LIKE MAGIC

The caught-in-time Mexican town of Loreto is using tourism to preserve its bay and the marine creatures who live there for future generations

- MICHELE BIGLEY

Dolphins and whales swimming in Baja California Sur's Loreto Bay

AS THE SUN DESCENDS behind the Sierra de la Giganta mountains, I join the end-of-day procession to Loreto Bay National Park, a protected marine area in the Sea of Cortez. Fisherfolk, families, and out-of-towners stroll the Malecón, a mile-long esplanade that traces the water, watching as the sea turns the same sherbet hues as the evening sky. Seabirds dive-bomb for their dinner, and when a gray whale spouts remarkably close to shore, I hear myself gasp.

Posada de las Flores, a boutique hotel

The seaside village of Loreto, five hours north of the Baja California Sur capital of La Paz, is still the type of one-traffic-light Mexican town whose cobblestone streets are lined with family-owned restaurants and cafés. Papel picado, a vibrant folk art made from cutting elaborate designs into sheets of colorful tissue paper, and lucha libre masks decorate the main drag. The Baroque-style Mission of Our Lady of Loreto, founded in 1697 by the Jesuits, is a point of pride around which the community orbits.

A shop in downtown Loreto