The Angel on Highway 1 From disaster to Friendship south of the border

I had quit my corporate job, moved into my car, and bought a camera to become an adventure photographer. I was chasing my dream. All of a sudden my car, my home, was rolling through the Baja desert at 70mph. My friend Cooper and I were lucky to be alive. Even luckier that Armando was there to save us. I've never been so vulnerable, my things, my life lay scattered in that desert and he gathered it up in the back of his pickup. His kindness sparked an unlikely friendship that defies borders and languages.

Five years ago, Armando rescued Cooper and I on the side of Hwy 1. He drove us three hours to a junkyard to meet the insurance agent. We laughed, told stories, and discovered we both loved Oysters, so I said to Armando, "one day we'll come back and we'll eat oysters together." I've come back to visit twice now, improving upon my Spanish each time.

It's a story about the realities of embracing the unknown, and the unexpected kindness of strangers. It's an unlikely friendship that defies borders and languages. And it flips stereotypes on their head, dismantling the romanticised #vanlife and proving not everyone in Mexico gets robbed. All while weaving my photography ambitions over the same timeline, from inception to fruition.