Our annual trip to Loreto - September/October 2010

Pretty much every year since we took possession of our new home in Loreto Bay in September 2007 my husband and I have been driving down to Loreto from San Diego once a year for our vacation in beautiful Loreto - our heaven on earth. In 2008 we actually went twice which was such a treat. Usually we stay for 2-3 weeks but this year we stayed for five weeks and still were not ready to come back. People ask us what we do all day. We are actually pretty busy! Here is a typical day: have coffee and watch the news on the morning, make breakfast, clean up, going for a walk on the beach and golf course with my dog, check my emails, go boating or hang out on the beach and go paddle boarding, swimming, etc, make lunch, walk to the store to get necessary items such as pacificos and ice, go to town to the market or do some shopping, back to the beach, make dinner or have dinner with friends, do the dishes and call it a day!

On Sunday's there is a great Farmer's market in the arroyo where you can get wonderful freshly grown veggies, meats, cheese, and shrimp! The Farmer's market also has other types of "swap meet/garage sale" items too - which can be kind of handy if your coffee maker breaks and you need a new one or you need to replace some pots or pans. I do wish the farmer's market had more hand crafted on local artisan products.

This last trip, we took another couple with us who stayed with us for a week. My husband and his friend drove down from San Diego and I flew from LAX with his wife. The drive is a two day drive and I usually have to pump myself up for the drive with was surprised when I felt disappointed that I would miss the drive down. I realized what I would be missing not only the beauty of the landscape after El Rosario but the time that me and my husband share is a very special experience. The drive is somewhat of an adventure and it is a neat feeling that you do it together and work as a team with your husband for a successful trip. When I saw my husband’s face at the airport to pick me up I was SO HAPPY! We had a great time with our friends and this was the first time for our friend's wife to Loreto. It was great showing them all the treasures of Loreto and seemed they were leaving before we knew it.

Two days later, our very good friends and neighbors came down for another week. They have been hearing us talk about Loreto for years and we had a GREAT time with them. As soon as they got back they started planning their next trip to their new favorite place on earth.

After our second set of friends left, my mom came from Los Angeles for a visit and stayed for 7 days. She hasn't been to the Loreto Bay development since 2007 when there was a TON of construction, hundreds of workers, no landscaping, rebar and tile pieces everywhere so she was so happy to see the development in its current state. My mom said it turned out so much nicer than she could have ever imagined, so that made me happy. We all bought the home together in 2004 so needless to say have been through ALOT.

We did all the fun things in Loreto with mom, fishing, snorkeling, drinks at La Mission, lunch at Vista al Mar, Sunday Farmers market, a little shopping, swimming in the founder's pool, and kicking it beachside with lots of new friends under the palapas while gazing out upon the gorgeous Sea of Cortez. One thing my mom did not join us on was our first hike up into Tabor Canyon. This is a canyon across from the entrance to Puerto Escondido. The canyon is about a 1 1/2 hour hike with large bowls that were once filled with lots of water but this time of the year or possibly due to a very dry rainy season, only had a couple of small pools of water that were not suitable for dipping your big toe in. However, water or no water, the scenery was beautiful! The walls were so high and even though it was about 95 degrees it felt somewhat cooler because of all the shade provided by the very steep canyon. We met some people that had hiked Tabor canyon in April and they said it was filled with water and they were jumping off 15 foot cliffs into very deep pools. I saw the pictures to prove it!

After Mom left, we had no more guests! It was fun to have our friends and family visit but we were very happy to have some just me and my husband time for the rest of our stay in Loreto which was about two more weeks. We ended up meeting some wonderful new friends and it was dinner party after dinner party. Everyone we meet there is always very friendly and warm - expect for the man who yelled at me for having my dog off the leash on the golf course walking trail. He was a little over the top, but I put my dog back on her leash and went on my merry way. - After making sure he was okay and didn't have a stroke or anything due to his recent traumatic encounter with my lick your face off doggie.

Shiloh after an active day in the Sea of Cortez

One of my favorite places in Loreto Bay is on the tee boxes that are terraced right on the Sea of Cortez. It is an amazing look out where you can see from Isla Danzante to Isla Cornado. I wish I was there right now.

As the last two weeks came to a close, we realized that yes tomorrow is the day we are driving home. It is always a sad day for me and Loreto is the only place that I have ever visited that when I leave I cry. I am about to cry right now! I actually first came to Loreto when I was a younger girl of 13 in 1980 as an exchange student with Loreto's Sister City, Hermosa Beach. I remembering crying (all the students were crying) when we all got back on the bus heading home. At that time, Loreto didn't have an airport, so we all took a private bus and drove a 24 hour trip on the road through Baja. It was a great adventure that I will NEVER forget. I actually reunited with one of the girls from the family I stayed with this last time in Loreto. Her name is Kelli Davis and owns a real estate company in Loreto called La Giganta Realty. She is very knowledgeable and hard working. I would recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell real estate in Loreto or needs help with immigration or corporations.

As we got on the road with our truck loaded with the dog pulling our boat, we pulled out onto Hwy 1 and drove past the bank at the entrance to Loreto, we saw our good friend Jorge and his son Chaly. We pulled over to say goodbye. It turns out that they were coming to our house to say goodbye so we were really glad to connect before we left. We have known Jorge since 2005 and many of you probably do too as he was always at the Kayak shack doing the kayak rentals. Now his son Chaly runs the shack and Jorge is in the office in town. We said our goodbyes and back on the road. When we left it was unusually cool which made for a great drive through the hottest part of Baja. That night we pulled into our hotel in Catavina - the Dessert Inn. The next day we were on the road again before sun up and made it El Rosario at about 7:30 am. We always stop at this great cafe called Baja's best for coffee and breakfast. We have gone there for 3 years in a row now. In 2007, when we pulled up to the cafe in El Rosario, it was still dark because we left the hotel SUPER early, I realized I did not have my purse and had left it in the hotel room 1 1/2 drive back. So we went back and got it. My passport was in my purse. At least we got it. We were both upset but my husband actually was pretty cool about it. Plus it was my birthday.

The rest of the drive was pretty good except for the roads they were redoing just outside of Ensenda and about the last 25 miles coming into Tecate. We usually cross at the Otay Mesa border crossing but decided to cross at Tecate as the border crossing is way more mellow. Not only were the roads dirt but it was raining very hard which turned the roads into a muddy sloppy mess. We reached the border at about 5 ish, got pulled into secondary as we always do so they can check out our boat, and got home at about 7 that night. We were both very happy to be home and our dog, Shiloh couldn't believe her eyes when she saw our house. We realized that living in Loreto is something we definitely will be shooting for. We love the simplicity of life there which lends itself to living your life in a way that focuses on what should be focused on, family, friends, and living without the distractions of too many choices.

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama
Experience Loreto at Casa de Playita

2010 Mexico Tourism up by 32%

Mexico`s Tourism Sector 2010 Growth

By Theodore Koumelis August 2010 - The number of international tourists reaching Mexico by air experienced a 35.2 percent increase in June 2010 compared with the same month last year marking an impressive first half of the year for the Mexico tourism industry.

During the same period, 818,278 tourists from different nationalities visited Mexico, versus 605,435 who visited in June 2009. Of those, some 573,016 travelers arrived by air from the United States, representing a 23.7 percent growth over June 2009. Even more impressive are the 41,184 tourists that arrived from Canada; 21,322 more than in June 2009 - a whopping increase of 107.4 percent. 

Local farmer's market in Loreto

“We feel these numbers are evidence of the strength and quality of Mexico`s destinations,” said Mexico Secretary of Tourism Gloria Guevara. “Despite all that`s going on in the world today, the traveler knows he or she can come to Mexico and find unique vacation experiences offering not only our famous sun and beach destinations, but the chance for archeological, culinary and artistic experiences as well. Mexico is the only place on the earth where you can experience all that in a single trip.”

Increased Flights - This increased demand for Mexico by American travelers has been reflected in a handful of important new flights to Mexico. AeroMexico, Mexico`s largest transcontinental airline, announced the beginning of its new Monterrey-Miami service effective on June 28, and its new Monterrey-Houston route, which became effective on July 5.



The airline also included summer service between high-demand routes, such as Mexico City to Miami, New York, Orlando and San Antonio; Merida to Miami; Monterrey to San Antonio; Los Angeles to Aguascalientes and Bajio; Chicago to Durango and Guadalajara. In November 2010, British Airways is slated to begin operating the only direct flight between London and Cancun, for which it has already begun selling tickets. Meanwhile, China`s Hainan Airlines will begin flying directly to Mexico City. Other airlines such as US Airways and Frontier Airlines have also created new routes to Mexico, such as US Airways` Charlotte to Los Cabos and Charlotte to Puerto Vallarta; and Frontier`s San Francisco to Los Cabos; San Francisco to Cancun; and Los Angeles to Cancun. Meanwhile, Virgin America has announced their intent to launch new non-stop services from San Francisco to Los Cabos and Cancun, as well as from Los Angeles to Cancun.



Hotel Rooms - Secretary of Tourism Gloria Gueva Manzo recently announced that hotels in Mexico have experienced substantial growth throughout the country. The number of available hotel rooms in Mexico has increased 4.6 percent during the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2009. According to the Datatur System, this growth was recorded in 56 of the 70 destinations that are monitored by this department.




Inn at Loreto Bay Pool

Of those 70 destinations analyzed by Datatur, room availability jumped from 310,391 to 323,916, registering an increase of 13,525 rooms now available for foreign visitors. In these 70 destinations, the number of hotel rooms occupied during the first six months of 2010 was 11.3 percent higher than in the same period of 2009.



This increase in hotel rooms is widespread across Mexico. For example, from January - June 2010, Morelia saw a growth of 19.3 percent in hotel room availability and a 30.2 percent increase in hotel room occupancy compared to January - June of last year. Likewise, Huatulco saw a 9.6 percent growth in hotel room availability and 15.4 percent growth in hotel room occupancy, while Merida experienced a 5.9 percent growth in availability and 6.6 percent growth in occupancy during these same months.

Cruise Ship Passengers - Cruise travel is also booming, witnessing the number of American cruise passengers in the first four months of 2010 increase 6 percent compared to 2009. The rise in Canadian cruise passengers was a healthy 9 percent compared to the same time last year. Today, Mexico has a repetition rate of 95 percent among cruise passengers arriving in Mexico.



Last year, Mexican ports received 5 million cruise passengers. This year, the ports expect to receive nearly 6 million. In fact, some carriers want to increase their presence in order to accommodate the larger demand of cruises into Mexico. In 2009, cruise tourism alone generated an economic spillover into Mexico of 500 million dollars, despite the economic crisis and influenza.



Safe Travels,
Loretanamama
Experience Loreto http://www.casadeplayita.com/

Loreto Fishing Report as of August 11, 2010

Loreto Baja, you best choice for your fishing adventures.



With great weather high temperatures in the 90's, the dorado are starting to make a regular appearance. Also, yesterday, Loreto had the first rain of the season.


Here's a quick snapshot of the beautiful weather in Loreto:

Nolopo Beach with Carmen Island in the background

Sunrise: 6:57 AM

Sunset: 8:04 PM

Barometer: 29.74" Hg

Feels like: 102°

Humidity: 84%

Wind: CLM 0 mph


Last week we had SUPERIOR Dorado fishing, most of the fishing boats caught the limit  (Arturo's crew has fishing licenses so even more Dorados for our anglers)

Most of the big bulls weighed in between 15 pounds to 30 pounds!

Last weekend the local Hunting and Fishing Club in Loreto hosted their annual tournament with 25 fishing teams and the first place went to Fily Diaz and guide name Chapa Quintana with a nice 27 pound dorado. Congratulation Fily and Chapa!! I hope the locals establishments paid tribute to your success with two for ones! or as my neighbor says: two for Juan! Although he may be talking about the local talent if you know what I mean...

Where was I? Oh yeah, the Dorado are biting finally. As of lately, the Dorado are being hooked up by the main marina in Loreto or close to Coronado island. However  outside the Island not a bite, ghost town action. In addition, the reefs near the islands of Carmen and Coronado have major action with the Striped Marlin as they have been putting up a good fight for the anglers.

Lastly, still good Yellowtail fishing in different fishing spots like South of Carmen Island (Punta Baja), with great size from 24 to 40 lbs. These same spots are catching Cabrilla and Grouper.

Average per boat 3 pieces.

Here are a couple good sports, Barry Boatman on the left and Wesley Boatman on right.

Here's the scoop on bait:
Mackerel in front of Loreto or Coronado Island and sardine is available in the marina.



Truthful Fishing Report in Loreto Baja, Mexico

Arturo’s Sport Fishing Fleet

Licensed dealer at Hotel La Pinta, at Inn Loreto Bay Hotel
http://www.arturosport.com/
arturossport@prodigy.net.mx
Phone 011-52-613 - 135 - 07 - 66
Fax 011-52-613 - 135 - 00 - 22

For a great rental in Loreto, check out http://www.casadeplayita.com/

Safe Travels,
Loretanamama

Loreto Fishing Report July 24, 2010

Yellowtail, Yellowtail Yellowtail! Still catching yellowtail this time of the year on the reef 50’ north of Carmen Island. All boats bringing in good daily catches and some fishing boats are coming in with 4 to 10 nice yellows weighing between 20-35 lbs! Anglers are  using a 60 to 80 pound leader line on the head because this place is not very deep not to mention the coral reef that snaps lines like construction worker. Believe it or not you can find Dorados near of the reef at the Islands as well. Most are showing up with a weight from 12 to 20 lbs. Below are anglers John Scheenstra left and his son with a Striped Marlin. They fished with expert  fishing Guru, Arturo.

 For Bait use Mackerel: Available on Coronado or from Loreto, catching your own or buy it early morning at the marine, at the price of 10 pieces for $ 15.00 U.S. and 20 pieces for $ 25.00 U.S.
Truthful Fishing Report in Loreto Baja, Mexico.
Arturo’s Sport Fishing Fleet http://www.arturosport.com/
reservations@arturosport.com
Phone 011-52-613 - 135 - 07 - 66
Loreto Vacation Rental