The Mission, Castro and Point Reyes

On Saturday we headed over the Bay Bridge to Oakland to buy some speakers and also a few bits from Ikea. Ikea was exactly the same as it is in England and probably the world over – and we did exactly the same as we always do, spending too much time agonising over whether we should buy this and that, the majority of which we almost certainly don’t need! In the afternoon we took the bus to the Mission district in the south of the city. This is the Hispanic quarter, famous for being the site of the oldest building in San Francisco, Mission Dolores, a squat adobe chapel (and not all that old, being built in 1791), very pretty inside but also decidedly humble, so much so that I mistook the much larger basilica next door for it. They had a service on, which we attended. We also visited Dolores Park, replete with people out with their tiny Paris Hilton-esque dogs, which are very much the fashion here! After that we walked to the neighbouring Castro district, the gay heartland of San Francisco, which is another distinct area, catering for its community. Then we headed back to the Mission for some food and enjoyed very large, delicious and inexpensive burritos in a “taqueria” (Mexican-style café).

Yesterday was a very active day. We started it with a five-mile jog along the waterfront to the beach and nature reserve at Crissy Fields (just over half way to the Golden Gate bridge), which must be one of the most legendary jogging routes in the world. We then drove north over the bridge for just over an hour to Point Reyes National Seashore, a vast wilderness area which juts out into the Pacific. It is in fact a rogue bit of the earth’s crust that started out by Los Angeles six million years ago and has been drifting steadily north up the San Andreas fault ever since. The faultline cuts right through it, as this is where the Pacific and North American plates meet. When the earthquake of 1906 hit, the whole area moved sixteen feet in an instant (there are photos of broken fences testifying to it). Anyway, it was a lovely warm day, so we started out with a picnic, during which we were entertained by a turkey vulture sitting on a fence and proudly spreading his wings. We then set out on a long but easy hike through forest and meadow to the seashore. The trail ended at a cliff jutting out above an arch formed by the sea. We decided to scramble down to take a look at the beach and run the gauntlet of the waves, as it was high tide! On our walk back, we saw a western scrub jay and several deer, one of which ran right past us. It was practically dark by the time we got back, but it had been a great day and we will definitely return very soon, as there’s a lot to explore there. In March and April it’s apparently a good place to observe migrating whales. I am about to post more photos on the Fotki site (address and login details as for 18 Jan), so you can take a look.