Loreto is a small town in western Mexico.
It is on the east side of the Baja California Peninsula.
It was founded on October 25th, 1697 by Jesuit Missionaries when they discovered a steady stream of fresh water in the area.
In the town centre is the Mission de Nuestra Senora de Loreto, a 17th century church.
Loreto was the first successful Spanish town and mission in Baja California.
For some strange reason, when I saw these statues I couldn't help but think of the expression "I'm with the government and I am here to help."
The town of Loreto has a cute little historic district with tourist shops and restaurants.
One day when we went into town we were surprised it was really busy with gringos. We discovered that this small town warrants a stop by cruise ships!
Moving inland to the west is the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range. (More great photos of the mountains later in a post about hiking.)
To the east is the Gulph of California.
Loreto is located on one of Mexico's most important marine reserves, the Baha de Loreto National Marine Park and is home to over 800 species of fish and marine life, including dolphins, whales and pelicans.
We were there in January so we were too soon to see the whales when they come into the area for calving. But we did see lots of birds, especially pelicans.
We stayed in Loreto Bay, a very small village, about 15 minutes drive south of the town of Loreto.
Loreto Bay is a small community with little tuck shops and a handful of restaurants.
There were a lot of west coast Canadian and American license plates on cars. We even saw licence plates from Alaska! Definitely a spot for northern snowbirds to hangout and get away from cold northern winters.
Being January it was still cool with lows of about 14C/57F to highs of about 20C/68F. (I know, I know.... everything is relative....)
Most casas in Loreto Bay village have a 3rd story viewing tower for awesome views.
I think the area is beautiful.
Desert. Mountains. Water. Blue skies. What's not to fall in love with? (And for those of you that love golf, there's another reason!)
BTW - These are not my legs, these are John's legs - in case you were wondering if I was going feral in our vagabond gypsy lifestyle.
Many thanks to Jim and Suma for flying down from Calgary, Canada to join us on our Loreto adventures.
Loreto is a small town in western Mexico. 
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