Environmentalists find opportunities in Baja California

The Great Recession halted many projects on the Baja Peninsula. Conservation groups used it to protect more open space, the Fronteras Project reports.

This is a tiny fishing village on the Pacific coast, about 400 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. There’s not much going on here as night falls on a recent weekday evening — just a few dirt bikers roaring around, and surfers catching the day’s final waves.

But only five years ago, this town was bustling with construction.

Santa Rosalillita was slated as the first step in the Escalera Naútica, or Nautical Staircase — a string of marinas that the Mexican federal government planned to build along the coast of Baja California and the Sea of Cortez.

Now, this marina is a giant sandpit. The main, three-story building that was supposed to greet boaters with a restaurant and Internet service, sits empty, rusting in the salty breeze.

The failed Nautical Staircase project has become the poster child for over-ambitious development dreams in Baja California.

“It was planned with the expectation that the real estate was going to continue growing," said Saúl Alarcón, executive director of the Mexican conservation group, Terra Peninsular. "They said: 'Well, let’s put some marinas in key places because we’re developing the entire coast. So eventually we’ll have thousands of people with yachts coming to Baja California.'”

During the recent boom years, many Mexican developers, and Americans in search of a plot of paradise, invested in Baja California's miles and miles of unspoiled, breathtaking coastline. Now, many are saddled with half-finished condos and acres of remote land with no electricity or water.

But some people aren’t all that upset about the development freeze.

“Definitely the downturn of the economy has been a positive boon for (Baja California's) natural resources," said Serge Dedina, executive director of WiLDCOAST, based in Imperial Beach.

“When the Baja Boom was happening, it seemed like environmentalists were fighting all kinds of projects," Dedina said. "From a plethora of liquid natural gas terminals to marina development projects, high-rise development projects and mega-resorts."

A lot of that has come to a halt. And thanks to the slowdown, WiLDCOAST and other conservation groups have been able to buy up discounted coastal land from speculators who once hoped to make a fortune selling beachfront real estate. They are establishing conservation easements on private land, and working with the Mexican government to form new protected areas.

“So in places like San Ignacio Lagoon, Magdalena Bay, the corridor between Loreto and La Paz and in the central Pacific coast, we’ve been able to preserve some really world-class coastal biodiversity areas," Dedina said. "Areas where grey whales go, and where you see whale sharks. Real world class, Africa-style wildlife destinations. So that’s really exciting.”

About four hours north of Santa Rosalillita is San Quintín Bay, an internationally recognized wetlands area. Tens of thousands of migratory waterbirds hibernate here. Clams and oysters are abundant.

“It’s one of the last (coastal) wetlands in North America," said Alarcón from Terra Peninsular. "I’d say, 80 to 90 percent of the habitat is still in good shape."

The local government had hoped this fragile bay would also house a marina. A mega resort and golf course were also once on the drawing board. But now, Terra Peninsular is coordinating with the government to establish a Federal Biosphere Reserve on nearly 300,000 acres here. It’s also working with local farmers to establish land use plans and sustainable agricultural practices.

Of course, development brought much needed money into this region. And with that money gone, conservationists are hurting, too.

“I mean, non-profits too, depend on grants and donations to do their work," Alarcón said. "When the development pressure goes down, the money for conservation also goes down.”

Back in Santa Rosalillita, locals say the jobs and income promised by the marina could have been good for the town. Even though it’s not likely to ever be operational, the marina project did bring electricity and a paved road. And a few surfing tourists: the marina’s break wall created a nice new wave.

Now, local fishermen are brainstorming ideas for what to do with this sandy corral.

"Some kind of farm," mused Javier Maclish, a local fisherman. "It would be really special if we could do that kind of work there. For example, an abalone or fish farm. Why not? I think we have a very interesting place to do it.

Transform a failed marina into fish farm? Indeed, why not? Baja's isolated residents are used to making something out of what appears to be to others to be a waste.

By Jill Repogle Reprinted from scrp.org

Sweat Lodge Ceremony, Full Moon Drumming & Hot Springs Soaking Trek

A traditional Lakota Inipi ceremony will be lead by Veteran Sun Dancer and Tokala Warrior, Joshua Mack. If you are being called to come together in a good way, to purify, lift up your prayers and intentions, share and heal, then answer the call.

The ceremony will be followed with a Full Moon drumming circle!

This will be a drug and alcohol free event, as to honor the Lakota tradition, the Canyon and ourselves in being totally present in our experience. Sweat, surrender, soak and sing! A’ho Mitakuya Oyasin! (We Are All Related).

This experience is a combination celebration, ceremony and Baja Trek.

If you have never been to Guadalupe Canyon Oasis it is truly amazing.


Day 1- Trek & Soak

We'll meet at the border if you are coming on the Gus the Beach Bus and drive east through the back country into northern Baja California.

On the way, we'll stop for supplies and a few tasty tacos in one of the smaller towns we meet on our journey. Then we'll head east on through the high desert chaparral and through some of the most awe inspiring rock gardens found on the west coast. The beauty alone will be enough to make us stop and gaze out over the majestic valley floor thousands of feet below before descending into what appears to be a whole other world.

Our experience continues as we turn from the pavement onto the road-less-traveled. The mid afternoon's warm sun will find us driving over the ancient dry lake bed of Laguna Salada. The dry lake bed is cradled for 60 miles to the west by the Pine tree-covered Sierra de Juarez mountains and the craggy peaks of the Sierra de Los Cucapah range to the east. After a final slow crawl up the rugged dirt road that leads to the hot springs, we'll sit down to a great dinner next to the campfire and soak our weary bones in the geo thermal hot springs.

Day 2- Drum, Sweat and Soak

December 10th is a full moon so bring your drum and celebrate with us while we beat to the earth's glory.

The new sweat lodge at the hot springs has not been used yet. This seems like the perfect opportunity to celebrate, purify, share and heal the energies that have come together to create such a unique place on this planet that we share.

We will greet our beautiful morning in the Canyon with breakfast and a soak. We will then gather at the Lodge to prepare the Sacred Circle and Fire, dress the Lodge and sit around the Fire for teachings, sharing and intentions, and making of prayer ties. We will crawl into Lodge before dark and come out into the evening, re-birthed, to share in a Wopila Feast, followed by a Full Moon Drumming Circle to launch our Love, Joy and Gratitude to Canyon de Guadalupe and her Ancestors!

Afterward, the hot springs will be patiently awaiting our presence to assist us in processing and integrating all of the beautiful gifts and experiences that we have shared.

Please understand that this will take a group effort to accomplish all that needs to be done for this ceremony to take place, and that each one of us will get out of the experience precisely what we put into it. In giving is receiving. It is also traditional to bring a small gift for the Fire Tender and anyone else you may care to share with. A pouch of Tobacco wrapped in a red cloth is traditional, but anything that comes from the heart is a beautiful way to show your gratitude to the Fire Tender for their hard work and focus.

There is no charge for the ceremony itself. Any Love-Donations will go toward to the costs of firewood, tools, blankets, and all that is needed to facilitate ceremony.

What to bring:
Loose tobacco for prayer ties and gifting
Two towels
Clothing must be 100% cotton
Men - sweat shorts
Women - a sarong or sundress
A great attitude, open heart, desire to help and willingness to surrender.

***If you have any surplus blankets to donate to the Lodge it would be greatly appreciated!***


Day 3- Mud Baths?

After a morning soak and a big Baja breakfast we'll begin our slow crawl back to civilization. We'll take our time and slide through a few smaller villages to sample the food and experience a bit of local culture.

Back at the border, we'll wave goodbye to our new friends, swap contact info and long for the next adventure. See you soon, amigos!


"My favourite thing is to go where I've never been." ~ Diane Arbus

Recycled Cooking Oil Powers UD Bus Fleet

Transportation at the University of Delaware recently became more environmentally friendly. That’s because the campus bus fleet is now using biodiesel to fuel its buses.

Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from renewable resources such as vegetable oil or soy oil.

In this case, the homegrown biodiesel is made by undergraduate engineering students who recycle used cooking oil with a donated biodiesel processor.

The processor is capable of recycling 130-150 gallons of cooking oil per batch to produce 100 gallons of biodiesel fuel.

Trekkers to Swim with Whale Sharks on the upcoming Beach Express Trek

Trekkers to Swim with Whale Sharks on the upcoming Beach Express Trek


It's that special time of year when Baja Trekkers gather from around the world to visit and swim with the gentle Whale Shark. Only in the area for a certain time each year, this years adventure finds us in Bahia de Los Angeles camping on the beach under the stars anticipating this once in a lifetime experience .

Although measuring up to 41 feet, the Whale Shark poses no threat to swimmers and often allows people to hitch a ride on their massive backs. Known as "Pez Dama" in Baja California because it looks like a large domino it is , in fact, more like a whale than a shark due to it's ability to eat plankton It is currently listed as a threatened species.

Our Beach Express Trek is August 20th. Get on!

Adventures of The Love Bucket a 1966 VW Bus & the Baja Trek scout crew

It was that time of year again, Independence Day or so we were told. Well you're probably thinking what does that have to do with much of anything in the land of Baja Trek. You see, everyone else was out grilling and watching fireworks while we were out working. It wasn't a bad job. Searching for new cool spots in Baja California never is unless you are subjected to breakdowns, being stuck in the sand or lost for hours on roads that are not even on the map.

We took the opportunity of the long weekend to boogie down the Pacific coast
in search of cool new camping spots. We found many including a wind surfer's mecca and some pretty friendly folk in a remote fishing village 100 miles from the nearest town.

In any case, you don't want to read my blah blah. Here's the video that Steve made of the ride in.

Costa Rica's Fauna Up Close!

animals from Douglas Burgdorff on Vimeo.

Baja Revisited

By Brandon Walter | Published Thursday, June 2, 2011

Reposted from The San Diego Reader

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/jun/02/travel-baja-revisited/

Baja beach camp

Recently a close friend and I embarked on a two-week road trip that took us from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, the tip of Baja California, Mexico.

We’d been discussing such a trip for weeks on end. We fantasized about the uncrowded waves we would score and delicious seafood we would eat in abundance. The two of us recounted several stories from past trips we had taken in Mexico and about how great those experiences had been. Stories about friendly, laid-back locals, fun, uncrowded surf, and hanging out on the beach sipping on cold cervezas.

Despite all the good times we’d had in the past visiting Baja, we were still quite apprehensive to take such a trip and visit our infamous neighbors to the south. After all, living in San Diego, there’s no shortage of horror stories about what happens in Mexico: everything from tales of bribery and drugs being planted on tourists to stories about decapitations and how children's freshly killed carcasses are used to smuggle drugs across the border.

These days the stories are predominantly linked to the recent activity with the drug cartels. You read these stories and hear them on the local news, but mostly you hear seemingly exaggerated accounts of what goes on – through acquaintances, whose sources are unknown. Regardless of your level of skepticism, it’s difficult to not feel a little "sketched out" when thinking about traveling across the border these days.

So after serious consideration on driving into Baja, which neither of us had done in at least four years, I began to do some research. Mostly reading articles and threads on online forums. What I found out did not surprise me; however, it did enlighten the subject. Here are a few key points that I found reassuring:

First, the majority of cartel-related crime takes place in the border cities. This meant as soon as we were out of T.J we would be fine.

Second, among those crimes, those involved almost always were either members of the cartels or government officials or family members of either. Good for us we don’t fall into any of those groups.

Third, and probably the most astonishing (or not), is that the American media over-dramatizes what’s taking place in Mexico. The stretching of facts and the lack of journalistic integrity do not portray an accurate picture of the situation there. Furthermore, both the L.A Times and the Union-Tribune are notorious for re-printing old stories and embellishing the truth about cartel-related news. Presumably their reason could be competition over tourist dollars – cause if they're not spending that money in Mexico, they're spending it here.

So after much thought we decided to go for it. We loaded up my buddy’s old Volkswagen Vanagon with surfboards and camping supplies. We bought our Mexican insurance and picked up our recommended tourist visas.

The trip was nothing short of awesome – aside from some pretty brutal "topes" and the starter dying in the van, we encountered no problems. We did not even have to bribe any cops. I can honestly say I felt totally safe the whole trip. Our van was searched several times (pretty much at every checkpoint). This is simply protocol, as the government is actually trying to do something about the cartels. The federales were kind, happy people to deal with and it was actually a nice break to get out, stretch your legs and talk to someone else.

The roads were not perfect but really not bad at all. They’re currently being upgraded to a four-lane system. Completion is expected sometime in 2013, and the progress can be seen best between La Paz and Todos Santos – that highway is as good as anything in the states.

We had a great trip and did exactly what we planned. We surfed uncrowded waves, ate plenty of amazing seafood, and of course drank a few cervezas. We were happy to spend our tourist dollars in a well-deserving place. Businesses are struggling down there; where most of them depend on tourists, this was sad to see.

Mexico is not the horrible place the media makes it out to be. Travel there is still safe regardless of the current "threat level color."

But this article isn’t about how you should go to Baja and spend a little time and money – even though you should. The point is that anywhere you go in the world, whether it be Mexico, Paris or just down the street, you should always keep your head on a swivel, always be mindful of possible dangers. And second, learn to think critically – don’t always take someone else's word as the end-all truth.

Go out and find your own truth!

Landscape Photographer Steve Sieren shoots Gus Adventures!

Check out some of the latest pics from our newest friend Steve Sieren, who came on board Gus through one of our shuttle trips to the best Baja hot springs up at Guadalupe Canyon Oasis!

We're honored to have Steve on board. His photos make us all melt inside. We're looking forward to having him come on a few more trips to help us document our madcap adventures and the beautiful wilderness landscapes of northern Baja California.

Also don't miss out on his feel-good video of some quality Baja Trek-style bus-surfing action.

And you can visit Steve's photography website to see more beautiful shots of Western landscapes in Calfornia, Baja and beyond!

Historical Wanderlust

Check out this cool interactive map depicting 23 epic journeys from times now past!

Especially check out Jack Kerouac trail where he veers South into Mexico:

"Behind us lay the whole of America and everything Dean and I had previously known about life, and life on the road. We had finally found the magic land at the end of the road and we never dreamed the extent of the magic."

Todos Santos is an artsy oasis in Mexico's Baja California

Most travel guidebooks, and many been-there-done-that travelers, will tell you that Todos Santos, a little artist enclave on the Pacific Coast of lower Baja, is "a lot like Taos."

On a spring-break visit, I chatted with artist Margaret Woodall, who was lazily daubing at a canvas in the shaded courtyard of a Todos Santos gallery during the town's second annual artist-studio tour.

"I came to Todos Santos 15 years ago from Taos, because Todos Santos reminded me of Taos back then," said Woodall, a slim, tanned grandmother who lived a good while in the famed New Mexican art colony, although she's originally from Kentucky.

She's a confirmed convert to Todos Santos, a town of about 5,000 people 45 miles north of Cabo San Lucas. "I like the ocean here. The mountains are the same, but there's no snow!"

And this sun-warmed courtyard, with its coral-pink wall festooned with longhorn cattle horns and framed by banana-tree leaves and cactus, was just the kind of place to get creative juices flowing.

Woodall's works on the gallery wall included a painting of pangas — the local fishing skiffs — on a beach at nearby Point Lobos. It's a subject we saw repeated at Galeria de Todos Santos, a short walk away through quiet, narrow streets of historical adobe buildings draped in purple bougainvillea.

There we met Erick Ochoa, a young Mexico City native, educated as an architect, who makes his living as an artist here.

He showed off a painting in progress, focused on the figure of a Mexican fisherman next to his beached panga. Ochoa's Edward Hopper-style use of light and shadow brought the subject to vivid life.

Taos is known for the quality of its high-desert light — the town's website devotes a whole link to the topic — and fans give Todos Santos similar plaudits.

"In summer, when it can be very hot, there are amazing cloud formations, and everything is bright — in Technicolor!" Ochoa said. "For an artist, there's everything you need here."

The same is true for art lovers. Twenty-seven local artists — about an even mix of Latino and Anglo names — welcomed visitors during the studio tour, which happens in March. A weeklong annual arts festival is in February. Galleries are everywhere, especially in the old-town blocks just uphill from the oasis ravine that cradled our little hotel, Casa Bentley.

Welcoming the Casa Bentley's guests are elaborately carved wooden gates, with sun and moon figures commemorating a 1991 solar eclipse, by artist Charles Stewart, another Taos expatriate who is credited as a founder of the Todos Santos artist community in the 1980s. (He died in April.)

Through the gates we met the hotel's builder and proprietor, Bob Bentley, a retired professor of geology from Central Washington University and a walking, breathing combination of Papa Hemingway (he has the white beard and straw hat) and John Steinbeck (he has the big poodle and the storytelling gene).

With a cup of coffee at a table beneath his wide-spreading rubber tree, "Doc" Bentley, 77, told us of the town's growing reputation among what he calls the "woo-woo" crowd, which fancies this a center of everything from magnetic healing to magical powers. "Lots of folks from Sedona find their way here," he said, referencing Arizona's center of New Age spiritualism.

That aura was encouraged by Mexican tourism authorities' official designation in 2006 of Todos Santos as a "Pueblo Magico," or "magical village," a designation given to some 40 towns across Mexico based on their natural beauty, cultural riches or historical significance.

But Bentley says it's the climate that makes the place perfect.

Nearby mountains, the Sierra de la Laguna ("essentially a fragment of uptilted rocks from out in the Sea of Cortez," our ever-the-geologist host explained), shield the area from summer's superheated weather systems that feed northward up Baja to as far as California's Death Valley.

"We have a little microclimate here — it's really pleasant, day after day. And there isn't any rain," said Bentley, noting that the last bad hurricane was in 1996.

The climate drew him to retire here after spending 15 years of off-and-on visits overseeing the construction of his hotel, which started with an adobe farmhouse dating to the mid-19th century. Additional structures are of local red amphibolite rock, along with polished inlays from Bentley's father's trove of 30,000 agates, jaspers, turquoise and other semiprecious stones collected during a lifetime in eastern Oregon, where Bentley grew up.

Modeled in part after a castle in Portugal, the hotel has a tiled pool fed by a waterfall, multilevel patios, an elaborate fountain, a grove of century-old mango trees and quirky touches such as the large palm tree growing up through the roof of our bathroom.

The town gets an occasional tour bus up from Cabo San Lucas. There are one or two tacky T-shirt shops and a Coldwell Banker real-estate office. But unlike more populous parts of Baja, Walmart has yet to make its way here, and drunken college students on spring break tend to stay in Cabo.

You'll find a dozen decent restaurants and cafes within walking distance around downtown. A local fish shop and an open-air kitchen at Casa Bentley let us concoct our own delectable shrimp tacos one night, a reminder that this is a coastal town.

But Todos Santos isn't right on the ocean. From our inn, my daughter and I walked 25 minutes to the beach, along a narrow, dusty track past horse pastures and a pen of friendly goats who poked their heads through wire to get scratched (yes, that spot, just at the base of the horn). A temperature in the 70s and cooling breezes made it a fun outing rather than a hot trudge.

The town's setback from the ocean, a small interceding lagoon, and an abrupt seafloor drop-off that creates treacherous surf unsuitable for swimming add up to a mostly undeveloped and beautifully wild beach. Blue water thunders ashore on a broad swath of caramel sand. A sign says it's a turtle-nesting area.

Only a few local families dotted the beach. A man played bucking bronco with his kids. Someone flew a kite. Wide expanses of empty beach beckoned the footloose.

It was the kind of scene that would inspire artists, no matter where they came from.

And, oh, by the way: I've never been to Taos. Maybe I'll visit someday.

I hear it's a bit like Todos Santos.

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IF YOU GO:

Todos Santos (meaning "all saints") is on the Pacific shore, about 45 miles north of Cabo San Lucas on the southern Baja California peninsula, considered one of the safest places to travel in Mexico these days. Established as a part-time religious mission and farming community in the early 1700s, Todos Santos evolved by the 1990s into a colony for artists from across Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.

GETTING THERE: Most visitors fly into Los Cabos International Airport near San Jose del Cabo, about a 90-minute drive by rental car from Todos Santos. Or you can take a taxi from the airport to the Aguila bus station in San Jose del Cabo (about $17 U.S. for up to four) and catch an intercity bus to Todos Santos (about $12.50 U.S. per person). Intercity buses are modern, clean and efficient, with service about once an hour between towns on the southern peninsula.

LODGING: We stayed at Casa Bentley, one of Baja's better bargains. Get past the dusty, unprepossessing street out front and you'll find a lovingly nurtured compound resembling a small stone castle, built by a retired geology professor. Five suites range from $80 to $130 per night, April to December, and $110 to $170, January to April. www.casabentleybaja.com.

Hotel California, on the town's main drag, is the best-known lodging, thanks to the thoroughly debunked (see www.todossantos-baja.com/todos-santos/eagles/hotel-california.htm) yet persistent urban legend that it inspired the Eagles song of the same name — a rumor that helped make Todos Santos famous. It's a beautiful, 1950s-era hotel in its own right, lavishly renovated in the early 2000s. Spring prices range from $80 to $150. hotelcaliforniabaja.com.

The year-old Hotel Guaycura is the newest on the boutique hotel scene, in a 19th-century brick building in the center of the old-town gallery district. Spring rates from $195 to $500 per night. guaycura.com.mx.

MORE INFORMATION: www.todossantos.cc or www.todossantos.com

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By Brian J. Cantwell (c) 2011, The Seattle Times.