Mexico Beyond the Beach

Join us for our conversation with Katherina Audley, Founder/Director of Whales of Guerrero [http://www.whalesinmexico.com].  Katherina Audley has participated in whale research projects around the world since 1997, and has 5 years’ working in the Research and Evaluation department at San Francisco’s Exploratorium. A travel writer and photographer since 1995, Katherina has a 22-year history with her study region in Mexico. Katherina is a National Geographic Explorer and guest blogger for National Geographic’s Ocean Voices column. The Whales of Guerrero [http://www.whalesinmexico.com]facilitates community-driven conservation in the fishing village of Barra de Potosí and throughout the southwest Pacific State of Guerrero, Mexico, pioneering a new approach to coastal protection that cultivates local leadership through citizen science, peer learning, and community outreach. After seven years of collaborative marine mammal research, the seeds of stewardship have taken root in our region. We want to help them bear fruit by galvanizing an emerging group of Fishery and Conservation Leaders who will lead the community toward long-term marine restoration and conservation. Barra de Potosi is a fishing village of 500 people with three blocks of streets and a couple of small stores. It is simple and authentic; truly the Last Best Beach [https://www.playablancamexico.com] for visitors with a taste for adventure and untouched natural beauty.

In Episode 4 of Mexico Beyond the Beach, we have a conversation with Jose Juan ("JJ") Puebla from EcoMigrations [http://www.ecomigrations.com] in La Paz, Baja California Sur. EcoMigrations offers a variety of single and multi-day expeditions, all of which are fully customizable. They also run research projects studying bottlenose dolphins in La Paz Bay and gray whales in Almejas Bay with citizen science and volunteer opportunities available. In this episode we highlight the marine biodiversity in Baja Sur, Mexico. Baby sea turtles, humpback whales, blue whales, and gray whales are all discussed in this lively conversation with JJ.

In Episode 3 of Mexico Beyond the Beach, co-hosts Sheridan Samano and Ruben Encalada talk about who they are, where they've been and what they hope to bring to listeners in future episodes. Sheridan Samano is co-founder of Reefs to Rockies [https://reefstorockies.com], a travel company based in Lafayette, Colorado. Reefs to Rockies specializes in nature and wildlife travel with Mexico one of their Top 3 selling destinations. Ruben Encalada had more than a decade of experience developing tourism products in Mexico. Based in Merida, Ruben's firm Encalada Turismo [http://www.encalada.mx/en/travel-consulting/] specializes in developing practical and creative solutions to take on the many challenges facing the travel industry today. Follow us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/mexicobeyondthebeachpodcast] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mexico_beyond_the_beach/].

In Episode 2 we discuss Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, the impacts of Covid-19 on the 2021 season, and response by locals. We also have a Q&A with Sandro Cusi from Procuenca in Valle de Bravo.

Mexico is home to incredible wildlife spectacles every month of the year. Three of the most famous are friendly gray whales in Baja Sur, overwintering monarch butterflies in oyamel fir forests west of Mexico City, and the world's largest whale shark aggregation off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. In Episode 1 of Mexico Beyond the Beach, we discuss five spectacles you've never heard of - the black sea turtle capital of the world on the Pacific coast, great white sharks at Guadalupe Island, a bat volcano near Calakmul, a firefly forest east of Mexico City, and sailfish chasing baitballs near Isla Mujeres and Cancun. Join us for the first full episode of Mexico Beyond the Beach Podcast.