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Category Archives: Storytelling

Mangroves of Espiritu Santo Island

The archipelago of Espiritu Santo is one of the most magical places in Baja. Its landscapes are as beautiful as they are varied, and the amount of life that you can find here, over 600 species in flora and fauna, make it one of the most impressive places to visit in Baja California Sur.

For one, it is home to just over 40 species of birds, and one of the most memorable sights you’ll see in this place is the long stretch of mangroves that house thousands of frigate birds, amongst other species.

For a long time, this was in the first place of my favorite spots in my home state. Now it stands in second, beaten only by Sierra de La Laguna, but I’m a little biased towards the mountains, after all.

Espiritu Santo, just North of the city of La Paz, is one of those spots I highly recommend to anyone who wants to revel in the natural beauties that Baja California Sur has to offer.

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Planting 5,000 Trees in Costa Rica for a Carbon Neutral #ATWS2016

Last year I visited Costa Rica along with @adventure.travel_ and @visitanchorage for a very enlightening trip about Carbon Neutrality.

Rafael Gallo, an amazing guy, one of the top conservation advocates in Costa Rica (if not in the world) and owner of @riostropicales, was our guide through this awesome experience. He was also the one who challenged Visit Anchorage to make their Adventure Travel World Summit the first carbon neutral one, setting in motion a movement that brought this critical subject to the attention of many of the adventure travel industry leaders! Kudos, Rafa!

With Rafa’s help and under the guidance and supervision of EARTH university (a leading carbon neutrality institution based in Costa Rica), the ATTA and Visit Anchorage gathered over 300 volunteers to plant 5,000 trees which will be cared for by Rafa and his people for about 3 years until they can sustain themselves, and will be kept in the ground for at least 12 years to capture the carbon that was produced to make the Summit happen.

I encourage you to research this very interesting subject. I hope you’ll be inspired and will inspire others within your reach to take action on this super important matter.

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Elfin Cove, a fishermen’s village in Alaska

Alaska is truly a land of badass, cool people. They live a simple life, a balance produced from the mixture of modern life and being so in touch with the wild that surrounds them.

I have to admit that, when I was asked by @visitanchorage to go on this trip instead of the first one I was assigned to (that involved exploring glaciers and wilderness, a chopper ride and all the crazy/fun stuff), I wasn’t sure if commercial fishing was for me; but they spoke so excitedly about it and were so eager to have this documented that I started rubbing off on that and got pretty excited about it.

Being a commercial fisherman in Alaska is not just a profession, but a lifestyle, it is adventure and excitement at its best. They push themselves to amazing limits to do what they love, so you can imagine the kind of stories you can hear from them.

Elfin Cove is a hub for this kind of stories. Most of the people you’ll find here are fishermen that are taking a break or spending the night before adventuring out again. The rest are the people who work the village, so they are very in tune with this lifestyle.

The community they become is amazingly warm. They often stop by to say hi, they’ll help you if you’re struggling with anything, they’ll invite you for a beer and to taste their most recent catch (with an incredible story of the catch included, of course!).

This adventure may not have had the variety of the other one, but it more than made up with authenticity, and its landscapes and adventure was nothing short of exceptional. It’s not a common thing to go on a tourism oriented trip and find a true, honest connection with the place, its people and its raw, unfiltered culture. Huge kudos to @murklcom and Skipper Geoff for putting together such an amazing and complete experience, and thanks again @visitanchorage and @adventure.travel_ for putting me there!

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