Christopher Paul Baker
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Christopher P. Baker (born 15 June 1955) is a professional
travel writer The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered ...
and
photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...
, adventure motorcyclist, tour leader, and
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
expert, and the 2008 Lowell Thomas Award 'Travel Journalist of the Year.' He is a contributor to magazines and other publications worldwide, and is the author of travel guidebooks for publishers such as
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
,
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
,
Moon Publications Moon is a travel guidebook publisher founded in 1973 in Chico, California. The company started with travel guides to Asia and later also published guides to the Americas. Bill Dalton was the founder and writer of the regularly updated ''Indon ...
, and
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
. He is best known for his award-winning literary travelog, ''Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba''. Baker has appeared on dozens of radio and TV outlets as a
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
expert, including on
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
,
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, and ''Travel with Rick Steves,''. He is a public speaker and has twice addressed National Geographic ''Live!'' He is currently partnered with actor-singer
David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...
in producing a cinematic documentary about the restoration of
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
's 1955 Chrysler New Yorker convertible, in
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ''CNN Travel'', ''Motorcyclist,'' ''National Geographic Traveler'', and ''Robb Report.''


Education

Baker was educated at Rastrick Grammar School, in
Brighouse Brighouse (, locally also ) is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, West Y ...
,
Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. In 1976 he received a BA (Honours) in
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
from
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
, during which time he participated in a university exchange program at
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Poland; and in two
Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
research expeditions. The following year he attended the graduate Centre for Latin American Studies, at the
University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
, where he received a Masters following his thesis on
agrarian reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
and
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
insurrection in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. In 1977, he returned to the University of London, received a teaching diploma from the
Institute of Education The UCL Institute of Education (IOE) is the faculty of education and society of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior t ...
in 1978, and spent brief periods teaching at schools in London between periods of travel in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. His first travel article appeared in the ''Brighouse Echo'' as dispatches from the United States. He also published articles on agrarian reform for ''
Land&Liberty ''Land&Liberty'' is a quarterly magazine of popular political economics: its focus is the relationship between land and natural resource rights and 21st century economic policy. Published in the UK it covers international affairs and events fr ...
'', the publication of the Henry George Foundation of Great Britain.


Career

In 1980, Baker relocated to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where he received a
Scripps Howard Foundation The Scripps Howard Fund is a public charity that supports philanthropic causes important to the E. W. Scripps Company, an American media conglomerate which owns television stations, cable television networks, and other media outlets. The Fund's m ...
Scholarship to attend the
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is a graduate professional school on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. It is designed to produce journalists with a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree. It also offers a minor i ...
. He instead married a travel agent, Kristen Birner, and started work for Adventure Center, a wholesaler and retailer of international adventure travel. His principal duties included marketing plus brochure production. In 1981 he led a travel agent familiarization trip to New Zealand, resulting in publication of his first travel story in the US for ''TravelAge West.'' He launched his career as a
travel writer The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered ...
and photographer in 1982 and initially specialized in international adventure travel. His articles included first-person reports on such activities as
bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...
in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
,
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
to
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
,
whitewater rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
in
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
, and natural history cruising in the Galapagos Islands. In 1984 he became a contributing editor for ''International Travel News'', specializing in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. That year he also planned his first group tour to Britain and for the next six years operated tours to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
under British Pride Tours. In 1989 and 1990 he operated shopping tours to
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
with former fashion model Kim Mason. He continued to organize and manage trips to Britain until 1990, following which he dedicated himself exclusively to his travel writing and photography career. He was a founding member of the Bay Area Travel Writers. in 1982. Baker's self-syndicated stories appeared in newspapers throughout the United States and Canada, including front-page stories in the ''Baltimore Sun'', ''Boston Globe,'' ''Chicago Tribune,'' ''The Los Angeles Times'', ''Miami Herald,'' ''New York Post'', ''San Francisco Examiner,'' and ''Toronto Globe & Mail''. His other credits have included stories in more than 200 magazines, including ''BBC World,'' '' Geographical Magazine'' (
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
), ''Elle,'' ''National Wildlife'', ''Newsweek International,'' and the ''South China Morning Post'', and dozens of airline in-flight magazines. He was a regular contributor to ''Caribbean Travel & Life'', winning many awards for his self-illustrated stories. He was also in demand as a commercial copy-writer in the specialist travel industry. His skills as a commercial writer earned him three national awards for best catalogs for the adventure travel company Backroads. In 1989, Baker was admitted to the Society of American Travel Writers. That year he was also commissioned to write his first
guidebook A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...
, resulting in publication of the ''Costa Rica Handbook'' (now ''Moon Costa Rica''). His guidebook won the Independent Book Publishers Association 1996 Benjamin Franklin Award. Baker's first
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...
guidebook, on
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, was followed by Lonely Planet's guidebook to ''The Bahamas & Turks & Caicos''). and by the ''Cuba Handbook'' (now ''Moon Cuba'' During the 1990s and early millennium years he taught travel writing and photography classes for The Learning Annex, in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and in 2006 was inducted as a permanent faculty member in the prestigious annual SATW Institute for Travel Writing & Photography. In 1996, Baker shipped his BMW R100GS motorcycle to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and rode 7,000 miles (11,000 km) around the island. The journey resulted in publication of numerous magazine articles, plus ''Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba'' (National Geographic Adventure Press, 2001), a literary travelog that won both the
Lowell Thomas Award Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of explorers and military ...
as 'Travel Book of the Year' and the North American Travel Journalists Association's 'Grand Prize.' The judges of the Lowell Thomas Award, offered by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, said: ''"This is a wonderful adventure book… a meditation on philosophy, politics, and the possibilities of physical love. It has the depth of a novel and the feeling of a great love story."'' Baker has since authored more than two dozen other books, including ''Moon Spotlight Havana'', and a self-illustrated coffee-table book ''Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles'', plus guidebooks to
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
in the ''National Geographic Traveler'' series;, as well as numerous books for
Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
. He has also contributed chapters to such anthologies as ''Literary Trips: Following in the Footsteps of Fame'', ''Motorcycle Messengers: Tales from the Road by Writers who Ride'', ''Travelers Tales: Cuba'' and ''Travelers Tales: Food'', plus ''Voyages: The Romance of Cruising'' and ''World Travel: A Guide to International Ecojourneys''. Baker continues to write and photograph for publications around the globe. He is a regular contributor to such publications as ''National Geographic Traveler'' and ''Robb Report'', as well as such Internet sites as
CNN Travel Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour United Stat ...
,
Expedia Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, based in Seattle. The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacation packages. Expedia.com was launched on ...
, and Luxury Latin America. His many awards include being named 'Travel Journalist of the Year' by the Jamaica Tourist Board (1998, Marcia Vickery-Wallace Memorial Award); the Caribbean Tourism Organization (2005); and the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation (2008). Baker is also a professional photographer and has illustrated scores of books and magazine articles. His work was formerly represented by Lonely Planet Images photo stock agency, and is today represented by
Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...
and
Alamy Alamy Limited (d/b/a alamy) is a British privately owned stock photography agency launched in September 1999. It is an online supplier of stock images, videos, and other image material. Their content comes from agencies and independent photograp ...
. He is also a
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
contributing photographer and has photographed travel books on
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
on assignment for National Geographic. He has led photo workshops to
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
and
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
for National Geographic Expeditions and Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. Baker is considered a
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
expert and has been acclaimed by National Geographic as "one of the world's leading authorities on Cuba travel and culture." He has visited Cuba more than 100 times and in October 2003 met with
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
at the Palacio de Convenciones in
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
-based adventure motorcycle tour company. In 2013 he led the first group motorcycle tours of Cuba for U.S. citizens since the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, and specializes in arranging and leading customized group motorcycle tours of Cuba. He has also led tours to
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, and
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
on behalf of National Geographic Expeditions. He is also known as an adventure motorcycle journalist and has written and photographed for such motorcycle publications as ''Adventure Motorcyclist,'' ''BMW Motorcycle Magazine,'' ''Motorcyclist,'' ''Motorrad & Reisen,'' and ''Rider.'' He speaks frequently about adventure motorcycling at such venues as the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America annual reunion and Horizons Unlimited. In April/May 2015 Baker toured
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
to test ride the 2015 Indian Roadmaster on behalf of Indian Motorcycle Company, reporting for magazines such as ''Rider'' and ''Robb Report.'' In April 2011, Baker was the first foreign journalist to photograph and report the existence of
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
's long-lost and recently rediscovered 1955 Chrysler New Yorker convertible, in
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...
to produce a cinematic documentary about the restoration of Hemingway's Chrysler. The documentary, in which Baker plays a fixer, translator and sidekick to
David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...
, is being produced by
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based Red Earth Studio. Baker is a frequent public speaker, specializing in Cuba. He has addressed the National Press Club, National Geographic ''Live!,'' and World Affairs Councils of America, among others. His is also a former faculty member of
Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...
and
Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...
, acting as guest speaker and port-of-call lecturer aboard ships cruising the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
seaboard. He has also been the keynote speaker at the North American Travel Journalist Association's national convention (2010) and TBEX Travel Bloggers Exchange (2012) Baker has been profiled in
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
and ''Geographical Magazine'' and has been interviewed about Cuba on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
,
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
,
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
,
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
, and dozens of other radio & TV outlets. He makes regular appearances on ''Travel with Rick Steves,'' a travel radio show hosted by
Rick Steves Richard John Steves Jr. (born May 10, 1955), known professionally as Rick Steves, is an American travel writer, activist, and television personality. His travel philosophy encourages people to explore less-frequented areas of destinations and ...
.


Personal life

Baker was born in
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...
, England. He currently lives in
Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
.


Bibliography

* ''Back Roads California'' (Dorling Kindersley) * ''Bahamas and Turks & Caicos'' (Lonely Planet) * ''Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles'' (Interlink) * ''Eyewitness Top 10 Cuba'' (Dorling Kindersley) * ''Eyewitness Top 10 California Wine Country'' (Dorling Kindersley) * ''Eyewitness Top 10 Puerto Rico'' (Dorling Kindersley) * ''Eyewitness Travel Guide Caribbean'' (Dorling Kindersley), co-authored * ''Eyewitness Travel Guide to Costa Rica'' (Dorling Kindersley) * ''Great Destinations: Palm Springs and Desert Resorts'' (Countryman Press) * ''Great Destinations: Panama'' (Countryman Press) * ''Great Destinations: Puerto Rico'' (Countryman Press) * ''Jamaica'' (Lonely Planet) * ''Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castros' Cuba'' (National Geographic Adventure Press) * ''Moon Costa Rica'' (Avalon Travel Publishing) * ''Moon Cuba'' (Avalon Travel Publishing) * ''Moon Spotlight Havana'' (Avalon Travel Publishing) * ''National Geographic Traveler Colombia'' (National Geographic Society) * ''National Geographic Traveler Costa Rica'' (National Geographic Society) * ''National Geographic Traveler Cuba'' (National Geographic Society) * ''National Geographic Traveler Dominican Republic'' (National Geographic Society) * ''National Geographic Traveler Panama'' (National Geographic Society) * ''Illustrated Guide to Jamaica'' (NTC Publishing/Thomas Cook Publishing) * ''Trav'bug California'' (Prentice Hall; with Judy Wade) * ''Travelers Companion Guide to Costa Rica'' (Globe Pequot, 3rd ed.)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Christopher Paul 1955 births Living people American travel writers American male non-fiction writers English travel writers Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education People from Brighouse Writers from Palm Springs, California People educated at Rastrick High School