In this this intimate talk, Judy Goldstein Botello shares the lessons she’s learned from the people and land of Baja California and how it can bring out one’s inner “other side.”

On any given day, the border between Baja California and San Diego seethes with travelers in both directions: Americans pushing south into Mexico and Mexicans pushing north into the U.S. What are we all seeking? What draws us to explore “the other side”?

Judy Goldstein Botello explores these questions in her book, “The Other Side: Journeys in Baja California.” During her years of wandering through the Baja peninsula, the author discovered her own “other side,” falling in love, in the process, with Mexico in general and with Baja California in particular.

Judy Goldstein Botello is a retired pediatrician and the author of three books published by Sunbelt: “The Other Side: Journeys in Baja California”, “Adventures with Kids in San Diego”, and “More Adventures with Kids in San Diego” which Judy wrote with her adult daughter. Her articles have appeared in a variety of magazines, and her short stories have been included in several anthologies. The literary magazine “The Southern Review of Literature” published Judy’s poetry and one of her literary translations.

Judy’s love affair with Mexico began more than forty years ago, and she and her husband continue to explore Baja and the Mexican mainland—journeys of discovery that have no end. Over the last dozen years, they have become involved with a local non-profit organization providing medical and dental services to remote communities in the mountains of southern Baja California. This new adventure has allowed Judy to combine her role as a doctor and as a Baja explorer.