The drive to San Diego is long – 353miles to be precise but it’s an interesting route and worth driving to experience the changes across the deserts. Going across the state line with California, the deserts are quite mountainous with large flat plans intersecting them. Then where the state line borders with Mexico at Yuma, the desert becomes one of rolling sand dunes. Then about 80 miles outside of San Diego the desert disappears into a range of mountains that look just like a load of rubble, dumped from the local building sites. Boulders of all shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly the range was called ‘Boulder Mountains’!

And into our final days – we can’t believe 4 weeks have already gone. Sven has been out playing golf at Torrey Pines. The final games he is allowed before the clubs get sent back to the UK and golf becomes a distant memory. Taking on the North course first, he got round in 82. Not a great score as the course is not that difficult.

But the putter was misbehaving so it got left at the bottom of the swimming pool overnight to teach it a lesson. The South course is altogether amore difficult challenge. A longer course with longer, thicker rough, narrow fairways and tiered greens. The putter was back on form but you have got to hit fairways. I spent most of the time hacking out of rough and chopping out of bunkers. An irritating 87 (because I played better than that). Debbie has been having spa treatments, getting her hair done and chilling by the pool, getting the first and last bit of sun, before flying south for late winter.

San Diego is gorgeous, right on the Pacific Ocean. The place doesn’t feel like a city and while we haven’t spent any real time here we have toured the coastline around to the harbour and back again. The city consists of gentle hills covered in properties but nothing high-rise, so good views of the ocean and harbours for all.  We went for a walk along Mission Beach to take in our last experience of the South Californian beaches and tried to get out to the Cabrillo Monument on Point Loma, one of the smallest and most historic, and most visited (it gets more visitors than the Statue of Liberty in New York). This small monument is the place where the first European (Portuguese) reached California. Unfortunately, we were too late and were not able to pass the strict security points, despite Sven’s attempt to be arrested by taking a photo of the sunset!

We said farewell to the golf clubs, managed somehow to get all of our possessions we need for the next stage into our backpacks and a couple of day bags. As we left Torrey Pines we decided to see a local area, Del Mar, in all its summer Sunday glory and took an early lunch while considering the merits of us trying to surf!

Our drive back to Los Angeles was a fitting one in that we took the Pacific Coast Highway, Hwy1, North to see the beach towns of Los Angeles – Laguna, Newport, Huntington, Long, Redondo – to name a few along this 80 mile stretch.

Tomorrow: Ecuador!