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Baja
California Sur
Another
rebirth for Loreto
by Jimm Budd
(en español tambien)
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Once again Loreto, in
Baja California Sur, is poised to become a major travel destination. This time,
it might be successful.Residential complexes are
spurring most local growth. Purchasers of residential units will be offered an
opportunity to make them available as hotel rooms when as residents they are
not in residence. Many of the older hotels, such as the legendary Oasis, has
been modernized, but even so, according to Alfredo Rosas, general manager of
the Loreto Bay Company, there are only 700 rooms in the total inventory.
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At
first glance, Loreto development seems to primarily court foreigners, but Mario
Cortès, project manager for the Villa Groupo says that the Mexican market is increasingly
important.
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Prices may be listed in ever
more expensive dollars, yet James Spano, whose company is financing the JW
Marriot Residences, claims that prices in Loreto are half what they are in Los
Cabos.
Strong
emphasis is placed on protecting the environment and on what is called
sustainable development. Aim is to avoid the mistakes made in creating the
first master-planned resort areas.
Fonatur
originally expected Loreto to be every bit as successful as Los Cabos, but that
was some 35 years ago when Cancun, Ixtapa and
Huatulco also were just getting started. Loreto had been the first capital of
the Californias (Alta and Baja) as well as home
of the first of the California
missions. Later, it survived by fishing and wringing salt from the sea.
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Ringed
by the rugged and jagged Sierra Gigante as they tumble into the cobalt blue Sea of Cortes,
the spectacularly beautiful area was discovered by sports fishermen who flew in
aboard their own aircraft before the Transpeninsular
Highway was built.
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To get development
started, Fonatur invested 200 million dollars in infrastructure that included
an airport, tennis center, golf course and that El Presidente hotel. Private
investment was expected to follow. It never did.
Perhaps
the best explanation is the climate. Hundreds of kilometers north of the Tropic
of Cancer, Loreto can be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Travelers
from Mexico
have more appealing options. Only when the idea of building residential
complexes with vacation and/or retirement homes was a market discovered. Even
so, the first developer ran into financial difficulties and ended up being
taken over by a bank that has financial difficulties of its own. Now, however,
at least two groups are bidding for the project, which indicates Loreto still
has ample allure.
Fishing remains the main attraction, with marlin, dolphinfish,
rooster and amberjack awaiting the hook. Vessels available are pangas (22-foot
skiffs). Sporting types admit they are
not as comfortable as cabin cruisers, but far more exciting when it comes to
catching fish.
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Snorkeling and scuba diving are gratifying when the waters are
not too chilly in Concepción
Bay. Pangas takes
passengers out to view the sea lions frolicking near the rocks of offshore Coronado Island.
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All year long, what
sometimes is called the Gulf of California is
like a teeming natural aquarium: dolphins and giant manta rays with 20-foot
wingspans are common sights, as are whale sharks-which are enormous, but
friendly. The gray whales come in the winter to honeymoon but blue whales and
sperm whales can surface and blow any time.
The uninhabited offshore
islands appear to change constantly depending on the sun. They are a
photographer’s delight at sunrise and sunset. The islands are close enough for
the hale and hearty to reach by kayak, although tour boats also are available.
These islands, part of a national park, offer sandy coves, superb snorkeling,
diving, hiking, endless exploring and wilderness camping for the
environmentally correct. The same can be said for the oh-so-close Sierra de las
Gigantas.
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The choice of restaurants
and bars is surprisingly diverse. Seafood is, naturally, the local specialty,
but seafood can be prepared in many, many ways. The recently reopened Hotel
Mision boasts the finest assortment of wines between Los Cabos and Tijuana.
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Loreto has a fascinating
past, and much of it can still be seen, touched, and savored. In 1697, Padre
Juan María de Salvatierra, a Jesuit missionary sailed into the protected bay,
taking ashore a statue of the Virgin of Loreto that can still be seen today in
that first mission that he ordered built.
As the mountains were
explored, a second mission was established in 1758 in a high valley, and the
two became the foundation for a network of 17 missions that eventually
stretched up the length of the 1000-mile peninsula and beyond. The restored
mountain mission still stands in the little village of San Javier,
some 30 kilometers up along a rough, winding earth and sand road.
In the mid 19th
century, immigrants from Britain
and even China
somehow found their way to Loreto. This explains surnames such as Davis, Green
and Drew one encounters in Loreto. The municipal president is Yuan Yee
Conningham. A short course in the history of the area and its mission legacy
can be found right in the heart of town at the Museum of the Missions, a former
storage facility built by the Spanish to house treasure they never found. The
original church has been replaced, but even that story captivates. The old
church was eroded by hurricanes over the centuries, as was the pearl-fishing
industry by over-exploitation, and when the capital of Baja was moved to La
Paz in 1833, the Loreto settlement
diminished dramatically. But something of a miracle occurred more than a
hundred years later that would give the mission site new life.
In 1947, Padre Modesto
Sanchez arrived with a personal vow to rebuild the old church as it originally
had been. The young priest unfortunately had no funds. With only local
volunteer labor, he struggled along for several years, but then miraculously bought
a winning ticket on the National Lottery and devoted the prize money to
rebuilding the church. Today, the tower
of La
Misión de Nuestra Senora de
Loreto dominates the town.
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Otro renacimiento para
Loreto
por Jimm Budd
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| Beach at Loreto Bay |
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Una vez más Loreto,
en Baja California Sur, se prepara para convertirse en un importante destino de
viajes. En esta ocasión podría tener éxito.
Los complejos
residenciales están impulsando la mayor parte del crecimiento del área. A los
adquirientes de unidades se les ofrecerá la oportunidad de ponerlos a
disposición de terceros como cuartos de hotel cuando no estén ocupándolos como
residencias. Muchos de los antiguos hoteles, como el legendario Oasis, han sido
modernizados, pero aun así, según Alfredo Rosas, gerente general de la Loreto Bay Company,
solo hay menos de 500 cuartos en el inventario total.
A primera vista, la
urbanización de Loreto parece dirigida a los extranjeros, pero Mario Cortés,
director del proyecto para el Grupo Villa, dice que el mercado mexicano es cada
vez más importante. Aunque los precios pueden cotizarse en dólares cada vez más
costosos, James Spano, cuya compañía
está financiando las residencias JW Marriot, asegura que los precios en Loreto
son la mitad de los que rigen en Los Cabos.
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En Loreto se hace
hincapié en la protección del medio ambiente y en lo que se llama desarrollos
sustentables. Se procura evitar los errores cometidos al crear las primeras
áreas de resort según un plan maestro.
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La pesca sigue siendo la principal atracción, y parecen
estar esperando el anzuelo trofeos como el marlin, el pez gallo y el dorado.
Las embarcaciones disponibles son las pangas. Los enamorados del deporte
confiesan que no son tan cómodas como los cruceros de cabina, pero mucho más
emocionantes cuando se trata de atrapar peces.
La práctica del snorkel y de la inmersión en scuba son
gratificantes cuando las aguas no están demasiado frías en la Bahía de Concepción. De lo
contrario, si la brisa no está demasiado fuerte, las lanchas sacan a los
pasajeros para que avisten los leones marinos en su jugueteo cerca de las rocas
de la costera Isla Coronado.
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Todo
el año lo que a veces se conoce como Golfo de California es como un acuario
natural en ebullición: Delfines y mantarrayas gigantescas de 20 pies de
envergadura son vistas comunes, al igual que tiburones ballenas, que son
enormes pero amistosos.
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Las ballenas grises
llegan en invierno para cortejarse, pero la ballena azul y la ballena esperma
pueden salir a la superficie y soplar en cualquier momento.
Las islas desiertas
frente a la costa parecen cambiar continuamente según el sol. Son deleite para
el fotógrafo a la salida y a la puesta del sol. Las islas están lo
suficientemente cercanas para que la gente sana y saludable llegue a verlas en
kayak, aunque también hay disponibles botes para excursionistas adictos a la
comodidad. Las islas, parte de un parque nacional, ofrecen cuevas arenosas,
snorkel, buceo, exploración interminable y campamento silvestre para los que
sepan moverse correctamente en el medio ambiente. Lo mismo puede decirse de la
tan cercana Sierra de las Gigantas.
La selección de
restaurantes y bares es sorprendentemente diversa. Los mariscos son desde luego
la especialidad local, y los mariscos pueden prepararse de muchas, muchísimas
maneras. El Hotel Misión, recientemente abierto de nuevo, ha traído su propio
célebre chef, Rodrigo Tapia de Chile, y se jacta de la más fina variedad de
vinos que pueda encontrarse entre Los
Cabos y Tijuana.
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