Surf, Dirt, and Soul in Baja

by Jorge Macfarland

My love of Baja started at the same time I started surfing and dirt biking as a teenager. Baja offered me incredible waves and amazing trails to explore.

Being the son of Mexican parents and grandparents, I had the opportunity to live in Ensenada from the age of 6. I was fortunate to experience riding bikes through largely undeveloped Ensenada in the 60’s and Early 70’s.

I watched the Baja 1000 races and traveled through much of Baja before most paved roads were built. I surfed iconic breaks like TresM’s and San Miguel before most of the world even knew they existed.

Becoming a member of the Baja Surf Club in 1972 was an amazing honor. I had no idea that I would become its president in 2014. The club and its members did trips down to Cuatro Casas, Punta Baja, and various surf breaks. I got to ride my dirt bike to Sierra Juarez, San Felipe, and other iconic places before any of the major highways were built from Ensenada. Those trips ignited my desire for adventure and I began traveling throughout Baja for many years.

I eventually landed in San Juanico BCS (Scorpion Bay). It was the winter of 1980, my friends Juan Hussong, Pancho Corral and myself decided to take a trip down there on a whim. This remains one of the best trips of my life. It took us three days to find our elusive destination and we got incredible waves all to ourselves.

From this idyllic trip the idea was forged to run surfing tours to Isla Natividad in the Mid 80’s and inspired me to buy property and put down roots at this iconic place which traveled surfers call Scorpion Bay.

Living and traveling in Baja has also inspired much of my art work and music to a large degree. There are so many beautiful scenes, colors and moments that I have experienced, these later translate, for me, into paintings and songs.

Many of my paintings are interpretations of my photos of desert landscapes and ocean waves, to these I add my surrealist fingerprint.

Many of my song lyrics evolve out of my experiences in Baja, example “El Réten” (the checkpoint), it is always an experience going through a Baja military checkpoint, especially if you are a Gringo.

In San Juanico there is an abundance of wildlife. I enjoy watching the Osprey, beautiful Seahawks that hunt and glide in the skies. I love sitting and watching their shadows float through my garden inspiring the song “La Sombra del Gávilan”

Baja has given me bountiful surfing, grand adventures, deep friendships, artistic inspiration, and an unmatched freedom that continues to inspire me on an everyday basis.