The Baja California Almanac, 2009 edition

Let the new Baja Almanac topographic map book help you explore the peninsula… whatever your interest, destination, or mode of transportation. 

The new, completely revised and updated Baja California Almanac brings you the latest full-color topographic maps detailing every inch of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. With over 10,000 entries, the new Baja Almanac lets you pinpoint any location in Baja, down to the most remote ranch or campsite.

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We have a large selection of recreation guides, including hiking guides, windsurfing guides, backroads guides, and tidepool combing guides (just to list a few types).  Below is a sample of some of them.

50 Hikes in the Cape Region, Baja Sur

by Carl Dreisbach

If you want to take advantage of the perfect weather we enjoy here in the Baja peninsula, 50 hikes in the Cape Region is what you need.  

The trails in this guide are timed and classified by difficulty level, so you can get some exercise or just wander around without getting lost.  This pocket-size book will let you discover major natural landmarks: peaks, trees, canyons, ruins, beaches, and all sorts of natural curiosities.  It will also help you find those secret, special spots in East Cape, both town and country.

The Guide to Baja Sea Kayaking: The Sea of Cortez and Magdalena Bay

by Dave Eckardt 

A mile-by-mile, full color, annotated map and guide showing camping beaches, points, and headlands of the east coast of Baja (Sea of Cortez) from San Felipe to Los Cabos.  It also includes 130-mile long Magdalena Bay on the west coast of Baja (Pacific Ocean).  It features town descriptions, photos, permit office locations, fresh water stops, fishing tips, and a listing of  kayak outfitters in the area.

The Baja Adventure Book 

by Walt Peterson 

A comprehensive, useful, and entertaining book on touring, travel, and outdoor adventure in Baja. This book describes a huge range of outdoor activities.  They include hiking among lava tubes, climbing cliff faces, fishing for prize gamefish, and diving sunken wrecks.  The book has maps, road logs, a Baja survival guide, and many humorous and informative stories of the author's adventures in Baja.

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We have worked hard to bring you a large selection of useful field guides.  We have bird identification guides, insect identification guides, fish and marine invertebrate identification guides, seashell identification guides - and the list goes on...

Baja California Plant Field Guide

by Norman C. Roberts

An exhaustive compendium of native plants in Baja, this book describes over 550 plants and contains color photos of over 275 of them.  It also includes an overview of the geography, geology, climate, and phytogeography (plant distribution) in Baja. By using the book's family key to classify a plant by family, and then examining the descriptions and photos for species within each family, you will be able to correctly identify and learn about nearly any plant you encounter while hiking in Baja.

Sea of Cortez Marine Animals: A Guide to the Common Fishes and Invertebrates, Baja California to Panama

by Daniel W. Gotshall

If you snorkel or dive in this area, this beautiful key will help you to more fully enjoy what you see under the sea.  It describes 189 species of fish and 67 species of invertebrates.  A pictoral key to fish families will allow you to narrow your search, and color photos and descriptions grouped by family will let you decide with certainty what you saw or can expect to see when exploring the beautiful underwater world in Baja.

Whales and Other Marine Mammals of California and Baja

Written by Tamara Eder; Illustrated by Ian Sheldon

Baja offers some of the best whale-watching opportunities in the world.  Its coastal waters are prime habitat for 45 species of marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and otters.  

This full-color book features photos, illustrations, range maps, and notes on conservation status. Don't go on a whale-watching tour without one!

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Cruising is very popular in the Sea of Cortez.  We have a number of books that will make your cruising experience easier and more enjoyable.  Below is a small sample.

Sea of Cortez: A Cruiser's Guidebook, 2nd Edition

by Shawn Breeding and Heather Bansmer

This is an up-to-date, comprehensive guide detailing the remote and pristine anchorages of the Baja peninsula and Mexican mainland within the Sea of Cortez.  The harbors and anchorages listed in this guide are illustrated with over 100 GPS-accurate chartlets, derived from satellite photography and first-hand exploration.  GPS waypoints, along with prime anchorage locations, accompany each chartlet.

Vivid color photography, illustrating the serene beauty and life of the Sea of Cortez, makes this book not only a valuable aid to mariners, but also a fantastic way to plan your next trip or just to daydream of sunny days in the Sea of Cortez.

Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing

by Scott Bannerot and Wendy Bannerot

This book gives you everything you need to know about catching fish in tropical or middle-latitude seas - from a cruising boat underway or at anchor, from a dinghy, in the surf, and while diving reefs.  This is a richly-detailed guide that will walk you through everything you need to know, step by step.

Spanish for Cruisers, 2nd Edition

by Kathy Parsons

This practical, easy-to-use guide provides the language skills and unique vocabulary necessary when cruising to and visiting Spanish-speaking countries.  Whether your travel plans include Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central or South America, Spanish for Cruisers has the essential tools you need to communicate.

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If you are planning to move here or are just visiting for a few days, your time in Mexico will be more enjoyable with a few words of Spanish. Whether you are looking for a beginning guide to learning Spanish, an advanced grammar guide, a Spanish-English dictionary, or just a Spanish phrase book, we have what you are looking for!

Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish: A Creative and Proven Approach

by Margarita Madrigal

Even the most reluctant learner will be astonished at the ease and effectiveness of Margarita Madrigal's method of teaching a foreign language.  Completely eliminating rote memorization and painfully boring drills, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is guaranteed to help you.

There's a Word for It in Mexico: The Complete Guide to Mexican Thought and Culture

by Boyé Lafayette De Mente

By examining the underlying meaning of over 130 key words and expressions, this comprehensive guide provides a unique insight into the thought and culture of contemporary Mexico, illuminating the role of language, culture, and history on the character and personality of the Mexican people and their customs.

This is an ideal introduction to Mexican thought and culture, as well as a practical guide to anticipating Mexican behavior and avoiding cultural faux pas.  It is the ideal companion for anyone with an interest - personal, business, or travel - in Mexico.

Perfect Phrases in Spanish for Construction

by Jean Yates

This book gives you more than 500 vital words and phrases specific to working on commercial and residential job sites, with translations spelled out phonetically so you can say what you need to say immediately.

The ideal book for anyone planning on building or remodeling a home in Mexico.

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When they are in La Paz, many people wish to learn more about the politics, history, or culture of the region.  Many people want to read travelogues, or fiction written about the area.  We carry both non-fiction and fiction books of local interest - one of our most popular categories!

Almost an Island: Travels in Baja California

by Bruce Berger

A chronicle of thirty years of exploration and change in Baja California, recounting natural and human history, the madness of a total eclipse, bedlam in a nunnery, the animals that surround a salt company, a governor who celebrates Earth Day by serving endangered species, and the search for a musical Mata Hari.

Las Soldaderas: Women of the Mexican Revolution

Written by Elena Poniantowska; Photographs by Agustín Victor Casasola

The photographs of Las Soldaderas and Elena Poniatowska's remarkable commentary rescue the women of the Mexican Revolution from the dust and oblivion of history.  These amazing photographs remind Poniatowska of the trail of women warriors that begins with the Spanish conquest and continues to Mexico's violent revolution. 

When in Mexico, Do as the Mexicans Do: The Clued-In Guide to Mexican Life, Language, and Culture

by Herb Kernecker

Packed with more than one hundred articles, this handy collection of cultural dos and don'ts covers a broad range of topics, including food, art, pop culture, politics, business, entertainment, home life, history, and education.

With light-hearted quizzes, cool internet addresses, and up-to-date insights into all aspects of Mexican culture, When in Mexico, Do as the Mexicans Do will delight everyone from students and tourists to armchair travelers and trivia buffs.

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Not only do we carry the Latin American authors you are familiar with - Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Carlos Fuentes, etc. - we also carry works by some authors you might not be familiar with.  Come in and browse our Latin American authors section.  You might discover a new favorite!

Pedro Páramo

by Juan Rulfo

A masterpiece of the surreal, this stunning novel from Mexico depicts a man's strange quest for his heritage.  Beseeched by his dying mother to locate his father, Pedro Páramo, whom they fled from years ago, Juan Preciado sets out for Comala.  Comala is a town alive with whispers and shadows - a place seemingly populated only by memory and hallucinations.  Built on the tyranny of the Páramo family, its barren and broken-down streets echo the voices of tormented spirits sharing the secrets of the past.

Soon to be a motion picture starring Gael García Bernal.

The Underdogs: A Novel of the Mexican Revolution

by Mariano Azuela

Mariano Azuela's stirring novel about the first great revolution of the twentieth centrury is a powerful portrait of the disillusionment of war, an authentic representation of Mexico's peasant life, and an iconic novel of the Latin American experience.

The Savage Detectives

by Roberto Bolaño

In this dazzling novel, the book that established his international reputation, Roberto Bolaño tells the story of two modern-day Quixotes - the last survivors of an underground literary movement, perhaps of literature itself - on a tragi-comic quest through a darkening, entropic universe: our own.  The Savage Detectives is an exuberant, raunchy, wildly inventive, and ambitious novel from one of the greatest Latin American authors of our age.

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We have a nice selection of bilingual books for children, and also a few for adults.

The Tree is Older than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico, with Paintings by Mexican Artists

Selected by Naomi Shihab Nye

This collection of poems and stories, told in both the original Spanish and translated English, transcends borders as it invites readers into a shared world of ideas, visions, and dreams.  Sixty-four great Mexican writers and painters are collected here, including Rosario Castellanos, Alberta Blanco, Octavio Paz, and Julio Galan.

A pleasant way to learn more about Mexico and its artists.  Also makes a lovely gift!

Interiores en México II - Interiors in Mexico II

International Interior Design Association, Guadalajara Chapter

Broad it its scope and rich in detail, this book showcases the most significant examples of contemporary style which are much alive and greatly admired in Mexico.

This outstanding edition is distinguished by presenting a varied panorama of avant-garde homes, exotic beach residences, haciendas combining luxury and tradition, sophisticated hotels and restaurants, and many other fascinating projects.

El Camino Real y las Misiones de la Península de Baja California - The Camino Real and the Missions of the Baja California Peninsula

Introduction by Miguel León-Portilla

Discover and journey down the former routes of the legendary Camino Real!  The royal roads of the Spanish crown to the missions of old California are traced on this unique four-meter-long screenfold.

Ample images accompany succinct, readable text by foremost experts.  Important information is provided on the Peninsula's rich biodiversity: landscapes, climate, flora, and fauna.

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