Laid Back Loreto, Mexico
- John Zuchero
- Jan 14
- 9 min read
Welcome back! Thanks for joining us again, or if you’re new, welcome!
We’re spending the winter on the Baja Peninsula in a planned community called Loreto Bay near the tiny dusty town of Loreto. But before we talk about that we want to just mention our Christmas vacation.
We flew into the Burbank, California airport. Many of you may remember Johnny Carson jokingly referring to "Beautiful Downtown Burbank.” It might be beautiful, but let’s just say the airport is a lot smaller than Los Angeles (LAX) airport and so much more pleasant.
John’s son Andrew, his wife Samantha, and grandson Wild live in Topanga Canyon and we stayed at an Airbnb a short walk away while John’s other son, Brad, his wife Joy and two kids Alexa and Alden stayed at Andrew and Sam’s Airbnb. We had a great “Feast of the Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve and a great pork crown roast (Brad’s super dish) while sharing the last bottle of John’s #1 Barolo from the “Quest of the Holy Barolo.”
Feasting on fried smelts Brad with his crown roast The grand-kids on Christmas
But, besides family fun, we wanted to tell you about our night at the Magic Castle. The Magic Castle is an exclusive private club for members of the Academy of Magical Arts. You have to be a member or know someone who is a member to get invited in. John has wanted to go there since forever!
Andrew and Sam knew someone who knew someone who knew a member and got us a guest invitation. So, one Sunday night, we four got dressed up (that’s the rules: “conservative, formal and elegant attire”) and drove to Hollywood for dinner and magic! The interior of the castle looks like an old mansion with burnished wood walls and little rooms tucked throughout the three stories and basement.
The Dining Room The Main Stairway A Theater
After dinner we went to our first show that had a pair of Argentine magicians, Facundo Daelli and Santiago Mouradian. Or “Ilusionistas” as they’re called in their native country.
Of course, since we had front row seats, we inevitably ended up being part of the act. John, who always seems to become part of any act, was first up providing a $10 bill on which he wrote his initials. After some prestidigitation, the magicians cut open an orange that had an egg inside. Inside the egg there was a walnut. When the walnut was cracked open…viola! John’s $10 bill was inside. Later, Andrew was called upon to inspect a large wooden box and then, with the help of another volunteer, lift one of the magicians inside. After some hocus pocus, the magician inside appeared outside and the one outside…you guessed it, was located inside. Nancy was also called upon though the magicians kept calling her “Lucy.”
Later just the four of us sat at a small table with a ‘close up magician’ named Bob Sheets. Mr. Sheets performed a few card tricks and some sleight of hand.
But our most fun came when we went to one of the many bars to get a drink and Nancy, being Nancy, saw a lady sitting at a small table. Nancy sidled over and asked her if she was a regular. She replied, “sort of, my husband and I own the place!” We love Nancy’s chutzpah. After some chit chat, she asked Nancy if we would like to join a small group in the basement for a private show of three magicians. We gathered Sam and Andrew who were waiting in line for a larger show and followed the owner down the steps to a tiny basement room.
In this tiny room, there was a table covered in green felt with five seats around it and some seats behind those. The front seats were already occupied by some Hollywood big shot, his wife and three daughters. We took the seats a few inches behind them…and could easily watch every move…always looking for the secret to each amazing trick. And that was it…just the 9 of us in the room with the three close-up magicians.
The magicians each took a turn performing. Randy Pitchford, the owner, who is also a magician, did the first set. Randy, who was originally a video game designer, bought the Magic Castle in 2022. Randy did some excellent card tricks.
Each magician was great but the last one, Mike Pisciotta, was fantastic. It was a really fun night and we thank Andrew and Samantha’s agent, Kevin for finagling an invitation for us.
After Christmas, we flew back to Portland for a few days to get ready for our three month stay in Mexico. We flew here on January 2nd and found a completely different Mexican airport than those we were previously familiar with: Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. At those places, you come out of the airport to a gauntlet of hundreds of people including vendors, car dealers, taxi cab drivers, resort representatives, tour operators, and other tourists. Here at the Loreto airport, we came out and it was crickets…not more than a handful of people and one or two taxis. Our car was waiting in the small parking lot with the keys on the front tire! Obviously, theft is not a big problem here. There was supposed to be a ticket to get out of the parking lot on the dashboard, but, as we found out, the driver left with it crumpled in his pocket. Once again, Nancy sweet talked the parking attendant into letting us leave by paying the minimum amount.
A short drive took us to our community in Loreto Bay.
The community is, to quote the marketing materials, “a master-planned beachfront community known for its colorful homes, nature paths, and access to the Sea of Cortez. Perfect for expats and seasonal residents.”
It’s like a much smaller version of the “Villages” in Florida, a planned community with a golf course, several pools and quite a few restaurants. The community doesn’t have a website that we could find, but these two links link1 and link2 give a good idea of the size of the community and the colorful homes and walkways.
Our first week was spent getting to know the area and the nearby town of Loreto. This is a very laid back area, so Nancy had to expend a lot of energy meeting people and picking their brains about things to do, places to go, and good restaurants. The weather has been unseasonably cool and windy. Sweetly, one of our neighbors offered to lend us light puffy jackets and they are definitely needed in the morning and evenings. We came south for warmth…
One couple we met were Davis and Julie (who own a 300 plus acre ranch and vineyard in northern California) in a small restaurant along the Malecon in Loreto.
The arch with the Malecon in the back The Loreto sign The Malecon boardwalk
After asking what they were eating, which looked delicious, we started chatting. After a few minutes, we realized that they had been sitting directly in front of us on the flight from LAX to Loreto. Nancy remarked that she thought it was sweet when, after realizing no one was seated in the seat between them on the plane, Julie moved to the middle seat to be closer to Davis. John and Nancy also had an empty middle seat…but just enjoyed the space! (as we found out, they haven’t been together as long as we have). After about an hour and a half of eating, drinking and talking, Davis and John shared phone numbers with the suggestion that we get together again.
Another group of people we met were neighbors Lewis, MJ, and Dan who took us to a restaurant about 10 miles north of our place. The restaurant, La Bocana is nestled in a cove that features porpoises, rays, and even whales. While we were there, John saw a Mobula ray jump out of the water. The manager told us that some days there are hundreds of them jumping.
But, the most interesting thing we saw while there, was a nearly 400 foot yacht parked in the cove.
When asked who owned the super yacht, the manager of the restaurant said she’d signed an NDA and wasn’t allowed to tell us the owner’s name. But, she’d tell us the name of the boat, which was “Launchpad.” We immediately guessed either Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk because they both ‘dabble’ in space vehicles. However, when we looked it up, it turned out to be Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million dollar super yacht that has a staff of 60. As we were having our second cocktail, a different all white ship came sailing into the cove. It was Zuckerberg’s second ship that follows the yacht and is called “Wingman” and carries all of his toys, like jet skis and a submersible. Both ships had a helicopter pad on top. Oh, the trappings of the super rich.
The 380' yacht The other ship with the toys Both docked together
A couple of days later, John received a text from Davis and Julie. They were spending their night at the hotel in the complex and asked if we’d like to join them for dinner before they flew back home. We met at a restaurant a ten minute walk from our house and had a long fun dinner with great conversation. Julie asked if we’d like to drive them to Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó the next day since they did not need to be at the airport until late afternoon. We agreed and so the next morning we took off for the Mission.
The Mission Nancy in the courtyard A 300 year old olive tree
This mission was founded in 1699 by the Jesuits and located about 24 miles southwest of Loreto. It took about 40 minutes to travel from our area up the rugged mountain passes to this tiny little village, home to about 200 people and this historic church.
After walking through the church, a young boy took us on a short walk to see the 300 year old olive tree behind the church.
Little did we know when we started out, Davis had made reservations at a farm-to-table restaurant in this tiny town called San Javier Farms. You have to understand, this town is remote, tiny, dusty, and very secluded. Not the place one would assume would have a farm-to-table restaurant.
The farm, which is located around the back, supplies all the ingredients for the restaurant. Luis, our host, was happy to greet us. We each shared a wonderful salad with lettuce and beets from the garden. Since Nancy and I were pizza starved, we shared a wood-fired pizza, as did Julie and Davis.
We scrambled at the end of the meal since their internet was down and so we couldn’t pay with credit cards. And, we were not sure if we had enough pesos to pay for lunch. Luis said he’d take US dollars and John remembered he carried a $50 bill in the back of his phone case. We just made it using the last of our pesos and a few US bills.
One of the highlights of our first week was dinner at a small French Restaurant, La Bistro. The owner, Emmanuelle, offers only one main course each night, generally a steak cooked in different ways. You do have the option of a quiche if meat is not your thing. You also have options if you want an appetizer. We chose the mussels and they were spectacular. Everything is homemade, including the bread.
Emmanuelle in apron Mussel appetizer Dinner
As we were sitting enjoying our dinner and the uncharacteristic (for Mexico) French bistro ambiance, an older gentleman came in and set up a microphone and small speakers. We worried that the music would be too loud and make it difficult to talk. But, we were pleasantly surprised when he began to sing and play his guitar with some prerecorded background music. He reminded John of the late French singer/songwriter Charles Aznavour. Here’s a YouTube video of one of Aznavour’s most famous songs, “She,” from 1974.
Helping him set up was a giant of a man wearing green work boots. Of course, Nancy had to ask him about them. He called them his avocado boots.
We then learned he was the son of the older man singing. It was his day off but he sweetly brought in his guitar and played for us. He was AMAZING!
We learned his name is Angel Ortega and has played Carnegie Hall multiple times. He now spends most of his time playing at various restaurants in the Loreto area and even better, teaches local children how to play the guitar. He asked us if we liked Santana and when we said we did, he played “Evil Ways” with Dad accompanying him on vocals.
Nancy is now an Angel “groupie.”
Well, enough fun for our first week. We’ll keep you updated on what’s happening in warmer parts of the world.
Signing off,
Nancy and John
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