Chito and the Evolution of Rancho Santo Domingo

Chito and the Evolution of Rancho Santo Domingo

Chito. In Baja California Sur, if you’re talking about Chito, it’s the same as if you were sitting in the offices of Rolling Stone talking about Sting or Bono. Surnames are simply superfluous. Chito is the owner of Rancho Santo Domingo, 2,500 hectares of spectacular land in the Sierra La Laguna mountains that has been in his family since the 1700s. Like most rancheros in Baja Sur, Chito (christened Alfredo Orozco Castro) has all the skills he needs to thrive in a remote area: he knows how to build houses, run a business, train horses, lasso cows, deal with snake bites, make cheese, handle poachers, distill plant-based medicines, fight forest fires, roast pigs and track missing hikers. And that’s just for starters. Ranching has been his way of life, all his life, and when he looks to the future he sees, well, something different.

“Around 35 years ago things started changing,” says Chito. “We used to have rains every January and February, sometimes three times a week, but now we really only have rain during the summer hurricane season.  Water, of course, is life, and with this much longer dry season we can’t have as many cows, we can’t make as much cheese, we don’t grow as many vegetables – the impact on the ranching way of life is huge.”  Right now selling cows is Chito’s main source of income but, at the age of 60, he’s ready to embrace a post-cow future. “I really see the future of Rancho Santo Domingo in ecotourism.”

In 2019 Chito started working with Todos Santos Eco Adventures (TOSEA) on a luxury tent camp in the avocado, grapefruit and mango orchard that his grandfather planted for his grandmother at the ranch. (Disclosure: the author is a co-owner of TOSEA). With his own hands he built a traditional ranch kitchen with a beautiful brick, wood-burning stove that is the heart of the camp, and this is complemented by walk-in tents throughout the orchard that feature locally made furniture, real beds, rugs, lamps, rocking chairs and other details that make staying on Chito’s ranch not only incredibly fun, but super comfortable. Chito often guides guests on hikes and mule rides throughout the mountains, and loves chatting with folks around the campfire at happy hour afterwards. His incredibly accomplished 7 year old grandson Alfredito often accompanies him, always making sure that there is enough wood for the stove and always ready to share a laugh with camp guests. Together they demonstrate a truth that has been known in the area for centuries: the ranchers of Baja California Sur are some of the most gracious and welcoming hosts on the planet.

They are also accomplished artists. Using the tools handed down from his father, Chito is a master leatherworker and his beautiful saddles, bridles and other leather items are highly sought after. He is also a natural teacher, and a leather working workshop with Chito is the highlight of many guests’ stay at Camp Cecil de la Sierra, the luxury tent camp on his property.

 

Chito inspires his fellow artists as well. Renowned ceramic mosaic artist Donna Billick, the founder of Todos Artes in Todos Santos, was so impressed by the time she spent with Chito that she created the BioSphere, a magnificent ceramic homage to Chito, his ranch, his cowboy roots and his ecotourism future. And she’s not stopping there. Todos Artes artists Isabel “Issy” Von Zastrow and Will Worden will be working with Donna to lead plein aire watercolor workshops at the camp, where visitors can seek inspiration and subject matter from the ranch and the fantastic natural beauty of the area. Alfredito took one of Issy’s first watercolor classes at the camp. He was so impressed that he came back the next day with his cousin Damian and demanded another one. Alfredito’s stated goal in life is to follow in Chito’s footsteps. With his natural gifts for people, ranching and art, we can all look forward to Rancho Santo Domingo’s continued success as a joyful place where visitors can seek respite and inspiration. In the generations to come, ranching ecotourism may well come to be encapsulated in just one name. Alfredito.

 

 

 

 

Rancho Gaspareño: The Transformation of Baja California Sur

Rancho Gaspareño: The Transformation of Baja California Sur

A tumultuous, exhilarating, infuriating and irrevocable shift of population, outlook, culture and vision is sweeping the lower part of the Baja peninsula. Some residents who have been here for a time are eagerly embracing the evolution, spreading the new concepts one joyous Instagram post after another.  Others remain faithful to the old days and ways, testily resisting the transformers one grumpy Todos Santos Newsfeed post after another. Who is really a Todos Santeño? Paraphrasing Colson Whitehead’s beautiful tribute to New York, “No matter how long you have been here, you are a Todos Santeño the first time you say, ”That used to be Café Santa Fe” or ”That used to be Santana’s.” … You are a Todos Santeño when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now….You start building your own private Todos Santos the first time you lay eyes on it.”

For Greg Schredder the first time he laid eyes on Todos Santos was in 1961 from the sea, but he’d been driving down the Baja peninsula for a couple of years by then. “A bunch of us southern California surfers started coming to Baja in 1959” recalls Greg. “Because there was barely a road and certainly no gas stations at that time, we retrofitted our old truck with a custom-built 55-gallon gas tank and brought what we called our Tijuana credit card, a one-inch tube that we’d use for siphoning the gas we bought at the ranches. The ranchers were always incredibly welcoming and ready to help us with gas and anything else we needed. Of course, we didn’t always find them in time and we were often stranded for days. We didn’t care, we were just always looking for waves.”

The fishermen were equally welcoming. “We would travel with 10-pack cartons of unfiltered, Delegado cigarettes, and one carton would get us up to 50 pounds of lobster. Everything was so abundant then. We’d actually get tired of eating lobster and so we’d use it as bait to go fishing. It was not uncommon to see 600-pound groupers in the Pacific lagoons in those days, and the fishermen would actually catch these giants with their hand lines. We loved staying in the fishing villages on these trips. We would surf, dive, fish, and learn incredible stories of these people living in the most remote locations. You could hear your heartbeat for a quarter mile it was so quiet and still. We would always bring baseballs, gloves and Playboy magazines, and we made friends and had a great time everywhere we went.”

Greg’s introduction to Todos Santos was rooted in much more glamorous transportation than the type that required a Tijuana credit card. “In the 1950s and 60s, most of us surfer kids in Newport, California worked on the yachts of famous people like André Previn, Julie Andrews, and Humphrey Bogart to make money, and they really treated us like family. In 1965 I came to Cabo on Ralph Larrabee’s yacht, Goodwill, and stayed for about a month. At that time Cabo was really just a small village with no electricity. Larrabee’s friends like Donald Douglas (of Douglas Aircraft fame) and John Wayne would fly in to spend a few days partying and fishing, then fly back home. It was during these downtimes that I first explored the Pacific Coast between Cabo and Todos Santos. It was a surfer’s paradise.”

Greg’s friendship with the likes of Douglas and Wayne ended up lasting decades and inspired many of his business ventures across Mexico and Costa Rica. “I would often travel with them over the years, and they are the ones who motivated me to get a real job. As a surfer and diver I decided to set up factories in La Paz and Tijuana to make rubber products related to those activities. We expanded that business into setting up factories for many Fortune 500 companies who needed inexpensive, repetitive labor. We were the largest employer in La Paz and Ensenada for over 20 years. Of course, before the highway came in, it could take up to 2 days to drive to Todos Santos for some surfing.”

“I have always loved the Pacific side of Baja, and in 1979 I bought Rancho Gaspareño, 50 acres of remote land along a quarter mile of the Pacific coastline, not too far from Todos Santos. One of the people who drew me to the area was Carmen Salgado Agramont. She had a little cantina with a hitching post out front for horses where she’d serve up warm beer and hot food. She was quite savvy, and bought the first gas refrigerator in the area. She almost couldn’t keep up with ranchero demand for cold beer after that, and there were always dozens of horses around her cantina. I loved that place, and it was Carmen’s son who set me on the path to buying the ranch, which actually has the name and signature of Benito Juarez on the original land grand title. Since then I’ve been growing coco palms on the ranch, and have also been experimenting with growing plants from Hawaii like breadfruit that have excellent potential in Mexico.”

Greg loves the history of the area. “Rancho Gaspareño was named after a Spanish galleon that went aground on the point, the Gaspareño. It was one of the so-called Manila galleons, Spanish ships that sailed between the Philippines and Acapulco for 250 years, bringing spices, silks and other luxuries from the far east to New Spain. All these galleons sailed the Pacific coast of Baja on their way to Acapulco, so naturally enough the area became riddled with pirates, many of them English and Dutch.  There are many tales of buried pirate treasure in the area, and local school groups still come to explore the cave at Rancho Gaspareño each year to tap into the lore. Treasure hunters have reason for optimism; in 1974 when the road from La Paz to the ferry terminal at Pichilingue was being built, a pirate chest of plundered loot was discovered by road workers.”  

“I think of this part of the Baja coastline as the forgotten area” continues Greg. “People drive past Rancho Gaspareño going a hundred miles an hour on the new 4-lane highway and have no idea of the history of the area.” The Guaycura and Pericue Indians were the original inhabitants before the Jesuit’s arrival in 1697, and they were essentially wiped out by the time the Jesuits left in 1768. The Jesuits built their theocracy based on a promise to the King of Spain to get rid of the pirates who were plundering his ships, and the pirates faded away with the demise of the Manila galleons in 1815. Dominican Padre Gabriel González had a ranch near Gaspareño from 1825 to 1850, and the tobacco, rum, sugar, corn, and livestock he produced there made him the richest man in Baja California. From his ranch the padre engaged in espionage and guerilla warfare during the Mexican-American war of 1846-1848, and – thanks in part to the Padre – Mexico won a major victory near Gaspareño (but lost the war). By 1855 the Padre had lost his political backing and left Baja for good. For the next one hundred years entrepreneurs made fortunes in the sugar cane industry with fields in areas like Gaspareño, but in the 1950s a severe drought and price drop lead to the demise of the industry; the last sugar processing plant closed in 1974. In that same year the trans peninsular highway made its way to Todos Santos, bringing new life to the town, and in 1985 renowned artist Charles Stewart arrived from Taos, planting the seed for Todos Santos’ current incarnation as an artists’ colony. It remains an agricultural center and surfing hotspot, only now it is firmly on the radar of major developers.

62 years after his first trip down the Baja peninsula, Greg is ready to carve out a little hacienda for himself and his art collection, but let someone else take over the bulk of the land that is Rancho Gaspareño. He has kept his 50 acres wild and free, but would love to see someone with vision and passion create a place of beauty that celebrates the area’s thrilling past, and embraces an artistic, sustainable future. Someone who started building their own private Todos Santos the first time they laid eyes on it.

Of course, letting go of a big piece of the ranch is bittersweet for Greg. Paraphrasing Colson Whitehead’s tribute to New York once more, “We can never make proper goodbyes… Maybe we become Todos Santeños the day we realize that Todos Santos will go on without us. …. Naturally we will cast a wary eye toward those new kids on the block, but let’s be patient and not judge too quickly. We were new here, too, once.” Yes indeed. A tumultuous, exhilarating, infuriating and irrevocable shift of population, outlook, culture and vision is sweeping the lower part of the Baja peninsula. It always has.

 

 

The Todos Santos Taco Crawl

The Todos Santos Taco Crawl

The Todos Santos Taco Crawl
Fish tacos. Fish tacos. Fish tacos. Fish tacos!
Todos Santos has a well-deserved reputation as a food lover’s paradise, so there is really no better place to indulge in Baja California Sur’s greatest contribution to world cuisine: the fish taco!

During this epic taco tour our local insider guides will take you to several of their favorite local joints to sample not only fish tacos, but other types of tacos drawing on the area’s bounties of land and sea. You might find several different types of ceviche out there too!

Duration

  • 3 Hours

Price in USD

  • 2 + guests: $75/person
(*A 16% IVA tax will be added to final price)

Includes

  • Bilingual taco foodie guide
  • Stops at 3 different taco / ceviche places with one dish per stop

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Going Green

  • This trip is carbon neutral
  • No single-use plastics are used
  • All organic waste is composted and all eligible materials are recycled

Tomorrow's Air

Carbon removal from our atmosphere is essential in addressing the world's climate crisis. We are a proud carbon capture education partner with Tomorrow's Air and have supported the removal of one ton of carbon dioxide from the air. Learn more!

What to Bring

  • Comfortable footwear
  • Water bottle
  • An appetite!

Mexican Cooking Class

Mexican Cooking Class

Mexican Cooking Class
A hands-on experience with food, drink, and plenty of fun!
Prepare yourself for a great time! Local lawyer turned chef Iker Algorri, author of Cooking Adventures in Baja and chef-in-residence at Los Colibris Casitas, leads this wonderful Mexican Survival Cooking Class.

The emphasis is on having as much fun as possible, learning to make the perfect margarita, and gaining the skill to make some truly delicious Mexican dishes following Chef Iker’s cooking philosophy, the Magnificence of Simplicity.

You’ll also probably learn about some great Latin music you’ve never heard before. But be warned – dancing often known to follow this class!

Duration

  • Full Evening

Price in USD

  • 2 + guests: $100/person
(*A 16% IVA tax will be added to final price)

Includes

  • Make the perfect margarita (secret ingredient revealed!)
  • Learn how to make tortilla chips and the best guacamole ever
  • Make a typical Mexican dinner entree- you can ask for something you would particularly like to make or allow the chef to decide
  • Eat and drink everything that you make!

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Going Green

  • This trip is carbon neutral
  • No single-use plastics are used
  • All organic waste is composted and all eligible materials are recycled

Tomorrow's Air

Carbon removal from our atmosphere is essential in addressing the world's climate crisis. We are a proud carbon capture education partner with Tomorrow's Air and have supported the removal of one ton of carbon dioxide from the air. Learn more!

What to Bring

  • An appetite!
  • Comfortable footwear
  • A notebook to jot down recipes

Sound Bath and Cacao Ceremony

Sound Bath and Cacao Ceremony

Sound Bath and
Cacao Ceremony

A soulful and personal journey through sound and vibrations.
Connect with your senses, clear energy blockages, balance your emotions, and elevate your frequency through the healing power of sound and vibrations. Sound baths stimulate alpha waves in our brain which recalibrate our cells and allow us to shift into a deep state of relaxation, coherence, and harmony. Sound baths operate on a mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual dimension, allowing us to purify any dissonant energies and center deeply into ourselves. This private sound bath will incorporate an array of healing instruments including crystal singing bowls, chimes, drums, gongs, rainsticks, guitar, and vocals.

Cacao ceremonies are an ancient, heart-opening ritual that support the body in healing and connecting with the joy and magic of cacao. To honor this sacred plant, we will hold a circle of intention setting, blessings, and medicine songs. Together we will enjoy the physical, energetic, and emotional benefits of this divine food and medicine.

Duration

  • 2 Hours

Price in USD

  • 2-4 guests: $700/group
  • Each additional person is $150 person
(*A 16% IVA tax will be added to final price)

Includes

  • The program takes 2 to 2.5 hours and is best when started at sunset
  • The facilitators for this program are intuitive medicine practitioners, yoga teachers, musicians, and sound healing practitioners.
  • The program takes place at the facilitator’s open-air studio, but special arrangements can be made for other locations.

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Going Green

  • This trip is carbon neutral
  • No single-use plastics are used
  • All organic waste is composted and all eligible materials are recycled

Tomorrow's Air

Carbon removal from our atmosphere is essential in addressing the world's climate crisis. We are a proud carbon capture education partner with Tomorrow's Air and have supported the removal of one ton of carbon dioxide from the air. Learn more!

What to Bring

  • Wear comfortable clothing
  • An eye mask, if helpful
  • Water bottle

Watercolor with Isabel

Watercolor with Isabel

Watercolor with Isabel

Capture the beauty of Baja through watercolor.

Isabel von Zastrow is a local artist in Todos Santos who specializes in watercolors and painted ceramics.

Originally from Kenya, she traveled the world as a professional kiteboarder until settling in beautiful Baja. Coming from a longline of artists and painters, she dives into painting meditation with simplicity and presence in each piece of work.

Classes:
All ages and levels are welcome as we explore the beautiful area of Todos Santos. Classes are offered in the town studio or plein air. These painting classes will guide you to see and understand your muse, how to mix colors, and apply the layers to make your work of art.

By learning about water movement and brush technique, you will be painting in no time!

You can even opt to turn your masterpiece into a pack of greeting cards before you leave (extra cost for this service).

Duration

  • 2 – 3 Hours

Price in USD

  • Plein Air: $100/person/2.5 hours. Min 2, max 4 in group
(*A 16% IVA tax will be added to final price)

Includes

  • Inspiring guidance from the artist
  • All tools and materials
  • Your very own piece of art to bring home!

Share This

Going Green

  • This trip is carbon neutral
  • No single-use plastics are used
  • All organic waste is composted and all eligible materials are recycled

Tomorrow's Air

Carbon removal from our atmosphere is essential in addressing the world's climate crisis. We are a proud carbon capture education partner with Tomorrow's Air and have supported the removal of one ton of carbon dioxide from the air. Learn more!

What to Bring

  • Comfortable footwear
  • Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
  • Snacks
  • Water bottle

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