etnies

Mexico Spearfishing/Scuba Trip

This was i trip i just did with my buddy Brandon Lillard....
(click each photo for a larger version)

I landed in Cabo around 3pm on a Monday. I go through the regular customs shenanigans, which by the way was pleasantly uneventful, and head for the door. I text Brandon that I was there and he replied quickly with "I'm 15min. away", man I love technology. I post up against a wall that was just in the shade, not like it mattered really it was like 97 degrees out, the white people were melting! This was my first time to Cabo. And as soon as Brandon showed up I realize I actually wasn’t even going to get to see Cabo because as soon as I loaded up the truck with my mountain of gear, he said "alright, lets hit the road."

Its around 4:30 now and we’ve set out on our 1300 mile journey back to San Diego. We drive a two-lane road with no shoulder for a few hours dodging random cows and driving thru tiny villages some with the most amazing churches and bizarre structures. Its getting dark now and neither of us have eaten yet. We stop in a small town and get some carne asada tacos at a tiny taco shack on the side of the road. These tacos were the best tacos I ate on this trip and possibly the best tacos I've ever had. I had four, he ate cinco, and we were off. We drove on the road for another couple hours before taking an unmarked turn off and drove a bumpy/sketchy rocky road for 30 or so miles to a place called Scorpion Bay. It was around 11pm we showed up. We were both pretty tired so we set up camp and got some sleep.

We woke up in the morning fairly early and checked the surf, or lack there of. We headed over to this little cantina and we both got some pancakes and discussed our options. We decided to just head to San Nicolas, but first we had to repack the car. I built my bike while Brandon just relaxed on the edge of the cliff. We repacked the car and all of it crap. Time to go. We head back to town which is a small village 10 minutes from the camp site and get some gas for the boats we'll need to rent in San Nicolas. Getting gas meant having some guy at a shack siphon gas from his cans to ours. Meanwhile there was a bunch of the cutest kids in his yard dancing, swinging and eating and enjoying some tortillas for a mid day snack. These kids were some of the happiest kids I’ve ever seen. We load the gas and get back on the sketchy dirt road and head east stopping shortly to see a whaleboat shipwrecked on the beach. The road was in bad shape and we had to drive real slow sometimes. At one point a few military guard came out of the brush holding machine guns and requested to search our vehicle. Now remember we are on a 60 mile dirt road in what could be described as a barren wasteland, and these two guys just wonder out of the brush to make a drug smuggling inspection. We pass the checkpoint and continue on.

We drove for three of four hours on this road checking fallen down random signs to make sure we didn’t make a wrong turn into to the what seem to be the never ending nothingness. We finally hit the highway and decide to drive south in the other direction 30 miles to go to a town called Loreto. We needed to eat and if we didn’t do it now we might not get another chance to do so. We were both starving. We again stopped at a roadside taco shack café and ate some carne asada taco and some nachos. So good. I saw a cool looking church with some ledges, steps and a bank out front so I grabbed my bike and filmed a few clips and did a mini demo for some of the kid attending the church, they were stoked, after we headed to the gas station to get some gas and heard Tony Hawks demolition radio show on our Sirius satellite radio which by the way was keeping us with some savory tunes even in the most obscure middle of nowhere canyons. Since they were live I decided to call in and heckle them from south of the border. I called in and chatted on air for about ten minutes during which Tony reminded me to get back by Friday cause we were flying to mammoth to snowboard from Carlsbad at 4pm. I said will do and we headed on, stopped at a mini mart picked up some snacks, ice, and some other stuff and headed back north again. We got to another unmarked dirt road and made a right. We drove for about 45 minutes until we hit the Sea of Cortez. We were welcomed with some horses drinking from one of the ocean inlets and some whalebone outside the gates. This place was just a few home clustered in what was an oasis compared to the rest of the valley, right on the water a man named terry runs a small fishing gig out of his home. Brandon and him were old friends so we were welcomed in. Brandon’s other friend Nate also met us there to do some spear fishing.

We sat around and hung out playing with the dozen dogs and many other animals. It was awesome to hang out with these guys. Pedro, Terry’s dad, even came out and hung out for a bit. There were already some guys they’re from San Diego who had been fishing all day and were about to start cooking some of their fish for dinner and they invited us to join them. They had cooked up on a piece of foil over an open flame grill some of the most amazing fish I’ve ever eaten. I had a couple fish tacos, one yellowtail and one amber jack.

We said thank you and headed over to the beach to set up our camp 20 feet from the water. We all were pretty tired so we crashed in the sand. We got up early right about sun up and got our gear together, packed up the boat and the three of us headed out. We powered out about 6 miles or so out to Ill Defonso Island. We drove around the island a bit looking for the clearest waters. We stopped and anchored in. We saw a big shark fin just about 100 yards from us but decided to check this spot anyways. Nate jumped in and immediately speared a yellowtail about 18 pounds or so. Brandon and I swam around a bit but didn’t see much, we all head back to the boat and moved on to the next spot.

We anchored again and this time I put on my scuba gear and grabbed my camera and decided to film Brandon spear some fish. I was having a little trouble equalizing because of some sinus issues but with a little patience I sorted it out. I swam about 25 feet below Brandon a for about 30 minutes waiting for him to dive down and end some poor unsuspecting fishes life, the visibility wasn’t that great but he managed to massacre two cabrilla. He hooked them on his belt and we headed back to the boat, my tank was 2/3 empty so we wanted to save some for another spot. When we got back to the boat we all hopped in and I started to take off all my gear. That little sinus problem burst some stuff in my head and I got a small nosebleed, awesome. Nate got back and he shot another yellowtail this one was a good 25 pounder and a small cabrillo as well. Those guys check one more spot while I chilled, but with no luck and bad visibility they jumped back in the boat shortly and we head back to the beach

Brandon ripped the gills out of the fish and gutted them as well. After throwing the end trails to the pigeons that were flying furiously above and around we decided to just give the fish to terry. It was still pretty early so we packed up and decided we should get on the road, we had a 6-hour drive till our next destination. We loaded up said our thanks to Terry and our goodbyes to Nate and Brandon and I headed back out on the same dirt road we headed in on.

We drive for about an hour once we hit the paved road and stopped at a small village named Mulege and again ordered some carne asada tacos. Man I love those things. This taco shack was so full of flies and bugs that we ate as fast as we could and headed on. We passed some of the bluest waters on our way north to Guerreo Negro. We got to Guerreo Negro at 5pm and decided not to stop but to power the rest of the 9 hours home. We got gas and head on. At one of the many military inspection one of the guards asked if I did tricks on my bike so I pulled it out and did some ground trick and jumped on some ledges. They were stoked I think to have a little show.

It was dark now and we were on full alert looking for cows and or people in the road. I slept a bit while Brandon charged. We stopped in Ensenada for gas again and to get our windows cleaned. At this point we had eaten every snack in the car. We were getting so close to the border we could taste it. Just hoping there was not a fiasco at the border or a huge wait. We got to the border around 230am and breezed right thru in 10 min. La Jolla was the only thing on our minds. Brandon had just powered a 15-hour drive after a day of diving and was ready to sleep. We got back to Brandon’s in La Jolla at about 3am and we immediately passed out. We both woke up about 9am and unloaded the car. We were a day early so I had nowhere to go because I was supposed to go straight to Tony’s house to get on a flight to mammoth. I called my brother Gabe and he picked me up and drove me to my dads where my car was parked. I decided to go home to LA for the day and clean my gear before headed to Tony’s tomorrow. Brandon headed to work, his first day as marketing manager over at Nixon watches. Once home I went and saw a midnight showing of X-men 3 then crashed. Heading to Tony’s in the morning.

Check the photo gallery for a map and with an outline of our trip. I wanted to thank Brandon for a sick trip and some good tacos. Adios

Gumball America - The END

We flew from Thailand to Japan to Alaska then on to Utah, This is me somewhere over Japan

Hawk is gnarley, Big bowl 540 after a brutal Tomahwk

We are finally heading home; we left the Bangkok hotel for the airport and instantly got lost. We were out of gas and had no idea where to go. After finding some gas, we realized we were in danger of missing our flight so I jumped in a cab and paid him to take me to the airport so our car could follow. We get to the airport on time and board the plane. 20 hours and 2 refueling stops later we get to Utah.

While everyone else goes to the Mission Impossible premiere, we head to Layton skatepark for a good late night session. There were about 20 kids there, but within an hour the crowd had grown to about 350. It was actually a pretty good time. We banged out the stuff we needed despite all of us being tired and exhausted from our flight. I wanna thank all the kids and cops at the park, they were all so awesome. We got back to the hotel at like 1am and we all crashed.

The inside of the car cargo planes belly

In the morning we got up and head to the airport to pick up our cars. The feeling of getting back into the US made all of us ready to get home.

Mike V. took the wheel and we charged to Vegas. We had to get there and get ready—the vert dogs were doing a demo at the hard rock. Bob Burnquist, Mat Hoffman, Jesse Fritch and Kevin Stabb all joined us there for the demo. Those guys put on a sick show. We all wanna thank Phil Shalala for that success.

Condor mid flap.

After that we headed back to our Hotel, the Red Rock, which by the way is so dope. Tony had this massive suite with a pool table and private pool area, so sick—thanks to Rob Wells. The crew went to an official dinner and the food was so good. After that me and V head back to the Hard Rock for the Snoop concert and to hang out with everybody who was in town.

In the morning we barged straight to LA, skipping all the checkpoints. We got to the finish line and did some press. Then we all headed south to go home. We dropped V off first, then Tony. I then got a phone call stressing that we all needed to come back for the awards party at the Playboy mansion, which none of us had energy to go to. So I took one for the team since I only live 20 minutes from there and headed back to LA and to the party. It was pretty cool. I got to say bye to a few people and get one last chance to heckle some of the Euros.

All and all this was one of the greatest trips I’ve ever been on. Hanging out with Tony, Mike V, Dunn, and Bam was awesome. We had a lot of laughs, some at our own expense, but most with others...lol.. Thanks Guys for making the trip great! And thanks to the Euros for fueling our laughter. Also thank you to the Gumball Crew, and especially Max and Julie, we had a great time!

Mike

The wildlife from utah to Vegas is awesome

Hawk dogs living room at the Red Rock.

Me and Ron Jeremy

Playmates

Gumball Rally - Lost in Bangkok

Hello again.

Ok, well I’ll start off where I left off. We went to a party on the beach the night of our day off but it never really happened because of the rain. So we hung out for a bit then went to sleep cause we had to drive all day the next day from Phucket to Bangkok.

I took the wheel for the first shift; it was 272 miles but it was through the most crooked roads in the coolest rainforest, so it took a long time. We had a check point at a huge bat cave. On the way there we were chasing two black Lamborghinis for a couple hours—I passed them, they passed me—until they made an abrupt stop and I almost rear ended them going 90...awesome. So they pulled off and we kept going. Just a few miles down the road we came to an accident, though. A different Lambo had spun off the road through tree and ended up about 250 feet away from where it started. Apparently it skipped on a bump going 150mph and just ejected itself off the road. Luckily somehow no one was hurt.

We hung out a bit then carried on. Tony and I got a coke from a local shack and they poured the coke into a bag and stuck a straw in it...pretty awesome. We showed up to the checkpoint at the bat cave and headed in. We spent a couple hours there shooting photos and filming just to realize we were pretty much in dead last, haha. We decided we better get on. It was 354 miles to Bangkok and it was already so late.

Rich Van Every, the photographer, asked if he could drive for a bit and we all skeptically agreed. After driving through a monsoon, sliding out of control around blind corners and almost getting ran off the road at 110mph, Mike V, Tony and I decided enough was enough and we traded him out. I haven't been that nervous in a long time!

V took the wheel and we headed on. We stopped for gas and headed to Bangkok were the real fun began. Bam and Dunn's Lambo had burnt a clutch so they were screwed; the car was stopped in the middle of the road causing a traffic jam in some obscure road in Bangkok. While all that was happening a lady riding a moped was struck by a car right in front of them and they have it all on tape. Well, we had to go rescue them, the only problem they had no idea where they were. So here’s where it gets tricky. We contact our satellite nav company, Copilot, and told them Bam had a nav as well, so they found him on the system and then uploaded a route from us to them straight to our car from space. But it wasn't that simple. The system wasn't complete with all roads in Bangkok, so all the information being sent didn't add up. So we had a lady on the phone from France helping us from Copilot, a friend in Carlsbad tracking us from home helping us and instant messaging us directions on me or Tony's Sidekicks. Well, all and all it took us almost 4 hours of driving around in the worst built city to find Bam and Dunn. To say the least it sucked. We finally get them and decide to take the Lambo straight to the airport, so I jump in a cab solo and have him take me to the airport while the other cars followed. Sounded like a good ideas until they all turned off for the airport and my non English speaking cab driver kept going. Now I’m alone with no wallet and a dying cell phone! Awesome! I get out of that cab and jump into another. I had enough juice left in my phone to find out from Tony the name of the hotel, so I somehow explained to the guy were to go. I get to the hotel around 2am, they show up a half hour later and we have to leave for a flight at 6am. So no sleep…awesome. Salt Lake here we come!

Sorry if this story makes no sense, I’m delirious.

Thanks.
mike

Lambo meets tree...

Rooftop's Gumball Update Part II

A little lunch at the hotel...

After a 12 hour flight from Serbia (where there was 400 thousand people in the city center to greet us) to Thailand, we finally got a day off. The hotel we stayed at was dope. Here are some photos of us during the day. Also, check the map photo for a place called Abu Dhabi, it's in the United Arab Emirates (around the red crosshairs) that’s where our layover was to Thailand, right in the heart of the Middle East…gnarly!

Check back soon for the story on the second leg of the trip through Thailand in the coming days.

Thanks,
Mike

Part 1

The courtyard

Dunn's creepy prune hands

Rooftop’s Gumball 3000 Update

The crew

Hello everybody,

On May 30th Tony Hawk, Mike Vallely, ME, Bam, Ryan Dunn, and Carey Hart all took on the adventure of a lifetime. We began Gumball 3000's race around the world in eight days. The car breakdown went like this:

The Cherokee

• Jeep Cherokee srt8 w/viper engine: Tony Hawk, Mike Vallely, ME, and Ryan Young
• Bam’s Lamborghini: Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn
• Carey Hart’s Car was detained at customs in L.A. so he got a Porsche Cheyenne when he got to London.

Bam's Lambo

To track these cars in real time go to: live.gumball3000.com

My Car is car 011
Bam’s Car 013 I think
Carey’s Car ?

One of the many douche bags

We get into London the day before the race and register, and I can’t explain the amount of crazy cars, some reaching well over $200,000, complete douche bag drivers and bizarre shenanigans going on. We all meet up, hang out, then get ready for the race tomorrow. I spend the day and night sorting out a bike rack for the car. Thanks Ian Morris for that and then Ray and the guys at Cyclone Cycles and Stu Dawkins for bring Ryan Dunn a bike at like midnight.

This is legal, right?

We drive our cars into staging where there seems to be 3-5 thousand people lining the streets of London that we could see. It takes for ever to get going but when the horn finally goes; our car being as prepared as usual, we realize we only have 5 miles till empty in our tank...awesome. So we begin off the line and round a corner to find the next three miles of city packed with at least 15 thousand or more people lining the streets, it was nuts! We then struggle to find gas and then get on our way to the channel tunnel to get ourselves over to France. This was all fine until the baguette eating douche bag French at customs decided to hold up a group of us for 4 hours! One reason being that we did not have a front license plate, so I rigged one with some tape and markers which was, to say the least, ghetto fabulous.

We finally get on the train and on our way, landed in France and sped off. Tony drove for 185 miles to the Chateau de Beloeil, Belgium. By the time we got there it was 2am. Apparently there was like 25 thousand people there waiting for us, but because of our hold up at customs we didn't see that—when we arrived it was closer to 2,000 people. We pulled into the chateau and it was a full on castle with a moat and everything. We ran in and ate some appetizers that taste like earwax wrapped in ivy leaves mmmmm. We all pissed and we jumped back in our cars and bailed. Mike V. took the wheel next.

Mike V hitting a buck fifty

The next portion of the drive was 731 miles. First was through Belgium where we pulled over at 4:30 am and rode and skated some tranny half pipes 10 feet up and four feet wide under a bridge, which none of us were qualified to do at this point. We all fumbled around until we decided this was dumb and headed on. Every few hundred miles we were stopped at a police checkpoint and hassled until released. We hit Germany about sun up where Mike V hit 150 mph on the Autobahn. We got into Austria and still had a few hundred miles to go to our checkpoint to get our next coordinates. We pull into Vienna, and again thousands of people line the streets shaking our car trying to get stickers and autographs. We stop at Kursalon Wein to eat some omelettes, which was our first non gas station meal up to this point. We ate and got the hell out of there. Mike V continued to drive. The next stop was 162 miles into Budapest. We arrived at 5pm and it was raining and it has been 23 hours since we left London and we are all haggard and beat. We check into The Four seasons, again to many screaming fans and we all disappeared to our rooms…there’s a party tonight but who knows if any of us have the energy to stay awake.

Tomorrow I'll drive. We leave the hotel and drive 189 miles into Belgrade which I believe is in Serbia, not the safest of places, and we are told to be ready for military intervention. I’m not sure what that means. We then load all 120 cars onto cargo planes and head to Thailand, which is a 14 hour flight with two refueling. When we get to Phucket we start another 1000 mile drive and the second installment to this adventure.

- Mike Escamilla