Follow Me to Loreto, Mexico!
When anyone mentions Loreto, many people confuse it with Laredo, Texas. Loreto, a city on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, is a small town with less than 15,000 people. Unlike other popular Mexican vacation destinations, the land is undeveloped and uncommercialized. Until recently the city’s only international airline service was from Los Angeles on a small Alaska Airlines plane. Anthropologists consider Loreto to be the oldest human settlement on the Baja Peninsula. Home to a number of volcanic islands, lagoons, and wetlands, Loreto has more than 80 percent of all aquatic animals found in the Pacific Ocean and is designated by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site. To help attract more visitors to this “new” destination, the area’s largest resort, The Villa del Palmar, has been upping its foodie game in hopes of putting Loreto on the map. Their most recent foodie event was a Celebrity Pastry Week, which ran from June 4-June 9th. You can find my article recapping Celebrity Pastry Week on The Daily Meal here and here.
How gorgeous is this view? This is actually the view from the 17th hole at the Villa del Palmar Loreto golf course. Despite not being an avid golf fan, I couldn't be more in awe at this beautiful course designed by renowned golf course designer, Rees Jones. It doesn't take a golfer to appreciate the sheer beauty of the design.
The Danzante Bay Golf Course incorporates nature throughout the course. With each hole, guests golf by the desert, valleys, mountains, and the ocean. The golf course is not fully completed yet, but will be by November of this year.
Carlos, our tour guide, took us on a morning hike to overlook the entire resort. He taught us about local argricultre, cacti species, and other fun factoids about Loreto. He even taught me some survival skills, which I know I would not be able to perform if it came down to it. Ha! In the picture above, he's standing in front of an ancient cave painting that was also on the resort property near the approximately two mile hike we did.
This was my room view at the Villa del Palmar. It's the largest resort in the area. The resort is tucked in a private cove overlooking the Sea of Cortez with five pools that make up the shape of a turtle if you take an aireal shot. Can you see it from here? I should have taken a photo from higher up.
One of the most memorable and enjoyable parts of the trip was doing yoga at 7am overlooking the beach. The view was spectacular enough to make me want to exercise, which is not an easy feat!
I learned how to do a "Tiger's Pose."
One of the main attractions for Loreto is whale watching. Whale season is typically mid-December and end of March. Unfortunately, I did not visit during whale watching season. The area is a known for frequent sightings of gray, blue, and humpback whales. There's also dolphins too, which unfortunately, were not out during my boat trip. Here's a quick video of what I saw on my snorkel.
Jacques Cousteau referred to Loreto as the “Aquarium of the World.” There's also many people fishing on the boats. If you catch any fish, the restaurants at Villa del Palmar has a service where they will cook it for you.
(Click on each square above to enlarge the photos!)
Kayaking in the waters of Danzante Bay and the Sea of Cortez was easy since the waters were so calm. The Villa del Palmar also has night time paddle boarding where the board has LED lights so you can see the marine life under you. I really wish I was able to do that, but the resort said that the night winds were too rough to do so. If any of you visit, do make sure to book that and tell me how it is. That was my biggest regret from this trip.
Making a stop in Downtown Loreto was one of the other highlights of my trip. The beautiful cobblestone floors, overarching trees, lined by uncommericalized shops and old architecture were an absolute sight to behold. Of course, I had found a taco stand and promptly ordered myself a street taco. But what is Loreto's must-order dish?
One of the area's highlights are the “chocolate clams.” Unfortunately chocolate clams are not chocolate flavored. The clams are named for the dark color of their shell. They are usually eaten raw or topped with melted cheese and garlic, amongst various other savory toppings.
The Villa del Palmar Loreto is the area's largest resort. It's located approximately 40 minutes outside of downtown. If I had to compare it to other more popular Mexican vacation destinations, I would say it has the culture of Mexico without the college Spring Break party vibe.
The beds are made like this every night. I always love towel animals when I travel.
Breakfast vibes from the Villa del Palmar.
217 Likes, 7 Comments - Kristie Hang (鈺儀) (@kristiehang) on Instagram: "Spanish coffee. 🔥 ☕️"
To see all my social media posts from Loreto, make sure to hop on over to my Instagram and give it a follow!
The Villa del Palmar at the Islands of Loreto is located at 84, Calle Carretera Transpeninsular, Residencial Loreto, 23099 Loreto, B.C.S., Mexico. They are an all inclusive resort with different packages that guests can buy. +52 613 134 1010.
Website: http://www.villagroupresorts.com/resorts/villa-del-palmar-loreto
