Slow Baja - Travel Talk With Slow Baja Meet Iran Leonardo Verdugo Director of Tourism for Rosarito Baja California

Episode Date: December 31, 2021

Today's Travel Talk with Slow Baja has me chatting with Iran Leonardo Verdugo, Director of Tourism for Rosarito Baja, California. I wanted to sit down with Iran to learn more about Rosarito's pivot to adventure tourism. Most know of Rosarito's famous beach, but it also boasts seven of Baja's best hiking trails. In addition to the traditional hiking trails, there's the newly-created Medano Trail that looks like an excellent getaway for bikepacking, horseback riding, or a slow scenic drive in a vintage 4x4. Iran reveals K-38 Taco Surf is his favorite taco shop, and I realize I've been eating at the "tourist" taco shop for years. If the tacos are that good at the "tourist" shop, I cant wait to check out Taco Surf. Visit the Rosarito Travel Website Follow Rosarito Travel on Instagram Follow Rosarito Travel on Facebook Follow Iran Verdugo on Instagram Follow Jimny en Baja on Instagram

Thanks for tuning in to travel talk with Slow Baja. Today's guest is Iran Leonardo Verdugo, and he is the director of Truism for Rosarito. And I've been interested in following what Rosarito has been doing for a bit here. They have constructed several sensational hiking trails and some of the best in Baja. And they also have this brand new Ruta El Madano, which is you can take your 4x4, and I hope to get Slow Baja on it soon. You can go in a bike packing trip, ride a horse, hike it, obviously. But we're going to talk about that.

We're going to talk about the rustic cabins and the food and all the fun things that are happening for the outdoor lifestyle in Rosarito, which is just right on our doorstep, just south of the border. Lots of interesting stuff happened. Nice pivot in what's going on there, in my slow Baja opinion. But before we get on to that, I want to say thanks to Joe McCauley. He slid a tray of tacos into the tank. Today, Joe, very kind of you. It's Pledge Week on Slow Baja. So if you're enjoying what I'm doing here,

please take a second. Click that link in Instagram or hit that donate button on Slowbaha.com. Send a whatever you can afford to say thanks for putting on the show here. I do appreciate it and it really does help. Also at Slowbaha.com, there are some new items filtering into the store here this week. We've got a bunch of new hats, including knit beanies to keep your head warm in these frigid winter times we're living in up here in the Bay Area. So check that out. And again, if you're in the Apple universe, please take a second.

Go to iTunes, smash a five-star review, say some nice things about your weekly escape to Slow Baja. It really does help and helps people find the show. So please take a second and do that. And Spotify users, that opportunity is coming to you soon. So on with the show. Thanks for listening. Thanks for another year of Slow Baja. I appreciate you.

And I do want to call out my buddy Jay Troop Wombat. We got into some messaging way back more than a year ago, Thanksgiving 2020. He's been playing my podcasts out loud, hoping that his wife would just overhear them and kind of wear her guard down about taking the family. They've got five kids taking the family down to Baja on their camper. Well, they did it. They had a great trip, and he sent me the nicest photograph at Christmas this year. His 11-year-old son made him a wooden, slow Baja cactus handmade with a tire over the arm, and I just think that's the most wonderful thing.

So they are Baja converts. The Slow Baja show won the family over, and I just think it's the coolest thing that his 11-year-old made him a cactus with a tire on it. So, hey, J-Troop Wombat. Thanks, man. I appreciate you sharing that. All right. On with the show. Enjoy. Iran Verdugo, Iran Leonardo Verdugo, Director of Tourism for Rosarito. 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. Hey, I want to tell you about your new must-have accessory for your next Baja trip. Benchmark Maps has released a beautiful, beautiful Baja. California Road and Recreation Atlas. It's a 72-page large format book of detailed maps and recreation guides that makes the perfect planning tool for exploring Baja.

Pick yours up at benchmarkmaps.com. It's Travel Talk with Slow Baja, and I'm delighted to be here right on the border, the Otai Crossing, with the director of Rosarito Tourism, Iran. I'm going to, I can't loosen my tongue up enough, but I'm going to come right around and say Erran Leonardo Verdugo. Now you say it. Iran, Leonardo Verdugo. Thank you.

Erran, nice to meet you in person, and I'm so delighted we're going to have tacos at El Poblano and talk a little bit about Rosarito. You know, Rosarito, in my mind, is a hidden gem. Tell me about what people don't know about Rosarito. People know it's Rosarito Beach, we're going to have a party, It's a good tourism destination. Porto Nuevo for lobster.

Let's talk a little bit about hidden Rosarito. The hiking, the water, the restaurants. Yeah, there's a lot there. Yes, there's a lot there. Today we have seven trails, hiking, senderos, as we say it. Senderos, that means we have seven trails. to do hike. They are in Baja California, so we are home about seven trails or hiking trails. We have a countryside with the small ranches and roads to make some, to do some overland,

off-road, family, in terms of family, to do everything. We have the senderos-amologos, the hiking trails. Baja California has 12. Rosarito's home about seven trails. So we have the capital, the capital has you said the capital. Yeah, the capital. The capital of hiking in Baja California.

The Cerro Coronel, the Descanso, the mission, alicitos, the park metropolitan and the piloncillio and the other one is the coronel part two so we have said it today and that's amazing because of about the new normally in COVID in pandemic COVID 19 so the the tourism or the travelers they went to make some some things or they want to make experiences in open spaces.

Yes, people want to get outside. Okay, so we've got the hiking down. You've got the capital of hiking. Yeah. Where's, you've taken a great hike? Where are you going for tacos? In Rosarito. You're taking a friend out for tacos and you know these have to be knockout tacos.

Where are you going? I'm going to K-38 or, Surf tacos is in the kilometer 3-8 next to Hotel Arrocas and the surf shop, K-3-8. There's amazing tacos, carnazada tacos and ad-a-tacos. There's another one's... You can't reveal more than one's taco favorite taco shop. All right. Just one.

I go to El-Yaki usually. It is El Yaki, yeah? Yeah, that thing, Michael, that's for tourism or visitors. Right. The locals, where eat locals, is the best place to eat. And I'm getting to that. I just don't want you to reveal all your secrets until we talk again on another show.

So K-38. I don't say, I mean, I don't want to say, El Jaki is not the best option. is yes, it's a great option. Listen, for me, I just learned something today. I live in San Francisco, and I always try and steer tourists away from the tourist restaurants. Now I'm getting steered away, and I still have fond memories there,

but now I'm stopping at your taco shop next. Haiti, wish you had joined us on the Nora 500? Well, here is your chance. It's double the mileage, double the fun, double the parties, double the dirt. It is the Nora, Mexican. 1,000. We're going to drive by day. We're going to party by night. I'm pouring Fortalays at Tequila. April 30th through May 6th, 2022. We're driving the entire peninsula. You don't want to miss out on this one. Again, if I can do it in my 1971 Toyota Land Cruiser, totally stocked,

you can do it in any modern 4x4. The Nora Mexican 1000. It's the happiest race on Earth. Check it out at nora.com, N-O-R-R-A-com, or on Slow Baja. 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. The website's fast and easy to use. Check them out at BajaBound.com. That's Bajabound.com, serving Mexico travelers since 1994. So K-38, let's get on to that.

Okay. Legendary surf spot. Legendary. So you've got the hiking. You've got the great surfing. Yeah. Great tacos. Las Rokas.

I've stayed there. A beautiful hotel. Ocean views. Every room. Beautiful. It's not so bad there. Also, we have the only one beach club in Baja California. The name is Sunio is the only one spot, a private spot with a beach club.

And everything we, humans mentioned it and I mentioned it, it's in the part of Rosarito's out. I mean, when you arrive to Rosarito, the downtown is everything. around a fiesta, a party, Papa's beer, and that's amazing. It's a good time.

And when I was a college kid 30 years ago, I enjoyed many of those times. And it's great. Yes. We are, Rosarito, it's home of the best

raggedone concert or urban music concept in Latin America. The Baja Beach Baja Beach Fest. It's the fiesta, it's the party.

It's a good time. It's a good time. And the Bolivar Popolta, that starts in the gas station when you are going the Scenic Road. The local road. Yeah, the local road.

And there starts the Rosarito South. So you get the Sunio Beach Club, the artistic corridor, the Popolah, and then you get the i mean and then you arrive to the legendary k3 8 and then there start the the bunch or or hiking trails in that side are you do you know we have one of the best one gelatose in Baja California, the Obolis. And Ted and I were just talking about this on the trip.

I didn't know, and I love ice cream. And I said, Ted, with all that good milk coming out of the Valle, where's the best ice cream? And he said, oh, you've never been? So tell me about it, please. Yes. In Rosarito Zau, there's a restaurant about pizza. The name is Ogulis,

Oglis pizza. And the restaurant has around 10 to 12 years old in science there started in Rosarito. And the pizza is great. But the dessert, the ice cream is next to the oldies. And the name is gelato. It's not ice cream. It's gelato from Italian. Yeah, Italy, yeah, from Italy.

and the name is dog gelato I don't remember right now it's the gelato shop next to the pizza place yes that's correct that's the way I remember things Ron I can't blame me that's the way I remember brown dog gelato coffee brown dog gelato awesome yes it's an authentic small badge

Italian gelato fabulous so we've got a hike we've got pizza we've gotten K-38 surf talk craft beer. Craft beer. Now that's everywhere. I think, you know, between Tijuana and Ensenada is also a center of craft beer. And that's one of the amazing things about Rosarito. Rosarito is between Ensenada, the Mexican wine country,

and between Tijuana, the best border crossing in the world. I mean, in terms of crossing, Tijuana has around 70 million of crossing per year. Crazy. So Rosarito received around 5.5 million of visitors per year. Let's close it up. We've had open space activities. Yes. We've had food, fabulous tacos, fabulous surfing, vineyards.

they're everywhere now. It's amazing. When I started going to Baja, you know, there was one, and it was a couple hundred years old. And now, you know, we just came from a lovely night in the Valle, and it's stunning. What's happened there? I mean, it's wine grapes as far as you can see.

But Rosarito participates in that beautiful climate as well. It's all right there, that beautiful coast and that beautiful climate, which is so rich in seafood and so rich in now in culinary activity. That's right. People want to do fun little things. Go someplace different. Check it out. So wrap it up.

It's between Tijuana and Ensenada. It's the best option in the coastal corridor in terms of tourism. Because it's close to Ensenada, 30 minutes, and 10 minutes to Tijuana. And that means 10 minutes to the border. The food is amazing. The food is amazing. It's great. We have a traditional food like the Porto Nuevo lobster, tacos, craft beer, gelato, and wine.

And the other thing, it's probably we have the best countryside for the metropolitan zone. and that means Tijuana tecate and Rosarito so that's that's why it's they are the top three best things in the people they don't know about Rosarito please visit us at our website Rosarito that travel and our social media and Rosarito Baja at Instagram and Rosarito Baja at Facebook. We have an amazing content to share with our visitors. And to the people, they don't know where to go. Rosarito is the best option, driving south from Los Angeles, from San Pancho,

I mean, San Francisco. It's a driving distance. Yes. It's a great. San Diego, it's right there. And I have to say, shout out to my friends Javi and Polo at Baja Adventures for connecting the two of us. Yes. They're good guys.

They like Rosarito. They're finding good, good, fun things to do. So check them out at Baja Adventures. Baja Adventures. And you'll see some great pictures of what they're doing in Rosarito. Yeah, we are doing amazing campaigns from travel to adventure tourism. And please check. And

Baja ventures. Check out out Baja ventures. Yeah, check out. All right, well, let's get some tacos. Thanks for making some time for Slow Baja. Thank you very much. And all those locations will be in the show notes.

So if you want to learn more about Rosarito, it'll be easy for you to find. Hey, thanks. Thank you very much. God pleasure. Have I told you about my friend True Miller? You've probably heard the podcast, but let me tell you.

Her vineyard, Adobe Guadalupe Winery is spectacular. From the breakfast at her communal table bookended to an intimate dinner at night, their house-bred Azteca horses. Solomon, the horseman will get you on a ride that'll just change your life. The food, the setting, the pool,

it's all spectacular. AdobeGuadalupe.com. For appearing on Slow Baja today, our guests will receive the beautiful benchmark map 72-page Baja road and Recreation Atlas. Do not go to Baja without this, folks. You never know when your GPS is going to crap out

and you're going to want a great map in your lap. Trust me. A lot of you have asked how to support the show. Well, you can go to slowbaha.com. Buy yourself some merch. Click that donate button, drop a taco in our tank. And always share the show with a friend. Give it a five-star review on whatever app you listen to

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