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A Walk Along La Correa (The Belt) begins at the SE corner of the plaza and takes you winding along the base of Mesa de la Cruz. Look to the left of Restaurant René for the octagonal reservoir La pila de los Misioneros, built to receive water from the Acequia de Arriba and thence to water the small farms or huertas below. The pond was later known as 'La Pila de Adela' for the woman who washed laundry there. This was a popular community gathering place and appears in many old photos.
Pause at Tortillería La Misión where you can watch production of wheat and corn flour tortillas. Continue past huertas on the right where delicious oranges are still produced. Turn right on the second street after the huertas and walk over to the entrance of the Panteón de San Ignacio, where family tombs crowd up the base of Cerro Calvario. Or, before the Correa ends in a small canyon, follow an old track on the right leads up onto the mesa. You can walk to the top of Cerro Calvario or through the old garbage dump or basurero, which still yields interesting finds, and return to town down the Laguna road.
A Walk Into Pueblo Nuevo (New Town) begins at the S.W. corner of the plaza. Walk past the musuem on the right and down into the shallow arroyo of the huertas. On the left is the lower end of Hector Arce's beautiful garden. Hector maintains the agricultural traditions of San Ignacio, mulching all leaves and cuttings to augment the sterile desert soil. Lean over the fence to inhale the fragrance of basil and see what is growing, but be careful not to step in the small acequia gurgling beneath the grass at your feet.
Continuing on the road, look to the right for a door in the fence and notice the acequia, footbridge and field beyond. This field is ploughed with a hand-held plow pulled by a burro. From a little farther along the fence you can spot a depression among the palms, sometimes filled with water. Soil for the adobes of the first mission may have been taken from this place.
The road passes Tota's Restaurant on the left where excellent Mexican fare and delicious seafood dinners await. Next door is the home and workshop of artist Clemente Arce, whose work illuminates the rooms of Casa Lereé. On the right is the large Salon Social built with funds earned from the Fiesta of San Ignacio in the last week of July.
To head back toward the plaza, take the alley or callejón to the left, dropping down into the arroyo by the nursery school (free for all children). Or continue along the road to the adobe ruin of Frank Fisher's blacksmith shop on the right corner. Frank sailed into the Gulf of California on a ship of the German navy bringing coal from Hamburg to fire the copper smelters of Santa Rosalía. He jumped ship and came to San Ignacio to found a large family and when automobiles were invented he became a fine auto mechanic. He was known to travelers as 'the man who could get you home'.
At La Posada Motel you can spend the night, arrange tours, and visit with Frank's son Oscar and other members of the Fisher family. On your right is the public library or biblioteca where you will find the old book by Pablo Martínez with early family names of Baja California Sur. Then you will pass the large primary school, the road to Laguna San Ignacio, the mayor's office or Delegación which also houses the police station, jail and post office or Correos, and continue to the Panteón de San Ignacio at the end of the road.
A Walk Into El Rincón (The Corner) begins at the Salon Social where you head south into the neighborhood, passing the Centro Salud on the right and then bear right to enter El Rincón, nestled against the S.W. mesa. Inquire at 'Abarrotes El Rincón' for the site of the early mission which is across the street and behind a home. Only the first course of stone remains. Stone is more durable than adobe, more durable than the broad brick called ladrillo used after adobe, more durable even than the cement blocks used today. Structures in San Ignacio are still founded on stone.
 In 1773 when the Dominican Padres arrived to assume responsibility for Mission San Ignacio from the Franciscans, they prepared an inventory which tells of a 'church of adobe, with roof of sticks' and a partially completed 'strong church with two towers'. The adobe church in El Rincón was therefore the church that the native people knew for many years. The stone mission we see today was completed in 1787, with one tower on the left and 4 tall stone finials to balance the roof line.
A Walk up the El Camino Real is more of a hike. From the Centro Salud turn left at the next corner and go straight ahead passing one right fork. When the road turns sharply left, go straight along the right side of a low rock wall toward the hill. This is the trail the padres used. Climb up the trail passing Cerro Tepayac on your left. On the right a side trail leads to a small canyon of graceful Torote (Elephant Tree). Farther along a side trail to the left leads to a shrine of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Continuing straight brings you to a ranch road which leads to the left over to the Laguna road where you turn left to return to town or continue across into the old basurero
A Walk to the Lake begins at the N.W. Corner of the Plaza. Here homes obscure and partially incorporate the right wing of the mission, La Troje (the grainery). A sidewalk leads alongside old grape vines and orchard trees, watered on Wednesday from the Acequia de Arriba which passes through the garden of Casa Lereé. Below, the ponds of Las Ciénagas (the swamps) appear. A kiosk offers beer by a green pool. On the left is El Padrino, where you camp under the palms with your RV or tent, eat good food in the large palapa restaurant and arrange tours to watch whales or visit the caves.
The sidewalk continues through los palmares, groves of date palms newly groomed during a public works project in the spring of 2004. Piscadores worked high in the palms, swinging machetes to cut the dead leaves, while men, women and children loaded the debris onto trucks to be carried to the basurero and burned. The danger of fire in the palms is reduced and the long entrance road to town looks lovely.'
At the lake you will see more open water than has been visible in modern times. The government had provided a small floating dredge to clear the lake edge of the abundant bamboo called Carrizo. The lake is formed by a series of springs beginning high in Arroyo San Ignacio at the Ojo de Agua (eye of the water). From the highway above, you can see where groves of native fan palms Palmas de Taco begin at the upper spring. The dam at the entry road creates a sinuous lake winding far up the arroyo, with a background of Cerro Colorado. Before dawn in winter, a light mist rises from the water.
On Sundays you may find a baseball game in progress in the field by the lower lake. Swimming, kayaking, camping and delicious seafood are offered at MiKasa under the palapa at water's edge, a good place for small children to play in the shallows and to visit with owners Teresa and Miguel Ángel.
Canadians Terry and Gary Marcer have found a way for visitors to live comfortably by the lake in their unique yurts at Ignacio Springs Resort. A dock and ladder make swimming, kayaking and fishing easy. A full Canadian-style breakfast with espresso is served all day in the palapa dining room The Bistro. Homemade soup and pie are served for lunch and dinners provided by reservation. The beautifully furnished yurts under the palms make this a favorite destination for visitors.
Next door at Don Chon's Lakeside RV campground you can also stay right by the water under the palms, camp or swim and enjoy the rowboat. Though there is only an outhouse, the site is superb and inexpensive. Drive in and choose your palmsite.
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Casa Lereé
Calle Madero s/n
San Ignacio, Centro
Baja California Sur
23930 México
Phone: 615-154-0158
E-mail: janebames@prodigy.net.mx
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