Part 6: Spots Reserved & Made it to Baja!

Alright.

I made it to Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Finally.

It’s been a ridiculously long and wild journey to get here.

From originally driving the van from Brazil to Uruguay over 3 days to leave it in storage since my TIP (temporary import permit) was about to expire, to flying to Uruguay to drive it another 3 days to Zaraté, Argentina, flying to Mexico with my dog, to picking the van up in Veracruz, getting stuck in farmer’s protests blocking the highway for 5 days, and driving over 1,500 km to Mazatlán… I finally made it to the ferry to Baja.

And not just any ferry! A 24-hour ferry that they market as 14 hours, where you are crammed in like sardines with a bunch of trucks. I was told I’d be placed on the top deck and in the open air, since I had a dog and he’s not allowed in the AC cabins of the ship… so, we had to sleep in the van. Well, they placed me in the enclosed area with refrigerated trucks running their engines for 24 hours. The temperature never dropped below 90 degrees (32 Celsius). I burned through half a tank of gas idling my engine just to have AC to sleep a couple of hours and not melt in the night. I slept with my carbon monoxide alarm next to me… I was not going to die on a fucking ferry to Baja.

And just as I arrived, one of my two only fans (that makes it possible to sleep between 80-85 degrees: the temperature in Baja this early in the season), just bit the dust after 3 years. When it rains, it pours.

It’s been constant physical and mental stress to get here. The logistics I went through to make this happen are something I never want to do again. I can feel myself reaching my limit. And while the stress has been self-imposed, it’s been too much. The constant rushing feeling is something I’ve specifically designed to not have in my life over the past few years. I value slow mornings, writing, meditating… this has definitely been a big test.

That being said, I am thankful.

Thankful for my van that hasn’t suffered a major mechanical issue the entire time I’ve lived in it (knock on wood).

Thankful to have a partner who keeps me grounded when I feel like I’m in over my head.

Thankful to have my dog near me and see him healthy and thriving.

Thankful to have found decent enough food here in Mexico after living in the organic-food-paradise-of-Floripa to keep myself nourished.

Thankful to be able to exercise.

Thankful to have the financial means to take on something like this. Between shipping, gas, and wildly expensive Mexican toll roads… I recognize how fortunate I am that this isn’t an added stress.

And after this entire saga that I am letting go by writing this newsletter, I made it to Baja, and it feels good. Baja Good. 🙃

I am writing this with my van parked 10 meters from the ocean, toes in the sand, watching the pelicans drive into the crystal clear water for fish as last night’s super moon fades away in the blue sky.

That’s Baja, baby, and oh does it feel good to be back.

These are Paquito’s stomping grounds, where my girlfriend and I picked him up 3 years ago this month, and he’s already making friends. Things have come full circle.

Now - let’s get into the business.

More Ads

I created two more ads for Meta and ran them simultaneously with the boosted video ads I had previously made. I received more form sign-ups for the 21-day expeditions, and at a cheaper rate. It brought my average lead price down to $10.15 and performed better than the boosted videos in a shorter amount of time.

I also created a Google ad—like when you search for something and you see the first result with “sponsored” written right under it. It’s brought in a lot of traffic in under a week, but only a few of the leads have been real. The rest have been bots… filling out 15+ digit phone numbers with emails like “marcinta@gmail.com”. Obviously not a real person. Most of my emails bounce.

Apparently, Google doesn’t charge for “invalid clicks”, but I have a feeling they will charge me anyhow. So, I turned the ad spend all the way down to $2/day in hopes of minimizing this risk while Google optimizes the ad and who they are reaching. Apparently, this takes a week (which hasn’t passed yet). Fingers crossed the bots stop and the real leads increase.

I also posted on Reddit, the dark hole of the internet. I received three initial responses that were super positive, and then all the other anonymous commenters ripped me apart. People can “downvote” your post and comments, and let’s just say I received many.

Anyhow, it resulted in a few form submissions, so that’s good. People say if you aren’t getting negative criticism, you aren’t trying hard enough! Right? Right??

Lesson Learned #1: Be more transparent.

Lesson Learned #2: Don’t use Reddit.

Deposits!

That being said, I have been receiving lots of real form submissions, emails from people with questions about their rig, the itinerary, etc.

I reworked my follow-up emails to get more replies and to provide a link to make a deposit without sounding too salesy.

I’ve been in constant communication the past week with many people via email and WhatsApp, and I received my first sign-up for two people! Deposit paid and everything.

I don’t know if it’s due to the stress, but my immediate reaction to seeing the deposit was not happiness or excitement. It was a feeling of sadness and worry…

I probably shouldn’t share that, but this part of the internet is where I keep things real.

I think there are a lot of things to unpack here that I haven’t had the time to do so yet, but my guess is that it has something to do with Imposter Syndrome, my relationship with money, and a bunch of other stuff… but who knows. I’ll therapize on that later.

I continue to think of everything that could go wrong as I run these expeditions by myself, but I also realize that’s part of the reason I’ll be so good at it. I plan for the bad things to happen and hope they don’t, but I’m prepared… just like my entire Pan-American trip.

The whole trip’s focus is community—I need more people to sign up for this expedition for it to be what I marketed it as to the couple that already signed up.

I feel an enormous pressure to make this experience as amazing as possible for everyone who chooses to come. I don’t take their trust in me or my company lightly.

Should I have done this differently?

As my ads have started generating more leads, I’ve gotten a better idea of the demographic reached. It seems most people interested are 50+ and retired. It makes sense—they have time and money for something like this.

I’ve traveled a lot with people in this age range and genuinely enjoy it. I find that people in their 50s and 60s who choose to go on adventures like these are pretty amazing people with loads of inspiring stories. They’ve lived the adventures many 20-and-30-somethings only dream about doing.

However, my intention wasn’t only to reach this demographic. I wanted to make something accessible for people in their 20s and 30s and 40s to come on as well. While my expedition is priced more affordably than all the other competitors, I’m starting to think I went about this the wrong way.

My primary goal isn’t to make a ton of money with this expedition, although it would be nice to generate some decent income.

My main goal is to form amazing friendships, make new memories, and create something that has a lot of potential to grow and do good in the future.

I’m thinking back to a bikepacking trip I took in Patagonia a few years back with a few Brazilians. The guy leading the trip - Guilherme - organized the itinerary, had years of experience doing trips like this, and helped us with all of the preparation that goes into packing for a remote, self-sufficient bikepacking journey of 10 days. We paid him for this, and then we also paid for all of our expenses—hostels to start and end the trip, meals, food, van transport, etc. Shared costs were divided among all of us, and it was amazing!

Maybe I should have gone with that format for this trip by charging a much more accessible rate for joining a caravan… a rate that people in their 20s and 30s wouldn’t hesitate to join. I have the itinerary. I have the experience. I can help with the border crossing and all paperwork. I know the spots to go to. I know how to handle the police and military checkpoints. I take care of your their concerns, questions, worries about the unknowns. And then everyone pays their share for the campgrounds, road tolls, whale tours, hiking permits, their own meals…

Wow - just writing this has gotten me all excited about the trip again…

Is it too late to change?

Food for thought.

You probably won’t hear from me for a while now.

I have an insane amount of things to do before the first expedition starts on December 12. More stress - but this is all my decision, so I am choosing this stress and trying to make peace with it.

Cheers!
Alex 🌵🚐