Slow Baja - Ginni Callahan Sea Kayaking Loreto

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Ginni Callahan's Baja introduction started with a simple, straightforward invitation that most would dismiss as crazy: "Why don't you get a kayak, learn to paddle it, drive me to Baja, and tag along for the season?" The invitation from Kayak guide Hans Bruning changed Callahan's life forever. In 2008, she paddled to the Pacific Baja islands of Cedros and Natividad. In 2009, she soloed to Santa Catalina, the most remote island in the Loreto National Marine Park, renowned for its endemic rattleless rattlesnakes. In 2105, she circumnavigated Angel de la Guarda Island in the remote northern Gulf of California. In 2020, Callahan paddled solo across the Gulf of California, completing the final 55 nautical miles from Isla Tortugas to the Sonora coast in 18 hours. When not guiding sea kayaking trips, Callahan is writing a guidebook on the National Marine Park of Loreto. She is a breast cancer survivor who wants to give hope to others undergoing that journey. Enjoy this Slow Baja conversation with Ginni Callahan. Watch the conversation on ⁠YouTube.⁠ Listen to the conversation on ⁠Apple.⁠ Learn more about Ginni Callahan ⁠here.⁠ Get your Baja insurance ⁠here.⁠ More information on ⁠Slow Baja Adventures⁠.

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning into the Slow Baja. This podcast is powered by Tequila Fortaleza, handmade in small batches, and hands down, my favorite tequila. You know, I've long said it, ask your doctor if Baja is right for you. If you've been hankering to get down to Slow Baja,

you've got to check out the Adventures tab at Slow Baja. All my trips are there from my vintage extravaganzas in fall and summer to my fantastic winter expedition that's open to four by fours of any age. Now, of course, you can bring something old, but this trip is perfect for modern rigs. Got a go fast camper or a rooftop tent on your taco? Let's go. Bring your gal. Bring your best Baja bud. Bring your dog. This slow Baja adventure is for you. We've got whale watching, we've got beach camping. Raul et Rancho La Biotta is going to roast a lamb on. a spit that will change your life. You know, I take care of breakfast and dinner on these trips,

and it really does take the sting out of camping. Great food, private campsites, ranch stays, good dirt roads, and extraordinary people are the ingredients that make up a Slow Baja expedition. To find your trip, check out the Adventures tab at SlowBaha.com. But don't delay all my Slow Baja expeditions sell out. So you've got questions, hit that contact button, ready to book. Use that Slow Baja boarding pass at slowbaha.com slash shop and I look forward to seeing you in Baja soon. And folks, just so you know, I am always here for you for your Baja trip planning questions. One question, 100 questions, the easy way to get me is slowbaha.com slash contact. And if you'd like to go to Baja and you don't want to go by yourself, you don't have a vintage

vehicle, my winter trip doesn't work out for you, I am happy to talk to you about organizing and leading a private guided tour. I've done it. I've loved it. The pictures are over there at slowbaha.com slash adventures. And you can check them out. And if you've got some questions, let's talk. Hey, big thanks to those of you who've contributed to our Baja baseball project. You know, we launched our gear deliveries on my winter expedition. Michael and Matthew from Barbers for Baja. We're along for the ride and we got to deliver that critically needed baseball gear up and down the peninsula. It was really, truly amazing. And on my last trip, I got to go to the state baseball championships and see some of our

alums playing, some recipients of the Baja Baseball Gear Deliveries. And congratulations to Guerrera Negro and Mule Ha, the Ostonaros and the Cardinalitos won silver and bronze at the state championships. Big stuff. It's really fun to be there and fun to see them. All right, well, please help us continue this vital work. Make your tax deductible donation at the Barbers for Baja. Click barbers for Baja.org.

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Thank you. Hey, folks. Slow Baja selfie stand up. here and I just want to let you know I've got one spot open on the slow Baja fall vintage. We're going to cross the border on the 13th of October. Head to Rancho Labayota for a fabulous dinner ranch raised lamb on a spit. Raoul does it like you've never had it before. We're going to work our way down the coast mountain camp, beach camp, ultimately getting down to the cactus and Catavina before we turn north, head over to the east coast for another beach camp on the Gulf

of California, and then last night in a hotel in San Felipe, we all get cleaned up, have a big dinner. It's going to be a lot of fun. If you've got something 1994 and older or something that looks like in 1994, and I'm super generous on that. Hit me up quick. Love to have you join the fun. Dinner and breakfast are included on this trip, so it really does take the sting out of camping. Again, DM me at Slowbaha.com. Love to have you join the fun. Well, thanks for tuning into today's Slow Baja. It's episode 151. That's right. I told you about episode 150, Carl Honoray talking slow. Well, I've been kind of slow in getting these podcasts out, so I'm going to apologize for that. But I want to tell you about my heaping dose of gratitude today

is my wife, Amy Leonard. She probably doesn't listen to the show. So this is going to be our little secret that I'm thanking her for my heaping dose of gratitude. But honestly, 150 episodes now, there is no flipping way I could have done Slow Baja in any capacity at all. The podcast, the trips, the travel, the anything, couldn't have done it without her support. So thanks, babe. Today's show, Ginny Callahan. She's just an amazing woman. She runs a kayaking operation out of Loretto in Baja, Sear.

And in spring, I was out with her. Did a trip out to Danzante Island across the Loretto Marine National Marine Sanctuary. It's truly amazing. Four-ish, four-plus miles. I got some open water in. And, you know, I had just not done anything like that in my life. I'd always wanted to. I would love to do a whole bunch more. And it was just really great. And Ginny is an amazing, amazing guide. She knows the sea. She knows the wildlife. She knows the sea life. She knows the stars. She plays the flute. She wakes you up in the morning with a flute solo. She's an amazing person. So without further ado, Ginny Callahan, episode 151.

That's right, on today's Slow Baja. I'm here. We're all here because we're not all there. And it's the Slow Baja with the sound of this Ticcate light opening. This will be the official first podcast I've ever done on an island wearing a sweater and a pith helmet. I'm honored to be part of this adventure here. Can I? Yeah, here we go.

The sound of the Slow Baja. Yes. Ginny Callahan. What the hell are we doing out here? Oh my goodness. I'm going to apologize early for the wind. We're on a we're on a desert island in the middle of Laredo Bay. What bay is this? This is Loretto. This is the National Marine Park of Loretto. We are on Donzante Island, the island of dancers, and a fine afternoon breeze and an evening sun. Hey, we had a lovely paddle today and I've never done that sea kayaking thing across some water like that. Would you call that open water or is that just a protected bay? That counts as

open water. Okay. That was about a three nautical mile crossing, a little more than an hour. A three nautical mile crossing. This is the tail. Exactly. Sorry, how old are we? All right, I have to keep the sun blocked out here for the video. Go ahead. Three nautical miles. We're getting serious now. This is a serious part of the podcast. Yes, we are getting very serial. the wind was coming across the island and gave us a little headwind at the end, which was refreshing and, yeah, inspiring. It counts as open water. We've crossed to an island. Let's start at the beginning, Ginny. How did you start this whole sea kayak, Baja, Mexico thing that I partook in today and has exploded my head? Like, wow, this is available. People can do this.

Well, I'm glad to hear that has done that in a positive way. Ah, at the beginning, my first year in Baja, I came down at the invitation of some guy. How it happens. How it happens. And he said, I'm a kayak guide and I need a ride to Baja. So would you get a kayak, learn to paddle it, and drive me to Loretto? And I said, why not? So that was my introduction to Baja and to sea kayak tour.

touring. And I don't know, the rest is history. The next year I came down again and ended up getting hired by a company for whom I worked for 10 years as a sea kayak guide. In that progression, I became a lead guide and then the instructor of guides. I was also coaching sea kayaking up in Washington, state, and Oregon in the summer. And some of my students said, hey, take us on a Baja adventure. So I mentioned the company I was working with, and they looked them up. Up? We're doing great. I'm just trying to block the sun with my big pith helmet.

That's using your head. It's so funny. If you're not watching on video, folks, you won't catch that reference, but we've got the sun right behind us and I'm using my big pith helmet to block it. We're sitting here with our sunglasses and our hats and a beer. We're scooched in here. Yeah, it's rather intimate. It's kind of fun.

So where were you living at the time? I was living in, was it Oregon or Washington? right on the Columbia River. Because you've moved around a couple places. We had a brief conversation about where you're from and what you're doing and all that. Yeah, most of my adult life, if I can be counted as an adult, I've been on the West Coast. And the last 25 years I've been migrating between Oregon, Washington and the Baja. Yeah, so my students up in Washington said, hey, we want to do a Baja adventure.

And the company I was working for was mostly double kayaks. no experience necessary and mostly about happy hour. Nothing wrong with happy hour. But a lot of my students were looking for an adventure, like take us in single kayaks and let's do the things that we're learning to do and go for some real expeditioning. So that's how we got started in that little niche. And that's what we did today.

So I don't know, that was 15, 16 years ago that I started sea kayak, Baja, Mexico. and it's been an adventure since then. A lot of learning and growing opportunities. Had the great privilege of working with some wonderful people and meeting some wonderful people and being out on the water with some very inspiring and fulfilling companions. Yeah, you said when you first came here,

basically you were living on the beach, sleeping under the stars every night, paddling every day. Pretty much, yeah. The beach that we just launched from today, which is now one of Mexico's newest national parks. That was a little community of expats during the winter, and that's kind of where I fell into and just slept on the beach under the stars,

sometimes paddled around Danzante Island, the island that we're on now, before sunrise, or launch before sunrise, come back, have breakfast, and no matter what happens the rest of the day, that's a good day. You've had a good day if you've paddled Danzante. Yeah, I wonder if there's a little analogy that I'm not going to go into it. living in San Francisco where people need to get their Alcatraz swim in in the morning, you know, get their cold water swim in before they take on the day. Stevie Ray, if you're listening to me with your 1,000 plus Alcatraz swims, that's for you, buddy. So you're in deep on the kayaking, sea kayaking thing.

It's my life. Yeah. So you were living on the beach. You're paddling all the time, running the company, and you've grown up a little bit. You've got a roof over your head now in an office that we were in, right? Yeah, does that count us growing up? Is that how that works? I'm not going to judge that maybe I just put words in your mouth to say that you've grown up a little bit.

But you've done a hell of a lot of paddling. Just in the casual conversation we've had in the three nautical mile crossing that we did today, folks, on Slow Baja, you've paddled for miles and miles. You've paddled across the Gulf of California. Yeah. I have crossed the Gulf in a sea kayak. Yeah, that was probably one of my biggest paddling accomplishments. That was really a target or a big hook to pull me forward during a tough COVID time, the training of it, the excuse and the accountability to get out every week and to train up to paddle what ended up being the last leg of it was 55 nautical miles and 18 hours. jump into that so how does how does a1 train for that and how do you attack it and how many people do you have to have on your team helping you with the whole thing well let me let me backtrack a

little bit to why it was important to me to do it um COVID had hit and well of course the business kind of went from 60 to zero in a few seconds flat and then some personal challenge is like a horse at the same time and you know I think I just need to get out there away with the desalinator and some fish hooks for a month and just spend some time on the islands so I did that and then as I was kind of coming back into civilization wondering what to do next just to kind of pull myself forward a little bit bumped into somebody who had a sailboat and who was going to leave a sailboat on the other side of the gulf in San Carlos and then in October sail it down to Loretto.

That was all the excuse I needed. I had a ride back. Sometimes it starts so easily. Yeah, so that was the key logistical piece. I had trained up before to cross the Gulf and then not done it. So this time, I said, okay, it's not just for me. It's about the whole team of guides and people who want to paddle in Loretto. So let's train up to leave from Loretto and paddle together to Santa Rosalia,

which is about 150 nautical miles. And then from there, I'll go across, and they would get a ride back. So that was an excuse to get the community out on the water and training. And break that up into smaller pieces for us. So when you say 150 miles up the coast, how many miles would you chunk in for a day? I mean, how does that work with the currents and everything else? you know, 10 miles a day, 50 miles a day, what are you trying to achieve? Or maybe where can you pull in, so some days have to be longer and some days are shorter because they're good places

to pull in. Yeah, that's such a great question. It's so dependent on the land. The land, water, the weather, the place really defines the trip. So we could paddle pretty easily, once we trained up between 10 and 15 monocle miles a day, so that would have been about a 10-day trip. And in reality, we went up almost halfway to kind of a crux point, and then the wind forecast was really strong. We didn't have enough supplies to wait it out. So we turned around and sailed back to Loretta. We have little sails on our kayaks. So we took advantage of that wind.

And when we got back to Loretta, we weighted that weather out. And then two other guides and myself got a ride up to Santa Rosalia, paddled out to Isla San Marcos, which is about nine miles offshore. and then 15 miles up to Isla Tortugas, which we weren't sure if you could land there or not, it was challenging. The sand grain size is about a foot and a half across on that beach, quote-unquote beach. But yeah, we did manage to land. And then I launched from there at midnight and paddled northeast straight to San Carlos, and they paddled back and got a ride back.

So those are the logistics for that. crossing. So I launched it at midnight in the night. It was calm at the time, so calm I could see the entire constellation of Orion reflected on the water. Wow. Wow. Wow. Sublime. When the sun rose, there was no land in sight. It was like out there. It was six hours into the paddle and just me and some waves by then and the colors in the sky. And, And I don't know if I've ever been higher on endorphins than that moment. And who's with you? Do you have, is there a boat following you?

Is there a, so communications, what happens if what happens? I had a Garmin in-reach communicator. I actually had two. One was in the hatch of my kayak. And one was strapped into the back of my life jacket. So that one, I could pull it out, but I couldn't really put it back in so well while wearing the life jacket. That was my, I've lost my boat. This is a real emergency one. And the other one was the one every three hours I would check in and people could follow my little, my path.

So when you said you launched it midnight and you paddled the San Carlos, break that up. What's, tell, I mean, how far is that? What's the conditions? Tell me, oh, one stroke at a time. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It was 55. nautical miles which is something over 60 statute like normal land dry miles 18 hours so I launched at midnight so that I could get there with daylight because I didn't know the coast well enough I didn't know the coast there period so to arrive in the dark wasn't the best option so I calculated the speed and went for it you're singing to yourself the whole time what what do you what are you doing it's a long time 18 hours

hours paddling away. It is. It is. That's a really good question. There were times when, like, I don't know how else to describe it, but I was just paddling in this little bubble of, like, now, present moment, this wave, this stroke, and it just moved with me. There was a time about three quarters the way through where the current and the winds, the wind was kind of quartering against me, and the currents were pushing me further north, and I wanted to be. B, so I was pouring on the gas, and I was, at that point, I was tired. That wasn't as much fun as the rest of it, but a lot of it, I was just, the endorphins were kicked in.

I had trained well. I didn't even get a blister. Didn't end up sore, although my middle from, like, the rotating in the clothes got a little raw, but other than that, it felt so good. Yeah, so I was just going to say, is there a range of emotions that you go through on that where you're like flying high at the beginning and then you're crying at some point and then you're exhausted and swearing and tell me about it. Yeah, I'm sure it's like the whole vocabulary of emotions, the whole alphabet, huh?

You know, you're launching and you're hopeful and it never occurred to me that that I wouldn't succeed, that I couldn't do it. And I'd also trained up quite well, which I can detail that a bit if you want. And I'd spent so much time out paddling before that that I was mentally prepared. I just love being out there. There's my own company, and there's all the animals and the things that you see and notice. The stars were constantly rotating through the heavens, and I feel a great connection with the night sky, having spent so many hours sleeping here on islands under the sky,

and paddling under that sky. I'm sure you understand me as a Baja guy. Can you talk a little bit about I always call the inky black dark Baja sky? Like I always say if I don't have my headlamp positioned properly at 4 o'clock, I'm screwed because when as soon as it snaps dark, you know, I need that headlight with my old truck and I need to figure out how I'm, you know, going to see because it's dark, dark, dark, dark. Or it's beautiful and bright because the moon's so bright and the stars are so bright. And you were navigating that way. You had a compass, I'm assuming. Did you have a...

I did have a compass, but it was dark. I was going to say, were you paddling to a point on a compass? Not so much. At night, the direction I was going was splitting the difference between Polaris, which doesn't move through the night, and the constellations that were rising directly to my east, one after the other. So kind of halfway in between those two was northeast,

which was at that distance, was good enough to get me close to the coast. There's actually an island San Pedro Nolasko, about nine notical miles off of the coast of San Carlos. It has absolutely no landings. It's vertical cliffs and some sea caves. So I actually stuck myself in a sea cave to get out of the sun and send some messages

and shelter from that before continuing. Taking a little break. Yeah. Doing some media. Finding some shade in the middle of the Gulf. Yeah. Well, let's talk about the train. up. So you can't get enough of this paddling stuff. I'm a glutton. Yeah. So I started a pretty

comfortable paddle. You know, I can just hop out and do 15 nautical miles in a day pretty easily. Just that's what I do for a living. So then to add five miles, okay, I can do that this week. And then the next week I'll add five more radical miles. And five miles is about an hour and a half of paddling. Fifteen I would do in say four and a half to five hours and just keep adding each week one about five more miles and then knowing that I was going to be crossing after paddling out to a couple islands. I started like I'd paddle 12 to 20 not a couple miles sleep out. That was my excuse to get out under the stars. And then paddle my long day. My, yes, I did a 30, 35, 40, 45.

And then my longest training day before the crossing was 50, notical miles in 16 hours. That was launching from Loretto, paddling around Issa del Carmen, point to point, and back to Loretto. So it was achievable that you could tack on another five. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Okay. Yeah, it wasn't, yeah, it wasn't out of the. realm of what I trained up for. We talk about, did you also paddle across another large body of water that Azure was referencing

obliquely earlier trying not to put you on the spot for the, did she say the Pacific? Was that the, ask her about the Pacific crossing? I didn't paddle across the Pacific, to be fair. I sailed across the Pacific with a couple of kayaks on board. It was just two of us on sailing vessel Misty and a couple of Nigel Dennis Romani kayaks on board, 16-foot sea kayaks. Had the fun of throwing a sea kayak in the middle of the doldrums, about over a thousand nautical miles from land in any direction

and trying to tow a 10-ton steel sailboat. There's a lesson in physics somewhere in there. Yeah, that must have been a challenge. It was humorous. And then doing some of the crossings between the islands in like the Tahiti, Tahiti to Borahara, I paddle to Borobora. Just to be able to say that is super fun. Yeah.

So your partner's sailing and you're paddling. Yeah. We would stay in communication by radio and then try to find each other because I would launch ahead of time. Because it generally goes faster than I can paddle. Yeah, that was a terrific adventure. I really appreciate having that life experience. I bet. You're glowing right now for folks who aren't watching on YouTube.

I think Baja in the life here in Loretto and certainly your work, while it is work, it is work, it does kind of give you a glow. It's a really rewarding life. I must say that. So the opportunity to take people out in the wilderness. to invite people out to share something that fills me deeply. That supercharges me just to be out. Like you've seen us bounding along the beach and stopping and picking up a urchin,

just looking at the cool shells and birds go by, just being able to share that. And then the night sky as well. Also helping people to grow and learn. Coaching kayaking is something I've, I've studied and trained at and really enjoyed doing. So if people want to learn in that dimension, that's available and rewarding. And beyond just that level, that dimension of taking folks out onto the beaches in Baja and teaching kayaking,

there's involvement in the local community, which, where do I start with this line? Let me just jump in. Loretto's special, isn't it? Loretto? Loretto. It's a little special. Yeah. It is. It's... Where do I start with that one?

I think the people are proud. You've got the Pueblo Magico. It's the mountains. It's the sea. And you've got, I think, a high standard of living and a high quality of living and a pride among the people. I mean, I don't know if there are a lot of people leaving Loretto to go for a better life somewhere. But there are certainly a lot showing up. There are a lot of people showing up to Loretto for their better life. life here for sure yeah exactly yeah Loretto really has as its core of this identity of an eco place like a environmentally sustainable connected like we are connected to our mountains to our sea this is important to us the health of the ecosystems it's not

just tourism it's like you say quality of life standard of life you know where we go to recharge as Loretanos. I think I can count myself that after 25 years. I hope. But yeah, it is beautiful. And people really go out of their way to help each other out. You know, we've towed pangas into the marina with our kayaks. And we've had panga captains come and scoop us off of a stormy sea.

And we just do that as sea people and it's community members. And that's really a beautiful place to. to be in the human environment. And to connect people to the sea because, like, for example, sea kayaking is kind of a wealthy person's activity. And even getting out to the islands, costs a bit if you don't have your own boat. It costs a bit.

And there's a lot of families in Loretto who've never been. We've met a lot of young people who haven't had a chance to get out to the islands. And I also believe that people will want to protect what they love, and if they don't know it, they can't fall in love with it and want to protect it. So to keep that value going in Loretto for future generations and to help connect people to the sea, we've started a paddling club and within that Curso de Verano which is summer course it's a week-long program for kids 10 to 12 one week and 13 to 15 another week where you know they come after they get out of school in the summer

they'll come and they'll learn to float and snorkel and paddle and in the last day we take them to Coronado Island on a panga And then they've got the snorkeling gear and the paddling gear. And that's really the highlight. We've learned this. Not only how to play in the sea, but what animals we're looking at and what the park is and how all of nature connects. And like the arroyos run into the sea and understanding that if you throw your garbage in the arroyo, it's going to go into the sea. And then fishing from the sea, you're going to eat those microplastics in your fish.

And that's, you know, the whole thing is going to go. connected. So that's one of our kind of passion projects is to get kids on the water. And Loretanos in general just give people access to getting out and paddling and connecting with the environment that we're in. Well, if you want to connect to this environment, you're probably going to drive on down and you're going to need Mexican insurance. You're going to need to get that from Baja Bound. So we're going to take a break right now to hear a message from our friends, It's Jeff Hill and Baja Bound, and we'll be right back with Ginny Callahan. Here at Slow Baja, we can't wait to drive our old land cruiser south of the border.

When we go, we'll be going with Baja Bound Insurance. Their website's fast and easy to use. Check them out at BajaBound.com. That's BajaBound.com, serving Mexico traveler since 1994. You know, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, it's Slow Baja Mexican Lager. from my friends at Motosanora Brewing in Tucson, Arizona. If you're in Tucson, hell, if you're anywhere in Arizona, get yourself over to Modo Sonora Brewing,

order up an ice cold Slow Baja Mexican Lager. And if you love it, pick yourself up a six-pack to go. That's right. You can get it right there in the cooler right there at the brewery. That's Motocinora Brewing, Slow Baja approved in Tucson, Arizona. Hey, we're right back here with Ginny Callahan. thanks to our friends at Baja Bound. Jeannie, you were talking about the kids club

and getting the kids connected to their environment and getting the full message of the cycle of life, as Jacques Cousteau used to say, Z cycle of life. Like if you throw the trash in the arroyo, it comes down and it washes into the sea and then the fish eat it, and then you're eating your trash.

Yum! Where we left. Which we told, that's perfect. Yeah, do you see that message resonating? Do you see the kids getting fired up about an environment and learning about where they are and the beauty of why people come to where they live to see this? Yeah.

Do they get it? Especially when they're on the water and especially once they get out to the islands. They go back to Mom and say, hey, we got to this island. It was so beautiful. I want to come back again next year. And a lot of them, the kids and adults when they come to the club,

one of the primary goals is, I want to paddle to an island. I want to can't. camp on an island. Bucket list. Yeah. So it's not just for travelers coming down, but it's local folks too.

And then connecting that with conservation projects, not just picking up trash, although picking up trash can help people become aware that this is where trash ends up. Let's not toss it on the ground. But identifying species, putting it on, I naturalists, and

seeing the sum total, and meeting other people who are curious about plants and the animals and, hey, what lives only here? Like, oh, I see this every day. Why is it special? Oh, because nobody else sees it. It's just here. Right.

Certain lizards and flowers and cacti. Well, in my talk with Jonathan Redmond from the San Diego Natural Museum, Natural History Museum, he's botanist. And he really opened my eyes to the number of species that are endemic here. talking about plants, but the animals as well. It's a very unique place, Baja. Yeah. It's a little sky island in the world. One of my favorite creatures is the Montserrat Chukwala.

Montserrat is one of the islands in the Loretto National Marine Park. And the Montserrat Chukwala lives not just on Montserrat Island, but also on Danzante and Carmen. And I really fell in love with these scaly little guys. They're like maybe a foot long. when I bumped into them on a beach in Northern Carmen I just took a picture of a lizard on a rock came home, put it on my computer, and there were five lizards on rocks in the picture that I hadn't seen.

Wow. Wow, they're that well camouflaged. Yeah, or that was that blind or something. But that time of year, about that, you know, May-ish time, they all gather there. And in the morning, they crawl out from under the rocks. they do push-ups and, you know, inflate and stare at each other to establish territories. Sometimes they fight each other. I've got a film clip of this one jumping down off a rock, grabbing another one by the armpit,

flipping it twice, smashing its head on a rock, and they both walk away and stare at each other and do push-ups again. These little tanks. Wow. And then to eat, they move back into the bushes as the sun gets hotter, and they swim up onto these bushes and eat flowers. Wow. They're so cute.

Wow. Montserrat Chuck Wallace Montserrat Chuck Wallace Well tell me about some of the things that you like to see in the sea We were doing a little snorkeling today But you must have seen a few sea creatures And I would imagine that people must ask you about Aren't you ever afraid of sharks

And what do you see when you're paddling? I'm not actually afraid of sharks We've seen some large sharks here They don't tend to eat people I don't think they think we taste very good. Yeah. Metal back bubble blowers are just not on sharks menu and snorkelers and even in kayaks.

I've been paddling along and have a wave rise up beside me and something catch my eye. And in that wave about shoulder high is this little shark just swimming along and all of a sudden the wave passed and I was on top of it and the shark was gone. But just those beauty moments with light shining through the wave. And most of the sharks in the Sea of Cortez have been fished down. out anyway, unfortunately. Those fish tacos, unfortunately. The fins and the fish.

But dolphins, whales, little like neuterbranks and fish and things that stick to rocks. Loretto area is famous for what they call macro diving. It's where you would use a macro lens to look at tiny things. And there's the richness of life in the Gulf. I'm using Gulf of California

and Sea of Cortez interchangeably. But the richness in the sea is among the world's best. The north wind kind of helps drive a nutrient upwelling. And then the sunlight sparks plankton growth and just feeds a really rich food web. Now, do you ever see whales when you're paddling? I mean, are they here? Yes. And those are blue whales and humpbacks primarily, correct?

Blues tend to be like January, February. early March and the fin whales also there's a resident population of about 300 fin whales in the Gulf. They tend to stay a little further north like Baha'i de Los Angeles, but they do come down this way. Humpbacks will be here most of the year now. That's increased in the 20-something years I've been here. And dolphins are here most of the time. They're smaller, but they're just as fun and happy. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so we just got the message from my director here that we're running late on sun, burning some sunlight. Let's wrap it up then, Ginny.

So let's talk about what you do and how people can come and do what we did today, paddling out to an island, spending the night on an island. You've got multiple day trips from a few days to many, many, many, many days. So let's talk about your offerings. Well, thank you for that opportunity. Michael, I appreciate that. So we started as a kayak company that specialized in enthusiasts and expeditions and adventures and training. We still have that aspect and training.

You can come and learn to paddle from zero to guide and beyond. But we've also expanded the offerings and the entry level. So we've got day trips, we've got day courses from beginner through surf, rolling, making that kayak dance on the water. Overnight trips. Short trips, two, three, four, five days. With no experience necessary. Could be with motor support.

Could be expedition style. Our bread and butter is six day and ten day expeditions for folks with some experience to the more expedition level trips for folks with lots of experience. And then we've got like surf camp on the Pacific, how to play with your sea kayak in the surf, which teaches rough water, dynamic water, boat control and confidence.

So yeah, that's kind of... Yeah, and backing it up to your bread and butter. That is where you have your gear in your kayak, correct? Yeah, so you pack everything in the kayak, water, food, tents, everything. and we paddle either out around Carmen Island as a classic 10-day trip or from here to La Paz. There's another 10-day trip. And occasionally we do Mag Bay as another trip. And sometimes further away, bigger, more adventurous trips.

And it's really team building and confidence building to know that you can put your whole life in a sea kayak. Head out over the horizon, we don't go that far. But head out to an island and have everything that you need. just your band of people and the stars and the sea. Yeah. And a six-day or ten-day phenomenal life-changing experience. Yep. And a recharging experience.

Yeah. And, well, Ginny, what's the best place for folks to find out about all of this? Our website has a lot of information and photos. It is sea kayak, Baja Mexico.com. Sea kayak, Baja Mexico.com. Yeah. Easy to Google. Easy to Google.

And there will be a link in the show notes, folks. Hey, Jenny Callahan, really great to paddle with you today. We're going to get back out on the water as the sun's starting to get a little lower. And the light's getting beautiful. And then we're going to get some dinner. And then I'm going to have to put my tarp down and inflate my pad and find out where the flattest part of this rocky beach is. And sleep under the stars. Rocky beaches are better than sandy beaches.

Good to know. Good to know. You're getting the knowledge right here. Well, thanks. Ginny Callahan. It's been great. Spending a little time with you paddling and spending some time talking about kayaking and beautiful Loretto. All right. Thank you, Michael. Next time I get together with you. Let's talk about all the conservation work you've been doing. Awesome. Thank you, Michael. Is that an opportunity to talk again? That absolutely is. All right. If I get to talk again, that means I get to paddle again. So I'm looking forward to that. All right, Ginny, thanks. Slow Baja on. did it. He did it.

Hey, well, I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Ginny Callahan. Highly, highly, highly recommend getting out and kayaking with her in Loretto. It's really a lovely, amazing trip. I had wanted to do something like that, and now I can't wait to do a multi-day long, long paddle, and I would only do it with Ginny. She's really, really the best. If you like what I'm doing, folks, this is episode 151. That's right.

Drop a taco in the tank. Please take a minute, figure out what Slow Baja has been worth to you. over all these years, over 150 episodes now, and drop a taco in the tank. And, you know, hey, I get it. If you don't have any tacos, take a second. Go to Spotify or to Apple. Drop a five-star review. Say something nice about Slow Baja.

Tell people why you're listening, while you're still listening right now with me begging you to support the show or drop a review. I've got some merch in the stores, hats, stickers, and I've got a new batch of black T-shirts coming. And right behind those black T-shirts, I've got some. some other t-shirt, new designs coming in. So if black t-shirts aren't your thing, well, stick around. We're going to have something really fun this fall.

All right, well, let me tell you about my pal, Mary McGee. She's an off-road motorsports hall of famer, first person. That's right, the first person to ever solo, the Baja 500 on a motorcycle. Well, she had a pal, Steve McQueen, maybe the most famous movie star of the 60s and 70s. And, you know, Steve, he liked to ride on the dirt. He got Mary off for Pansy Road Racer and got her out to the Duffalo. Dirt, he said to her, you know, Mary, Baja is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting. You know, people always ask me, what's the best modification that I've ever

made to slow Baja? Without a doubt, it's my Shielman seats. You know, Toby at Shielman USA could not be easier to work with. He recommended a Vero F for me and a Vero F XXL for my navigator, Ted, as Ted's kind of a big guy. And Toby was absolutely right. The seats are great and they fit both of us perfectly. And let me tell you, after driving around Baja for over a year on these seats, I could not be happier. Shieldman, slow Baja approved, learn more and get yours at shielman.com.