Welcome To The Jungle!

It did feel like we were catapulted from San Diego, CA to the wildest part of Africa today while we visited the San Diego Zoo.

We woke up early this morning, the sun was out, and the temperature was around 78F, just about perfect for me to put the top down while driving through the streets of San Diego.

Today we had planned to visit Balboa Park and the world renowned San Diego Zoo, and that’s exactly what we did.

We started off at “El Prado”, off Laurel Street, where you basically have to go through an old bridge to get inside the park. Defining Balboa Park as immense is an understatement, that’s how big the park is. You could spend a few days touring the park, and still there would be something missing in your sightseeing, and as we only had a day to visit, we decided to slowly drive the car through its streets, and try to make the most out of the experience.

Many of the buildings around the park are in Spanish Revival Style (they have that sort of Mexican look), starting with the Museum Of Man and the California Tower on the western entrance of the park.

On our way to the Zoo we also saw the “Spreckels Organ Pavilion”, which is the world’s largest outdoor pipe organ; the “House of Hospitality”; and the “Casa Del Prado Theater”.

The Zoo had a very valuable option for its tickets: $34 including taxes, and unlimited rides for their Aerial Tramway, Bus Tours, and Express Buses.

You have to understand this is a considerably big Zoo, and it took us around 4 hours to visit.

We started with the Skyfari Aerial Tramway who took us from the East side to the West Side of the Zoo. The ride was comfortable, and very panoramic, although I didn’t really see anything other than birds nets, cages, and A/C units on top of the buildings’ roofs!

The first attraction we managed to visit were the Polar Bears. I was able to get a great shot of one of the two polar bears, half in the water, half outside of the water, I think it’s hilarious, and I wanted to share it with you.

Here is the first one:

And here is the second one, classic “Polar Bear” pose:

After that, we saw several different inhabitants of the African Savanas.

We saw Zebras:

We saw Gazelles:

Giraffes:

And Camels:

Then we went to the Birds of Prey cages, and I saw a Condor for the first time (not many Condors in Sardinia!).

We also visited the “Cats” cages, but most of them, as any real cat, were sleeping in their caves. The only one who was sleeping close to the glass window was this beautiful exemplar of Malaysian Tiger. I managed to get some shots, but the glass window was as dirty as it could be, thanks to all the kids putting their sticky, sweaty, and dirty hands all over the place. Oh well, I don’t blame the kids in this case, they have all the rights to have fun and enjoy the Zoo, who I really blame are those parents who don’t pay attention to their children.

Here is the tiger:

And here are its big paws:

We also spent some time looking at the monkeys, as we both couldn’t get over the fact that they’re so agile, moving from one tree to another, through branches, ropes, and other things that men put for them to enjoy.

I wonder if they ever lose their balance and fall down the trees, and if they do, if they get injured, or they’re just like cats who sometimes fall down from the 4th or 5th floor of a high rise condominium and survive!

We then stood in line to get on the 35 minutes Bus Tour. The buses are those double-deckers that have no roof. We stood in line a little bit more but managed to get a great sit on the top of the bus where I could take more pictures.

I was right, from up there we were both able to look at the Giant Pandas without having to stand in line another 30 minutes to just walk by them for a few second. The tour was very nice, it did last for 35 minutes, and other than giving the visitor a lot of information and insight about the park, it provides people with plenty of advice on what to see next, while visiting the San Diego Zoo. Hap and I went to the Sea Lion show!

We really enjoyed the show, who not only featured a very clever (and very hungry) Sea Lion, it also had a Grey Wolf, and some big yellow and blue parrots.

After four hours inside the Zoo we decided it was time to head out and go visit one of the other highlights of our trip to San Diego, the first California Mission created by Fr. Junipero Serra on July 16th 1769.

This time we didn’t have to pay to get in (the lady let us in without paying the price for the ticket because she said the Evening Mass was about to get starting), and so we had all the time to enjoy the Mission, its quietness, and the surrounding buildings who have all be restored to their original splendor.

Other than the church, we’ve been able to visit Fr. Junipero Serra’s house besides the church, the Choir Rehearsal Room, and a small but very interesting museum about the history of all the mission on the California Missions Trail.

Fr. Junipero Serra was a very small person, only 5’3”, with a weight of 110 pounds! I took a picture of Hap next to his life-size statue in the Mission’s courtyard:

We then came back to the Hotel where I planned some more for the trip, waiting to join our two friends Steve and JR for cocktails and dinner at a local favorite Thai Restaurant here in San Diego.

Dinner was out of this world, try their mild curry Chicken, or “Drunken” noodles (a little spicy), or the always good Chicken Panang. The restaurant is called “Taste Of Thai” at 527 University Avenue, San Diego. Reasonably prices for a great dining experience.

Tomorrow we have the USS Midway on our plans, but I would also like to drive 20 miles south to get as close as I can to the border with Mexico. A few months ago I saw some pictures on a tourist guide of the Fighting Bulls Arena of Tijuana, I want to see if I can get the same picture myself, as when I saw the picture in the book I was sort of daydreaming about reaching this (to me) “exotic” destination!

Now I need to get some sleep, it’s been a long day!

Goodnight my friends,
Nico