Photos: Rulo Luna Ramos
Sea Kayaking in Loreto Bay National Park
When I moved to Baja in September 2025, my bucket list for weekend trips instantly exploded. Every stretch of coastline around my new home in La Paz seemed worthy of exploration. After all, this is a place where one of the most biodiverse deserts on Earth collides with the clear, calm waters of the Sea of Cortez, aka “The World’s Aquarium.”
Loreto, a small coastal city on the eastern side of the peninsula, was one of those places that caught my attention from the start and just kept getting better the more I learned about it.
The city of Loreto is paradise on its own merits, but the surrounding wilderness — and the countless ways to explore it — are the true stars of the show. The town serves as the gateway to Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto, a marine park famous for its surreal desert-meets-ocean landscapes and for being one of the seasonal feeding grounds of the largest animal to ever exist on Earth: the blue whale.
Last April, I finally made it to Loreto for a multi-day sea kayaking and camping expedition. After four days paddling through the marine park, I’m convinced this is one of the best possible ways to experience it. Empty beaches, close encounters with dolphins, dramatic scenery, and nights under some of the darkest skies I’ve seen in years were just a few of the highlights. But paddling across the calm waters of the Gulf of California is the part of the experience that has stayed with me the most.
See you out there,
Rulo Luna Ramos, photo editor
W I L D L I F E
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O U T D O O R
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G U I D E
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G E A R
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Where to Stay
Travel Well
The Matador Editorial Team
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