[dropcap]A[/dropcap]bout halfway up the peninsula and just across the border between the states of Baja California Sur and Baja California, lies the entrance to one of the largest and best preserved of the 176 Protected Areas in Mexico, with more than 9,650 square miles: El Valle de los Cirios.
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]alarrimo is a gateway to the unexpected. Among the hundreds of secluded beaches on the Pacific side of Southern California, Malarrimo is the quintessential deserted shore. Misty dawns break over seaweed-ridden sands that are frequented by lonely coyotes looking for clams, crustaceans and fish stranded by the surge of a wave.
The book is written as remembrances in humorous prose and contains five essays, and short stories of families, personalities, musicians and customs. Sometimes sarcastic, sometimes nostalgic, the work is a very pleasant read and shows with love how adversity has been, and continues to be an inseparable part of the history of Loreto that will stand forever.
The history of Isla del Carmen basically revolves around a salt deposit located at the north end of the island in an area called Bahia Salinas. The salt saga began in 1698 when the Jesuits arrived to establish the mission of Loreto. The missionaries discovered the area by accident and began stocking up on salt for themselves, as well as future Jesuit missions as they were established.
A tour of the islands and the coast of the great bay introduces us to a landscape where history and ecology come together. Discovered by Captain Francisco de Ulloa (1539-1540), one can imagine the temporary shelter he took in Bahia de Almejas, which he called Santa Catalina lagoon.