Slow Baja

Today's Travel-talk with Slow Baja features Paola and Daniel from Antonio's Eco Tours in San Ignacio. Daniel's father, Antonio, founded whale-watching in San Ignacio Lagoon nearly three decades ago. His mother, Maria "Yaki" Aguilar, has graciously offered accommodations, meals, and hospitality unsurpassed on the peninsula. Multiple generations of the Aguilar family extend from the nearby rugged mountain ranches to the remote fishing camps that dot the coastline of Baja California Sur. Antonio is one of the region's whale-watching pioneers, while Yaki is a local legend for her fresh-caught seafood meals done in traditional Laguna San Ignacio-style. When the first whales enter the lagoon in late December, the local fishermen put their nets away until April, when the whales leave. Antonio and Daniel, and every other boat captain are full-time fishermen in the lagoon when it's not whale season. The San Ignacio Lagoon is a mecca of whale watching. Nowhere else in the world offers amazingly intimate interactions between whales and humans. Enjoy this light-hearted conversation with Daniel and Paula of Antonio's Eco Tours. Learn more about Antonio's Eco Tours here. Follow Antonio's Eco Tours on Facebook.

Jim Chamberlain has been preparing Dune Buggies for Baja since Bruce Meyers invented them in the early 1960s. Chamberlain prepared the legendary "Old Red" for its record-breaking run from La Paz to Tijuana that preceded the first National Off-Road Racing Association race in October 1967. Chamberlain was also a noted racer -while often found behind the scenes, he was the 69th entry in the 1967 Mexican 1000 -an electrical problem kept him from taking the green flag. He was instrumental in the VW buggy racing scene at Ascot Speedway and led the charge of Baja racers at Pikes Peak. He entered the second NORRA Mexican 1000 in his stock 1965 Volkswagen Van and said, "if you subtract the eight hours spent sleeping due to sheer exhaustion, our finish time would have been good enough to win the class!" Learn more about Meyers Manx here. Follow Jim Chamberlain on Facebook. Follow Meyers Manx on Instagram

“Chango,” the twelve-inch tall, plaster-of-paris, irregularly painted statuette, first appeared in the San Ysidro border traffic lines during the early 1970s as street vendors hawked them to passing tourists. Many a gringo returning from their surf trip, tourist jaunt, TJ bar run, or mission trip came home with one of these in the back seat.” Slow Baja has questions, and in this riveting interview, Beth Slevcove of the Surf Monkey Fellowship has the answers. Monkey or ape? Who is Chango’s creator? How did an icon of border tchotchkedom become nearly extinct? Stay tuned! Check out the Surf Monkey Fellowship Follow Surf Monkey Fellowship on Facebook.

Happy New Year, Slow Baja amigos! I am delighted to be on my first Baja trip of 2022. For the next two weeks, I'll be off-the-grid, scouting dirt trails for the NORRA 1000. In the meantime, here is one of my favorite conversations from last year. Enjoy this escape to Slow Baja with Graham Mackintosh. "The key to victory is throwing yourself at it and see what happens." Napoleon Graham Mackintosh won the UK Adventurous Traveller of the Year Award in 1987 for his walk around the Baja peninsula from 1983-1985. He captured the experience of his extraordinary voyage in his 1988 book Into a Desert Place. Growing up in England as admitted couch potato, Mackintosh became obsessed with the idea of walking the entire Baja peninsula and writing a book about it. He was utterly unprepared for what he was embarking on, from finding scorpions in his swim trunks to eating rattlesnakes and cactus for two years. "I was the last person in the world who should be doing this, but if I could do it, anybody could." Graham Mackintosh is the author of four Baja books. Check out all of Graham's adventures at his website Follow Graham on Facebook

Today's Travel Talk with Slow Baja has me chatting with Iran Leonardo Verdugo, Director of Tourism for Rosarito Baja, California. I wanted to sit down with Iran to learn more about Rosarito's pivot to adventure tourism. Most know of Rosarito's famous beach, but it also boasts seven of Baja's best hiking trails. In addition to the traditional hiking trails, there's the newly-created Medano Trail that looks like an excellent getaway for bikepacking, horseback riding, or a slow scenic drive in a vintage 4x4. Iran reveals K-38 Taco Surf is his favorite taco shop, and I realize I've been eating at the "tourist" taco shop for years. If the tacos are that good at the "tourist" shop, I cant wait to check out Taco Surf. Visit the Rosarito Travel Website Follow Rosarito Travel on Instagram Follow Rosarito Travel on Facebook Follow Iran Verdugo on Instagram Follow Jimny en Baja on Instagram

After I ran into Tim and Kelsey Huber twice recently, I had to get them to sit down on Slow Baja to give us an update on their travels. Here’s how they describe themselves on their website: “Hi! We are Tim and Kelsey. We’re two ordinary people that just happen to live an extraordinary life. We are traveling the world in our 1995 Land Cruiser named Goose…to put it bluntly neither of us is overly talented, smart, rich, lucky, or retired. But that doesn’t stop us from reaching far flung destinations and having wild adventures. We do have one advantage in the type of travel we have chosen, and that is we are both experienced off-road driving and recovery instructors. After watching many of our students go off and have the adventure-of-a-lifetime we asked ourselves when we would have our own adventure? Well, we came to the conclusion that life is too short and holds no guarantees, so now seemed like a pretty good time to pull up anchor and go. We have no shame in admitting we want to squeeze as much out of life as possible. For us, life is an adventure, full of extraordinary moments for anyone willing to go after them. Our goal in life, besides enjoying it, is to inspire others to follow their dreams, to prove that life is what you make it. Traveling the world can seem like an intimidating task (It sure does to us) but if we can do it so can you, So as we continue to explore and learn we will take you along to inspire, inform, and maybe just maybe flatten that learning curve for all those out there that want to make their dream a reality.” Check out Tim and Kelsey on Dirt Sunrise Follow Dirt Sunrise on Instagram. Follow Dirt Sunrise on Facebook. Watch years of travel videos on YouTube. Support their travels here.

On today's Travel Talk we sit down with Mason Schreck and Gabe Erivez from Pacific Overlander Expedition Vehicles. Pacific Overlander offers fly-and-drive adventures made accessible through turn-key, camp-ready vehicle rentals. Informed by years of backcountry travel and a passion for adventure, Pacific Overlander’s rentals, tours, and vehicle builds are the highest quality. Their fully-outfitted vehicles, 24/7 support, and team of dedicated professionals provide all the resources necessary to enjoy your time on the trail in both safety and comfort. Pacific Overlander is headquartered in Las Vegas and can accommodate one-way itineraries to or from many US cities.  Check out their all-inclusive Baja guided tour here. Follow Pacific Overlander on Instagram Follow Pacific Overlander on Facebook

Today’s podcast discusses GHA Racing’s Class 11 Championship winning Season. While most racers start racing slower and less expensive vehicles and move up to faster and more costly classes, GHA began in a Spec Trophy Truck and decided to move down to a Class 11 Beetle. Driver and team owner, Alex Gonzales, laughs as he says they have “Racing dyslexia, --but you haven’t lived until you’re flying through the air and you look over, and there is another bug 5 feet from your door flying along with you!” I met the GHA team after their epic 42 hour and 44-minute SCORE Baja 1000 run. They lost their transmission early in the race; and spent two and a half hours replacing it. After spotting the field a 2.5 hour head start they put the pedal to the metal and finished a scant three seconds behind the second-place car. They were filthy and exhausted when I saw them, and as much as I wanted to interview them right there, I let them clean up and get some rest, and we spoke the following day. The GHA team supports The City of Refuge, a private home in Tijuana that houses 16 formerly homeless children. You can read about it and donate through their Miracles per Miles program.  Listen to the podcast on Apple. Listen to the podcast on Spotify. Follow GHA Racing on Instagram Follow GHA Racing on Facebook

In our second conversation with Tru Miller, we discuss how her Adobe Guadalupe Vinyard and Inn has fared during the pandemic and what's ahead for 2022. Joining us are Claudia, who handles reservations and operations, and Mara, Tru's assistant and leader of vineyard tours. Enjoy this comfortable chat about one of my favorite spots in the Valle de Guadalupe. Check out Adobe Guadalupe Vineyards and Inn Follow Adobe Guadalupe on Instagram. Follow Adobe Guadalupe on Facebook. Book: reservaciones@adobeguadalupe.com

Michael Squier is a filmmaker and storyteller. In this podcast, we discuss his ambitious film project, The Baja Bug Movie. The project tells the story of the humble VW Beetle and the people who modified them for off-road use.  I met Michael on the NORRA Baja 500 while filming the movie. We recorded our conversation at the Cervezeria Transpeninsular in Ensenada during the NORRA Baja 500 awards party. To support the completion of the film, check out Michael's Go Fund Me: "We plan to tell the story of the Baja Bug through the people that are at the heart of it. We want to include racers, enthusiasts, builders, fans, and anyone along the way that helps tell the unlikely story of a small car designed in the 30's that became a legendary off-road car. We plan to tell the history of baja bugs, including the first one built and the early off-road racing days and show the evolution into what they are now. The story of the Baja bug is one that keeps evolving. Each generation adds their own touch." Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Instagram Follow The Baja Bug Movie on Facebook