Slow Baja

Today’s Slow Baja conversation is with Ramon Castro, the genial Class 11 Champion better known as “El Tomate.” Growing up in Ensenada, Ramon Castro watched the early Baja 1000 races from his elementary school playground.  When he was only 17, much to his mother’s chagrin, he entered his first Baja 1000. He had no experience, no plan, no pre-run, nothing. Amazingly, they finished second. “We were young boys; we don’t know nothing; we raced to La Paz, turned around, and raced home.” Castro dominated Class 11, winning Championships in ’83, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89 in --’84 and ’85, they finished in 2nd. He became a Baja racing legend, setting the fastest finish time of 27 hours in Class 11. He worked tirelessly with SCORE chief Sal Fish behind the scenes, negotiating with ranchers, marking the course, and helping young racers get their start in his RECORD Off-Road Series.  Enjoy the ride and this Slow Baja conversation with my amigo, “El Tomate.”

Genevieve Mattar and Kevin Branscum met in South America while exploring the Andes ruins and the Amazon forests. He was an American seeking adventure, and she was a travel guide leading a group of French Canadians. The couple soon married and as Kevin was a Southern Californian and seasoned Baja traveler, they began exploring the remote regions of Baja Sur. They became interested in the old mission trail while visiting the Sierra de San Francisco rock art. One day on a mule ride, they came across a track that looked different from the one they were following. They asked their local guide about it. He replied, “That is the old mission trail, el camino antiguo de los misioneros.” El Camino Real. The El Camino Real, or “King’s Highway,” is the mission trail leading from Loreto in Baja Súr, Mexico, to all Californias. They include Baja Súr, Baja, and Alta California, better known as the state of California. The mystery of that trail, combined with its history and the beauty of its surroundings, hooked them. For twenty-two years, they’ve regularly returned to explore El Camino Real, locating and accurately mapping additional trail segments. They hope to find and preserve the exact position of as much of the El Camino Real as possible. Only through sharing the story and developing eco-tourism --will the historic trail remain alive. Learn more about their work here.

In this archive edition of Slow Baja, we return to my 2020 conversation with professor Paul Ganster. I wanted to share this show again as I recently watched Isaac Artensteins's magnificent Journeys of Harry Crosby documentary. The Crosby film is available to stream on PBS here. Ganster began traveling to Mexico with his friend and former high school teacher, Harry Crosby, in the early 1960s. When Crosby landed his 1967 commission to photograph the El Camino Real, he asked Ganster, then a graduate student at UCLA, to make the trip with him. In retracing the original Portolá missionary expedition of 1769, Crosby and Ganster covered 600 grueling miles, mostly by mule. Ganster took trail notes, made detailed drawings and maps, and shot scores of photographs. However, no job was more important than feeding the mules. Each evening, he would climb the palo verde trees and use a machete to hack off branches that the mules would crunch on loudly. The trip was a life-changing trip for both men. Crosby's photographs from the journey were published in The Call to California in 1969. He often returned to Baja to photograph cave paintings and study early life in Alta, California, and published several books on the subject. Baja figured prominently in Ganster's life as well. In his long academic career, he is an acknowledged expert on the U.S.-Mexico border region. Currently, he directs the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias at San Diego State University. He's recently edited Loreto, Mexico: Challenges for a Sustainable Future (2020, SDSU Press) with Oscar Arizpe and Vinod Sasidharan. He and Arizpe, a professor at the Universidad A. de Baja California Sur, collaborated on two earlier projects examining Loreto's sustainability. Check out Paul Ganster's extensive writings here.

In today’s Slow Baja Podcast, we talk to Bruce Trenery about his experience racing the wild and wooly early days of the La Carrera Panamericana Classic. Bruce ran in the LCP Classics from 1987 to 1993. In its early “Baja” period, the race was a high-speed sprint from Ensenada to San Felipe. A few years later, the La Carrera moved to mainland Mexico and, at 2000 miles, officially became the world’s fastest, longest, (and most dangerous) vintage car race. Bruce raced it for three more years before moving on to less perilous racing pursuits. In 1987, I was a college kid on Spring Break in San Felipe and heard the snarl of a Ferrari V-12. I followed my ears to the finish line and marveled at the assembled cars. Rumors of mayhem and death swirled around the event. For decades I’ve wanted to talk to somebody who ran that crazy race and hear their account of it. Bruce Trenery owns Fantasy Junction, a classic car dealership in Emeryville, California. Over the last 30 years, he has built a reputation for quality and integrity worldwide. With his son Spencer, he has raced the NORRA Mexican 1000, among many other events. Spencer, a highly accomplished racer in his own right, now runs the day-to-day operations of Fantasy Junction, allowing his dad the occasional afternoon off to record a Slow Baja Podcast. Learn more about Fantasy Junction here. Follow Fantasy Junction on Instagram here. Follow Fantasy Junction on Facebook here.

Doug and Shannon Miller open their hearts to share honestly about their service-first approach to family travel. After their newly adopted daughter from China needed open heart surgery, they did the only sane thing you can do with two weeks of "use it or lose it" vacation. They packed up their fresh-from-the-ER-brood and headed to Baja! When Doug realized his family was spending their "vacation" hunkered down on a wind-whipped beach so he could enjoy kite-boarding, they began exploring family-friendlier locations. One day a flat tire on their minivan led them to seek help nearby at Rancho Sordo Mundo, a home for the deaf and mute. Soon they realized why they had come to Baja. Seventeen years of service travel, and giving back have followed that initial encounter. Enjoy this uplifting conversation with my new friends, Doug and Shannon Miller. To learn more and support the places mentioned in today's show: Casa Hogar Mulege BCS click here. FFHM Orphanage Vicente Guerrero BC click here. Rancho Sordo Mundo, Deaf Ministry click here. PAW Animal Clinic Mulege BCS click here. To contact Doug Miller about Baja service travel, click here.

In today’s Slow Baja Podcast, we catch up with Andrew Szabo, founder of the BajaXL Rally. Unfortunately, we had some technical glitches and used Andrew’s voice memo app as a recording device. When he sent the files, they were static-filled and nearly unusable. My producer Christopher Keiser did yeoman’s work to make the audio (barely) tolerable. My apologies for the static, but we had dumped a previous conversation due to poor audio, so this had to fly. If you get through the entire show and see me in Baja, I promise to pour you a shot of Fortaleza Tequila or buy you a beer. “The ten-day, 3000-mile BajaXL Rally is a minimal assistance road rally. There are no rescue trucks, medical helicopters, or travel guides. You must rely on your wits and resources to get out of trouble. The BAJA XL is open to ‘anyone by anything.’ If it’s street-legal, you can drive it. The rally is open to cars, motorcycles, trucks, and whatever else you can think of.” Space is limited to 50 teams in each category. We hear there are a few spots left! For more details, check out the BajaXL Facebook group.

Sal Fish is the beloved Godfather of Off-road Racing and former President of SCORE International. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, the son of a humble and kind auto mechanic, a loving mother, with a Sicilian Grandmother at home who only spoke Italian. His parents scrimped, saved, and sent Fish and his three brothers to the Roman Catholic, college-preparatory Loyola High School for boys. Sal was class President but freely admits he was not a very good student. The Jesuit education system served him well, and he was accepted “under probation” at the University of San Francisco. At USF, his charm and drive carried the day. He excelled in making connections. Soon, Sal was on the basketball team’s coaching staff, eating and drinking for free in North Beach, and had an apartment above the embalming room of a prestigious neighborhood mortuary. He even had a “no-show athletes job” at a brewery, where he punched in at the beginning of the week and returned at the end of the week to collect a paycheck and two cases of beer. With all the fun he was having --by his own admission, he barely managed to graduate.  After surprisingly being declared 4F by the Army, Sal returned to Los Angeles to work with his father in his auto repair business. He attended carburetor, brake, and transmission school and did his best to give his father a rest while he ran the shop. A body surfing buddy saw Sal’s secret strength and offered him a job selling advertising for Car Craft Magazine. His father was thrilled to get him out of the shop. Sal was a natural salesman, rapidly rising through the ranks of Petersen Publishing, and soon became the Publisher. Through his travels with Hot Rod magazine, Sal and ad salesman Bob Weggeland landed a VW Beetle and an entry into the 1969 NORRA Mexican 1000. In our conversation, Sal recounts the experience --a hilarious story of ignorance, perseverance, survival, and a heaping dose of luck. After breaking their transmission, Sal and Bob flagged down the crew of actor and racer James Garner and got a tow to the checkpoint at Lake Chapala. --“We went faster on a tow rope than we had been going in the race.”  Racer and entrepreneur Mickey Thompson recruited Sal as a partner soon after he created SCORE International in 1973. By 1974 Sal and Mickey were hosting the Baja 1000. He used his people and publishing skills to grow the organization rapidly. Eventually, he took over SCORE and bought Thompson out. In the process, Sal realized Thompson’s vision to make off-road racing as big as NASCAR. Sal sold SCORE in 2012. Active and fit, he enjoys living in Malibu and spending time with his wife of nearly 50 years, Barbara. The couple has a second home in La Paz, where Sal enjoys kayaking and entertaining his many Baja friends. A special thanks to Lyman Scherer for connecting me to Sal.

In today's travel talk with Slow Baja, we meet Anton Jimenez from Malagon Winery. In our conversation, we discuss the winery's history, which dates back to Russian settlers, their award-winning wines from sixty-five-year-old vines, and a new craft beer brewing project. Ted and I stayed in Casa Azul, and I was delighted by the sweet sound of nature. We arrived in the evening to the yips of coyotes, and in the morning, the cooing of doves --and an occasional rooster's crow provided the soundtrack as we devoured Lazaro's chilaquiles. Ranked as one of the top best Bed and Breakfasts in the Valle de Guadalupe, the four-room Mission-style hacienda was a perfect spot for some tranquilo time. Anton says, "Malagon Winery is in the middle of everything and away from everything." We couldn't agree more. For more information and inquiries, check out their website here.

In today’s travel talk with Slow Baja, we meet Ruth Loyola. Ruth is the General Manager of the Bruma Universe. In our conversation, we discuss Casa 8, the casually elegant bed & breakfast, Bruma, the stunningly beautiful winery, and Fauna, recently selected as one of the top 50 restaurants in Latin America. We stayed in a beautiful room in Casa 8. Each of the properties' eight rooms is unique, blending traditional Mexican design and locally sourced materials. The rooms are arranged strategically to respect privacy --yet are attached to the main house, which holds the kitchen, living room, pool, and outdoor lounge. The opportunity to meet other guests and make new friends is integral to the design and is an expected part of the Casa 8 experience.  Casa 8 is a STRONG Slow Baja Approved!  Visit the Bruma - Casa 8 website here  Follow Bruma - Casa 8 on Instagram here  Follow Bruma - Casa 8 on Facebook here  Follow Fauna on Instagram here  Reserve a table here

Jon P. Rebman is the Curator of Botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Originally from rural Illinois, Rebman landed a Fulbright Fellowship that took him to study in Ensenada. During his year south of the border, Rebman traveled the peninsula cataloging cholla cacti with his fellow students and the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California faculty. He credits this formative experience for igniting his passion for the region's rare endemic flora. Rebman earned a doctorate from Arizona State University and wrote his dissertation on the Cylindropuntia (Chollas) cactus family of Baja California. He is a profoundly energetic expert on Southern and Baja California plants and is relentless in identifying them. Rebman says, "if you can't name it, you can't conserve it." Through the crowd-sourced iNaturalist App, Rebman has answered more than 500,000 plant genus inquiries, I am optimistic he will hit a million answers soon. Rebman authored the Baja California Plant Field Guide with Norman Roberts and co-authored the stunning new bilingual photographic book A Guide To The Flora Of The Sierra De San Pedro Martir. Both are available from the San Diego Natural History Museum Shop here. Thanks to Cypress Hansen at the Nat for walking me through the fabulous new Expedition Baja display and for her work arranging this conversation. Additional thanks to Robert Blaker and his daughter, Sierra Blaker, for planting the seed for this show more than a year ago. Check out Expedition Baja here. Follow The Nat on Instagram. Follow The Nat on Facebook. Download the iNaturalist App here.