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Villa del Palmar Loreto

easyrider

easyrider

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
17,363
Reaction score
9,968
Location
Palm Springs of Washinton
Resorts Owned
Worldmark * * Villa Del Palmar UVCI * * Vacation Internationale*
Villa del Palmar Loreto is actually 20 miles or so south of Loreto in a place called Ensenada Blanca. This is where the Sierra Gigante meet the Sea of Cortez. Because of the mountains the resort is somewhat protected from the winds that sweep into Loreto. The resort is very opulent and similar to the newer properties like the Villa del Arco or Flamingos as far as rooms go. The area where the resort has been built is truly beautiful and somewhat remote.

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There are many maintained trails to hike in the hills or beach area. Behind the fitness center and spa are some of the trails.

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The trails have plenty of cactus so wear shoes on the mountain treks. Flip flops work on the beach.

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In the mountains is the Mission of San Javier built in the 1690's. Its a mountain road with shallow river crossings. We drove a compact car.

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San Javier
 
You can get a panga in Ensenada Blanca to pick you up in front of the resort. In Feb the fishing is bottom fishing with an occasional yellow tail. We caught so many fish that my arms were sore. I kept a few fillets but let the panga keep about 99% of the haul.

What was really cool was the whales on the Pacific side. Its about a 45 minute drive to San Mateos where you can actually meet some whales up close.

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We had this whale bump our panga, blow her hole at us and lift us up a bit. For about 20 minutes the moma and her calf just wanted to be petted. The calf was very curious and would flip over to stare at us then swim up to get petted.

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Petting the whale.

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One more whale shot.

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A week isn't enough time for this area. Other things about this resort that a person might need to know is because of the remoteness the ability to change usd to pecos is limited. There is no problem using usd anywhere in the entire region so this might not really matter.

The resort has decent internet. The resort food is great if you enjoy the taste of Mexico. Try the cheesy clams. To buy huge shrimp go to the fishing village and across the street from the mini market lives a man called Martin. His boats and freezer are here. Ask for a kilo of shrimp. These are huge shrimp so in a kilo you might get 45 - 50 shrimp. The next town north is Nopolo and there are a couple of good restaurants here. A bit further north and your in Loreto. Plenty of restaurants and a couple of good grocery stores.

Bill
 
Great pictures! Thanks for posting.:)
 
Great great photos...have been looking at this place for future trade and this makes me look forward to exploring the area.
 
Wow Bill, your pictures and info are just amazing. I really enjoy it when you post after a trip, because you're usually a step ahead of my next stay. I just seem to always follow you to these places and it turns out that I know where to go before I get there, because of your info. Nice job. Thanks again

Terry
 
Terrific pictures! You just made me want to plan a quick trip to Baja California.
 
Awesome! I love mexico and Villa del palmar loreto on my list to got to. Their properties are gorgeous. If only it isn't such a trek to get there from jersey!
 
I am absolutely astounded by the whale-petting pictures. How long were they around for the petting? I so want to go to Loreto--now all I have to do is convince my travel partner! Would you share your travel arrangements getting there & back home? TIA
 
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The airplane we were on was a Horizon Bombardier Q400. This is through Alaska Airlines. This flight only travels to LTO from LAX on certain days of the week. A good idea when booking this flight is to sit near the front of the plane so you will be getting off the plane before others. The reason for this is that at LTO there is only one guy checking passports, one at a time. It took us 45 minutes to get through immigration because we were near the end of the line. Then we had another stop for luggage inspection because of the fishing gear in my luggage. It was a good hour to get out of the airport.

We only flew in and ended up with no other good option but to drive from the resort to Cabo. It was an easy drive, imo. Because of the remoteness of this resort a car is a good idea, however, there is a resort shuttle that drives back and forth from the Hotel Santa Fe in Loreto. The Hotel Santa Fe is a long walk to the malecon but a short ride in a taxi.


Bill
 
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The whales are on the Pacific side in a large salt water lagoon /bay called Magdelena Bay. You travel to a town called Mateos Gomez to the marina and there are many pangas here. The cost of a panga is about $80 usd per hour. I drove and rented a private panga. The tours only allow 6 people on a panga for the most part so the tour from the resort could work pretty good. I believe the resort planned tour includes transportation on a really nice Mercedes shuttle, whale watching and lunch. Im not sure what the policy is on whale petting with the tour. The local pangas that are non tour bought know which whale will be where so if you get there early, like around 10am, the odds increase that the whales will not be burned out on people watching.

Bill
 
When the wales leave it seems that they just got bored. They hang out for about 30 minutes and seem to let everyone say hi. They blow their holes and splash their tails. Petting the whales and looking into the eye of a whale knowing it is looking back is incredible.

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Baby whale saying adios.

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II has it. I traded in last October with Worldmark through II. All inclusive was not required.

Bill
 
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