Loreto was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula.

For the first time since former Ventura Mayor Cheryl Heitmann officially exchanged keys to the city with Loreto, Mexico, in 2015, the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee is inviting Venturans to travel with them to explore their sister city.

Planning is underway for biannual visits to Loreto including hotel and non-stop flights from LAX. These trips are meant to promote and strengthen the sister city relationship between the cities, and the cost of the trip includes a donation to support the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee whose objectives include collaboration on tourism, culture, education, environment, and business initiatives.

Loreto is a small city of approximately 17,000 people that sits on the east coast of Baja California, facing the Sea of Cortez. It was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula and is the starting point for the historic El Camino Real corridor that follows north along the ancient route of the Spanish missions.

Loreto is also home to Loreto Bay National Park where Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Montserrat and Santa Catalina Islands are home to over 800 species of marine life. With breathtaking cliffs, spectacular beaches and dramatic rock formations, these islands are a perfect landscape for the ecologically-minded or those who delight in a vast array of marine life.

For more information, visit visitventuraca.com/sistercity. Trip inquiries should be directed to Stephen Joyce with Ventura Travel Professionals at 805-218-1962.

For more information on, or to join the Ventura/Loreto Sister City Committee contact Fiorella Calderoni at [email protected] or visit visitventuraca.com/sistercity.