mateos and Padre Kino, north end of Malecon.
Tel: (613) 135-0677

Loreto Islas
Seafood
They serve fresh local seafood, including local clams, scallops and the famous local Cabrilla. Also home to an art gallery, the Palma Roja Gallery. Entrees run from $8 to $10. Full bar.
Located at Salvatierra and the Malecon.
Tel: (613) 135-2341

Activities

Diving, Snorkeling, Kayaking & Whale Watching

• Arturo's Sports Fishing. Arturo's offers diving, snorkeling, kayaking and whale-watching tours in season. They can also provide a boat excursion to Coronado Island for snorkeling and scuba diving. On Calle Hidalgo between the main plaza and the Marina.
  Tel: (613) 135-0766
• Dolphin Dive Center. Loreto's premier PADI International Resort Operator. They also do whale watching tours in season (December through March). Located 1/2 block from the Marina.
  Tel: (613) 135-1914

Fishing

There are a number of companies that do fishing charters; the following are recommended:

• Alfredo's Fleet. Located on Boulevard Benito Juarez across from the marina, has several veteran guides.
  Tel: (613) 135-0165
• Arturo's Sports Fishing. On Calle Hidalgo between the main plaza and the Marina.
  Tel: (613) 135-0766
• Baja Big Fish Company On Calle Benito Juarez, two blocks from the waterfront.

Golf

The area's only golf club is the Loreto Bay Golf Club at Nopolo Bay, about 5 miles south of Loreto. Designed by renowned architects Mario Shjetman Danton and Pedro Guereca, the course features numerous sand traps and two beautiful lakes that create obstacles to put any golfer's skill to a real test. The course travels along the Sea of Cortez coastline, naturally blending into the surrounding desert and the Sierra de la Giganta mountains. Club rental and carts available.
Tel: (613) 133-0554

Museums

Mision Nuestra Senora de Loreto
Plaza Juarez
Loreto's historic Mision Nuestra Senora De Loreto was founded in 1697 by Jesuit priests and was the first mission in the Californias. The church, rebuilt after an earthquake in the late 1800s, gradually fell to ruins but was reconstructed once again in 1955. The bell tower, located on Calle Salvatierra, was a later addition to the original mission design.

Museo de las Misiones
Plaza Juarez
Extending off the west side of Mision Loreto is Museo De Las Misiones, featuring displays ranging from pre-colonization indigenous times through the mission period. Also has religious art and saddles from the colonial period. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Admission is around $3.