Slow Baja

Josiah Roe is the co-creator of The Journal of Lost Time, a digital publication that shares stories of timeless immediacy. After acquiring a painters-tape green Vanagon, which he lovingly calls Barb, Roe set out for an extended Christmas vacation in Baja. An epic adventure ensued, and he vowed never to miss a winter exploring Baja Sur again. Upon his return, he left his tech job and his comfy apartment in San Francisco and embarked on being a part-time van lifer. Combining his passion for travel and photography, he began creating stories for destination marketing organizations. The Journal of Lost Time was born, and on a road trip to Baja Sur, he dreamt up Escapar a La Baja, a Vanlife and Overlander meet-up in La Paz. The first Escapar a La Baja in 2019 had sixty vehicles, and this year's event has grown to 250! The Lost Places event series, "a celebration of gathering in beautiful places," followed and now hosts meet-ups in six locations. Follow Josiah Q. Roe on Instagram Learn more about The Journal of Lost Time here. Follow The Journal of Lost Time on Instagram Learn more about Escapar a La Baja here. Read Baja Like Nowhere Else here.

This Slow Baja Podcast is an archive edition with Off-Road Hall of Fame Racer Curt LeDuc. I recently saw LeDuc at the NORRA Mexican 1000. He led the Ford Factory Bronco Team. In a test of engineering and endurance, Ford ran a stock 2022 Bronco Wildtrak with a Hoss 3.0 suspension. The only modifications were a roll cage and five-point racing harnesses for safety. The stock Ford Bronco ran from the start in Ensenada and finished without issue 1000 miles later in San Jose del Cabo. LeDuc is a salt-of-the-earth Baja racer with an impressive record of DIY accomplishments in off-road racing. When asked about his approach to building winning racers, LeDuc said, “I’m not an engineer; I’m an imagineer” He’s built and raced his vehicles at the highest levels of desert racing for decades. He’s won championships in Desert Class 8 -five years in a row and has two Short Course Off-Road Drivers Association titles, a Governor’s Cup, and a rare and valuable Borg Warner Cup. Inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall Of Fame in 2015, LeDuc, through all his successes, is revered for achieving it all with his own hands. He is a blue-collar racer who earned a reputation for fixing anything with almost nothing. Skills that got him hired by icon Walker Evans. Not only is Curt the guy you want with you in Baja for his mechanical aptitude, but he reportedly knows every mechanic, welder, and taco shop on the peninsula. Enjoy this Slow Baja conversation with Curt Leduc, a man that legendary racer Jack Flannery said was made of “gristle!” Visit Curt LeDuc’s Baja Legends Website Follow Curt LeDuc on Instagram Follow Curt LeDuc on Facebook Learn more about ORMHOF here

Today's Travel Talk with Slow Baja has me chatting with Leda Gamboa, the owner of Adobe Food Truck in the Valle de Guadalupe, Baja, California. Adobe Food Truck is a top-notch Tapas Restaurant masquerading as a food truck. I visited for lunch and asked Leda to pick something for me --she selected the spicy beef tongue and a Jardin Magico, Sauvignon Blanc, from Adobe Guadalupe Vineyard next door. I was delighted and a little surprised by the pairing. Later that afternoon, I returned to talk with her about her culinary journey and the food scene in the Valle. She was happy to have a Slow Baja conversation and shared several of her favorite wines, winemakers, and restaurants. Adobe Food Truck is dog-friendly and open to the public. It's located just before the main gate of Adobe Guadalupe Winery. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays Adobe Food Truck is Slow Baja Approved Follow Adobe Food Truck on Facebook Read about Adobe Food Truck on Tripadvisor Mentioned in today's show: Emevé Winery Christina Pino, winemaker, Santo Tomas Winery La Concheria 

Raul Aguiar and Caroline Kane are the affable owners of Rancho La Bellota, a 2800-acre guest ranch located in Tecate Baja, California. Rancho La Bellota is a portal to another era. Free from cell service and wifi, guests quickly adapt to the rhythms of ranch life. The coffee is ready at 6:30 AM, and after a cup on the porch, the guests gather in the sun-washed dining room for a hearty breakfast. Following breakfast, it's time for a ride. I select a cowboy hat from the rack and make my way to the saddled horses. Jan, a La Bellota regular, knows the hat's owner (he leaves it at the ranch) and says it looks good on me. It's been forty years since I've ridden a horse, so I'll take the compliment. The horses at Rancho La Bellota are retired from a life of working cattle. Hence, as I mount my handsome palomino, Raul gestures to the horse and says, "it's an automatic with power steering and power brakes," letting me know with a wry smile that it's an easy horse to ride. In addition to being an expert horseman, Raul is a devoted overlander and drives a pop-top 1969 Chevrolet Suburban that he designed. He regularly hosts overlanders on their way up and down the Baja peninsula. He's quick to stress that he's not running a free campground; he's a proud native of Baja California who gladly shares his knowledge and experience to help travelers enjoy their time in Baja. Rancho La Bellota is Slow Baja Approved Learn more about Rancho La Bellota here. Follow Rancho La Bellota on Facebook Follow Baja Peninsular on Instagram

Sandra Dibble is a veteran reporter who worked as a Tijuana-based foreign correspondent for the San Diego Union-Tribune for 28 years. She earned a master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University and worked at The Miami Herald for nearly a decade. Dibble was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for uncovering the Reagan administration's clandestine support of the Nicaraguan Contras. She wrote about Oaxaca, Mexico, for The National Geographic. She hosts the Border City Podcast for the Union-Tribune. "Border City: A podcast about beauty, violence and belonging in Tijuana from a journalist who spent more than 25 years reporting at the border. In this eight-part podcast, Dibble introduces listeners to Tijuana the way she was introduced to it — through the news stories she covered but also through her personal connections in the city's cultural community and her friendships with ordinary Tijuanenses." -The San Diego Union-Tribune Border City is available wherever you find podcasts. Follow Sandra Dibble on Twitter Follow Sandra Dibble on Instagram  Follow Sandra Dibble on Facebook

On Earth Day, I am delighted to share this Slow Baja conversation with Paula Pijoan. Paula is a native plant expert and a fierce advocate for the land and nature. She is a certified practitioner of shinrin-yoku, the Japanese art of forest bathing, also known as forest therapy. We met at Vinos Pijoan, her family vineyard in the Valle de Guadalupe. When I arrived, Paula was transferring native plants, so I sat down on the ample patio and ordered a cheese plate and a glass of Pink Convertible -- a dry rosé of Zinfandel + Grenache. "My relationship with wine is that I drink it --I don't get so involved in the production of it!" Paula said as she joined me in this conversation.  Enjoy! Vinos Pijoan is Slow Baja Approved!  Follow Paula Pijoan on Instagram   Follow Vinos Pijoan on Instagram Learn more about Forest Bathing at Respire Bosque   Follow Respire Bosque on Instagram   Learn more about the native plants of Baja here 

Agave Expeditions Gabe Erivez is an adventure tourism outfitter who leads with his heart. With over a decade of professional guiding experience in Patagonia, Iceland, and Baja California, Erivez brings a lifelong passion for the outdoors to his work. He strives to be mindful in his travel, and "Be Here Now" is his mantra. "The human and cultural element gives exploring these wild places their richness, and I believe when we unite cultural heritage with adventure travel, we begin to have a more meaningful connection with the places we explore. Utilizing 4x4 overland vehicles as our mobile basecamps, we aim to explore the diverse culture and eco-regions of Baja California. We shift between remote desert camps, generational sierra ranches, locally owned eco-lodges, and coastal outposts. We work exclusively with local guides and outfitters, the true peninsula experts." -Gabe Erivez. Learn more about Agave Expeditions here. Follow Agave Expeditions on Instagram. Follow Gabe Erivez on Facebook.

Natalia Badan has spent her life on Rancho El Mogor, the vineyard and organic farm her Swiss-French parents built nearly seven decades ago. "We are romantics and have always been a little eccentric. We were always organic, since my father's time. They called it biological agricultural, and everybody thought we were completely crazy. My father studied a lot; he had all the books from the University of California at Davis. These are my childhood memories --seeing him marking the books. Now it's common, but at the time, it seemed a little eccentric, but we were absolutely doing the right thing." When I ask her about the current state of Rancho El Mogor, she warmly tells me about all of their diversified activities. "We have the project of the vineyard; we have the winery; they go together. We have the organic garden that went for 24 years with the market, and now that goes to the restaurant. We have sheep and some cows which we need to improve the land. We move the animals from one place to another so they don't overgraze. Where they go, the soil becomes better with time. This is a very long-term project --improving soil and making a ranch like this more fertile takes many, many years --many more than I will live. But I think it is worth it, and this way, we don't put all our eggs in one basket." In addition to the winery, the farm and the animals, El Mogor is home to Deckman's Restaurant. Michelin-starred Chef, Drew Deckman, prepares hyper-locally sourced fare in an open kitchen. "Authentic, sustainable, and seasonal." Reservations required. Rancho El Mogor is Slow Baja Approved! Please email the winery to make a reservation. Follow Rancho El Mogor on Facebook Follow Rancho El Mogor on Instagram

Travel Talk With Slow Baja Meet Javier Martinez, owner of Boules Restaurant. Today's Travel Talk with Slow Baja has me chatting with Javier Martinez, owner of Boules Restaurant in Ensenada. I wanted to sit down with Javi to learn why everybody is raving about Boules and its gregarious owner? I loved the food and the atmosphere. #SlowBajaApproved  Boules Av Moctezuma 623, Zona Centro, 22800 Ensenada, Baja California +52 646 175 8769 Visit the Boules Restaurant Website Read Boules reviews on TripAdvisor Follow Boules Restaurant on Instagram Follow Boules Restaurant on Facebook

Brook Elgen is an illustrator, artist, and maker-of-things who splits her time between Mendocino, California, and Zacatitos, Baja California Sur. She specializes in handmade goods in a diverse array of mediums. Humor and wit are constants in her illustrations, books, and found object assemblages. She carries a notebook (chock full of lists,) has an antique pocket knife, sometimes drives a Baja Bug, and is never in resort wear. One of my favorite works is an apology card for an ex-pat neighbor who got wasted at a local establishment and may or may not have removed his pants. He wanted a custom work to give to the business owner to say "Lo Siento," I'm sorry. The card's cover features hand-carved rubber-stamped artwork; a cactus, a donkey with a couple of empty bottles at his feet, and the words "LO SIENTO" Inside, a sizeable hand-stamped bottle with the phrase "SORRY FOR BEING A JACKASS." See her work at the_evil_scrunchies on Instagram And TheEvilScrunchies on Esty