Malta: The First Days (September 15 through 17, 2026)

Sunrise was about 15 minutes ago. This is the view from my room.

--September 17, 2026 at 7:00 AM.

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I woke up rather earlier this morning than I would have preferred. The jet-lag and mediocre sleeping on the planes caught up with me right after dinner here at the Grand Hotel in Ghajnsielem roughly said, ”Ayn-see-LEM”) on the island of Gozzo. I was asleep not long after 8:00PM and pretty much awake for good not long after 4:30AM this morning (September 17). I hope it doesn’t wreck my day. Let me give you a sense of the time spent travelling the several thousand miles from Michigan to here. It was easy and hard:

• Hour 0: Wake up and get ready (and forgot to do something that could become important in time but I can’t really fix).
• Hour 1.0-1.5: Get my ride to the Detroit airport with Lil. Traffic was a bit of a pain but we got there when we should and I got through security and to my gate with no trouble.
• Hour 3: Flight to Boston leaves on time.
• Hour 5-6: Landing in Boston. Figure out how to get from Terminal A to Terminal E and the check-in counters. That turned out to be tougher than it should have been. I misread a sign and added 15-20 minutes walking under the tarmac to somewhere that wasn’t necessary. But I found the shuttle and it took me to gate E13 in Terminal E. I had to find my way out so I could meet Mom and Dad at the check-in counters. Of course, I also had to deal with the just-discovered breeze where a breeze should not be: my fly zipper was broken. Fortunately I had a change of clothes so that wasn’t too much of a hassle.
• Hour 7-7.5: Mom and Dad find me at couner 74 where the Lufthansa check-ins are located. I feel that could be better managed. The signs saying what airlines are at which counters are tiny compared to the lovely big numbers identifying each counter. Once you find a display screen that tells you which counter is assigned to your flight getting where you need to be is simple enough but I did not find such a sign quickly. More extra walking that I did not need. But we got through ticketing pretty smoothly considering our flights had been changed just the day before by ITA Airways to route through Frankfurt instead of Rome. Lufthansa didn’t quite get all our information (KTN numbers for TSA Precheck) but they did mange to book us in 3 adjacent seats which was surprising given that the flights were quite full.
• Hour 7.5-10: Waiting to board. I was able to get a bite to eat at a restaraunt. It would turn out to be a far superior meal than what the plane had to offer.
• Hour 10: Boarding. Another passport check and scan of boarding passes and we got on the bus to take us to the plane. That was a long bus ride. W e did not lave on time. Our flight would end up being about 40 minutes late arriving into Frankfurt.
• Hour 17ish (time from getting up on the 15th; we also jumped 6 hours ahead): We had less than 2 hours until boarding for our flight to Malta. We had to clear European customs. The new Entry/exit System is in place. You stand at a kiosk to scan your passport and provide a photo and perhaps fingerprints. Then you get in a long long line to see a border control agent. We had requested special assistance. That caused us some trouble because we didn’t properly follow thorough but it certainly sped us past the long line at the control point. However, people on our flight managed to get through and catch the same Malta-bound flight as us so perhaps it wasn’t necessary. It both reduced and increased stress as we had to wait for carts and we got nervous having heard some horror stories about wait times. But it probably was wise to do what we did. I am sure I’d not have made it alone: I just am not a fan of needing to have a wheelchair. I can walk. Granted there were no wheelchairs used: just electric carts.
• Hour 19: Boarding our flight to Malta. This would be about a 2 hours-long flight. It went fine.Shockingly hard seats; think Spirit Airlines.
• Hour 21: Land in Malta. Thank goodness we don’t have to deal with any more border control points. We were able to get our luggage and then begin our next round of waiting for our driver to arrive to take us to Gozo. I am not sure if he was on his way already or not. We had to wait the better part of an hour for him to arrive. Hurry up and wait. Joy.
• Hour 22.5-24: The shuttle takes about 45 minutes to get to the dock where the car ferry to Gozo awaits. The ferry ride is about 20 minutes. The ride to the ferry was not particularly enjoyable. A combination of being in the way back, being tired, and the speed and curves in the road, made it less than ideal. The ferry ride was nice and smooth and pretty.
• Hour 24.5: Checking in at the hotel. Hurray.

We settled in to our respecitive rooms and took time to make ourselves feel more alive (hurray for a good shower). But that can only take you so far. We were tired and while we had the thought of exploring a little aorund the hotel we ended up not doing so. We hung out at the outdoor pool on floor 4 (an indoor pool is on floor 2) for a bit before finding dinner at the hotel restaurant. They have a rooftop dining space that several days a week does some sort of barbecue but we were not going to spend 40 euros each for that. On non-barbecue days you can either order from a set menu of choices a 3-course meal or do something ala carte. The ala carte option exists every day and that is what we did. A tasty spaghetti in rich beef sauce (beef ragu). Then it was off to bed.

Our First Walk

It warmed up quickly. We had breakfast just before 8:00AM which is a bit later than we were aiming for, but it our first full day. While the choices for food are comprehensive the quality is a bit hit or miss and certainly won’t hold a candle to a hotel like the one we stayed in during our time in Oslo or, if I recall correctly, Alesund, Norway: no omelet chef. By the time we were ready to start our first walk it was edging past 9:30AM and the sun was sitting in a nearly cludless deep blue sky.

Inntravel provides a very basic map for each walk. Where they excel is with the directions that describe how you are to travel. If your walk takes you past something distinctive like a trio of palm trees where you make a sharp left turn the notes will say so. If there may be a concern about certain sections being iffy in poor weather you will be informed. If you are likely to get confused by an area where the most obvious option is wrong the walking notes will note that fact. Having a nice map and downloading the available GPX files to use with a proper mapping app are good extras but you can get by without them.

This walk started from the hotel. We moved along the street navigating the narrow sidewalk with its bumps and dips (not a city friendly to people with any mobility issues) hoping we wouldn’t have to step into the road as traffic zipped past. Then we turned and began following the next road. This was the nature of the bulk of the walk: road walking. Usually along the edge of the roads which granted were often far quieter than the initial road. It isn’t hard but it is a bit tedious.

We ascended towards a higher point (about 80 meters) and were presented with panoramic views of, I think, Ramia Bay. We also saw less wondrous things like trash. We were heading into the village of Qala (pronounced, “AH-la”). I am not sure where the border between villages is in what feels like one big habitation.We passed by the Buket Bar where several jeeps carrying tourists, we saw many, had just pulled in for a late-morning drink. Personally, I think it might have been nice to get a cold drink there after the 1.2km climb. We ascended about 75 meters but with the sun already high in the sky it felt harder than it should have. Of course, our water was already warming up making it less palatable to drink.

One nice thing about walking through bustling villages is that you find the fine little shops that make the places work. In the space of a few meters we found a well stocked pharmacy which sold travel-sized shaving gel, sunscreeen, and toothpaste plus all sorts of other things; a small mini-mart where we picked up cold water and I wish we had (I was voted down) potato chips (crisps); and a very well stocked pharmacy which- seemed a bit higher-end, small grocery store where we managed to purchse some clementines (I wish I had a small grocery store like that one near me back home).

We worked our way through Qala along much quieter roads. Expansive views of the bays down below were frequent but they won’t blow your mind. We also wondered about what seemed like maintained fields for agricultural use but nothing seemed to be growing in them. Along the way we passed by home with American flags. I suppose their is an ex-pat community here. THe houses all had names like Big Apple and Sun Valley. When we reach the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady we found a modest shady spot to rest. It was just before noon and had I been on the ball I could have recorded the noon seranade of the bells. THe music sounded a bit dicordant to me as if the notes being struck were a bit off pitch. Dad thought it sounded tinny but I don’t think that is quite right. He stepped inside and surprisingly found it stuffy and not any cooler. I would have thought it would be cooler because it is a centuries-old church with thick stone walls but clearly it wasn’t and it also lacked ventilation.

We found our way to a 600-meter detour walk that would take us out to near the edge of the cliffs overlooking Hondoq (Hon-dok) Bay. We didn’t go quite to the end of the recommended walk but came close enough. If the sun had been pouring heat down upon us I think we have stayed to have our handmade-at-the-hotel-by-us little sandwiches. We returnd down the slightly rocky path, past the supposedly millennia-old cart ruts. They did not look like much to Dad and I don’t think I saw them at all. We returned to the fly-inhabited shady spot for lunch.

Down a winding road, the steepest descent down to the sea, and the joys around Hondoq Bay. For us that meant sitting down under the umbrellas at the beachfront set up by the soda and ice cream truck. Orange Fanta and Magnun Ice Cream bars may not be the healthiest things to devour but under the certainly well above 80ªF they were very welcome treats. The notes say you can spend hours here in the bay but we certainly did not do that. We walked onto the small mostly-rocky beach, typical of so many we have seen in Europe, and watched people playing in the water. Lots of small kayaks and other things were bobbing in the calm blue-green and clear water. For Mom and I it was a lovely chance to take off our shoes and step into the lapping waves of Hondoq Bay. The water is quite warm; a far cry from the chilly water of Lake Superior. As the waves lapped at our legs and the undertoe pulled sand out from under our feet we relaxed in the pleasant embrace. Of course, then we had to step out and take the few irritating (maybe others find it less so as they pick better stepping spots) steps back to rocks to sit on and put socks and shoes back on.

From the beach the walk would spend the next few hundred meters gradually ascending along a coastal path of hard sand and some rocks: a hard surface but at least it wasn’t a road.Views of inlets and the blue-colored waters were lovely. But we certainly were getting tired as we made our way. A final ascent up to another road and we had about one mile to go. Too bad we had to first climb the ascending road over a distance of 600 meters perhaps gaining 40-50 meters along the way. I found myself wondering if we could have taken the coastal path around and then returned to the hotel from there. It might well have been longer but the climbing would have been considerably lessened. We found ourselves back on the street where we started.From here we would retrace our steps back to the hotel. Down and down we went. Mom was feeling it by this point and we paused for her to rest a few times along the last 1.3km of the walk. We managed to navigate the narrow sidewalks of the last couple hundred meters and once again were back at the hotel.

I’ll end with a quick note about our first three-course meal. Mom and Dad tried a pasta starter in a tomato sauce while I had a creamy risotto. I found my starter a bit bland and the rice may have been a bit undercooked. But I admit I don’t eat risotto often so what do I really know. I prefer its cousin the arancini balls which I realize are really rather different. I don’t think they were too excited about the chicken they had. My braised lamb shank was tender, very mild in taste, and came with plenty of nice vegetables. The chocolate cake with whipped cream and a cherry sauce made an excellent dessert leaps and bounds ahead of Dad’s strawberry ice cream.

Photos

After about a 45 minute drive from the airport, we would reach the dock for the car ferry that would take us to Gozo. It’s about a 20 minute ride on the ferry and we are about 1 km from Gozo at this point. As it would turn out, that means we were not that much farther away from the grand hotel, which is where we are staying.

--September 16, 2026 at 2:35 PM.

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--September 16, 2026 at 7:36 PM.

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Our first panoramic view of Ramia Bay. We are ascending along a road with, overall, no sidewalks ; and when they exist they’re meager. We probably have nearly a kilometer of climbing to still do. It’s a gentle climb but it’s in full sunshine and already over 80°F.

--September 17, 2026 at 9:44 AM.

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There are some intriguing home in Qala (sounds like, “AH-La”). But I think this one might be scheduled for demolition, which would be a shame. The Buttigieg family seems to have quite a presence here. I don’t know if that’s the same family as American Pete Buttigieg but I think it is.

--September 17, 2026 at 11:09 AM.

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This is just perhaps 20 or so meters from the end of this path at the cliff’s overlooking Hondoq (pronounced more or less like, “Hon-dok”) Bay. If the sun hadn’t been punishing us relentlessly I think we would have had our modest lunch here.

--September 17, 2026 at 12:42 PM.

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This is just perhaps 20 or so meters from the end of this path at the cliff’s overlooking Hondoq (pronounced more or less like, “Hon-dok”) Bay. If the sun hadn’t been punishing us relentlessly I think we would have had our modest lunch here.

--September 17, 2026 at 12:43 PM.

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We took a respite here at the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady just before and after noon (I wasn’t able to record the noon bells concert which sounded a bit off key to my ears and Dad called it tinny) and then after our jaunt down to near the top of the cliffs about 750 meters southeast of here.

--September 17, 2026 at 1:28 PM.

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The water here in Hondoq (Hon-dok) Bay is quite warm. It sure felt good on aching and hot feet. The beach here, like so many we have seen throughout Europe, is rocky. You will feel it as your stroll barefoot into the water. But it is a beach and the water is inviting so, as you see, people come to play. Photo by Jonathan.

--September 17, 2026 at 2:17 PM.

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We are following a coastal path of hard sand strewn with rocks up out of Hondoq Bay. It is definitely a change of pace from the road walking we’ve done up to this point. But it is hard to enjoy the glorious shades of colors dancing through the calm inlet below. The heat is exhausting us. I wonder if it would have been easier, if possible, to continue on the coastal path and climb to the hotel from the sea. In a few dozen meters we will turn inland and climb this path to a road before starting a 1.2 km descent down the road we ascended earlier.

--September 17, 2026 at 2:48 PM.

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Backyard Afternoon BBQ

▶️ Play Ciabatta bread rolls

Homemade ciabatta bread rolls that are topped with my homemade feta-like cheese.

Smoked beet salad with toasted pecans and a homemade feta-like cheese. The beets were steamed first then peeled. A dry rub made of approximately 1 part ground black pepper, 0.5 parts each ground coriander, kosher salt, and brown sugar was applied. The beets were then smoked alongside everything else for about 40 minutes. The pecans were toasted over the open fire in the fire pit. The homemade cheese was based on a recipe for an acid-set ricotta cheese. I used about 5 cups of whole milk and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. That mixture was brought to a low simmer before the acid, in this case, white vinegar, was added to create the cheese curds. After the cheese was strained and excess whey was squeezed out It was placed in a salt brine solution for several days. I used about a 6% brine.

> Pork bellies. These were cooked in a similar style to how I would cook pork ribs. A basic barbecue rub was applied.They were cooked on the Weber kettle. Because I made an error the ambient cooking temperature was somewhat higher than I would’ve preferred. When the internal temperature of the meat reached about 175°F I started to apply barbecue sauce. I used Kinder’s Roasted Garlic sauce. When the meat was done hot honey was brushed on one slab. They were allowed to rest for 30-40 minutes. Both were very tasty though we preferred the hot honey slab.  Photo by Lil

Vernor’s floats because we were not willing to bother with the extra step of blending them into Boston Coolers. The vanilla ice cream is homemade and this time turned out a bit icy. Photo by Lil

Backpacking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore- Memorial Day Weekend 2026

For over 20 years Andy has organized a trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We usually go for four or five days over the Memorial Day weekend. The group hikes the Lakeshore Trail. However, this would be my first backpacking trip since shoulder surgery the previous fall so I decided to do something different and not slow others down. I’d spend time in the Beaver Creek wilderness before joining the group type the western part of the Lakeshore Trail.

▶️ Play Backpacking Pictured Rocks—May 2026

Photos

Patches of dense compressed snow linger on the Lakeshore Trail between Coves and Beaver Creek campgrounds. In a couple days they’l be much smaller though still not quite melted away.

--May 21, 2026 at 12:56 PM.

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It was rather windy on the beach so I settled down on top of the bluff to watch the sun set over Lake Superior.

--May 21, 2026 at 8:57 PM.

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I have no idea why someone would leave this camping gear, cheap gear, in the bear box. Other gear was hanging off of a tree. I guess somebody felt they had to hurry back to their car and so left this bulky and likely heavy gear behind. Bad behavior: definitely not leave no trace.

--May 22, 2026 at 8:23 AM.

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Time to try my baked here at Coves Group camp chocolate chip French-style yogurt cake. I baked this in my Hajka Outdoors Camp Oven: turned out rather well. Parker, for what it’s worth, gave it a 10 out of 10 though I suppose we need to give up a point or 2 for the enthusiasm of youth.

-- May 23, 2026 at 6:10 PM.

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Spray Falls.

-- May 24, 2026 at 8:54 AM

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We are pretty sure this gull is guarding a nest.

--May 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM.

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Andy and I came down to this Rocky beach to watch the sun set. Sunset will be in about 70 minutes. It should be lovely for us and the people on tour boats who will see the sandstone cliffs bathed in colors far more clearly than we will.

--May 24, 2026 at 8:08 PM.

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It turns out that the rocks Andy is standing over have an intriguing pattern on them. It’s just perceptible in the picture. Sunset is 10 minutes away.

--May 24, 2026 at 9:07 PM.

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Just a few more minutes to go before the sun dips below the horizon. We started our walk back to camp just after I took this photo. The group campsite is about 0.25 miles away and twilight was fully upon us when we returned to the site.

--May 24, 2026 at 9:21 PM.

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Miner’s Castle isn’t what it once was. Several years ago a turret-like piece came off. This is where my hike would end. Andy, Jill, John, and Parker continued, at a far faster pace, to Sand Point. They’d pick me up about an hour after I took this photo.

--May 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM.

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Food for the Afternoon: Smoked Devilled Eggs, Rustic Parsley Bread, Salad, Texas-Style Chili

▶️ Play Food for the afternoon

Smoked Devilled Eggs

Smoked devilled eggs. The peeled hard boiled egg was smoked for an hour. We then made a filling substituting sour cream for the mayonnaise. Mustard, horseradish, and some spices were also used to make the filling.

First make hard boiled eggs. Peel them. We then cold smoked the eggs for about one hour. We were impatient. I believe smoking the eggs for about 90 minutes would’ve produced more pronounced flavor. I also suspect that letting the eggs rest in a refrigerator overnight would also improve the flavor.

To make the filling for the deviled eggs remove the yolks from each egg and combine them with sour cream, mustard, a bit of horseradish, pinches of onion powder and garlic powder - probably should have used a bit more - and some salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix the filling into a stiff paste and stuff it back into the egg white cavities. Enjoy.

Rustic Parsley Bread

A rustic parsley bread and a nice green salad with a delicious homemade honey mustard vinaigrette dressing.

This was based on a no-knead dough. This is a very high hydration dough: about 90%. I used about 315 grams of bread flour, 5 grams sea salt, 5 grams sugar, about 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley, 2 or 3 tablespoons (30-45 g) olive oil, a teaspoon of instant yeast, and 275 grams water. Typically, I think,you would let this dough rest on your countertop for 12 to 18 hours. I let the dough rest on my countertop for about six hours, placed it in the refrigerator overnight and then let it rest on the countertop for about another six hours during the proofing process. I did do some stretch-and-folds to improve the strength of the dough. I preheated my oven to 425°F and during that process also heated up a Dutch oven. I sprinkled the bottom of the Dutch oven with some flour, normally I would use parchment paper but I was out, to help keep the bread from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven. I baked the bread for about 30 minutes covered and then for another 10 to 15 minutes uncovered. I forgot to reduce the oven temperature, to about 400°F, at the 30 minute mark, but it did not seem to affect the quality of the bread.

Salad

This was a green salad with spinach, arugula, white onions, and sliced pickles. it was dressed with a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette: about 3 to 2 ratio of olive oil to apple cider vinegar. A hot cherry honey was used instead of plain honey; and a rich Dijon mustard was also used. The salad was topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The Chili

Texas style chili. The meat was allowed to smoke for a couple of hours above the chili base before being placed into the chili mixture entire chili cooked for a bit over five hours.

This five-hour chili, and it could’ve cooked for longer, is a basic Texas style chili. That means no beans. The base of the chili is made up of sautéed red and white onions, about one head of roasted garlic, one 7-ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, about 42 ounces of canned diced tomatoes, one 12-ounce can of a porter-style beer, about 2 ounces of Mexican chocolate that was crumbled up, 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, and 6 tablespoons of chili seasoning by Meat Church.  I also made several large meatballs out of 2 pounds of ground beef that were seasoned lightly with the chili seasoning. The chili was placed inside the smoker and the meat was placed on a grill grate on top of the chili to smoke. After about two hours the meat was placed into the chili base, all cooking in a 5-quart Dutch oven, and chopped up. The entire chili was left to simmer for the next several hours. A bit of water was added along the way. 

A Hike in Torrey Pines State Park

After our morning visit to Cabrillo National Monument we visited the just re-opened Torrey Pines State Park. We were far from alone. It was bright and quite warm. As we slowly drove along the beach we saw scores of people walking by on the beach. Not the nicest walk with the traffic creeping by but they’re on a beach. Eventually we reached the parking lots at the top of the cliffs and figured out what we would do.

We would hike down to the beach and loop back up to complete a hike of perhaps 3 miles. We would pass by Razor Point. The trail is reasonably wide, sandy, and has many flattish slick rocks to step upon. The sand is what makes them trickier along with the fact that they tend to slope. For people with normal vision the trail and its grade shouldn’t pose much of a challenge. There are also a plentiful amount of steps to contend with. However, even though it was a bit tougher going than I thought it would be the views were quite fine and there was also plenty of bird activity to listen too.

The warning sign did give us a bit of pause. I am sure it was accurate about the number of steps. It also became clear that if you do go to the beach you’ll likely get a bit damp if the tide is much higher than the extreme ebb tide. We elected to not go all the way down because we were getting hot and we’re ready to climb back up. The climb up was a bit tiring with its numerous steps but less stressful than the descent. I think descending it would have been easier than what actually did descend. But we continued to enjoy the views and when we gained the cliff top we were ready for our snack break. The clementines hit the spot.

The hike, really a long walk with a bit of challenge,was 2.5 miles long with the bulk of the 310 feet of ascent and 310 feet of descent happening over 1.9 miles before we finished the last half-mile on the road.

A fly-over view of the walk.

Photos and Video

▶️ Play Hike in Torrey Pines State Park

We see Prickly Pear all the time in Tucson. But I am pretty sure we have never seen it in bloom.

--March 1, 2026 at 1:01 PM.

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Heading down towards the beach in Torrey Pines. This trail would be easy except it’s far from even footing: full of lumps, slick rock, and steps. Photo by Jonathan.

--March 1, 2026 at 1:27 PM.

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Should we be worried? You certainly do not want to be at the beach at high tide. I’m pretty sure these cliffs are sandstone which is hardly the strongest of materials.

--March 1, 2026 at 1:33 PM.

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We didn’t go down to the beach ( sigh) but you can see how close to the cliffs it is.

--March 1, 2026 at 1:47 PM.

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Red Braised Smoked Pork Jowl

It’s Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining on a clear blue sky, temperature is around 60°F, little wind. Baseball spring training is active and we have a Tiger’s game playing as we sit by the fire on the firepit.  It’s a fine day for good food including this smoked and braised pork jowl.
▶️ Play Red Braised Smoked Pork Jowl

This recipe was inspired by a recipe from the New York Times. I do suspect that using scallions (i.e. green onions) would probably have been better than using the small white onion I did use. Shoaxing wine would make , I think, a richer flavor than the mirin I used. Maybe a dry white wine would be good.

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 pounds pork jowl
• 1 small onion, sliced (or 3-4 green onions, chopped)
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 2 Tbs neutral oil
• 3 Tbs honey or hot honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup
• Shaoxing wine or a bit less mirin ( former is likely better as it is drier in flavor)
• 1/2-1 tsp ground ginger or 2-4 thin sliced fresh ginger
• 1 cup water, beer, or stock
• 3 whole star anise

Instructions

1. This step is optional, but I cold smoked the pork jowl for about 90 minutes first. The original recipe suggests cubing the pork and then boiling it for a minute or so. I am not sure what this would accomplish that the braising for several hours would not, but maybe it cuts out some bad taste. Since I smoked the meat I did not do this boil.
2. Cut the pork into 1.5-2 inch chunks.
3. In a high sided pan or wok over a low medium heat warm the oil until it is just smoking. Then add the honey and garlic if you are using it. Raise the heat to a medium and let the mixture thicken and caramelize. The original recipe uses rock sugar instead of the honey. 
4. Place the pork jowl chunks in the sauce. This may need to be done in batches. Cook for a few minutes on each side to caramelize and brown the meat.
5. Add the onions or scallions, soy sauce, wine, stock liquid, ginger, and star anise. Use enough liquid to cover 1/2-2/3rds up the meat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
6. Cover and simmer until the pork is tender. Over a lively fire on a pretty fast simmer this takes 2.5 to 3 hours.

The Original Point Loma Lighthouse in Cabrillo National Monument

This was not one of the places we had originally planned on visiting, but it turned out to be a worthwhile visit, even though we did not see all, or even close to all, it had to offer. The Cabrillo national monument celebrates Juan Rodriguez Cabrio, the Portuguese explore, who was the first European to set foot on the western coast of North America. Obviously, he was not the first person to trod this land since indigenous people have been populating the Americas for several thousand years. However, his voyage of discovery is still notable because it must have been a tremendous challenge to sail from Europe all the way around South America and up the Pacific Coast to what would later become known as San Diego Bay.

It was once again a bright sunny morning with temperatures steadily rising to an eventual high in the 80. We decided to walk along the Bayside Trail.   This trail starts at the Original Point Loma Lighthouse and descends to an overlook 90 feet above sea level that provides views across the bay towards San Diego. It is an easy walk along a paced and dirt road: one way its just under 1 mile.

Along the way there are many signs documenting what you will see: flora, fauna, and the man-made buildings that you pass by. During World War II hidden search lights were placed along the road. These were manned by soldiers and were designed to illuminate approaching boats that could then be targeted by artillery.

The most prominent feature of this hike has to be the Original Point Loma Lighthouse. It sits on top of the 400 foot high cliff and was active for a little less than 36 years: starting operation in 1855. It was the first lighthouse, I believe, on the western coast of North America coming into operation after California was admitted as a state to the United States. The lighthouse was replaced by the New Point Loma Lighthouse in 1891. That lighthouse sits only 90 feet above sea level on the tip of the peninsula. It turns out that positioning the original lighthouse 400 feet above sea level was problematic because fog and low clouds would obscure the light from view. 

Photos snd Video

▶️ Play Bayside Trail and Original Point Loma Lighthouse

This was taken the day before from the sun deck of the Mighty Marietta as we motored out of San Diego Bay on our whale watching tour. The New Point Loma lighthouse sits at the tip of the land about 90 feet above the water. The original lighthouse is on top of the 400-foot high cliffs. We are about three wuarters of a mile from the lighthouses. We saw people on the dirt road that leads down to a lookout point. Sunday we would be on that road too. Sadly, while I believe you can get to the New Point Loma lighthouse this hike doesn’t take you there.

-- February 28 at 10:04 AM.

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This was, I believe, the first lighthouse built overlooking San Diego Bay. It started operating in 1855 and remained active until March 1891. The lighthouse sits atop a 400-foot cliff. This turned out to be a less than ideal spot because low fog and clouds often obscured the light from the view of ships. The New Point Loma Lighthouse was built at the tip of the peninsula at a much lower elevation to replace this lighthouse.

--March 1, 2026 at 9:05 AM.

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We heard many birds and saw marine mammals but this little lizard might well be the first four-legged animal we have seen.

--March 1, 2026 at 12:16 PM.

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We are still some 90 feet above San Diego Bay. You can see the city in the background.

--March 1, 2026 at 9:50 AM.

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