With a fraction over four million visitors present year in, year out—what on Earth did we expect when we entered the theme-park hub that for us, was Yosemite National Park? An exquisitely stocked and of course exorbitantly priced supermarket, conjoined with a labyrinth-inspired gift shop alongside heaving restaurants and other amenities of convenience, comprised the initial […]
31 Mar-5 Apr 2016 – Undying rock art and killing it in Death Valley
On the sum total of four hours’ sleep, we ventured back from the Wave over to Jonny Hot’s house, encountered humility and hilarity in equal measures by him and his parents, before setting off on another strenuous hike. Was there no end to this boy’s bottomless pit of energy? Intent on breaking me, you can sleep […]
5-24 Mar 2016 – Going crazy for slot canyons
A throng of tourists milled around. It was your unusual untidy ragbag of a group, gaudy jumpers, open-throat shirts and creased clothing beneath a sea of excitable faces, a rainbow of complexions, all agog to peer down. One rather buff looking guy in a snug fitting t-shirt caught my eye and reminded me of Clive […]
25-30 Mar 2016 – Let the Wave hit your feet and the sand be your seat
Night had fallen with a crystalline clarity that made the chill intense. The stars seemed to press down in a way that I hadn’t seen before. The God of Winter was not about to relinquish its hard-won dominion without a tussle. Through the night, the rain froze on impact leaving the ground frigid outside the […]
Latest film: Biking the Baja – In Pursuit of Whales
So excited to present the latest Two Wheeled Nomad installment of a month-long trip we made on the Baja Peninsula. It’s depicts why we live to travel by motorcycle as much as anything else, includes a handful of firsts for us and some experiences that will stay with me until the end. So put the kettle […]
28 Feb-4 Mar 2016 – Forever young at Bahía Concepción and feeling small on a limitless sea
Prizing ourselves out of San Ignacio was a whale-induced wrench. Comforted only by the fact that we were headed towards more azure bays, boojum-laden landscape—cactuses that twist and turn skyward, like inverted hairy carrots—scarred by rocky landslips amid a jumble of giant boulders. And foremost, we hoped, another helping of marine magic. The ride to […]
20-27 Feb 2016 – Having a whale of a time (Part 2 of 2)
Having intensively observed 50 shades of grey at Guerrero Negro, hooked us right in. Brain filters set to baleens, people and pictures frequently reinforced that San Ignacio Laguna on the west coast, just down the road from Guerrero Negro, reputed it to be the perfect breeding ground for the mysticeti (a whale without teeth). Little […]
17-19 Feb 2016 – It’s no fluke when you see 50 shades of grey (Part 1 of 2)
“Thar she blows!” someone cried as puffs of vapour sprayed out from a pair of blowholes. Chins stopped wagging, giving way to the whopping 40-tonne whale breaching. Or so we’d been informed, the day before we arrived at Guerrero Negro. The prospect of encountering a mammal—post their long migration—the length of a semi-trailer truck at 6,000-stone, […]
16 Feb 2016 – Nailing my knickers to the ceiling and putting dirt road demons to bed
The weather is glorious at this time of year on the Baja, in fact, it just about teeters on perfection. By day and night. I haven’t seen a single cloud blot the sky as yet on the eastern side, and may not. Without the body melting 24/7—keeps the spirits level, energy levels lively and mind […]
13-15 Feb 2016 – New beginnings on the Baja with quite possibly the best fish tacos in town
Picnic tables amongst the pine trees of Arizona long gone, we’ve officially re-ridden onto what looks like a nosediving dragon—775-miles in body and 200-miles in girth—from Mexicali in the north to Cabo San Lucas in the south. The Baja peninsula dips its big toe into the bracing Pacific on the westside, and its pinky into the […]