Page 118 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

settlement in the Californias and is home to the
first mission church in the Californias, built in 1697.
Its unassuming center is dominated by the modest
church, government buildings and a few good
restaurants and shops. A line-up of homes and small
hotels face the sea, with more low structures clus-
tered behind, backed by the steep mountain peaks.
Despite the efforts of government agencies and
private developers over the decades, Loreto re-
mains an unpretentious spot. It receives sporadic
flights from California and Arizona, with occasional
bursts in service when a new development is seek-
ing buyers. There are a couple of golf courses on
the outlying areas, and a luxury, all-inclusive resort
claims one of Baja's loveliest bays at Danzante. But
the dusty back streets we roamed along felt like a
throwback to the Eighties and Nineties. Ladies in
cotton dresses swept outside the front doors of
simple homes. Men rode about in dirt-streaked
trucks (it's impossible to keep vehicles clean in
Baja), and drowsy dogs loped along the street. At
the plaza, folkloric dancers enticed cruisers into
performing on stage, while vendors sold souvenirs
beneath a shady arbor. We sampled some tangy
shrimp aguachile and fought the heat with sweet
limonadas, then headed back to our berth for a cool
siesta.
Guaymas, our first port on the sea's mainland
coast, was a bit of a letdown after sweet Loreto.
The port city in northwest Mexico is best known by
vacationers for the resorts, marina and fishing at
nearby San Carlos, a popular destination for drivers
from Arizona. Vendors' stands and food carts lined
the parking lot outside the ship, and a school band
with majorettes and marchers performed under the
blazing sun. We wandered inland a couple of blocks
to the rundown center of town, where crumbling
neoclassical buildings abutted simple shops. A
friendly woman wearing a tourist police vest
walked us to a pharmacy for a few supplies, and
then guided us to the main plaza and church. We
were back onboard in less than two hours. We left
the ship once more in Mazatlán for a bodacious
shrimp lunch accompanied by the festive horns
from a local banda troupe at El Muchacho Alegre, a
favorite hangout at the beach. Most of the time we
just explored our floating resort.

118 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022