Slow Baja - Travel Talk We Get An Update On The 2021 Baja XL Rally From Andrew Szabo

Episode Date: November 11, 2020

Andrew Szabo created the zany Budapest-to-Bamako Rally and the 3000-mile-no-support-Baja XL Rally. In this podcast, Szabo gives us an update on the latest developments for the 2021 Baja XL Rally, starting on January 29, 2021, and ending on February 7, 2021. Here at Slow Baja, we were thrilled to drive in the 2019 Baja XL Rally, which featured 300 entrants in 140 vehicles hailing from more than 25 countries. Due to Covid and border control issues with the U.S., the 2021 Baja XL will start in Tecate. The rally will finish ten days and 3000 dirt-laden kilometers later, on a beach South of Tijuana. The event will travel down the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja peninsula and camp in Diablo Dry Lake. Night two will be another camp out in Bahia de Los Angeles. Night three will be a beach camp on Bahia Concepcion, and night four will land at a camp night in Las Cruces. After the rally rounds the tip of Baja, it proceeds up the Pacific coast, and night five will be in Todos Santos. The Las Cruces night may become optional, opening teams to have a rest day and party night in Cabo or spend two nights in Todos Santos. From Todos Santos, the rally proceeds to the surf town of San Juanico, also known as Scorpion Bay. The next stop is Guerrero Negro, and a half-day of rest is in the schedule for whale watching. Ted and I have a panga booked with Shari Bondy of Whale Magic Tours; there should be several seats available to join us for whale watching. Please email me to reserve your spot. A night in Catavinia will follow, and the last night will be another camp night somewhere south of Tijuana. Visit the Baja XL Rally Website Visit the Baja XL Rally on Instagram  Visit the Baja XL Rally on Facebook Budapest-Bamako channel on Youtube 

Hey, this is Michael Emery. Thanks for tuning in to Travel Talk with Slow Baja. This podcast is brought to you by my good friends at Baja Bound Insurance. Are you driving to Mexico? Well, then you need to check out BajaBound.com. Their website is fast and easy to use. That's Bajabound.com, serving Mexico. Mexico travelers since 1994 and tell them Slow Baja sent you.

Hey, this is Michael Emery and the Slow Baja podcast, and I am delighted to be on a Zoom call today with Andrew Zabo from the Baja XL Rally, and we're going to get a big update on what's happening with the rally coming up January 29th in Cate, 2021. Am I correct on that, Andrew? You are correct, and thank you for having me. And actually, I am on my way down to Baja, right now as we speak. Yeah, you're talking to me from your car. Say it again? You're talking to me from your car.

I love it. Brilliant, isn't it? Technology, huh? So yeah, so we're super excited about the 2021 Baja Excel, and there was a lot of uncertainty about the event earlier this year. And then, of course, a lot of people were speculating and nervous. as everybody else was about the future of the event in 2021, of course, with, you know, everybody shutting down and all major sporting events being canceled.

But we decided to wait and wait out how the situation is developing. And we had to make some changes because of the coronavirus and because of the pandemic. And with those changes, changes we will go on and I'm convinced that we can keep the rally safe and we can keep the events safe for all the participants and we can do it in a fun and civilized manner and we don't have to cancel it. I feel like that the first wave of the virus, everybody was scared and frightened and nervous and there was general panic. The second wave of the virus people were a little bit more cautious and less fanicky.

And the third wave, they're just trying to ride the wave and trying to live with the virus. And that's what we're trying to do. And that's what we believe in. You know, when people ask me about the virus and how we feel about it in the pandemic, I always tell people that we organize our rally in Africa, the Budapest, Bamako, during the Ebola outbreak. So we're not afraid of Ebola and we manage to, to organize and put in a good rally during Ebola in Africa in 2015,

then we should be able to do a rally in Mexico during Corona. I also believe that I'm also a firm believer that that outbreaks and pandemics and epidemics are part of adventure and you just have to be very careful and you just have to follow guidelines and instructions and every virus is different. And you just have to be able to live with them and manage them. So that's our policy on Corona. So we instituted some very specific changes. One major change is that the rally is not starting from Los Angeles and not ending in Los Angeles and we're not crossing borders.

And the main reason behind that is because the United States has shut down to our foreign visitors pretty much. So about 30, 25, 30% of our participants were coming from overseas so they couldn't get into the U.S. and also the organization team is coming from Europe so we couldn't get into the country or our people couldn't get into the country. So we had to move everything to Mexico. And the start will be in Tecate and the finish line will be in Tijuana. It's still a big circle without Los Angeles. So these are the primary changes.

It's also great for some of the Mexican participants who didn't want to come to the U.S. Canadians are still a little bit problematic with it because they can't drive through the U.S. So they have to rent a car in Mexico and they have to arrange their logistics. Did I lose you? Nope, you still got me.

Standing by, listening, intently. Oh. Hey, so last year, or the last rally, I think you had participants from what, 25 countries or so? Yes. This year we're expecting the same. Unfortunately, some of our Chinese teams have dropped out. We had an entire contingency from China, and they are having some travelish news. And of course, it's a crazy year for travel. But we still have about 21, 25 different countries. I haven't really looked at the data that closely. So one changes to start will be in Tijuana, finish line will be in Ticata. We will ask every participant to wear a mask in the cab. That's vice versa.

The start is in Ticate and the finish is in Tijuana. Yes. Sorry, you had that backward. Yeah. Sometimes I have things backwards. Sorry about that. The other important. The other important thing is that we will ask participants to wear a mask in camps or whenever they interact with other participants.

Keep your distance in the camps. There's going to be a lot less socializing. I assume we have canceled all morning briefings or we are making the morning briefings over CB radio instead of in-person. That's like the 1970s version of Zoom for those. participants or those listeners who don't know what a CB radio is. So you better have a CB radio. Yes, everybody should have a CB radio. And we're trying to keep our intranet updated so people don't have to submit their

sheets. They can just upload their race information to our server. We're just going to make little changes that will keep the rally safe and secure and people can stay healthy. Great. So Takate, early morning start. I think I saw you post on the Baja XL support and news group on Facebook that you should be in Takate at 6 a.m. on the start date of the race, which is the 29th, correct? 29th, but everybody should be there on the 28th day before the start. Yes. For administrative desks and giving out the stickers and the welcome packets and everybody's getting Baja Excell. COVID mask. I'm very excited about that.

Terrific. You're having them hand-beated right now in Mexico? Correct. Correct. Are you announcing official hotels? Are there official hotels? Yes. Actually, I'm on my way to Takata just to make arrangements with the hotels, finalize our agreements, and as soon as that's done, we will be announcing them and people can start booking. One thing we're working on is we would like to have a medical team in Tecate who can do molecular rapid tests on everybody so everybody gets tested before the

rally and you don't have to pay the outrageous U.S. medical fees, which are in some cases are over $200. So that's something we're discussing and we're looking into, have a medical or some kind of medical vehicle come out the day before the start and everybody could get a rapid test, but the logistics are still up for discussion. All right, so we'll look forward to that. And then from Takate, we're off, and it's a first night is Diablo Dry Lake. That's going to be a camp, correct? There's no hotels there.

Yes, we're trying to keep the end stages as far away from hotels as possible, you know, mostly bush camping or wild camping. for the end stages. So people don't have to go into hotels and don't mingle that much. Also keep our social distance and enjoy the great nature of Maha. So yeah, first night, we'll be Diablo Dry Lake, which is a fantastic place in Maha, right by the feet of Baja's highest mountain range.

Very excited about that. I'll be sleeping there on Sunday night this coming Sunday as we're going on a mapping mission. So after we're done with Takata, the race director and I are going on a mapping mission for 10 days. Find all the campsites to plan out the exact route. I wish I was joining you. So from Diablo Dry Lake, it's off to Bihia de Los Angeles, and then down to Bahaia Concepcion, another camping,

and then all the way down to Las Cruces, correct? Correct. That's a spot that we haven't visited during this rally. This will be a first time on the Baja Excel. And one of the changes that we are still discussing is making the next day to Toto Santos a two-day special, a two-day super marathon, which means that there's no official end stage. So the reason for this is that people who are in the touring category can have an extra day

of chilling on the beach in Congo, and the race teams can. and spend the night forever. They want to spend the night to keep it a little bit more distant and keep it a little bit more fun for everybody. And those people who just want to add to Toto Santos and have two days of R&R and have a rest day. They can also do that. But that's still just, that's still at the planning stages.

I've got to get my, my massage booked at Baja Bliss Spa and Pescadero there just south of Toto Santos and schedule an hour in the isolation chamber to unwind from all of my eyeball jiggling. So I want to get that sorted. That sounds good. All right, Baja Bliss Spa. Anybody can check that on the web, Pescadero.

All right, so then on to San Juanico, right? San Juanico, also known as Scorpion Bay, fantastic surfing spot and a very, very nice little hamlet on the west coast of Baja. Always love that place. That will also be a beach camp. And it's going to be interesting to see the different beaches, the East Coast and the West Coast,

and it's just so much fun and so exciting to see so many different beaches and so many different setups. So that's one of the things that I love about the Baja and many people love it. A little surf spot, very lovely little town. Andrew, I kind of sped us down the Sia-Cortez side. Do you want to talk up a little bit about your research? research and spots that you've looked at and places that the rally is going to run through

because there's a lot of beautiful terrain there on that Sea of Cortez side. So I'm sorry to have spent the way around the peninsula to talk about my massage date, but let's get back to it. No, no, no, no. Like the Sea of Cortez is one of the most fascinating areas in the world, and it's just, it's so full of natural history and raw beauty. And one of the things that I'm very excited about on this trip is that we will be able to discover some new places,

some places that we've never been to. And those people who have been on our rallies before, we can see something new and something different. We have a new spot planned near Baja delos Angeles. I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll find out. And Los Cruces is steruignita for us right now. So I'm very excited about doing some discoveries there.

Terrific. What sort of research? do you do on this? Is this your third or fourth event that you've put on? Third event? This is going to be our third Maha Excel and this is third. For me, I think this is the sixth time that I'm driving up and down Baja. Yeah, so that's what I was getting to. So when you're doing that, when you're figuring this out, do you have a light bulb moment when you see these spots and say, all right, this is the perfect campsite? Oh, we need to make sure that people get down this road. This is stunning because, you know, I think a lot of people would like to have your job.

Absolutely. That's how it works. And sometimes we get lost and sometimes there are some difficult moments for us in search of the perfect campsite or in search of the perfect road. I remember four years ago, we got so seriously lost at one point. And the road that we wanted to take was, I think there was a landslide and there was a flood and the river just, poured all kinds of heavy and giant boulders in our way and we couldn't find a possible way out of that situation we actually used a GPS weren't successful we tried a map then we sent up a drone and tried to look for a road that we could take it was a very very desperate moment near mulege and we had to turn back and we wasted an entire afternoon trying to find the way that was that was very

said but then again you have the high points when you when you find a beautiful beach or when you find a beautiful campsite and i usually look for like four or five different spots mark them on my GPS and decide them later at home which one was the winner usually they are marked on my GPS great beach even greater beach camp the best no beach camp better than the one that I called best you know there are like entries in my GPS so so it's a fun project it's a fun job it's it really is one of the the most exciting aspects of my job awesome how does it differ from trying to plot the budapest Bamako obviously bahas just you know it's it's much more compact it's a much narrower peninsula there fewer places to drive off into massive

wilderness but how does it differ in your mind when you're plotting those two events it's not very different the only thing i would consider different in africa we use a lot of local knowledge it's there's a lot less mapping in africa at this point and and we just use nomads and we just use local people for their information and uh and that's how we find beautiful spots but it's pretty much very similar. You just go, you have a general idea where the end stage will be, where the camp will be, and then you just start looking. One of the things that makes it very different in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is when we do the track riding, it's right after the end of the rainy season. So everything is lush and wet. And when we go there, sometimes the landscape is very

different and whatever it was lush and green and beautiful it's just dry and ugly and dusty by the time we get there yeah a little bit like hot planning all these spots in baha when it's hot and dry and then all of a sudden it's cold and snowy when you get get there in the end of january exactly although i've never If you're high up in the mountains. Yeah. If you're high up in the mountains. Yeah, there was a very, very, very cold moment a couple of years ago, four years ago when mountains, where those cave paintings are, I think it's called Sierra de San Francisco. Exactly. So yeah, I'm very excited about this year's route. I like the, I like the idea of having an extra day or having a rest day, whichever you prefer. In, uh, in the southern tip of the peninsula or on Kabul. Those are always great places. You can go to that waterfall that we mapped out last year. You can go to Moldos Santos or Ed.

Mescadero. Yeah, and if you're in Cabo, it's a good opportunity to get the cares done if you need to. Sorry, I'm just talking over you there. In Cabo, it's a good opportunity. If you need to get your car on a lift or do something serious, you've got all the amenities there. Yes, yes, it's perfect.

for repairs and fixing the trap. Hey, so, Gerrera. We left at San Juanico, Scorpion Bay. That's going to be a fun and exciting off-road section up to Guerrero Negro. We will be spending the night in a camp near the Grey Whale sanctuary where the whales come for, where the whales migrate for the mating season

where they give birth to their babies, there will be a half a day for whale watching. For those people who are interested in that, I think it's one of the great spectacles of nature, and it should not be missed for those who haven't seen it. I mean to a lot of places, but it's one of the most fascinating areas of the world. Yeah, I've never seen it, and I have a Panga booked already with Sherry Bondi for a half-day tour. So there's going to be a few spots open on that, which I'll put that out. on my slow Baja if anybody wants to jump in with Ted and I but that's one of the great spectacles of the world and truly an amazing scene there where the whales come right up to your

boat push the calves right up to your boat it's incredible so that's that's you built in a half made for that that's great for those who don't know what it is it's uh it's the greatest migration of mammals in the world the gray whales come from Alaska and the north and migrate to this one bay in uh in Mexico because it's protected from their predators. That's where they give birth to their babies. And birthing season is January, February, generally, and then they depart in April.

Their babies are bigger. So it is a fantastic thing to see and really an awesome experience for anybody. Yeah, Sherry Bondi, who runs the whale magic tours there, told me that Bahia Ojo de Libre that can have 2,000 whales in it at that time of year. Yeah, and if you're lucky, you can even hear them from your, you can even hear them from your campside when you spend the night there.

And that's how we're planning to set up camp. That's super cool. All right, let's keep rolling up the coast from Guerrero Negro, after everybody has seen and heard whales and had their lives changed around that, up to Catavignon, no? Up to Catavina, from Catavina up to Tijuana. There will be some surprises on that stage for the racing teams. For the touring teams, we'll try to show some other interesting sides.

But this is, Contovina is one of the special spots of Baja, and that's something to be experienced. Unfortunately, four years ago, the first Baja, it was an intense rainstorm, And it was a very difficult knife of rain so we couldn't camp outside. But hopefully this time we'll have better luck. And Cotabina is just pure magic again. So we would never miss that. That has always been a spot on the Baja.

Terrific. Well, I put out a little plea for questions here on the Facebook group. And Eric Diggins has a question. Is the finish really in Tijuana or is it in the general? general area such as near beach towns. What do you want to say about the finish in Tijuana, Andrew? We don't know it yet. It's to be discussed.

The Tijuana finish is something we haven't really figured out. Probably I'm more leaning towards finishing in one of the beach towns. And originally before COVID, we wanted to have a real crazy night in Tijuana, Saturday night in Tijuana as the closing party. But of course, that's not possible this time. so we'll have to figure out something a little bit more COVID-friendly and healthier. So probably a beach hotel and a beach finish line ceremony would be more fitting for these times. All righty.

Well, I think that that answers. Ted had Ted Donovan typed in here. I'd love to get some clarification on Takate, which I believe is the new starting point. And I think you've covered that already. So it sounds like there's some information to be delivered. later, but you've covered a lot. Let's keep rolling for a few more minutes here if you've got the time, Andrew. Yeah, so once again, Tacata and Tijuana are still under-organization.

We know that we will start from Takanta, and we will have the hotel for us in a couple of days, and we will make the announcements on our Facebook group to our page. Also, the GPS maps for the rally will be available for downloading in about a week or so. which is very important. The maps will contain the coordinates of our official campsides, major points of interest, and all the important points, geo points of the rally. And this year, just like in previous years,

we will have satellite maps, downloadable satellite maps, with the important coordinates uploaded. People can start ordering that online. So I'm excited about that too. So a lot of information will be coming out in November and December. And we discussed this on the last, we discussed this on the last podcast. Andrew, just so people know, people, I've read some comments, somebody's lost their navigator. Does anybody do this solo?

Does anybody want to stick together and go in a group? In your experience, everybody finds their people and these things work. themselves out usually within the first day or so, right? People find other people to roll along with. People find their friends and their new, you know, travel companions and similar people that they can convoy with. So it's really never a problem. And also there's the Facebook page. Yeah, yeah. What happens if there's a positive COVID test in Takate? Do you have a theory on do people compete, stay to their selves, quarantine, go home. What's your take on that?

Yeah, we will ask people to go home and we will give them an entry for the first COVID-free event so they can actually get a new entry for our next Waha XL. But we want people to stay, people to go home or quarantine in account. But probably going home is a smarter idea. Gotcha. All right. Well, what else is on your mind, Amiga? What else do you want to talk about with the Baja XL 2021, which is only a few weeks away?

I'm counting down. I mean, one thing I have on my mind is definitely the COVID test. And people should be super careful before the event. Don't get COVID, you know, like don't go to parties. Don't socialize too much. Keep your circles small. There you go. Hey, onto other subjects, I have a question in from John Russell.

Any recommendations for map sources for different devices, i.e. running Gaia, not Apple-based. You know, I use a Baja Almanac, so I don't know what he's asking there, but I think you do. I also use a Baja Almanac. Yes, so none of our maps are Apple-based. In fact, we have two systems. We have a Garmin-based or a Garmin-compatible-based, which even works on some lower devices and other GPSes. But the system that I like and the system that I prefer is an Android tablet-based system.

You can buy a cheap Samsung tablet with an SD card and we'll upload a full satellite map of Baja with the points of interest and the important rally points. And that's better than any map. You see the actual satellite map of the area. You don't need an internet connection. it's hard-coded onto the SD card. And it's a huge file. And that's all done before the event takes,

before the event starts. That's all done before the event. And for those people who have not entered or we're not familiar with the race, that's an optional extra that you can order and it will be given to you on an SD card, like a little memory card the day before the race. You just need to bring your Android tablet.

Get an Android tablet for $120. You got a shock-proof case and you have the best Waha map that you can think of. That's coming straight from the horse's mouth, folks. $120 tablet in a shock-proof case and you're good to go plus the map download from Baja XL. All right. Well, let's close it up, Andrew. Take me home. What else do you got?

Nothing. We're just super excited. I'm so so so happy that we can do this. and I'm so happy that everybody is excited about it. And I'm actually amazed and stunned by the support that we've been getting from participants who say, oh, we're so happy that you're not canceling. We're so happy that the Baja is not canceled. And really, apart from a couple of foreign teams, all the teams are on board and everybody's

excited about coming and doing the rally this year. Well, I'm certainly excited. And it's got to be a lot safer than for me to be in Baja than to be in San Francisco. So taking those precautions, not doing anything silly for a couple weeks before the event, I'm looking forward to seeing you in Takate. I've got my favorite taco shop there, La Guarita. And I'll have a nice supply of Fortalaza tequila so we can share a little of that. And Andrew, I can't say it sincerely enough.

Thanks for making the effort to put this great event on. And I look forward to seeing you in Baja, January 28th. Thank you very much. Same here. I'm looking forward to seeing you. And your knowledge of Baja always amazes me. You're like a talking yell of Baja. Hardly. Hardly. All right. Well, looking forward to getting some more knowledge on this next trip. So we'll leave it there. Thanks to Andrew Zabo and the Baja XL rally. Drive safe and we'll talk soon. All righty. Thank you. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye. Hey, thanks for listening to Travel Talk with Slow Baja.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and share it with a friend. And if you'd like to have your business featured on a future episode of Travel Talk with Slow Baja, send me a note at Slowbaha at gmail.com. That's Slowbaha at gmail.com. Or you can DM me at Slow Baja on Instagram or Slow Baja on Facebook.