This was mine and my husband’s first (but not last!) trip to Solare.  We went June 2-10, 2001.  It was great going with another “experienced” couple, but you could do it yourself.  Not that it’s so tough to figure out....  You check in, get a drink from the bar and head to the beach.  Voila!  That’s where you are for the next 7 or 8 days.  Hey, worked for me!

Not knowing what to expect, the resort was a very pleasant surprise!  It was beautiful.  The landscaping was green and very well-kept.  There were activities planned if you wanted to join in, and if you didn’t, that was fine, too.  The whole staff was always pleasant and helpful and the nightly shows very entertaining.  Don’t miss the Lion King show!

The check-in process was fairly smooth - lots of people checking in at the same time, but then we made friends in line, so that’s good.  Our luggage was taken to our rooms by the porter and after that we headed for the CO beach.

The Neptune Bar at the CO beach is open all day and into the night.  The bar is right between the CO beach and the huge hot tub.  Armando is awesome and makes a great sangria.  The beaches were always clean and tidy and so was the hot tub area.  The beach was never crowded.  I think, at the most, there were maybe 10 couples on the CO beach at one time.  Plenty of room for more.  I understand the resort was full to capacity, but there were never too many people on the regular beach or the CO beach.  It was great.  I don’t know where everyone was, but for a full resort, it was quite pleasant.

For lunch, we ate at either the buffet or at Teresa’s grill.  She makes a mean fish taco!  Yummy.  Her quesadillas were a staple of mine while I was there.  I can’t say that I’d even rate the food at the resorts three restaurants.  I didn’t care for the Italian restaurant at all, the Mexican restaurant was fair and the buffet was always there.  ‘Nuff said.  The grill was always good, tho.  We did go into town a few, ok four times during our 8 day stay.  We ate at La Terraza and you can read Tom’s report for that.  We ate at Chili Willie’s twice because it was so good.  If you go there, make sure you sit on the back patio - the tables are right next to the rocks and the ocean is right there.  Gentle breezes, warm air, reflections on the water, nice music.... you get the idea.  Not the cheapest place to eat out, but then you don’t have to eat out either.  The resort has all the food you need.  We also ate at Posada de las Flores (down the street from La Terraza and across the street from the police station).  You can see a picture on my picture page.  It was a rustic, yet elegant place.  Very romantic and relaxing.  The food was spicy, tho.

If you are into shopping, which I’m really not, Loreto has it’s little “mall”.  The mall is on the same street as the Mission.  I wish we were there at a time that we could’ve gone inside the Mission, but Mass was going on both times we were shopping in the area.  The Mission is beautiful on the outside.  Pictures of that also on the picture page.  Shopping is well, shopping.  I did get my “treasures”.  You go in one store and you’ve been in about 90% of them.  All the same thing, but different colors.  I think on the next trip I will get that Viking horn helmet thing.  It was so ME! :) The shop owners were all very polite and not pushy at all.

Snorkeling.  Bring it on.  Tom tells lots in his report so I won’t tell it again, but I will say this: even if you are THINKING about snorkeling down there, DO IT.  I was a scaredy cat, but now I’m not.  I had this fear of swimming with the fish, but now I don’t.  Well, I still might hesitate to jump into the water (me and Joyce) but once I’m in, I’m in, baby.  The best snorkeling is south of the point and you can walk or kayak, as Tom said.  I prefer the walking.  Lots less energy expended, but then again, the kayak is on the water and you get a great view of the resort, so you decide.  The kayaks are included in the all-inclusive thing, so why not check it out.  There are some really beautiful fish out there just waiting for you to take their picture.  I need to contribute an underwater shot so you can see. 

The temperature was a little warm for me, but then John says my comfort zone is between 72 and 74, so don’t gauge any of this by me.  The temps were in the 90's during the day and a few days got over 100.  108, I think was the highest.  The nights cooled off wonderfully and we slept with the sliding glass door open each night to catch the cool breeze.  (We were in room 380 with an ocean view.)  I understand there are other months with cooler temps, so plan your trip around that if you don’t like hot weather.  Check out the weather page.  We went in June and I’d probably go in April or May next time.

By the end of our week, I was not only more relaxed, but I was much browner.  I love that part.  I am really looking forward to next year.

Oh, one more thing and I’m done, I promise: We went to this place knowing there was a CO beach.  I prepared myself physically by tanning a little beforehand and also mentally by asking a lot of questions since this was my first experience going au naturel.  I am not a “petite young thing” and so I was kinda concerned about taking my clothes off the first time, but I just did it.  And you know what?  Nobody cared.  Nobody said anything.  Now if they were thinking something I have no idea, but I felt very comfortable being there and being bare.  I think that’s really how I fared the hot weather - by being bare.  Laying in the sun or under the shade of the palapas and then when it got too hot, I went right into the water.  Oh, and the water temp was 80 degrees or so.  Some of the women only went topless and that was fine.  Whatever you want to do - some or all.  So, if you are thinking you can’t do the nekked thing, think again.  If you really really want to, then just do it.  Do it for YOU.

Pictures are available at:

Debbie's Pictures