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We keep driving towards Los Angeles going along a lot of sandy beaches where sea lions sunbathe.
Once in "famous" Santa Barbara we visit the " Santa Barbara Old Mission ".
Founded in 1786, it's the tenth spanish Mission.
21 of them spread along the coast from San Francisco to San Diego.
The Spanish colonists were not numerous enough and had to convert indians to christianism.
A mission is made of a yard around which lay a church and different buildings used for the agricultural production.
Missionaries do farming and agriculture.
Of course, the indians do most of the work.
They live out of the mission in little huts.
In 1833, the mexican government stops these institutions.
The lands that belonged to the missions are given to private owners who found the " ranchos "
We spend the morning in Monterey.
Capital City of California in 1775 under the spanish empire, the city became mexican in 1821 and american in 1846.
The old canning neighborhood is now hosting hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops and the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.
More or less 600 characteristic species of the local flora and fauna live in 100 aquariums.
A scuba diver feeds the fishes and the sharks in front of us, but the highlight of the visit are the golden jellyfishes. Just an unforgettable show.
We end our tour of Monterey with the Fisherman's Wharf where we buy a food specality " the clam chowder", a kind of clams velouté. We love it.
The end of the afternoon take us to the ultra-chic and residential city of Carmel by the sea.
We visit the " San Carlos Borromeo Mission " , supposed to be the most beautiful one in California.
Founded in 1770 in Monterey, it has been transfered to Carmel one year later.
To find a place where to sleep, we drive on the "BigSur" , a very wild coastal area where the cliffs plunge into the ocean.
A little sunshine would have been apreciated to give to this landscape its full dimension.
We don't want to leave San Francisco without crossing the " Golden Gate Bridge " with the camper .
So we do it both ways. As the toll is a " Pay per Plate ", we think we will never pay ! (wait and see)
We then take the Highway 1 to the south.
This narrow and winding coastal road is hanging high up over the Pacific. It offers very nice overlooks all along the way.
ROAD BOOK 026
MAVROS ODYSSEE
