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00:00Expedition Overland's Pan American Series is presented by General Tire. Anywhere is possible.
00:42We've been working for months to get to a beach, and we did get to a beach last night.
00:47We finally got here, and we were like, this is awesome.
00:51This morning we wake up, we had a slow start this morning on purpose, trying to catch up on sleep.
00:56And we were woke in our tents by this odor, and this odor is a dead dolphin, just right over
01:07the edge of the beach here.
01:08And I am currently downstream of this rotting, blackened dolphin.
01:29It's so beautiful.
01:31It is beautiful, but so smelly.
01:33So smelly.
01:34Our morning beach conundrum required a creative solution.
01:38This is the solution right here.
01:39Essential.
01:40You grab cedarwood oil and rub it on your upper lip.
01:44You can just put that all over the air.
01:46Here, go play.
01:47Ready?
01:47Quickly.
01:48Quickly.
01:49Oh, you're plenty good now.
01:51Holy, you dabbed that one.
01:52I did.
01:53That was a finger.
01:54Oof.
01:56With our truck's power steering needing some repairs, we were dead in the water.
02:00Today we've got to run into town and pick up a hose.
02:02A piece of power steering hose in Tacoma.
02:05We lost a low-pressure power steering hose last night in the sand.
02:11This is going to be a quick, easy fix once we find a piece of hose.
02:14It's Sunday.
02:15Hopefully there's a hardware store open.
02:17As we prepared to make our way to town, some of our guts started to churn.
02:23You're not looking too hot, is he?
02:24Oh, look at that walker.
02:27It wasn't from the stench.
02:28It was something worse.
02:30I'm feeling mediocre.
02:32You're zigzagging a little there.
02:34I just know that if I smell that freaking dead dolphin one more time, I'm going to
02:41probably lose it all.
02:44Feel better?
02:46Our fish tacos from the night before that Kurt and I had so boldly smothered in a squeeze
02:50bottle sauce that most likely had been sitting out in the Baja sun all day is our prime suspect.
02:56How's it going?
02:58I've lost five pounds this week.
03:00Nope, just this morning.
03:03It's a new weight loss plan I'm working on.
03:06You're in full evacuation mode.
03:08Totally.
03:08There is zero storage at this point.
03:12Kurt!
03:14To the others, our condition offered some comedic relief to the overall situation.
03:20Are you going to make it?
03:22Are you going to make it?
03:24Get off!
03:25Let the demons out!
03:26It's okay!
03:34Man, sometimes you wonder if you're going to go both ways with your emotion there.
03:44Alright, that'll do.
03:48And now for the other.
03:52Now with the other guys in town, Kurt and I did what we could to recover in the shade.
03:58Scott took the opportunity to hang out with Kyle.
04:03There are so many seashells on the seashore.
04:07How many seashells will you see today?
04:12Is that all good?
04:14My name is Kyle Gunnarsson.
04:15I'm approximately 27 years old.
04:18When I was younger, I grew up in Russia for around three years.
04:24And my family, we traveled a lot.
04:26So I got really used to different cultures and moving a lot into different situations
04:32and being in strange environments with people that you may not understand their language or anything.
04:38But that became comfortable to me.
04:40And so inside me, I feel like there's always this itch of just wanting to travel.
04:46I am married to my wife Molly.
04:49We've been married for about four years.
04:53And when we were first getting married is when I first met Scott and Rhonda.
04:58And they were our marriage counselors.
05:00And so obviously getting to know them a lot more in that period of time,
05:04that short time of life was really important.
05:06And we just fell in love with them and their family.
05:09And then through them, we got to know their community of like Clay and Ty and Toby.
05:15Kyle's interview was cut short by the persistent exorcism of food poisoning.
05:24You know what I need?
05:25You're back from the bathroom.
05:26A Red Bull.
05:28Clay, you need a Red Bull too, buddy.
05:30Kurt was quick on the mend.
05:31I continue to battle it out.
05:33That's what I feel like.
05:35And sometimes that's the best medicine.
05:37But Clay, you're not mentally prepared.
05:39Oh, yeah.
05:40I was going to sit in the truck.
05:42Found my happy place.
05:44No longer the beach.
05:47With the new hose in hand, the guys go to work on the repair.
05:50Low pressure line.
05:51Did you find everything you need?
05:53We did.
05:53We got everything we needed.
05:55The guys were very helpful.
05:58And thankfully their English was better than our Spanish.
06:00Ha!
06:02Yeah.
06:02So we're set.
06:03We got new hose, new clamps, new fluid.
06:06We're good to go.
06:07We're going to be up and running here in a few minutes.
06:16With the truck up and running again, we rolled out to make way to a special meeting.
06:20We are headed to Ivan Stewart's Playa.
06:28He's basically the Iron Man of the Baja 1000.
06:32I'm still in pretty tough shape.
06:33Not the condition you want to be in before meeting a legend.
06:43Sorry about your lawn, Ivan.
06:47We just find a nice flower pot or something.
06:50Pick up a flower puking.
06:52Boom!
06:55I'm just going to have to suck it up and pretend that nothing was wrong.
06:58You know, play it cool.
07:01I'm happy.
07:02Here we are.
07:02Ivan Stewart's house.
07:04Let's just hope he's home.
07:12Ivan wasn't home, so naturally we snooped around.
07:15Then we made ourselves at home on his front porch.
07:18This is Ivan Stewart's porch.
07:20He's not here.
07:22This TRD Pro Tundra's here.
07:25He is not here.
07:27But we're here.
07:30Wasn't long before a blond-haired wild man came sliding into the drive.
07:34Ivan, the Iron Man Stewart, stepped out of a dusty buggy and welcomed us in.
07:54He wanted to show us what he was currently working on in the garage.
07:58It may not be what you would think would be in this guy's garage.
08:01But what I took from it is that this guy still has a youthful love for racing and all things
08:06off-road.
08:07A little 1600?
08:081600, don't worry.
08:09Fun?
08:10Yeah, it'll be fun.
08:11Yeah, it'll be fun.
08:12Back inside, Kurt is getting a few racing pointers.
08:15Maybe you get sleepy.
08:16It's about 2 o'clock in the morning.
08:17Did you get tired in the race?
08:19Oh, absolutely.
08:20You know how to wake yourself up?
08:22It's legal, too.
08:23I mean, it's super simple.
08:24When you start getting tired, you take that little gas pedal and you just keep pushing it down.
08:28But you hold it on the floor.
08:29I like it.
08:30The longer you hold it down, the faster you go, the bigger your eyes.
08:36You won't go to sleep.
08:38I'll have to give that a try.
08:40Nobody's trying that on this trip.
08:42We'll give that a try.
08:43How many times have you done the race?
08:45Well, the Baja 1000.
08:4730 times.
08:48Oh, solid?
08:49All of them were solid.
08:50No, no, all of them.
08:51The Baja 2000, I had them.
08:53When you guys went to La Paz and they turned around and drove back.
08:56Oh, really?
08:56Yeah, try that.
08:57Lucky enough to win three of those overall.
09:00Uh-huh.
09:01And then 17 Baja 500s overall.
09:04Most of my claim to fame came from the Baja 500s.
09:08Then camping advice started landing on the map.
09:12That's a beautiful little spot.
09:13You guys want to go down and then cook those.
09:16And then tomorrow morning...
09:17I had to step outside and take care of some business.
09:26And then again on the way back in.
09:28I agree.
09:29I agree.
09:30You're awesome.
09:31Here.
09:32You're probably never going to be invited back to this place.
09:34No, it's just because it landed in the toilet.
09:39So we're okay.
09:40Should I go start the car?
09:41The other day.
09:42Climb straight on Ivan's bed.
09:44Well, it can't ask to meet a cooler guy.
09:46I mean, talk about a man who knows what he loves and loves what he does.
09:50A guy who found out how to make a passion a lifestyle.
09:54We appreciate how real Ivan was.
09:56And how down to earth he is.
09:59You always tell friends when they leave.
10:00You always tell them the same thing.
10:01Drive careful.
10:02Be careful.
10:03I say, screw it.
10:04Have spin a Brody today.
10:06Not tomorrow, but today.
10:07Spin a Brody.
10:08Get a ticket, you know.
10:09Burn the tires off.
10:11I'm kidding.
10:12You guys got too far to go.
10:13Yeah, we got a long drive.
10:14Cool.
10:16Yeah, what do you get?
10:16Heading back and you can just get a Brody.
10:18Yeah, that's right.
10:19Sounds good.
10:20Have a great day.
10:20Good luck.
10:25As we drove away, our radio chatter expressed a common hope between all of us.
10:29We just all just want to keep it real, like Ivan.
10:34Hey Kurt, so you met one of your heroes in life today.
10:38I did.
10:38I was able to meet Ivan the Iron Man steward.
10:41How was that?
10:41Fantastic.
10:42He was a super authentic guy.
10:44Took us right into his home.
10:45Made his fill at home and told his race stories and gave us advice for our trip.
10:49A couple hours later, we found ourselves camped in a small cove.
10:53As I lay in bed, I find comfort in hearing the guys talk and laugh.
11:04The crew let Kurt and I rest through mid-morning.
11:08Definitely on the mend.
11:11I slept for about 12 hours last night.
11:14My soreness is starting to go away.
11:17The more water I get on board.
11:20So then, good to go.
11:22The coastal air was wonderful.
11:25The tide was out and the view majestic.
11:28Our travel groove was on and things are feeling natural.
11:31We have definitely settled into the journey.
11:38Not far down the road, we cross the final stretch of the ever-growing pavement in Baja.
11:42Soon this road will become all pavement.
11:45And it could be considered somewhat of an end of an era.
11:49The wildness of Baja is slowly being tamed.
12:08We strolled into Coco's Corner, a notorious stopping point that equates to something out of Burning Man.
12:13An eclectic array of randoms placed with care into a scene of wonderment.
12:18It's all just kind of weird, but yet somehow makes sense.
12:22We equate it to Alaska's chicken saloon, just Baja style.
12:28Coco came here by wheelchair during a simpler time.
12:30In his heart, he carried a simple vision.
12:34What was the idea?
12:36What did you want to do?
12:37The idea coming here, I look right here.
12:40The first time coming here, 1966.
12:43I looked at myself.
12:45Well, one day, this book coming here to the 1,000 Baja.
12:50Here I told my friend.
12:52And I said, one day I opened it here.
12:55There's a lot of traffic.
12:57A lot of traffic.
12:59And people know me.
13:01And we go see where Coco's going and go there.
13:05The place where he lives, he can shower.
13:08And until the morning, he can just go.
13:11Yeah.
13:11And that's where everything happens.
13:13Coco is known for his generosity in the midst of what most of us would consider to be nothing.
13:26The road out was awesome.
13:28True Baja bliss as we made our way south, crossing the Baja border from the state of Baja Norte into
13:34Baja shore.
13:35Rolling over from Baja Norte, Baja North to Southern Baja, a new state.
13:42Okay, here we go.
13:43Getting sprayed.
13:48You can't really tell, bro.
13:51We just got tuberculosis sized.
13:52Is everybody tuberculosis free?
13:54All right.
13:54My undercarriage is tuberculosis free.
13:57Oh no.
14:02We need to make some miles.
14:04So in the morning, after making a simple camp, we push on.
14:07Load up.
14:14So we just came over a little mountain range and saw the ocean right here to our left.
14:20And the roads were unbelievably well maintained, which was surprising to me, but really, really pretty.
14:27And we're going to roll in and grab some lunch.
14:29Kyle's going to get us some food and we're camping out in, I guess, kind of a cove down here.
14:36I don't remember the name of it, honestly, but really excited to sleep by the ocean again.
14:41Last night was unbelievably different than the night before and the night before that.
14:46It's been progressively better.
14:48I remember the year.
14:50This is cool.
14:51As we diverted into Santa Rosalia on a restock mission, we strolled by an interesting church and we hopped out
14:57to investigate.
15:04The church behind me was designed by the great famous Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame.
15:09And a French miner here in this town of Santa Rosalia wanted a church so badly for his men, he
15:15ordered this.
15:16It literally was put on a boat and shipped over here in the late 1800s and built and blessed in
15:21its current spot now.
15:22This town is still used as an active church.
15:25You just never know what you're going to come across sometimes.
15:28The little found details of a place or a historic event is really one of the best things about travel.
15:40With our miles behind us, our tires rolled onto the beach at the Bay of Conception.
15:50A bit road weary, we made camp at the water's edge.
16:05A long day's reward of a frosty Mexican beer was at hand.
16:08And the sound of the waves took the rest of the day away.
16:22Feeling the pressure of an upcoming ferry schedule, we continued south towards Cabo San Lucas at the end of the
16:27Baja Peninsula.
16:29Along the way, we saw some of the most incredible vistas of the saguaro cacti.
16:37Saguaro live as long as 200 years and is only known to exist in the Sonoran Desert.
16:42They grow their first arms at 70 to 100 years and are only considered an adult at the age of
16:47125.
16:50Just think of what they've seen.
16:59Here we are. Time for me to face some fears.
17:04We've got about an hour long video we've got to watch and then we're going to go scuba diving this
17:08morning.
17:09First time ever. Pretty fun.
17:11The video was a bit of a joke as it cut out for major portions.
17:15Important portions.
17:17But anyway, while the guys watched, I roamed around and filmed everything that makes Toby nervous.
17:25Before long, we found ourselves on a boat.
17:28I'm used to snorkeling. This is a whole new world for me.
17:32We made our way to the nearby dive site. Everyone was excited.
17:38I can't move right now.
17:40I feel like he overestimated.
17:43Toby seemed the most unsure.
17:46We took the plunge and soon we were all immersed in the new world.
17:56We all tested basic skills and then went exploring.
18:22It was awesome to be diving and doing something so cool with your friends.
18:28It's an experience that we can all share now.
18:32That was pretty awesome.
18:34It took me a little bit to adjust to get my ears equalized.
18:39I mean, I've snorkeled before and I just kind of intrigued it off.
18:43It's kind of the same thing. You're just diving deeper.
18:45Oh man, it was weird.
18:49My heart was going.
18:52Back on the boat, we headed further down the coast.
18:56Kurt and I had one more opportunity to log another dive.
19:00Kurt and I, since we're certified divers, were able to do one more dive today.
19:05And we're going to hop out right here.
19:07This is the end of the Baja.
19:09And we're going to be able to swim or dive.
19:12We're going to go to about 50 to 70 feet.
19:15Swim along this outer edge.
19:17Along the outside to the most southern point rock where we can swim around.
19:21So this should be a pretty exciting dive.
19:23It's pretty cool to dive at the geographic bottoms of Baja.
19:27The bottom.
19:28The bottom.
19:28The very bottom.
19:29This is the last rock of the peninsula.
19:32So we're going to check it out and see what's hiding down there.
19:39Once in the water, the dive was immediately rushed.
19:42In an attempt to keep up and start my descent, I failed to clean my goggles.
19:47And fog up was immediately an issue.
19:50The current was strong.
19:52The strongest Kurt and I had ever dove in.
19:54Constant buoyancy and forward kicking was critical.
19:58The demands of the ocean and the constant clearing of my goggles was consuming my air.
20:09Halfway into the dive, I couldn't take it anymore.
20:12I motioned my dive partner Kurt that something was wrong.
20:16He stayed next to me as I removed my goggles and my regulator to lick the inside of my goggles
20:21in an attempt to keep them from fogging anymore.
20:25This is one of the scariest things for me to do, especially 70 feet under water.
20:31But training took over and I was successful in the maneuver.
20:35My goggles were slightly better, so I reoriented with my compass, found our somewhat aloof guide and followed his lead.
20:45It wasn't long until my air gauge indicated that it was time for me to make a 10 minute safety
20:50stop and then surface.
20:52After notifying my guide of the condition, he proceeded to swim off.
20:58Not sure what to do, I followed for far too long and before I knew it, my air was critically
21:03low.
21:06Only a couple of minutes remained before I would be forced to surface, safety stop completed or not.
21:14The current ripped us up and down and finally we had to clear the surface from our guide.
21:24A surface with less than 100 pounds of air, seven times lower than my average surface gauge reading after completing
21:30a dive.
21:32Once on the surface, the guys informed us that during our dive, a humpback whale had passed directly overhead.
21:39They think we're fooling them.
21:40It just so happens that Clay and Kurt are down around this rock, literally at the moment the humpback whale
21:46just passed.
21:48A baby and two, and a, I don't know, I guess another end of the rock.
21:51I don't know if it's two big ones or whatever.
22:01That's one of the coolest things that can ever happen while you dive.
22:04It just happened without us knowing.
22:07Wow!
22:08Turn them into the dive site.
22:10Turn them in there.
22:12Wow!
22:16Back at the shop, Jeff lent me his ear and intentively listened to me vent about my foil dive.
22:22The sign of a true friend.
22:24So, and then I finally got the current figured out.
22:26I mean, I learned a lot on this dive.
22:29I look back on that dive now and consider it one of my most important dives to date.
22:33I just learned so much from it.
22:42We hit the road that night, moving north towards La Paz.
22:47Our final night in Baja was everything you could hope for.
22:52An amazing beach, cooking amazing food, all while laughing about the day's adventures and mishaps with your best friends.
23:00Life doesn't get any better than this.
23:07Being in the Baja has shown us a new perspective of Mexico.
23:10It's one of the gems of the world.
23:18It's sometimes hard to express adventure.
23:21Right now, at this moment, and on this beach, it's a feeling of pure freedom that's barely able to be
23:28contained in the chest.
23:30It's an addicting feeling. You can never have enough.
23:34And you're always looking for more.
23:39It's boring.
23:41You can never mind.
23:45It's boring.
24:00You can never find the most of the stars.
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