{"id":9541,"date":"2019-10-20T10:31:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-20T16:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ozapato.com\/mx\/california-101\/"},"modified":"2019-06-20T11:04:53","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T17:04:53","slug":"california-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozapato.com\/mx\/california-101\/","title":{"rendered":"California 101."},"content":{"rendered":"
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[English below]<\/p>\n

Tras ocho breves d\u00edas explorando Arizona<\/a>, Utah y Nevada<\/a>, el pasado 1 de agosto lleg\u00e1bamos a California.<\/p>\n

Precisamente mientras manej\u00e1bamos desde Las Vegas hacia Los \u00c1ngeles, sin un plan muy definido y parados a un lado de la carretera con el motor recalentado, un amigo que hab\u00edamos conocido en Nicaragua nos escribi\u00f3: acababa de regresar a California despu\u00e9s de un viaje, y ten\u00eda espacio para acogernos en la casa familiar en la playa\u2026 \u00a1en Newport Beach!<\/p>\n

As\u00ed que tras un ligero desv\u00edo para hacer una \u00ednfima parte de la archiconocida Ruta 66 en Barstow, pusimos rumbo a Newport donde nuestro amigo Ian nos esperaba.<\/p>\n

Es curioso c\u00f3mo cuando est\u00e1bamos en el viaje cualquier peque\u00f1o v\u00ednculo con la gente parec\u00eda tomar una importancia que de otra manera no se le dar\u00eda tanto; es decir, conocimos a Ian surfeando en Nicaragua<\/a> y coincidimos con \u00e9l unos 3-4 d\u00edas. Sin embargo volverle a ver a \u00e9l y su perro Dino despu\u00e9s de tantos meses fue toda una alegr\u00eda, nos sentimos como si nos estuvi\u00e9semos reencontrando con un viejo amigo de toda la vida.<\/p>\n

Alojados pues en el driveway de la casa de la playa, pudimos explorar este peque\u00f1o oasis a tan s\u00f3lo una hora del caos de Los \u00c1ngeles, antes de hacer las t\u00edpicas turistadas por la ciudad, ya que era la primera vez de Meli en L.A.<\/p>\n

No nos result\u00f3 f\u00e1cil irnos de Newport, como siempre, despu\u00e9s de unos d\u00edas de muchos kil\u00f3metros y calor, est\u00e1bamos muy a gusto donde nuestro amigo, con quien compartimos muchas charlas, paseos, cervezas y tortillas de patata. \u00a1Gracias por todo Ian!<\/p>\n

Dejamos Newport atr\u00e1s y nos lanzamos de pleno a un d\u00eda intenso de turismo por LA. As\u00ed, visitamos el fabuloso Walt Disney Concert Hall dise\u00f1ado por Frank Gehry que hizo que Eka se sintiese como en casa (Gehry dise\u00f1\u00f3 el ic\u00f3nico Museo Guggenheim de Bilbao<\/a>), paseamos por el paseo de la fama en Hollywood, manejamos por las calles de Beverly Hills, caminamos por las muy concurridas Venice Beach y Santa M\u00f3nica\u2026<\/p>\n

Definitivamente Los \u00c1ngeles y sus alrededores no son el ambiente ideal para viajar en camper. Es dif\u00edcil encontrar lugares donde poder pernoctar legalmente, hay mucho tr\u00e1fico, algo de inseguridad en algunas zonas\u2026 As\u00ed que pusimos rumbo noroeste hacia Malib\u00fa bien felices.<\/p>\n

All\u00ed se encuentra una de las olas m\u00e1s m\u00edticas de la costa californiana, famosa por sus derechas largas llenas de tabloneros (surfistas con longboards). No tuvimos demasiada suerte y cuando llegamos apenas hab\u00eda una olita de medio metro. Como suele ocurrir, un par de semanas antes hubo un swell que regal\u00f3 sesiones \u00e9picas por toda la costa, pero para cuando llegamos no quedaba nada. De cualquier manera, Eka se enfund\u00f3 su neopreno y se dio un ba\u00f1o divertido rodeado de bastante gente.<\/p>\n

Los siguientes d\u00edas fuimos avanzando poco a poco: hicimos una peque\u00f1a parada en otra famosa ola, Rinc\u00f3n, que lamentablemente no estaba funcionando, tomamos la famosa 101 conociendo as\u00ed Santa B\u00e1rbara (nos encant\u00f3), Pismo Beach (pasamos por el estudio del fot\u00f3grafo Chris Burkard<\/a> pero estaba cerrado) y San Luis Obispo, donde volvimos a encontrarnos con la familia Anton que conocimos surfeando en Baja California<\/a>. \u00c9stos, muy amablemente, se hab\u00edan ofrecido el mes anterior a recibir una carta oficial con el registro de nuestra camioneta a nuestro nombre, y como nos cog\u00eda en la ruta aceptamos y al pasar por all\u00ed la retiramos y aprovechamos para visitarlos (\u00a1muchas gracias familia Anton!).<\/p>\n

Tras esta peque\u00f1a parada t\u00e9cnica, y ahora s\u00ed, con el registro de la camioneta con nosotros (antes s\u00f3lo ten\u00edamos un recibo, aunque es igual de legal), tomamos la esc\u00e9nica ruta de Big Sur hasta Carmel by the Sea, parando en los muchos miradores que hay a lo largo de la ruta. Y es que los paisajes le dejan a uno sin respiraci\u00f3n, \u00a1son incre\u00edbles!<\/p>\n

Seguimos avanzando rumbo norte y tras pasar por Santa Cruz, donde tampoco surfeamos pero s\u00ed nos dimos un paseo y disfrutamos de este peque\u00f1o pueblo, cruzamos Half Moon Bay y llegamos a San Francisco. All\u00ed pasamos un par de noches. Al igual que en L.A. es complicado dormir con el camper en la ciudad, nos toc\u00f3 improvisar y de hecho en una ocasi\u00f3n la polic\u00eda toc\u00f3 en nuestra puerta a las 6AM. Por suerte simplemente nos dijeron -muy amablemente adem\u00e1s- que ten\u00edamos que movernos.<\/p>\n

En San Francisco aprovechamos para pasear (la actividad preferida por el overlander con presupuesto limitado) por el centro, Chinatown, las famosas Painted Ladies, por el Golden Gate, el Pier 39, comimos una pizza riqu\u00edsima, vimos a Victoria, la prima de Meli que vive all\u00ed, visitamos el barrio mexicano con ella\u2026 Caminamos mucho la verdad, \u00bfacaso no es la mejor manera de conocer una ciudad?<\/p>\n

La \u00faltima ma\u00f1ana en Frisco, como la llaman algunos, cruzamos el famoso Golden Gate y tras parar para hacer algunas fotos, retomamos la carretera 101 y manejamos pr\u00e1cticamente todo el d\u00eda hasta el Redwood National Park<\/a>, famoso por sus secuoyas de m\u00e1s de 100 metros. All\u00ed paseamos entre estos colosos que impresionan con su altura y disfrutamos del lugar pr\u00e1cticamente para nosotros solos.<\/p>\n

Tras una noche entre las dunas de un estacionamiento de playa cercano a Redwood, nos desped\u00edamos de California y cruz\u00e1bamos a Oregon. Est\u00e1bamos emocionados por lo que ten\u00edamos por delante.<\/p>\n

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On the 1st of August, after 8 short days exploring Arizona<\/a>,\u00a0Utah and Nevada<\/a>, we were arriving to California.<\/p>\n

Right when we were driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, without a clear plan and stopped on the side of the road with an overheated engine, a friend that we had met in Nicaragua sent us a message: he had just landed in California after a trip and he had space to welcome us in his family home at the beach\u2026 in Newport Beach!<\/p>\n

So, after a small detour to drive a tiny bit of the famous Route 66 in Barstow, we headed to Newport where our friend Ian was waiting for us.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny how while we were traveling, any small connection with people seemed to be so valuable in a way that it wouldn\u2019t be otherwise; meaning, we met Ian while surfing in Nicaragua<\/a>\u00a0and we camped at the same stop for 3-4 days. Nonetheless, seeing him and his dog Dino after so many months was such a pleasure! We felt as if we had just met up with a lifelong friend.<\/p>\n

Staying in the driveway of Ian\u2019s beach house, we were able to explore this small oasis just one hour away from the chaos of Los Angeles, before doing the typical tourist activities in the city, since it was Meli\u2019s first time in L.A.<\/p>\n

Leaving Newport wasn\u2019t easy. As always, after a few days on the road and in the heat, we were very comfortable at our friend\u2019s house. We shared awesome stories, walks around the town, beers and Spanish tortillas. Thanks for everything Ian!<\/p>\n

We left Newport behind and we were in for an intense day of sightseeing in LA. We visited the fabulous Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry that made Eka feel at home (Gehry designed the iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao<\/a>), walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame, drove through the streets of Beverly Hills \u00a0and we walked through the very busy Venice Beach and Santa Monica\u2026<\/p>\n

Definitely Los Angeles and its surroundings is not the ideal place to travel in a camper. It\u2019s difficult to find an authorized spot to spend the night, there\u2019s a lot of traffic, and some areas can be very unsafe\u2026 So we happily moved on to the northwest, towards Malibu.<\/p>\n

Malibu is one of the most mythical waves of the Californian coast, famous for its long rights full of long-boarder surfers. We weren\u2019t very lucky and when we arrived the waves were about \u00a0half a meter high. As usual, a couple of weeks ago there was a swell that gave epic sessions along the coast, but by the time we arrived there was nothing left. Either way, Eka slipped on his wetsuit and had a fun session surrounded by a lot people.<\/p>\n

The following days we progressed little by little: we made a small stop at another famous wave, Rincon, which unfortunately was not working, we took the famous 101, visiting Santa Barbara along the way (we loved it), Pismo Beach (we went through the studio of photographer Chris Burkard<\/a> but it was closed) and San Luis Obispo, where we stopped to meet up with the Anton family, whom we met surfing in Baja California<\/a>. A month ago, they had very kindly offered to receive an official letter with the registration of our truck that was in our name. Since it was on our way we accepted and were happy as this would be another occasion to meet up with them once more (thank you very much guys!).<\/p>\n

After this stop, and with the registration of our truck with us (before we only had a receipt, although it was just as legit), we took the scenic route from Big Sur to Carmel by the Sea, stopping at many viewpoints along the way. The landscapes left us speechless, they\u2019re breathtaking!<\/p>\n

We kept driving North and after passing through Santa Cruz, where we did not surf either but where we enjoyed walking around, we crossed Half Moon Bay and arrived in San Francisco. We spent a couple of nights there. Like in L.A. it\u2019s difficult to stay in the camper in the city, we had to improvise and in fact on one occasion the police knocked on our door at 6AM. Luckily, they simply told us -very kindly actually- that we had to move.<\/span><\/p>\n

In San Francisco we decided to walk (the preferred activity for the overlander with limited budget) through the center, Chinatown, the famous Painted Ladies, the Golden Gate, the Pier 39, we ate a delicious pizza, we saw Victoria, Meli\u2019s cousin who lives there, we visited the Mexican neighborhood with her\u2026 We walked a whole lot, isn\u2019t it the best way to get to know a city?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The last morning in Frisco, as some call it, we crossed the famous Golden Gate and after stopping to take some pictures, we took the 101 Highway and drove almost all day until the Redwood National Park<\/a>, famous for its redwood trees of more than 100 meters. There, we walked among these very impressive giants and enjoyed the place practically alone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a night in between the dunes of a beach parking lot near Redwood, we said goodbye to California and crossed to Oregon. We were excited by what we had ahead of us.<\/span><\/p>\n