Our family's connection to Baja began at a very young age. We grew up surfing, spending countless weeks exploring the Baja coastline in search of waves. My father would take us on two-week trips at a time, driving up and down the Pacific side and stopping wherever the surf looked promising.

Matt Lamkin is a man of many crafts, but all of them share a single, unifying element: the rhythm of creation. Outside a workshop in Baja, the shift from summer to winter reminds him of the seasonal challenges of his newest pursuit: hand-shaping custom surfboards outdoors under the trees. The chilly winter days are a far cry from the sweat-soaked stages of his former life as a touring musician, but it's a life he wouldn't trade.

While most Baja-related books I've read have been non-fiction, I've found some fascinating fiction as well. There is one historical-fiction Baja book that is not only engrossing and captivating, but came wrapped in its own mystery. Adhering to factual events, people, and places, it introduces readers to much of the Baja California peninsula.

Sometimes the best experiences come to us when we are off the beaten path. A little gem of a pizzeria named La Catrina is balanced on the bluff overlooking the Pacific in the small community of Primo Tapia. Here they offer unique, rustic Mexican pizza. At the entrance we are welcomed by a mural of her iconic face.