DAY SIXTEEN - Saturday 30 April 2011: Fiesta! Arriba, Arriba!

Oh go on then. One last gut busting breakfast on our final full day in San Diego.  Of we trotted to the Open Bar on Mission Blvd for a feast not only of the food variety. Our guide book said you have to know what you want and have your money ready. We didn't have either of those things prepared but we did manage to get a breakfast fit for a trencherman, unlimited coffee and orange juice. And... goes without saying... a fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean... No more trotting after that!

The guy with the dreadlocks in the shape of a pineapple must have been well into his 40s and I couldn't help thinking he was having a much better time than his UK counterpart who would probably be washing his car and mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning

We'd been humming and hahing (how do you spell that?) all our time in San Diego about taking out a motor boat around Mission Bay and, this morning, fuelled with salsa'd eggs and sour dough bread, I agreed to do it. Neal purloined a parrot from the tropical garden at the hotel and we were all set. I hope you realise I just made that bit up.  This was a scary moment for me because we had once hired a motor boat on the Thames and after about ten minutes Neal was bored and sat on the bonnet (if a boat has a bonnet) with his back to the way we were going to try and spice things up a bit.  Anyway, no chance of that today. It's amazing how you can turn up at the jetty, tell them you've never driven a motor boat before; they give you a three minute introduction and a couple of life jackets which, when we tried to put them on, they said we didn't have to bother with, wish you bon voyage as they push you away from the security of land, and it's all about a quarter of the price you would pay in the UK. The only proviso is that you must, under no circumstances, head out to sea.  Hmmm... nothing to worry about there then.

I love the way everybody is going about their own watery business - so much to see, kyakers, water skiers, wet bikes, motor boats, sail boats, pelicans, cormorants, pirates, Blind Pew... oh, there I go again!

Back on dry land, we read the local 'what's on' and spotted a fiesta in Sandiego Old Town. Although we'd been there a few days before to visit the museums etc., we thought Tequila!  It couldn't have been more different from the first time we visited.  Mariachi bands, who were never ever going to play a wrong note, mixed with bands covering the Kinks and the Knack, a brilliant show of kids drumming on plastic bins, water containers and steel drums (a bit like Stomp), tag wrestling, ballet, equestrian side-saddle shows, folk singing, story telling... colours and ideas everywhere!

free tequila shots

Strawberry margarita masquerading as a slushy!



Gimp mask anyone?

The history of this fiesta is more interesting than anything I can tell you ... here's the link: http://www.oldtownsandiegoguide.com/cinco.html

One last look at the sunset as we say goodbye to San Diego... what a fabulous place