Camping at Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park

We spotted this condor near the camp ground.

We took our time on our way down from San Francisco Int'l airport to get to the Pinnacles because the weather was going to be hot-hot-hot. Weather reports were calling for 103 degrees. In fact, the weather reports had dissuaded our friends Marty/Sandra and Mike/Venessa to go camping.

But we figured that since we were practically driving past it on our way to Shell Beach, we'd at least try it out for a night. Also, we had driven by the park so many times, each time commenting that we should go check it out, that we now felt obliged to stop. After all, it was dry heat, right?

As we got closer to the park, we held out hope that the park wasn't going to be an oven - we'd experienced temperatures from 106 back down to 83 degrees. But as we started to approach Hollister, the temperatures went back up. By the time we entered the Pinnacles, the weather predictions turned out to be wrong - it was only 102 degrees!

Our secluded camp ground

We originally had been set to camp in the RV area, since both Marty and Mike have trailers. It was a very barren area, not suitable for tents. But without them here, we decided to move to the tent area, a far more attractive environment next to a creek, with lots of trees and privacy.

Although the heat kept us lying low on the first day, the following day it cooled off to the high-70's. Very comfortable. We took hikes, read and went to the camp's pool.

Diane poses under one of the many huge rock formation.

Bear Gulch Reservoir

Although some caves are closed, this was actually a tunnel.

Taking a break at Bear Gulch Reservoir.

The park has exceptionally elegant rock formations.

The are various trail areas where huge rocks have fallen on/near the trail, sometimes closing them.

Along the Bear Gulch trail, we spotted caves, beautiful rock formations, some wild life and evidence of ancient volcanic activity. The many sheer cliffs offered by the park's environment, tempted a number of rock climbers to test their climbing skills.

On our third day, I took the Old Pinnacles trail and tried to reach the Balcony rock formation. But I found out too late that it pays to read the fine print - bring a flashlight! After walking 2.5 miles, I was blocked from proceeding because of a very long and dark cave that I would have had to go through.

Well, it's always nice to leave something for the next time.....

Milk chocolate melting on a Manzanita (not really - but it sure looks tasty).

Wild turkeys on the run.

The Old Pinnacles trail has lots of lush and verdant areas. 

A Few Days with our Favorite Grandchild

Isla's Visit to Oma and Opa

Meredith, Elliot and Isla came to visit us in Shell Beach for a few days in May, 2015. While Meredith and Elliot stayed busy thinning out some things they had stored in the garage, Diane and I got a chance to play with Isla.

Diane getting Isla ready for a walk.

Isla explaining the usefulness of a box.

Here Isla appears to approve of my baby teething ring. 

After spending a few days here, the three of them left for Marin to visit with Mary, Elliot's mom. Diane and I followed several days later.

The ladies with their purses. 

Sitting on your lap is ok, Opa, but I really want that thing over there!

Chillin' in the hammock.

Maybe with some glasses I can figure this out.

I just need some cereal. Got the bowl.

While we always had fun at the house, going to the nearby park was the best.

During our stay in Ross, we visited our friends Roy and Tee. While sitting there in their house, a friend of theirs stopped by for a bite to eat.

Yo! Got any brownies left over?

In too short of a time, Meredith, Elliot and Isla had to pack up and return home. On the way to the airport, the little red truck was filled to capacity with our luggage, our camping gear, M&E's luggage and the five of us packed like sardines in the cab.

Rio

  

It was an easy two hour bus ride from Angra dos Reis to Rio. As soon as we arrived at the main bus station, we immediately got a taxi to our B&B in Santa Teresa, a neighborhood of Rio that once was home to the elite. But the well heeled left decades ago as the neighborhood deteriorated. Only now is the area begining to gentrify, along with the adjacent Bohemian district of Lapa, that's home to the music of the bosa nova and the samba.

When we asked the cab driver to take us to Santa Teresa, his eyes rolled a bit and with his hand, he made a motion of a firing gun. Not what you want to see. Apparently, there had been a major gun battle between a violent street gang and the police a few days ago. It was a bit unsettling.

It turned out that our B&B was in the better part of Santa Teresa. Gertrude's B&B is owned and run by Adreana, a gregarious hostess of Italian descent, who speaks Portuguese, English and German and knows her neighborhood quite well. Her house, built in the 1930's, is large and beautiful. With Santa Teresa being on a hill, the house had spectacular views of Rio, particularly the Sugar Loaf. 

                                    The breakfast room - our table was the far one.

One of the better known sights in Santa Teresa is the Escadaria Salderon, a set of stairs climbing 250 meters that artist Jorge Salderon tiled over throughout the years from spare tiles and tiles donated to him by travelers. He began the project around his house, but was soon expanding upwards and downwards of the stairs. It is a fascinating work of art. Salderon died in 2013.

On one of the evenings at Adreana's, the guests all pitched in to make a scrumptious pasta dish. It was a fun evening with lots of good conversation.

       I may have failed to mention that the other guests were lovely young Brazilian ladies.

We spent the better part of the next day finding our way to and touring the Corcovado (Christ, the Redeemer). It's a massive statue that can be seen from many areas in Rio. The route to the statue is on an old fashioned train that winds its way through dense rain forest. It's a beautiful ride. Needless to say, the views from the Corcovado are breathtaking.

                               View from Corcovado of Sugar Loaf and Rio's bay.

Our remaining time in Santa Teresa was spent visiting the historic center of Rio, the Rio Art Museum (MAR), the cathedral of São Sebastião (a Mayan architecturally styled building), the aquaduct and the Lapa neighborhood. We also paid our respects one last time to the historic Colombo confectionary for a pastry and an espresso.

                                                       Rio's aquaduct 

                                   São Sebasião cathedral looks like a Mayan pyramid.

                                                        The Lapa district.

We hated leave, but for our last three days in Rio we wanted to be in the Copacabana area. There, our main activities consisted of a tour of two favelas (the poor hillside dwellings that Rio is so well known for) and a trip up to Pào de Açucar (better known as Sugar Loaf).

Favelas are often found on hill and mountain sides. Today, some of the favelas have been given land    rights, sewage, electricity and roads.

                                  A school we visited in the favela district.

     Narrow, dark corridors honeycomb the favelas.

                         View from the first base rock of Sugar Loaf.

               Atop Sugar Loaf. Some folks went up the hard way by rock climbing.

On the day of our departure, with a very late checkout of our hotel, we had just enough time to visit Rio's botanical gardens and, for one last time, dip our toes in the water at Copacabana beach.

                  A number of artist eek out a living by building large sand castles.

                                                   Ipanema Beach.

                              A beautiful pond at the botanical gardens.

Our visit to Brazil was nearly over. It had been a unique experience, seeing this country and its culture, a people that I well could have been one of, had my parents decided to stay in Brazil fifty-five years ago. Strange, how life can turn out. We leave Rio knowing that we had a great adventure but we left plenty of unturned rocks for the next time.

                                     Diane at Copacabana Beach one last time.

Angra dos Reis and back to Rio

Angra of dos Reis

We had  a slow but comfortable ferry ride from Ilha Grande to Angra dos Reis. Spent most of the trip talking to a friendly Irish traveler who had just completed his studies for physical therapy. 

After docking, Diane and I grabbed a taxi to our hotel, which was a few coves to the east of town. When the cab dropped us off, we knew instantly that this was going to be a good stay. - the hotel was right along the waterfront, with rooms all facing the water.

As with all rooms, we had a large balcony with table, chairs, a bench and a hammock. We spent a number of hours on that balcony.

On one of the days, we took a boat trip to nearby islands to swim, snorkle and walk along pristine beaches. Allbeit, the water visibilaty was nothing notable as well as the sea life, the trip was a lot of fun and we got a chance to get better acquainted with several other guests from other South American countries.   

We had all our meals at the hotel, something we rarely do. But the meals were good and the prices were reasonable - particularly since the meals were served a few feet from the water.

We took a bus back to the city of Angra dos Reis to see if there was anything else to sightsee. But, alas, there isn't much to see and what there is to see, is pretty run down. After a beer and snack near the fishing dock, we headed back to our Shangri-La. 

After three days in Angra, we left for Rio. The plan called for staying three nights in the Santa Teresa and Lapa area and three nights at a hotel in Copacabana.