Day 4 - San Ignacio to Loreto

We got an early start, about 8:30, bundled up for the brisk desert morning, and headed for Santa Rosalia. There were a lot of workers alongside the road today and all waved at us with big smiles as we rode by. The descent into Santa Rosalia was stunning - twisty roads with sandy, barren mountains on both sides with the Sea of Cortez straight ahead. We wandered around Santa Rosalia for awhile after peeling off a few layer of clothes, then headed down the coast. We pulled off into San Bruno for a beverage and pictures, then continued on to Mulege. We filled up with gas, then rode into the town and saw Bill and the crew from the Gato Loco window shopping. We joined Bill, Shirley, Owen, Lisa, and CJ for lunch and shared stories about our Mexico travels. After saying our goodbyes after lunch, we rode up to the misson in Mulege, took pictures of the beautiful views, took off our last layer of outerware, then continued our journey to Loreto. We rode past the beautiful bay of Bahia Conception, looking for Bertha's bar, but could not find it, but plan to look for it again on our return trip. The views in this area were absolutely gorgeous with the turquoise waters and white sand beaches. After the bay, the road veered away from the water and back into the desert, so we just opened throttle and enjoyed the warm ride into Loreto. We checked into La Damiana Inn, met Debora, the owner, and Gerardo, who made us some great margaritas, certainly contenders for our best of Baja search, and sat outside with them, talking and enjoying the afternoon . Carol made friends with Ramona, their 3 month old kitten, who was very content to sleep in Carol's lap. After Steve helped Debora pick some limes off the tree, we ventured out into the city and found our way onto the malecon. Bill had recommended the Mediterranean restarant so we could have a great meal and enjoy the view under the nealy full moon; however, the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. So we stopped at a small place overlooking the malecon for drinks and their margaritas qualified for the worst of Baja, possibly even worse than Hussongs in Ensendada! Then we tried to have dinner at Islas, recommended by Gerardo as a great seafood restaurant, but they were out of fish. We weren't having mucn luck with food, so we stopped at the Mission Hotel for another round of margaritas (did not qualify for the contest), then had just a so-so dinner at LaPalapa. It was time to head back to the hotel to plan our travels for tonorrow.