GregN
Junior Nomad
Posts: 99
Registered: 5-13-2004
Location: Palm Springs
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Inspiring Baja Travelers
Recent Baja Bound article about authors who have inspired us to go south. Enjoy!
https://www.bajabound.com/bajaadventures/bajafever/inspiring...
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JZ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9236
Registered: 10-3-2003
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The thing that inspired me to visit Baja was a website. It was pretty simple and has long since been taken down, but it was great, and will always be
special to me. Sometimes I think about making one like it to inspire others.
I'm a boater at heart. We spent years boating around the Channel Islands and Santa Barbara. Then started doing trips down to San Diego and
eventually Ensenada.
One day I just happened to look at a map and saw the SoC. It instantly intrigued me. And then I stumbled across a site that an experienced sail
boater had created. It had an interactive map of the SoC, and you could click on about 10 different places that would take you to a page about that
town. It had Mulege, BoLA, San Carlos (Sonora), Puerto Escondido, Gonzaga Bay, Loreto, Santa Rosalia, and several others.
Each page contained several pictures and a brief description of the area. It listed out the facilities in the town (how to get gas, if a mechanic was
available, food supplies, etc.). All stuff geared to boaters.
This was the start for me. It really conveyed the remoteness that is Baja. How isolated and extreme Baja is. Think I was about 31-32 at the time,
and I really wanted to visit every one of those places. And we did!
The books that most inspired me were Gerry Cunningham's 3-4 boating guide books. He wrote about every single anchorage in the SoC in great detail.
Loads of pictures of his boat in different bays, and a lot of aerial photos. I still review the books from time to time.
[Edited on 5-19-2019 by JZ]
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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When I moved to San Diego in 1978 I started going to Baja with my brother. He and his wife were scuba divers and we went to a place called Kennedy's
camp across the hills from campo La Jolla on the road to La Bufadora. For several years this was the only place we went besides the various places
along the way. We ate fish tacos in Ensenada at the fish market but never stayed in town.
In 1987 a friend said he was going to Colonet and asked me and my wife to join him and his family and a few friends. So off we went. We camped at the
sand dunes at San Antonio Del Mar. While there we saw various off road vehicles traveling north to south a little inland from where we were. One
stopped and appeared to be doing work on the car. So we rode our motorcycles over to it. We asked what they were doing and he said they were
pre-running the Baja 500. What is the Baja 500 we asked and he told us it was an off road race of about 500 miles. They were on their way to Mike's
Sky Ranch. We asked were is that at. He told us to follow the ribbons and arrows up into the mountains to find it. He also gave us a map
The next day 4 of us took off for Mike's. When we got there and in the bar was a distinguished looking gentleman with gray hair and a mustache. I
walked over and before I could say anything he introduced himself as Mike Leon the owner. After a brief exchange I asked him what was the Baja 500
race all about. For the next two hours we were schooled on Baja racing. After several margaritas we went back to our camp. We went down to see the
race and in the following months we made plans to race the Baja 1000.
That was when I read everything I could find on Baja and Baja racing. I was officially hooked on Baja.
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JZ
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9236
Registered: 10-3-2003
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Quote: Originally posted by TMW  | When I moved to San Diego in 1978 I started going to Baja with my brother. He and his wife were scuba divers and we went to a place called Kennedy's
camp across the hills from campo La Jolla on the road to La Bufadora. For several years this was the only place we went besides the various places
along the way. We ate fish tacos in Ensenada at the fish market but never stayed in town.
In 1987 a friend said he was going to Colonet and asked me and my wife to join him and his family and a few friends. So off we went. We camped at the
sand dunes at San Antonio Del Mar. While there we saw various off road vehicles traveling north to south a little inland from where we were. One
stopped and appeared to be doing work on the car. So we rode our motorcycles over to it. We asked what they were doing and he said they were
pre-running the Baja 500. What is the Baja 500 we asked and he told us it was an off road race of about 500 miles. They were on their way to Mike's
Sky Ranch. We asked were is that at. He told us to follow the ribbons and arrows up into the mountains to find it. He also gave us a map
The next day 4 of us took off for Mike's. When we got there and in the bar was a distinguished looking gentleman with gray hair and a mustache. I
walked over and before I could say anything he introduced himself as Mike Leon the owner. After a brief exchange I asked him what was the Baja 500
race all about. For the next two hours we were schooled on Baja racing. After several margaritas we went back to our camp. We went down to see the
race and in the following months we made plans to race the Baja 1000.
That was when I read everything I could find on Baja and Baja racing. I was officially hooked on Baja. |
Very cool, thx for sharing Tom.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Great story Tom!
Have you seen this book by Lyle Engel from 1974? It is primarily about Baja and the NORRA years before SCORE. I got it when I was in high school.
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jbcoug
Senior Nomad
Posts: 709
Registered: 9-24-2006
Location: Vancouver, WA
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Mood: Needing Baja!
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I love reading these stories! It seems they are all based on a single exposure to Baja that struck a chord in the heart of the individual. I had
never been to Mexico other than a hop to Tijuana from San Diego. My wife and I went to San Jose del Cabo for our honeymoon. We had a great time but it
was not much to see then. But, I got the bug somehow. We went back again and again with family and the itch grew stronger within me. I had found Baja
Nomads and lived vicariously through your posts. My goal, though I doubted it would ever happen, was to drive the length of Baja and visit many of the
places you shared with me here. I was waiting for retirement but then Paul Boe (boe4fun) offered me the opportunity to travel with him from S.D. to La
Paz as part of his trip while working with the flying doctors and his helping individuals with prosthetics. I took him up on the offer and he detoured
to show many of the places I had read about. I met a number of nomads along the way. I finished the trip to Cabo solo and was entirely hooked. Since
retiring, I have made the drive from the NW to Cabo three times round trip and no two trips have been alike. I love shopping at the Ensenada Costco
for items for the grandpas. I always try to round up things needed by Baja Blanca for her students. I try to always help out the dog rescue in Los
Barriles. But I always love visiting a new village or town, experiencing something new or meeting new people. Watching the whales with Shari or
swimming with the whale sharks in La Paz, or simply sitting by the beautiful sea! It never gets old! I hope I can squeeze in a few more visits, but at
least I have experienced the Baja we all love!
\"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.\" Andy Rooney
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