The Baja - links on Mexico Connect
For better or worse, Baja is becoming less and less of a mystery. The first maps drawn of Baja California in the 16th century depicted an island, not a peninsula. What a difference five centuries can make: Now intrepid travelers can find satellite maps, headline news and even fishing reports on the Web. There are probably more websites about Baja than any other region of Mexico, but all of this information only hints at what one can find. After visiting some of these websites, you may be tempted to make your own trek to Mexico's beautiful northern peninsula.
Bajanet.com
www.bajanet.com
/5 Stars
If your interests include fishing, there is no better site than this one, created and maintained by Trish Ramsey and Eric Robitaille. It's not only the best website about fishing in Baja, it's the best website about fishing in Mexico. The website's own Amigos de Baja Fishing Report ( www.bajanet.com/fishing_report.html) is a timely and informative resource. The site also provides links to websites that chart ocean surface temperatures, wave height and moon phases - all useful information for anglers. One of the highlights is a collection of Baja fishing maps-( www.bajanet.com/maps.html). Bajanet also includes reader-created "discussion centers" in which travelers discuss fishing, road conditions and even Baja recipes. Check out the main message board ( www.bajanet.com/general/) for a taste of what others are saying about Baja.
Email contact: amigos@pacbell.net
Information Pages On Baja California, Mexico
math.ucr.edu/~ftm/baja.html
/5 Stars
Frequent updates, candid personal observations from web host Fred Metcalf and an active bulletin board make this site a "must-read" for anyone interested in Baja. Besides the message board ( math.ucr.edu/~ftm/bajaPages/MsgBoard/MsgBoard.html), the site has a treasury of facts on everything from ATM locations to satellite images. The Baja Highways section ( math.ucr.edu/ftm/bajaPages/Baja.Road.html) has dependable information about road conditions. Want to take your pet? Find out how: math.ucr.edu/ftm/bajaPages/Pets.html. There's the standard FAQ link (Frequently Asked Questions), but if you want to dig a little deeper, you can also find the answers to IAQs-Infrequently Asked Questions ( math.ucr.edu/ftm/bajaPages/IAQ.html)
Email contact: ftm@math.ucr.edu
Baja Expo Home Page
www.bajaexpo.com/
/5 Stars
Another exuberant website about the Baja peninsula, Baja Expo homepage strives to take its place not only as an original content provider, but as a portal for other websites (currently boasting 2,000 links and counting). Publisher Chuck Chambers (a.k.a. Carlos Fiesta) travels to Baja from his home base in California each month. Updated information is categorized into 30 directories, educating readers on the history and geology of the peninsula as well as tourism development, such as the city profile of Ensenada ( www.bajaexpo.com/cities/ensen.htm). I wish the more timely entries had dates provided, particularly in the fascinating collection of essays written by Carlos Fiesta himself ( www.bajaexpo.com/carlos.htm), but that's minor quibbling.
Email contact: carlosfiesta@hotmail.com
Gulf of California Web
herb.bio.nau.edu/~cortez/
/5 Stars
Northern Arizona University's website is excellent, but it has not been updated or maintained for over a year. If left in this state, it risks becoming obsolete. It includes some wonderful background reading about the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez), including the essay "How to avoid destroying the islands we love" ( herb.bio.nau.edu/~cortez/Gulfislands.htm) and a feature on Bahia de los Angeles ( herb.bio.nau.edu/~cortez/BahiadelosAngeles.htm). Missing, however, is contact information. I do hope this site continues, but its future is probably as cloudy as its past, so visit it now!
Honorable Mentions
Baja Life Online
www.bajalife.com/
A web-based version of the magazine.
Sea of Cortez Foundation
www.seaofcortezfoundation.org
An innovative conservation group working to protect the Sea of Cortez.
Baja Nomad
www.bajanomad.com/
A good collection of Baja-related information.
30-Jul-00
This article originally appeared in Business Mexico magazine.
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