As we walked by the Catholic Cathedral on the main plaza we noticed a lot of what appeared to be TV production equipment. We asked around and learned that for the last week they have been filming a very popular Mexican soap opera, known in Mexico as a 'novella'. They were waiting for the church to clear out to film a night shoot.
In the early 2000s Brad's Dad had wanted them to invest together in a development near Loreto called Loreto Bay. Later we were glad that we had not taken the step as it went belly up after the downturn in 2007. A few years ago Carlos Slim decided to buy the development and follow up on the original plan. Today it is through the first and second phase with a very nice golf course and a range of housing options. Being a 'heavy-hitter' he also influenced Westjet to redirect their flights from La Paz to Loreto and made many enemies in the expat community at La Paz. All in all, we liked the vibe in Loreto, a very friendly community with lots of recreation and social opportunities.
The next leg of our adventure turned out well, but didn't start out well. Brad had chosen the next hotel in Todos Santos, a very artsy town with great beaches for the surfers. Rather than staying in town he opted for a palapa style surfers hangout at Cerritos beach, about 10 miles out of town. When we finally got there we found ourselves driving down a very rough dirt track through the desert for well over a mile at dusk. By this point I was hangry (hungry and very, very angry).
The whole plan was looking very dicey to me. However, after arriving at the Villas de Cerritos, putting a drink and and a bag of Chitos in my hand, I realised that it wasn't a rat infested hovel in the sand dunes crawling with cockroaches.
I settled down and we had a pleasant day and a half there. The air conditioned bedrooms and bathrooms were spacious, clean and comfortable.
The kitchen was part of an extended outdoor living space that leant itself to beautiful outdoor relaxation under a palapa, coffee in the mornings and evening happy hours. We put a day on the beach in between the two and had a great time.
Cerritos beach was beautiful, the water was clear with a sand bottom and the surfers loved the large waves. Apparently it is the very best (if not the only safe) swimming beach in the whole west coast of the lower Baja.
This was a beautiful hacienda on the hill overlooking the beach.
We drove into Todos Santos, famous for the Eagles' Hotel California album cover. It's a nice, artsy little Mexican town with a unique vibe but overtly commercial aspirations.
The hotel has since been renamed to cash in on its notoriety.
Looking over the extensive selection of restaurants in town it was apparent that there was something for everyone in Todos Santos. We had some great fish tacos at reasonable price in a little restaurant near the center but overall we found the shops a little pushy and the prices a little high.
We thought the next day we should check out Cabo San Lucas while were here, even though there wasn't too much we were interested in. We drove through on our way to La Paz the next morning and activated Brad's Mexican cell. It did not make sense to continue with the AT&T plan when a CAD $15/ month Telcel plan covered all of North America for unlimited talk and text as well as 1.5 Gb of data. Makes Telus/Rogers/Bell look like opportunistic monopolies pillaging trusting Canadian customers. Oh yeah, they are.
We didn't give Cabo a fair shot but it just seemed to be a big American city with lots of construction and expensive appetites. We headed to La Paz to connect with a friend and coworker who had had a home there for many years and a wealth of information on the city. The plan was to spend a couple of days with her and her husband, then board the ferry to Mazatlan where we could continue down the Mexican mainland.
More about La Paz and our ferry trip to come. Hasta mas tarde: B&L
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