Representing Berducedo to Grandas de Salime
It's hard to believe that a week ago today we were nearing the end of our Camino de Santa Barbara. (I have had to edit this, I originally thought it would post last Monday...but, real life happened instead. Etc.)
While Day 6 had a distinct wildlife flavor, Day 7 was walking right through town along the coast. The wildness on this day was being around so many other people (no small thing in the midst of the pandemic that is growing in Santa Barbara County...we wondered aloud whether we might be safer taking our chances with the mountain lions). Passing so many landmarks made the time go quickly, and it was a beautiful Saturday to walk the coast. This leg completed our county-line-to-Goleta coastal walking.
We parked midway along East Beach and headed South toward Butterfly Beach. It was another cloudy, marine-layer day that called for a jacket at the start.
Along the way we passed the open gates to the Santa Barbara Cemetery, and took a detour through there to look for the gravesites of two people we've known. We found one but not the other. We walked over to the older section and read inscriptions and considered. We're really looking forward to some reunions
someday.
We passed Ty Warner's house above Butterfly Beach and admired other beautiful gardens and architecture...another kind of loveliness in our hometown.
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| Hi there Beanie-Boo Man |
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| This just made us laugh |
Heading North again, it was low tide so we were able to walk around the bottom of the cliffs on the beach instead of back around by the road.
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| We know we're going past that far point in the background but we're not sorry. |
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| Seals were our wildlife encounter for the day |
At the opposite end of the walk, we stopped for a picnic at Douglas Preserve on a cliff above the ocean. Honey bees buzzed and a paraglider soared overhead.
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| Always the flip flops during the lunch breaks |
One difference between our Camino that didn't happen and our Camino de Santa Barbara was that much of our camino here was on trails away from towns, rather than wending our way between villages where we might grab a bite to eat (or refill water) on the way. In celebration of the fact that our Camino was nearly finished--and that this was the lone day we'd be really walking through town (aside I suppose from Day 1 in Carpinteria)--we looked forward to stopping for some refreshment. In true Camino style, we planned to take advantage of the local specialties.
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| One of my favorite local specialties |
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| very different terrain from our usual trails |
We waited in line (6 feet apart, on the marks) outside of the Santa Barbara Fish Market at the harbor and got our ahi poke bowls! Hallelujah. I was concerned they would be sold out by this time in the afternoon.
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| Poke banditos |
We ate our poke in the shade by the harbor and then continued the final miles to the car. When we were almost in sight of the van, we took a 1/4 mile detour to Figueroa Mountain Brewing to split a Lizard's Mouth IPA. This brewery was founded in the beautiful valley we can see on our backcountry hikes, and Lizard's Mouth is rocky lookout that we've visited with the kids. If you come to visit, we can take you there! (Lizard's mouth lookout, or Figueroa Mountain, OR Fig Mtn to get a Lizard's Mouth. Whatever suits your fancy).
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| Una caña of J's favorite: 100% worth that paltry extra half mile |
At the end of the day we discovered we'd walked three miles (20%) farther than intended...so much for saving our legs for the final day. Part of that was the cemetery walk and part of it was miscalculation on my part and part of it was detouring to Fig Mountain. All worth it. So grateful to be walking these miles with this man. And also grateful to be walking them here, in this place, in the midst of laundry and supper dishes and chats with neighbors and evenings spent on our patio. One of my takeaways from this trek is how thankful I am for my life: not just the preservation of this physiological life that this camino (in part) is celebrating, but the everyday rhythms and responsibilities and relationships. What a gift.
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| Day 7 in the books! One day to go! |
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| Camino Day 7 |
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