It’s a holdover from Baja's Gold Fever days. A hideaway from the bustle of Ensenada. Drive an hour inland through curvy roads, past an ashram and a blue Madonna painted on a boulder, and eventually …
April 9, 2015
Cheese dreams in Baja's Ojos Negros
Playa y vino: best bets for a Baja weekend
Like many other folks, my wife and I like tasty wines and panoramic ocean views, especially if they’re less than an hour away. So we often head out to La Misión, a tiny Baja village …
April 23, 2015
Baja zen: Guadalupe Canyon's oasis
It's midafternoon, and the hot sun beats down on a remote desert road laying before me. I'm deep in the Mexican desert, thinking of shinrin-yoku. Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese practice of "forest bathing" to enhance …
May 8, 2015
30 miles south in Baja: Popotla & Rosarito
Up for a short drive to a different country? Rosarito Beach is just 20 scenic minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border – but it’s more Mexico than it is Tijuana, and adventures are waiting. The greatly …
June 7, 2015
The Baja bucket list
If someone handed you a travel itinerary that included crossing a dangerous Mexican border town to jump in the ocean with 30-foot-long beasts and wander a graveyard at night, what would you do? I mean, …
July 23, 2015
K-38's Calypso brings the funk
It’s Friday night at Baja Calypso and there’s a calm but buzzing energy in the restaurant, and a soft glow from the Moroccan lanterns hanging from the ceiling and candles perched in tabletop wine bottles. …
December 21, 2015
To Baja and back again
After what appeared to be a never-ending campaign of presidential media blitzes, president-elect Donald Trump won the race. Lost the popular — but who’s counting? And now, a storm is coming, but the conditions are …
December 29, 2016
Baja's Valle de Guadalupe on a budget
Two hours south of San Diego, around sixty miles from Tijuana, sits Valle de Guadalupe inside Ensenada, the largest municipality in all of Mexico. Dozens of wineries with tasting rooms and fancy eateries sit near …
May 9, 2017
Read before rolling into Baja
When the Baja 1000 races roll around next month (November 14–18), some Americans crossing into Mexico might be in for a big surprise. Recently, travelers crossing through the San Ysidro, Otay, Tecate, and Mexicali borders …
October 20, 2017
A Mexicali Chinese New Year
Before washing up in San Diego, I lived as an expatriate “gweilo” (foreign devil) in Hong Kong for 20 years. In Hong Kong, I had cultivated a taste for exotic South China cuisine like blood …
January 11, 2021