Slow Baja

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.

Geoff Hill is back for an update on Baja Bound Insurance, spoiler alert --Baja Bound can now insure your home in Mexico! We talk Baja travel, trip preparation, where he's just been and where he's headed next. Geoff's not your average Insurance agent. Since his first surf trip in 1990, he hasn't been able to escape Baja's pull. After surfing his way to a degree at UCSD, he joined Baja Bound Insurance in 2003. He is the VP of Business Development, the face of the franchise --and as I say Geoff "lives the brand." When our Lucha Libre Racing Team took on the grueling La Carrera Panamericana in 2006 -we were honored to be the first racing team sponsored by Baja Bound Insurance. We are thrilled to have their continued support for Slow Baja sixteen years later! In this conversation, Geoff announces the new Baja Bound Home Insurance program. We dive into the phenomenal success of the Baja Bound Lifestyle and Travel Expo. The growth of Escapar ala Baja, and the van life explosion. The pros and cons of working remote with Starlink. The bounty of the Valle de Guadalupe, and driving in the NORRA Slow Baja Safari. Get a quote and buy your Baja Bound Insurance here Visit the Baja Bound Insurance Travel Guide here Follow Baja Bound Insurance on Instagram Follow on Baja Bound Insurance on Facebook

Eric Solorzano, the King of Class 11, is a humble mechanic from Tijuana. He’s been racing a Volkswagen in Baja for over 30 years. “Out of the car, I don’t know anything. In the car, as soon as I put it in gear, a calm comes over me,” says Solorzano. Honored by the Mexican Government as the Winningest Mexican in Off-Road Racing history. Solorzano has 11 SCORE Championships, 1 Baja 2000 win, 9 Baja 1000 wins, 7 Baja 500 wins, 11 San Felipe 250 wins, 9 SCORE Primm 300 wins, 4 SCORE Desert Challenge wins, and 3 Mint 400 wins. An iconoclast among his peers, Solorzano does not pre-run. Instead, he spends his time obsessively preparing his race cars. He is outspoken about the current state of SCORE racers and owners. Solorzano compares racing SCORE (with Sal Fish) in the 70s to the era’s music versus music today. I’ll leave you to draw your conclusions, but at 62, it’s safe to say he cherishes his memories of race days (and organizers) of the past. Listen for the story of the Baja 2,000, where Solorzano jumped a junkyard fence, came face to face with a pair of pitbulls, grabbed the needed parts, and went on to win his class in only 69 hours! Follow Eric Solorzano on IG here Follow Eric Solorzano on FB here Watch Eric’s ORMHOF induction film here Watch The Legend of Solorzano by Jonny Mass here

Matthew Schnitzer is a barber in Dana Point, California. Today's Slow Baja Podcast discusses how he formed Barbers for Baja. After organizing two immensely successful holiday toy drives, Schnitzer made a dramatic and ambitious pivot to focus on sending kids in need to college. "Barbers For Baja began at The Kings Club Barbershop with a toy drive for La Mision, Baja California, Mexico in 2019. We were shocked at how quickly our little community rallied together. Our shop was overflowing with toys for these children in no time! We decided to participate in the La Mision toy drive once again the following year. Only this time we reached out to our friends at surrounding barber shops asking them to get involved. Once again, we were shocked at how quickly everyone rallied together to help. In 30 days these barber shops raised over 7K in toys and funds for the children of La Mision. The generosity these barbershop communities had was truly overwhelming! Our hearts were filled with immense gratitude following that event, and we were eager to figure out how we could continue to help. So here we are, combining our barber shop communities to help children all across Baja California have better access to food, education, and medical supplies." Learn more about Barbers for Baja here. Follow Barbers for Baja on Instagram. Buy your box set or donate to Barbers to Baja here.

Michael Squier returns to Slow Baja to give us an update on the premiere of The Baja Bug Movie. The film has three screenings at the 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival. October 15th and 18th are sold out, but tickets (as of this posting) are still available for the closing night on October 20th. “When the Volkswagen Beetle was first brought into the United States in 1949, only two vehicles were sold. In the early 1950s, the “Bug” established itself as America’s budget car and was so adaptable, it could be turned into a dune buggy, which is exactly what Bruce Meyers did, creating the “Meyers Manx”. By 1967 Bruce Meyers, Vic Wilson, and Ed Pearlman had created the Mexican 1000, a race from the top of Baja to the bottom. Every type of vehicle imaginable, from big 4x4 trucks, stock Volkswagen bugs, motorcycles to home built creations was entered into the race; Bruce and his crew were laughed at when they showed up to the starting line with their little buggies. But to everyone’s surprise, when the first vehicle crossed the finish line 27 hours later, it was the Meyers Manx, paving the way for Volkswagens to take over off-road racing. Celebrities like Steve McQueen and James Garner helped catapult the sport and inspire weekend warriors seeking adventure. This is the story of the humble little car that conquered the desert.” -The Baja Bug Movie Watch The Baja Bug Movie trailer here Check out The Baja Bug Movie website here Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Instagram here Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Facebook here Buy tickets to the Newport Beach Film Festival here

Andrew Norton is a nerd. He freely admits that he's been nerding out on cars since he was a kid in Iowa. His first love was the bold and beautiful Mustangs and Cobras built by Caroll Shelby in the 1960s. Peter Brock was a childhood hero, and Norton often dreamed of the day he would find a dusty Daytona Coupe hiding in a neighbor's barn. By 16 years old, Norton, now living in California, would spend afternoons driving his 1965 Mustang "looking for cool Fords." When he spied an orange and white Bronco, his passion for Shelby's told him he was looking at something special. Fascinated by the bold paint and the "Baja by Stroppe" sticker on its fender, Norton went directly to his local library to research what he had just found. A full-fledged obsession followed, and soon Norton was flying to Texas to buy his first (worn-out) Stroppe Bronco. A web page dedicated to Baja Broncos (early days of the internet) followed to share information with the community. Norton launched Baja Broncos Unlimited and has become a leading source on Stroppe Broncos. He and Todd Zuercher raced a Stroppe Bronco in the NORRA Mexican 1000 for over a decade. They joined Big Oly in the Slow Baja Safari Class this year. Follow Andrew Norton and Baja Broncos on IG here Visit Baja Broncos Unlimited here Learn about the Slow Baja Safari Class here Check out Dusty Times issue 03 here

RIP Jorge Enrique Corral Sandez. The Baja Icon, better known as "Coco," was found dead at his residence. For decades, a stop at Coco's Corner was a must for travelers heading south of San Felipe.  Coco was the informal archivist of Baja's highway 5. He recorded every visitor in his guest registry. Every time we stopped, we would buy a beer, sign the book, and Ted would ask Coco about the road conditions. Coco inevitably would draw a map as he explained in detail the construction progress and the current state of the dirt sections. I recorded this podcast on July 9, 2021 Coco passed at his ranch, South of Gonzaga Bay, on August 30, 2022 Check out Coco's Facebook page here