157 LA JOLLA PRONOUNCED LAHOYA BEACH

So, today, I really had no idea where I was going to go or what I was going to do.  All I knew for sure is that it would be somewhere I could take photos.  I just didn’t know where.  I checked Google and saw several selections but had no idea where any of them were in relation to my hotel.  So, I went for breakfast to try and figure it out.

So, while I was having breakfast, I was asking the staff and one other customer.  I told them I liked to take photos of wildlife etc. and that friends on Facebook had suggested I go to the beach.  The waitress actually follows me on Instagram, so she has an idea of the photos I like to take.

The consensus of opinion of all of us seems to be to go to the beach.  They suggested that I go to La Jolla Beach.  It is actually pronounced La Hoya.  They told me it’s great for scenery as well as wildlife including, seals, sea lions and birds.  So off I went.

Once I arrived, I made the long trek down the stairs to the beach itself.  I knew it was going to prove difficult, especially walking on an uneven surface like sand.  While I was walking on the loose sand it was painful and I was having difficulty with balance.  I finally made it to the wet and solid sand and walking became immensely easier.  However, I had to keep an eye on the breaking waves so that I didn’t get my feet soaked.

The cove area was impressive with all the seals and sea lions around.  It was also full of stupid people.  There are signs everywhere warning that sea lions can be dangerous, and yet there were people walking out on the rocks to be close to one or two, to get selfies.  How stupid can people be.  There was one seal way up on the dry sand that had a nasty wound on the shoulder of his left flipper.  Hopefully he’ll be ok.  The stupid people all seemed to survive as well.

The one thing that was not impressive, in the cove area, is that it absolutely stinks.  Likely from all the seal and bird crap, not to mention the seals themselves.  The crap also brings flies and they swarm you.  They are annoying as hell.  They don’t bite, they just land on bare skin and I hate it.

While down below I saw up on the cliffs a section with about 100 cormorants and farther down the beach a section with a bunch of pelicans.  So, I started up the long flight of stairs, with people passing me by, since I can’t walk up stairs too quickly.  Then I started walking.  The cormorants were a lot farther away than I figured.  I would guess over a mile.

I got to them and discovered they were all nesting and there were little baby cormorants underneath their moms.  I got some great pictures and then started down the street to where the pelicans were hanging out.  This would be another mile or so.  The bonus is that the farther away from the cove I got, the more the small improved and flies disappeared.  There was quite a wind blowing and now I could smell the clean sea air.

Finally, I headed back, and after doing the 2 plus miles to my starting point, I just kept going.  Finding more things to photograph, including what appeared to be a pod of whales.  However, later in the hotel, when I downloaded and magnified the photos, I discovered them to be masses of seaweed.  Too bad.

I walked all the way to another cove; this one called the Children’s Pool.  It used to be just that, a protected cove where people could bring their kids to swim.  It has been taken over by seals and sea lions and the beach is closed because the animals are “pupping”.  I got more great photos here, including squadrons of pelicans in flight.  All in all, a productive day.

I’m back to being able to walk after three days of using the scooters.  It’s a good thing too, because there were no scooters available here.  One thing that did surprise me, is that there were no restaurants, vending machines or people selling cold drinks.  There were a few stalls selling T-shirts, but I needed to get some liquid in me.

Finally, at the point of exhaustion, and I would say about 5 miles of walking, I finally called it a day and called for my Uber.  The guy must have been right around the corner as I barely had enough time to get my gear stowed back in the backpack.  I got another driver who didn’t speak English, so conversation was at a premium and it makes for a long ride back.