Darío Higuera Meza, a traditional saddle maker in Baja California Sur, turned 70 in 2018. In March that year, he and his family traveled 200 miles in 20 days by mule-back, herding a pack train of donkeys from an oasis in the heart of the Sierra de la Giganta all the way to the capital city of La Paz.

Fearing that the old traditions might be lost forever, he overcame hardships of health, rattlesnakes, and hot days on rocky, forgotten trails in order to honor the memory of Lower California’s “long-haul” equine merchants “los arrieros”– the muleteers of Baja’s donkey pack-trains.

Two trail-savvy children, Ramoncito, age 8, Dario’s grandson, and Azucena, age 10, add sparkle to the tale as they ride through the desert out-back, sharing their own stories and songs along historic El Camino Real.