Baja Mexico Travelogue First-Person Travel Journal Traveling in Baja

– Howard Winderbaum ––

NATIONALITY: Californian
DRINKS: Margaritas and screwdrivers with fresh-squeezed orange juice
FAVORITE BAJA CUSTOM: Walking down the beach with a margarita in hand, meeting fellow travelers and spending the night telling stories around a campfire.

This is the first in a series of first-hand Pub Journals from our Baja correspondent, who travels this unique land in a motorhome with his faithful golden retriever at his side. Follow the on-going adventures of Howard and Kuncklehead in future PubClub columns.

That's one reason I like Baja. Other than Cabo San Lucas, it's just not a hospitable environment for them to thrive.

A native of Los Angeles, I first discovered Baja while in high school. Okay, it was Tijuana and I went there to party and get laid. I hate to date myself, but what the heck. It was the early '60s.

Since that time, I've probably been here a hundred times. It's one of my favorite spots in the world, and I've been to enough places to justify my thoughts: Thailand, Egypt, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Central America, just to name a few.

A few years back, I bought a house in Baja with my friend Betsy. It's a modified trailer, really, located halfway between Rosarita and Ensenada. In Mexico, you don't own the property, just what's on it. There's been talk for years about a developer kicking us out of our weekend retreat, but until it happens, it's as good as place as any to hang out and drink margaritas.

Still, the possibility exists it may happen. Not willing to risk being shut out of Baja with no place to call home, I bought an old Dodge-powered Winnebago about a year ago and started exploring Southern Baja with my trusty golden retriever, Knucklehead. I leave the camper parked at the LaPaz airport, fly in with the dog and go from there. This enables me to cruise at my leisure and enjoy the treasures of two coastlines – fishing in the East Cape and Cabo, petting California gray whales in Gurrero Negro and drinking ceversas and margaritas wherever I go.

Like any country or large area, don't confuse Baja with its border towns. Baja's true personality is expressed through its small towns, villages and camp sites, most of which are pressed against the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of California. It's a casual existence, and that's one thing I want to make clear. You've got to chill out down here. Don't be in a hurry. Service in restaurants, bars, gas stations and other places is at a moderate pace at best. So check your anxiety at the border.

Baja – again with the exception of party-happy Cabo – is a unique resort area in that it is not an artificial paradise created by some profit-minded real estate mogul supported by slick-talking salesmen. Baja's beauty and recreation make it a natural resort.

As in any travels, what you put in to it is what you get out of it. If you come down here with an attitude, then you will get an attitude in return.

A lot of people have a misconception about this country, that because they are "in Mexico" they can abuse the people and the land. Mexico is definitely a place to party, but it is also a place to relax. Whatever you choose to do, be sure and do it with respect.

For the most part, the locals are hard-working, church-going family people who are friendly to respectful visitors. So just be sure and treat Mexico like you treat your own town or country. Do so and you will be richly rewarded.

My editor asked if I had a highlight story or two I could relate for this column. Oddly, I don't. Because what stands out the most of my travels here is the lifelong friends I've made along the way. Baja is a place where people have common threads, those common threads being a sense of adventure, partying and leaving their worries back home.

I can't say Baja has changed all that much since the first time I visited. Sure, it's a little more tourist-friendly, meaning there are more hotels, restaurants, shops and, of course, people. Most noticeable is the fact that the "dirt-cheap" days of $5 lobsters and 50-cent beers are long gone. Yet Baja has managed to retain its simplistic charm. And bargains in food, drink and shopping are plentiful.

When Highway 1 was built in the mid-'70s, it opened Baja up to a whole new world of visitors. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the beauty, hospitality and adventures of the place I'm proud to call my "home away from home."