The weekend was here, and all we wanted to do was get away and de-stress and do something fun. So off we headed to La Jolla, San Diego. We were told of famous sea caves there where kayaking was supposedly a pretty amazing experience. So, water-sport buffs that we are, decided to take the plunge.
The first evening we spent driving around San Diego, from the beautiful Coronado Island to the "historic" Gas Lamp District. It never ceases to amuse me the way Americans call something about 75 years old "historic". Being Indian, and having seen places and things in India that are thousands and thousands of years old, so incredibly beautiful in their seeming timelessness, I am amazed at how short history is to Americans...in any case, the "historic" Gas Lamp district has buildings that are not the regular modern-day concrete monsters, but well...."historic" in the sense of having architecture about 100 years old...and of course, a few lamps on street corners that run on gas (hence the name). So much for that.
The next day we headed on to La Jolla, which is truly a beautiful place. Of course, we went there on a beautiful day, warm and sunny, clear skies which made the ocean look bluer and more inviting. Soon, we were on a kayak together, paddling through what seemed to be an amazingly calm ocean....just like a giant, endless swimming pool. We paddled, and paddled and paddled...and saw the sea caves...waves lashing onto cave openings that looked so dark, and mysterious and inviting...but we had strict instructions not to venture close to the cave openings, so we had to be satisfied with looking from a small distance...still a magnificent sight...layers of the cave surfaces proof of hundreds of years of erosion, and beautiful cave formations...and of course we saw sea lions...almost blended into the background of the cliffs....lying around soaking up the sun, not a care in the world...their only worry seemed to be that they had to share the rocks with the pelicans...thousands of them.
We paddled some more, and in the distance saw a couple of dolphins....only fleeting glimpses, but enough cause for excitement. Then, we came to the tiger sharks....so many of them! And so close to the sea shore....they were right there, swimming beneath our kayaks...slick creatures with tiger stripes on their bodies...supposedly harmless. I experienced a moment of panicky doubt...what if they were actually not THAT harm-less and what if the crashing waves overturned my kayak, and what if I suddenly found myself swimming amongst the sharkies...before my wild imagination ruined my confidence, I paddled furiously away from the spot into deeper and more safer (in my mind) waters...in any case...some other sightings included a huge brilliantly pink and red jelly fish (beautiful creature), and sea lions propped up on buoys in the middle of the ocean, taking a break from swimming around. And of course, we were sharing the ocean with human swimmers who seemed to be swimming miles and miles in deep sea. Admirable stamina.
All in all, a great trip, a dose of blue water, warm sands and a sun-drenched kayaking stint testament to the famous Southern California experience! Comes highly recommended by this fan of the ocean.
The first evening we spent driving around San Diego, from the beautiful Coronado Island to the "historic" Gas Lamp District. It never ceases to amuse me the way Americans call something about 75 years old "historic". Being Indian, and having seen places and things in India that are thousands and thousands of years old, so incredibly beautiful in their seeming timelessness, I am amazed at how short history is to Americans...in any case, the "historic" Gas Lamp district has buildings that are not the regular modern-day concrete monsters, but well...."historic" in the sense of having architecture about 100 years old...and of course, a few lamps on street corners that run on gas (hence the name). So much for that.
The next day we headed on to La Jolla, which is truly a beautiful place. Of course, we went there on a beautiful day, warm and sunny, clear skies which made the ocean look bluer and more inviting. Soon, we were on a kayak together, paddling through what seemed to be an amazingly calm ocean....just like a giant, endless swimming pool. We paddled, and paddled and paddled...and saw the sea caves...waves lashing onto cave openings that looked so dark, and mysterious and inviting...but we had strict instructions not to venture close to the cave openings, so we had to be satisfied with looking from a small distance...still a magnificent sight...layers of the cave surfaces proof of hundreds of years of erosion, and beautiful cave formations...and of course we saw sea lions...almost blended into the background of the cliffs....lying around soaking up the sun, not a care in the world...their only worry seemed to be that they had to share the rocks with the pelicans...thousands of them.
We paddled some more, and in the distance saw a couple of dolphins....only fleeting glimpses, but enough cause for excitement. Then, we came to the tiger sharks....so many of them! And so close to the sea shore....they were right there, swimming beneath our kayaks...slick creatures with tiger stripes on their bodies...supposedly harmless. I experienced a moment of panicky doubt...what if they were actually not THAT harm-less and what if the crashing waves overturned my kayak, and what if I suddenly found myself swimming amongst the sharkies...before my wild imagination ruined my confidence, I paddled furiously away from the spot into deeper and more safer (in my mind) waters...in any case...some other sightings included a huge brilliantly pink and red jelly fish (beautiful creature), and sea lions propped up on buoys in the middle of the ocean, taking a break from swimming around. And of course, we were sharing the ocean with human swimmers who seemed to be swimming miles and miles in deep sea. Admirable stamina.
All in all, a great trip, a dose of blue water, warm sands and a sun-drenched kayaking stint testament to the famous Southern California experience! Comes highly recommended by this fan of the ocean.
No comments:
Post a Comment