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Seeking the perfect wave - Porto Pollo @ 6 Bf

Porto Pollo, located at the northern tip of Sardinia, separated by the narrow Straight of Bonifaccio from Corsica, is Sardinia's wind surfing El Dorado. Hardly any day goes by throughout the year without a few hours of serious wind, be it the northerly "Tramontana" in winter and spring, the westerly "Ponente" throughout summer and fall. And then there are the "special days" when the northwesterly blows, the "Maestrale", resulting in invariably heavy traffic up and down the 7 km long sandy beach. Last sunday, a beautiful September day was such a magic moment. I am happy to share my impressions from this glorious late summer day.

Seeking the perfect wave - it's maestrale time at Porto Pollo! from Klaus Huber on Vimeo.

Down Memory Lane

Down Memory Lane from Klaus Huber on Vimeo.

After the various blogs this summer reporting my impressions from a road trip to Crater Lake and along the Northern and Central California coast, finally here is the movie. Joining me in calling the CA coast as probably THE most spectacularly beautiful pieces of real estate in the world? If in doubt, you should go and check it out yourself.

Observed on US 1: gas guzzlers still king!

2009/Q1 statistics suggest, that for the first time in US history, small & medium sized cars achieved about 20% of new car sales. As a casual observer on our recent trip Highway 1 southbound from Vancouver, WA to L.A. I can hardly confirm this statistic. On the contrary, particularly for a European, one gets the impression that gas guzzler are still "king of the road". Particularly in rural areas, you can hardly see any small-sized, fuel efficient cars. 

Interestingly enough, though, the closer we got to California, the more smaller cars we could observe. In fact, on CA roads, particularly in the urban areas of San Francisco and L.A. one can observe plenty of smaller-sized cars. I presume this must have something to do with California's stricter fuel consumption laws, because country-wide, Ford F-Series truck, GM's Silverado and the Dodge Ram together still made up more than a third of 2009 new car sales. Look west, US congress. 

California One

Back in Switzerland after 11 days on the road along the Pacific highway, strong impressions and memories remain. To put it in one sentence, traveling Highway One in Northern California to me is THE premier road adventure in the world. Having done similar journeys in Australia's West coast, Peru, Portugal, France and Western Sardinia I have only a few West exposed coasts to compare with. But among these, California One is hands down numero uno.

Its staggeringly beautiful coastline, ocean cliffs, steep ridges, jagged peaks, deep gorges and rivers and relentless surf is a feast for the eyes, not to forget the friendly hospitable Californians who make us visitors immediately comfortably at home. I know, one's last impressions are often your strongest in memory. And that is no different this time. In the US and Canada, for instance, you cannot go wrong exploring a national or state park in any region of these two travel countries par excellence. Yosemite, Yellowstone, Bryce and Zion or Crater Lake on this journey to name a few immediately come to mind. Yet following a coastline is and remains a breathtaking experience. Au revoir, California One.

Day 14, the final stretch from Morro Bay to Santa Monica

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The final day of our 2000km long eleven-day journey down Highway One and 101 is quickly told. Except for the stretch around Santa Barbara and later Malibu, the final day was mostly on the freeway as we had to make up time lost lingering for too long up at Morro Bay, inhaling for the last time California beach town ambiente with its easy going, friendly people and, of course, its gas guzzling muscle cars. Isn't this a real red beauty? But Al Gore would certainly disapprove.

Final Day 15: On the way to catch the early bird UA 840 back to Chicago and onward with LX 9 to Zürich. Santa Monica, we will be back soon!

Day 13: Big Sur to Morro Bay

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Spanish settlers called "the Big Country of the South", the unexplored and unmapped wilderness along the coast south of Monterey, el pais grande del sur. In the early 20th century the name was changed to "Big Sur", an area encompassing a 90-mile stretch from Carmel to the North to San Simeon to the South. It is a BIG country in every sense of the word: miles of staggeringly beautiful coastline, ocean cliffs, steep ridges, jagged peaks, deep gorges and rivers. To explore this area would probably take the better part of a lifetime. But even driving by car along the narrow road which is beautifully engineered through a most challenging terrain, allows one to discover a number of gems hidden in this incredibly beautiful area.

It turned out to be relatively easy to get the "big picture" of this fascinating area by driving and stopping at the many vista points. However, the real feel for the beauty one only gets by hiking on one of the numerous trails spread throughout the entire area.

With little time at our hands we decided for a beachwalk along Sand Dollar Beach at the Southern end of the Big Sur area. These pictures speak for themselves about the incredible beauty of this stretch of land.

Leaving the Big Sur area after passing the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, the mountains adjacent to the coast turn into rolling hills and driving becomes a lot easier. The area south of San Simeon towards Morro Bay contains equally breathtaking vistas and fun things to watch, such as daredevil kite surfers north of Morro Bay. Take a look.

Finally, we arrived at Morro Bay tired but happy to enjoy a gorgeous sunset only occasionally interrupted by the load roars of a bunch of noisy, hungry sea lions crowding the dock.

Day 12: San Franisco to Big Sur

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No traveling on the previous days 10 & 11. We stayed in San Francisco, immensely enjoyed the good food, shopping, the SF MOMA and the occasional visits to our favorite spots on the North Shore. SF remains, particularly with the partially sunny weather we were blessed with the numero uno city in the world. We had been away for too long.

Having learned from our traveling experience on the previous days down highway One, we took the fastest route to Big Sur: down the 6-lane freeway to San Jose and then across the mountains to Monterrey, an easy 2.5h drive. Well, not really that easy as we encountered increasingly aggressive drivers the more we were heading south in California. You really had to be on your toes and watch out for the tailgating "Bimmer" or lane changing truck. We got through unscathed, but had a few hair raising moments. I always thought the Italians or Brazilians were the most aggressive on the road, but I have to admit the Californians are not far behind. Of course, on a different topic, we had our moment of silence as we past Cupertino and One, Infinitive Loop where Steve Jobs and his fellow workers must have been feverishly busy getting Apple¨s next killer product to market: the infamous tablet. Steve, we are drinking your Coolaid even passing the nearby freeways!

A big decision came up at Monterrey. Should we go on the world famous 17-mile drive around the Monterrey peninsula to Carmel or head directly to Big Sur. Having by-passed it on our last visit some 40 years ago, we couldn't resist this time. After all, this was the home of some of the world's top golf courses.

Driving around Pebble beach on a misty day has its challenges. The various roads are criss-crossing the peninsula and orientation is difficult. But once we found our way to the three golf courses and the beach it was quite an experience. The link-like courses are absolutely stunning. Never in my limited golfer life have I seen greens and fairways of the quality presented here. No wonder, you have to reserve one year in advance, as one of the caddies told me, to live this once-in-a-lifetime-experience and pony up $500 plus $35 for the cart.... Little chance thus for the visiting Swiss hacker to tee off at the spur of the moment. But just looking at Tiger Woods' "backyard" was worth a couple of hours in the afternoon. Interesting detail: visitors have access to all of the restaurants and facilities at Pebble Beach. Show me a stuffy Swiss golf club with infinitively poorer fairways and greens to be likewise hospitable. You "premium" Swiss golfers could learn your lessons at Pebble Beach!

From Pebble Beach it was just a short hop to Nirvana: Have a look for yourself at Bixby Bridge, the gateway to Big Sur, the most beautiful piece of real Estate in the world I know. And staying at the Ventana Inn was yet another highlight, but more of that on my next blog.

Days 8 & 9: Eureka to Mendocino and onwards to San Francisco

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South of Eureka the road continues to pass through Redwood country. "Avenue of the Giants" is a spectacular experience and easy introduction to the Redwood country from the south. But after a couple of days in the forest, we were happy to finally hit the Pacific ocean and follow the endlessly winding road south to Mendocino. On a sunny day, the Northern California coast line is probably one of the most beautiful pieces of real estate in the world. See for yourself.

Mendocino, although greatly praised as an "artsy" community and hub of California's most northern section of the wine country, did not quite match our high expectations. But as a convenient overnight stop to break the long journey south to San Francisco into more manageable pieces it perfectly served its purpose. Below, an impression of the Mendocino coast line.

The next day we continued south full of fresh energy along Highway 101. We needed every ounce of it as driving the often narrow winding road challenges the hardiest driver. But you will be richly compensated by absolutely breathtaking views. Impossible to determine the most beautiful spot, but I liked this piece of coastline north of Bodega Bay.

Days 6 & 7: Grants Pass to Eureka - Redwood country

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Entering Northern California through the Redwood Highway is tantamount to driving endlessly on the "Avenue of the Giants". Huge trees of up to 100m in height in a very dense forest overwhelm the weary traveller. Obviously, driving through the Redwoods is not the Real McCoy. You got to park your car and start hiking on one of the many trails the National and State Redwood Parks offer. We were short of time with less than a day to get to know the area. We hiked the short trail in the "Lady Bird Johnson Grove" and got an excellent introduction to what an extended camping and hiking adventure could be like. By all means one should include one of the trails following the Pacific coast which is incredibly wild and beautiful.

Day 5: Crater Lake to Grants Pass OR

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We had an early morning start to drive around the Crater lake on the 33 m Rim Drive, offering spectacular vistas as you will appreciate looking at the pictures below. Its a narrow but well paved road which sometimes dangerously crosses narrow stretches where on both sides deep precipices lure. Not for the faint-hearted or those with large Recreational Vehicles. I let these pictures summarize our impressions.

The rest of the day's trip is quickly summarized: it's all downhills through the woods loosing some 2000m in altitude during the roughly 2 hour drive. More dramatic than the altitude loss was the gain in temperature, from the low 60's F to 101 F in Grants Pass. Quite a "cultural shock".