Find yourself in Baja @bajacom - Tumblr Blog

May heralds the return of some of Baja’s most highly anticipated events, including the 35th anniversary Rosarito to Ensenada 50 Mile Fun Bicycle Ride, and what is now billed as “The Happiest Race on Earth,” the General Tire NORRA Mexican 1000. The origins of former date to 1979, while the latter hearkens back to 1967, when Ed Pearlman and the National Off-Road Racing Association organized the inaugural running of the event that would eventually become famous as the “Baja 1000.” Although that legendary race is now run under the SCORE Banner, NORRA revived the spirit of those bygone days when it restarted the Mexican 1000 as a fun, vintage-style rally race in 2010.

On Monday, May 19th, 2014, Finch’s Wine Bar and Bistro in La Jolla, California will open their kitchen to six world-renowned executive chefs who will prepare six courses of contemporary Mexican cuisine. The courses will be accompanied by the delicious wines of Baja California‘s Valle de Guadalupe. To put this in context, these six internationally-trained chefs coming together to prepare their best Mexican dishes with the best Mexican wine is kind of like Top Chef Masters…on steroids! El Gringo has indulged in a bit of Mexican cuisine in the past year, and the current culinary scene both in Baja California and throughout Mexico is HOTTER than a Serrano chili!

Although seafood remains the once and future king of the Cabo culinary landscape—something that should come as no surprise in an area long heralded for its world-class fishing—the increased profile and popularity of the peninsula’s Baja Med cuisine, as well as the world-class wines now being produced in Valle de Guadalupe outside of Ensenada, have helped attract an influx of talented and creative chefs to the region, spearheading the development of what is quickly becoming one of Mexico’s most fertile culinary hotbeds.

It wasn’t so long ago that almost all of the beer sold in Baja California was mass produced by the likes of Tecateand Modelo. The south of the border beer scene has undergone a profound transformation in recent years, however, and there are now over 100 craft breweries located in major hubs around the peninsula.

Spending a perfect day in Tijuana is problematic only due to the challenge in narrowing down a list from a seemingly endless amount of events, restaurants, markets, shops, galleries, museums and other possibilities from which to choose.

Baja California’s largest city, Tijuana has reinvented (and reinvigorated) itself since a tourism decline that began in 2001. Since then, “TJ” (as it’s often referred to by locals and visitors) has been steadily getting back on its feet…and then some. Its culinary resurgence and “Baja Med” cuisine have received international press and top rankings in Latin American restaurant circles.

Gazing out from the airy glass-walled dining room at hotel and winery Encuentro Guadalupe, it is difficult to believe that winter has ever arrived in Baja. Sunshine is draped over Ensenada’s Valle de Guadalupe like a layer of chiffon, lending a soft golden cast to the wine country’s craggy hills and rambling vineyards. The only tell-tale signs that this normally verdant valley is dormant are the vines, themselves: gnarly and naked, and waiting for spring. In the meantime, all kinds of other things are blossoming and sprouting and they are all being harvested right now, for breakfast. Today, the morning meal is being prepared by a host of great cooks led by the renowned Chef Flor Franco, owner of Indulge Contemporary Catering based in San Diego, California, and special events chef for Encuentro Guadalupe.

Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe, just outside of Ensenada and 90 minutes from the border, has a history of farming and viticulture that dates back to the early 20th century. Then, Russian immigrants fleeing religious persecution from czarist Russia were granted farmland by the Mexican government. Wines from Baja now grace the menus of restaurants all over Mexico (we had our first bottle in Cuernavaca) and are becoming more available in the U.S.

The top April events in Baja California showcase some of the peninsula’s signature attractions, from local arts and crafts and the Cabo party scene to fresh regional seafood and the world-class wines now being produced in Valle de Guadalupe.

But star billing goes to the Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race. Since 1948, sailors and celebrities have competed in “the world’s largest international yacht race,” a 125 nautical mile journey from Newport Beach to Ensenada, with post-race parties and activities rounding out the memorable weekend.

When spring is on the horizon, many anglers along the northern Baja Pacific Coast take full advantage of the increasingly sunny, calm days by drifting near inshore kelp beds in pursuit of calico bass. Technically named “kelp bass,” this colorful, checkerboard patterned fish is a member of the family Serranidae (sea basses), and is also a close relative to the barred sand bass. These and other smaller members of the tropical grouper family are generally referred to ascabrilla in Baja California.

Located less than 100 miles south of the International Border at San Ysidro, the Mediterranean-like seaport of Ensenada is situated at the end of a picturesque highway on the Pacific Coast of Baja California Norte. Ensenada’s proximity to the border has for many years made it a natural choice for stateside visitors looking for a convenient and reasonably priced Baja getaway. Here you can enjoy the best of both worlds, from bucolic natural beauty to world-class wining and dining, as well as the other sophisticated pleasures found in this modern city located near the gateway to populous southern California.

It was the last day of his vacation in Ensenada before heading back to the blistering July heat of Phoenix, Arizona, and Rob had made the decision the night before to spend it on a sportfishing boat.

Although it was only 7:45 a.m, the summer sun had already torn its way through a thin, gray layer of marine mist when the skipper encountered flocks of hungry seagulls and pelicans on the way to Islas Todos Santos, just offshore. The birds were intently circling, and diving frantically into a small section of ocean that had erupted into a chaotic froth of fleeing sardines, as well as predator species that were crashing through the deep blue surface while attempting to eat them.

When El Gringo visited Loreto on the coast of the Sea of Cortez in Baja California Sur in 2006, I was told by old Baja hands that the fishing village was “…like Los Cabos 20 years ago”, unspoiled by large-scale development and happily lacking in flashy U.S. brands, stores, fast food chains and anything involving Sammy Hagar. In short, a place where one could still experience “Old Mexico” in a natural, rustic and beautiful setting. Although Loreto was slated for development by FONATUR (Mexico’s tourism development agency) along with Los Cabos, Cancun, Ixtapa and Huatulco in the 1980s, a number of issues (including sustainability in an arid desert environment) kept Loreto – a small, historically-significant town of 15,000 – lagging.

Few places on earth can match Cabo San Lucas when it comes to spectacular seaside settings and year round sunshine, and over the past two decades this charming resort town situated at the Baja Peninsula’s southernmost point has become a mecca for destination weddings, honeymoons, and renewal of vows ceremonies.

If you’re one of the privileged few who demand the absolute best in service, style and extravagant surroundings, then forget about five-star hotels…You’re ready to enter the exclusive world of villa rentals in Mexico’s most spectacular setting, where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean, and lavish Land’s End luxury lodgings overlook the dramatic coastline of Los Cabos at the southernmost tip of the Baja peninsula.

Playa Los Cerritos, or Cerritos Beach, is located less than an hour north of Cabo San Lucas along the Pacific Coast of Baja California Sur, and is considered by many to be the best year round surf spot in the state. Certainly, the beach has long been a popular learning spot for would-be wave riders.

October 26, 2013 saw the birth of a new kind of gallery in San Jose del Cabo. O Gallery forms the core of an Art Center that artists Francois Paris and Jon Teschner envision as a special place for artists to congregate and share the ideas and energy that are so essential to the creative process.

The closest most anglers along Baja California’s Pacific coast ever get to catching a member of the tropical grouper family is when they have hooked one of their distant cousins, such as a calico bass or cabrilla. Up until the mid-1960s, however, there were healthy stocks of giant black sea bass (Stereolepis Gigas) thriving in the rocky lairs along coastal islands such as Islas Coronados off Rosarito Beach, and Todos Santos, which lies a few miles west of Ensenada Harbor.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Find yourself in Baja