A trip to Loreto, Baja California, delivers whales, cave paintings and history
By MARLENE MARTIN
Original Article Special to The Monterey, California,
County Herald
Posted: 05/02/2013 02:00:29 PM PDT
Updated: 05/06/2013 12:16:27 PM PDT
Reblogged on ExperienceBaja
For whales of adventures, let’s go to Loreto, Baja California, guided by Jerry Loomis, a retired Point Lobos, California ranger, and Dana Jones, a California State Parks superintendent. In addition to the often-friendly gray whales, we will see blue, fin and humpback whales — and much more. You won’t believe what our brown pelican does in sunny Mexico. Apparently unsuccessful with online dating, they spiff up and head south where they sport burnt umber Mohawks and orange pouches — their dating plumage. This is a romantic area for other birds as well, for example, blue footed boobies and frigates. The mangroves and rocky shores lining the inlets are a Noah’s ark of species.
The dozen in our group includes people who have gone for a decade. John Steinbeck will come too, via his novel “Log from the Sea of Cortez.” While visiting in March 1940, he wrote: “We were eager to see this town … where the inhospitality of Lower California had finally been conquered and a colony has taken root.”
Getting to Loreto from Monterey took Steinbeck 10 days on The Western Flyer. We’ll need two air hours from Los Angles. Loreto has evolved from the friendly town that welcomed Steinbeck to a town that welcomes tourists to enjoy nature, food, music, ancient cave paintings and the oldest of the California Missions, the beautifully restored Our Lady of 
Loreto, founded in 1697.
We’ll stay at the casual, colorful La Damiana Inn, a 10-minute walk to the water. Accommodations and restaurants are plentiful. While fishing is important here, the economically big fish — tourists — come from around the globe.
A major goal is to cozy up to whales. So, let’s drive two hours across Baja’s rugged mountains, admire the desert vegetation, then hop into a 30- foot panga (boat) and head to Pacific waters. We’ll enjoy Loreto later.
To view an ExperienceBaja video of Whale Watching, please paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHF6b0hjf-w
While fishing is important here, the economically big fish — tourists — come from around the globe.
A major goal is to cozy up to whales. So, let’s drive two hours across Baja’s rugged mountains, admire the desert vegetation, then hop into a 30- foot panga (boat) and head to Pacific waters. We’ll enjoy Loreto later.
Other days, we’ll explore inland. The Sierra la Giganta mountain range, 9 miles from Loreto, has stunning abstract figures in vivid colors — paintings that date back 10,000 years created by unknown artists. More spectacular paintings are a couple hours north in caves. Well worth the trek via four-wheel drive, these paintings include human figures as well as birds and reptiles. An hour ride inland leads to charming old mission villages like San Javier with its restored church and century-old irrigation system. This arid world with its astonishing desert vegetation adds another facet to our Baja adventure. Seven decades after Steinbeck’s visit this is still a wonder-filled world.
Marlene Martin is an English instructor at Monterey Peninsula College. Her composition students helped edit this article.
