In 1697, an Italian Jesuit landed on this arid coast with a handful of men and founded the first permanent mission in the Californias. Everything that followed — the royal roads, the missions from San Diego to San Francisco — started here. Loreto, today a peaceful town on the Sea of Cortez, keeps a quiet pride in this history and an old centre that can be explored entirely on foot.

Arriving by Sea

Ships anchor offshore and tender their passengers to the municipal pier at the northern end of the malecón. The waterfront promenade sets the tone for the day: fishers unloading their pangas, pelicans on patrol and, in the background, the blue silhouettes of the islands of the national marine park. The historic centre begins five minutes' walk away, on flat, shaded streets. Depending on the season, a few pleasure sailboats share the anchorage with the pangas, a favourite stop for sailors heading down the peninsula.

The Mother Mission of the Californias

The church of Nuestra Señora de Loreto raises its stone bell tower above the main square. The inscription above the portal presents it as "head and mother of the missions of Lower and Upper California" — a title no other sanctuary on the continent can claim. Inside, a gilded altarpiece and stony coolness; right next door, the Missions Museum displays tools, sacred art and documents of the Jesuits that tell the improbable story of the colonization of this desert. The whole — sanctuary, museum, square — can be visited in two or three hours without rushing.

Around the Square

The Plaza Cívica and nearby streets invite you to slow down: arcades, century-old ficus trees, artisan galleries offering silverwork, ceramics and textiles from the mainland. Downtown restaurants serve the regional specialty, almejas chocolatas — large clams with chocolate-brown shells — grilled with garlic or in ceviche. A break in the shade with a coffee from the sierra is enough to understand the local rhythm, that of a town where everyone greets each other and the siesta still has its rights. During long port calls, the square comes alive late in the day with musicians and families out enjoying the cool air.

The Marine Park and Coronado Island

Facing the village, Loreto Bay National Park protects five islands inscribed on the World Heritage List. The closest, Coronado Island, shows a volcanic profile flanked by coves of almost-white sand where sea lions bask. Panga excursions devote half a day to it, combining boating, snorkelling and light walking. The park's waters are among the richest in the gulf: dolphins almost guaranteed and, in late winter, the passage of the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet, which biologists come to study here every year.

For History Buffs

Travellers with a long port call can venture to Mission San Javier, 35 kilometres into the sierra along a spectacular mountain road. This 18th-century volcanic-stone building, considered the best preserved of the peninsula's religious establishments, requires about three hours round trip by road: best kept for days when the ship stays late at anchor. Along the way, the road passes palm oases where vines and olives are still grown using methods introduced three centuries ago.

One Last Stroll on the Malecón

Before taking the tender back, one last walk along the waterfront is a must, when the low-angled light gilds the islands. Loreto makes no noise: it lines up three centuries of history, a protected sea and a village that lives on a human scale. Port calls like this are becoming rare, and this one stays in your memory precisely because it doesn't try to hold on to you.