A Lifetime of Baja Adventures with Graham Mackintosh

By Martina

Forty years ago, a young Brit, Graham Mackintosh, entered Baja California by bus. He was only going to visit Ensenada, however at the bus station he saw a map of the whole peninsula. Suddenly he had a change of plans. Having very little money, he decided he would hitchhike south. This startled even him because he claimed to be a “couch potato” in his hometown of London, England. Little did he know that he had just been bitten by the infamous Baja Bug. Its bite is known to terminate the life you once lived. There was no way Graham could know that in the future he would be living off the grid on an island in the Gulf of California with his old dog Coco and as the author of four Baja books, followed by a plethora of eBook pictorials of a land that he could never leave.

I met up with Graham as he was doing a turnabout from a short stay north of Ensenada. The mid-day sun had burned off the August morning fog, leaving a sparkling view from the restaurant’s patio. I told Graham that I would like to take a tour through his books in order to introduce his lifetime of experiences to a younger readership. Always an adventurer he was ready. “It all started when I saw a map of this long finger of land and knew I had to see as much as I could. With very little money I held my thumb out. This began the most incredible experiences everywhere I went. I couldn’t believe the hospitality. This would never happen in London. I stopped in Bahia de Los Angelos,” also known as LA Bay and was invited out on a fishing boat. I looked out over the mountain islands to the east and asked what was out there?” The fishermen looked at him oddly and replied, “Nothing.” Graham laughed, “Well that made it even more attractive; I wanted to explore. In this crowded world, it was unbelievable, with an oh my god quiet and the remoteness is a treasure.”

“By the time I reached Cabo I was absolutely enamored with the peninsula. I didn’t want to go back to work in the city with all the traffic. I didn’t have much money and wondered how I could stay.” Graham stops for a moment, “Then like some vision I thought well, I will walk around it. And though I never had written anything, the next thought was, I’ll write a book!” He returned to London and spent months preparing for his adventure. “I had to get fit, find a sponsor for the things I needed, and learn Spanish. I got my ducks in a row and set out." It is all recorded in the first book Into a Desert Place. I had a vision that I was going to make it happen. It took me almost two years. A major English publishing house picked the book up and put me on a lecture tour traveling all over Britain and Ireland. But they had no plans to publish the book in the United States. I decided to return to Baja and publish the book myself in the US.” Graham claims he doesn’t think of himself as a writer, however his prose flow like a bird in flight and are often cut by a skillful humor that is more natural than intended.

In 1997 was the 300-year anniversary of the founding of the Loreto mission by Italian Jesuit missionaries. Graham had another wild idea reveal itself. “I decided to mark the anniversary with another walk, but taking a burro this time to carry the load. I would follow the trail south which the padres did coming north.” He was working as an extra on the Titanic film at the time. Graham thought it was fun but grueling work. “All I could think about was wouldn’t it be great to be on the walk with all that peace and quiet.” I asked, “How do you go about getting a burro?” He laughed, “That’s a good question. I searched high and low and finally a Mexican friend knew of someone in San Vicente who had a strong burro. I called him Misión in honor of our walk.” He grinned, “And Tecate Brewery sponsored my trip. Misión had to carry lots of beer of which he became very fond. He even recognized the red can.” Graham’s humor creates a picture as we read about a burro with an attitude. Misión would let Graham know by flopping down in the middle of the road with the 200-pound pack, which then had to be unloaded. Getting cranky burro to stand up again and then hold still to repack took hours.

Overlooked was the fact that Misión was not a gelded male. Graham, laughing not so piously, “He was uncontrollable when we passed by the ranches with females. He bred his way all the way to Loreto!” Even so, Graham admits he often felt a spiritual sense following the padres’ footsteps. He wrote that they must have had a true “holy zeal.” The last chapter, Tears in Loreto, is truly touching. Each of these books contain a harrowing event when Graham faced the potential of his own death. One by running out of water; being saved by a young goat-herder, and the other losing the trail in a freezing blizzard.

Graham’s third book, Nearer My Dog to Thee, shifts the story line. He decided he wanted to change things up a bit. He’d been on his feet literally for thousands of miles and countless blisters. “I wanted to stay in one place for a while and my second motive for my third book was to share with people how wonderful the Mexican street dogs are with just a little love and tender care. I camped in the San Matir National Park for four summer months. This isn’t for wimps because you get huge thunder storms in July and August. All hell lets loose with little warning. I experienced a lightning strike near my tent setting fire to a tall Ponderosa pine” He said, “It is a little bit nerve racking.” A little bit?

Next, Graham takes us on a trip by overloaded kayak. It is yet a different kind of adventure to an island in the waters of LA Bay. One could say, the idea of “nothing out there” applies. But this writer can find ways to educate and entertain. He is alone again, just he and an island of feral cats. “I loved the remoteness. It is a fascinating ecology where feral cats rule. Even vultures don’t visit. I was warned by the fishermen to be careful because the demon cats were known to attack.” Graham’s humor is ever fresh, he gave his fourth book the title, Marooned with Very little Beer.

One might ask what an adventurer such as Graham does when they turn 70. But for certain you won’t find him back in London on the couch watching the tele. He might be facing the biggest adventure of his life as an old gringo kayaking into the “Nothing.” Without doubt he will always find a good story to share. He now takes advantage of the invention of the eBook. There are many positives: not taking the time to find a publisher, the ease of self-publication, plus eBooks are favored by new generations of readers. So if you have missed Into a Desert Place it is now an expanded eBook version with 100 color photos. As a gifted photographer his eBooks a plethora of color photos; the cost of which would be prohibitive in hardcover. His first attempt was a winner with Kayaking to La Paz.

In 2020 the intense summer heat was approaching and Graham was in LA Bay when the world went on lockdown. Instead of traveling north for cooler weather he chose to "socially distance" on isolated beaches and islands. The magic of Baja gave him his next story. “After weeks alone, I was feeling lonely and needing a hug. And can you believe it, there was a big teddy bear in the sand!” It so happened that his mother’s work was sewing eyes on high-end stuffed teddies. It wasn’t the first time that Graham had experienced his thoughts manifesting. Paddy’s Huggy Adventures was birthed that day. Now there is a whole Paddy family. It is a delightful series and a teaching tool for children and adults to learn about the wonders of Baja. “I can freely write, publish and have complete control. Maybe it is because I’m getting older and I don’t want to spend so much time dealing with publisher’s requirements.

And for dog lovers he has returned to one of his passions, the tender care of the Mexican dog in My Amigo Coco. Coco was what expats call a “beach dog.” He had no owner, but the whole campo cared for him for ten years. Graham noticed that Coco seemed to be declining. “He would follow me on my hikes, limping and panting. So, when Hurricane Kay approached, Graham sheltered with Coco in his friend’s home. They huddled together as the storm surge hit. Water ran through the house and the winds tore off sections of the roof. “We looked at each other and we knew we were a team.”

After all these amazing adventures I asked Graham what was next, “My life is currently centered around LA Bay. The stories of the bears and Coco is still ongoing. I feel tireless in Baja and I seem to have a hidden energy source I find nowhere else. I just know it is the right place for me.” Graham admits the reason for the attraction might always remain a mystery and he may never be able to account for it.

Related articles:
Travels with Graham Mackintosh
Graham Mackintosh Kayaks to La Paz
The Epic Journeys of Graham Mackintosh
Graham’s Bear Tribe Adventures

Graham's website