Baja
RV Adventure, by John Holod
VIDEO
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Those who already know that Baja California
is a fantastic place for a road trip will probably be irritated
by John Holod's Baja RV Adventure video. They'd rather
preserve the common view that the long skinny peninsula south
of San Diego is a barren wasteland. They'd like to keep secret
that Baja is actually a place of astonishingly diverse beauty,
culture, and history, not to mention some of the most exotic
wildlife this side of the Galapagos Islands. There are world-class
RV resorts, too, along with hip tourist towns, colorful cantinas,
and great restaurants. Baja RV Adventure reveals all
these well-kept secrets and more. Watching it is like tagging
along with an easy-going friend who likes to mosey, chat with
locals, explore unusual buildings, and schmooze with gray whales.
The road from Tijuana to Cabo
San Lucas is a long 1,060 miles. In Baja RV Adventure,
John Holod has managed to condense them into 75 well-edited
minutes. His skill with a video camera is evident throughout,
especially in his excellent footage of birds, lizards, and
those remarkably friendly gray whales.
While animals are a definite
high point of the video, Holod has also done a masterful job
of covering history, industry, culture, and tourist destinations.
He includes a visit to the historic Melling Ranch, for example,
and a fascinating tour of the salt production facility at
Guerrero Negro. His footage of the idyllic Bahia Concepcion,
where you can park your RV a few feet from the sea, is enough
to make all those with wanderlust start planning a Baja adventure
of their own. With stops at cantinas, archaeological sites,
historic missions, and even an interview with Mama Espinosa
at her famous eponymous eatery in El Rosario, Baja RV Adventure
offers a vivid, comprehensive picture of a genuine, reproducible
road trip.
While picturesque vistas dominate,
Holod doesn't shrink from including shots of things that would
never make it into tourist brochures. Dumps, graffiti, and
the ugly fence that separates California from Mexico are hardly
photogenic, but the video is a far more accurate picture because
of them. Coupled with his easy-going narration, these less-than-lovely
scenes bring out the contrasts of Baja, and they give the
video a depth not often found in travel pieces.
One viewing of Baja RV Adventure is enough
to ignite serious wanderlust. For those who are actually planning
a journey there, this video is an excellent resource, worth
multiple viewings with pen and notebook in hand.
Megan
November, 2003
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