All the way to Cuba. Pasadena, CA

Cuba is literally on the other side of the world with respect to Japan. Additionally, the USA embargo does not allow air companies to fly from the USA to Cuba. But most of the flights from Japan to the America are via the USA! To sum up, it really takes time and money to get to Cuba from Japan.

The easiest way and the most expensive is to fly via Toronto with Air Canada. That solution is simple and fast, but also really expensive... This Xmas, we went there in a more relaxed and cheaper way: Tokyo to LA, LA to Mexico City and Mexico City to Havana. We stopped 2 days in LA to visit friends and to go to Universal Studios Hollywood and 5 days in Mexico city. Doing this, the trip was much much cheaper and we got to see friends and visit other interesting places!


Just after our flight into LAX, we moved to the LA downtown area, to our hotel, where we would meet my friends Alejandro and Romelia, from my time in Caltech. After meeting them, we walked around Figueroa Street, the oldest part of LA and with a clear Mexican feel... Mexican feel according to Americans of course... and then, we moved to Pasadena, the city where I lived almost 2 years of my life, already 3 years ago.

 

In Pasadena, we went for a walk in Caltech, where I could recall many memories of my life in Southern California... It was nice to be back to my last university and walk around those buildings without the pressure you have when you are a student there!!!

 For dinner, we went to a Peruvian restaurant to eat ceviche and we could also meet my friend and former housemate Bernardo and his girlfriend, Gogui.



 Bernardo bought my American car when I moved to Japan, and he still keeps it in good condition. I could meet my old mate of so many battles... I traveled so much in the American West with him... good old memories! ;)

 Thanks guys for making this stopover in Los Angeles so special!!!

Mammoth Lakes

After visiting Mono Lake and before heading for Manzanar NHS, I wanted to go to Devil's Postpile National Monument, near the Mammoth Lakes ski resort. When I got there, big surprise... Devil's Postpile was already closed for the Winter and I could not visit it! Anyway, I was there, so... brief stop at the Visitor's Center and visit to some of the lakes there.



This is one of the lakes in Twin Lakes.



And the following are photos at Lake Mary.





It was a short but nice visit.

Manzanar NHS

Manzanar National Historical Site is in the middle of nowhere in California. It represents one of the darkest moments of US history in the 20th century. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and World War II started in the Pacific, the US President decided to put all Japanese American in concentration camps in very isolated areas. Japanese Americans were deprived of their liberty for as long as the war continued. They had to leave all their lives behind and when the war was over, they were forbidden to come back to the 3 Pacific coast states. They had to start from scratch.

Manzanar NHS is one of the only places which were kind of preserved.



These are the police posts at the entrance:



And the lunch hall:



These are the remaining of a Japanese garden the "inmates" created.



And the following are photos of the cemetery:

Mono Lake Tufa Reservation

We left Yosemite using Tioga Pass and drove back to Los Angeles along US-395. That road is sandwiched between two ranges of mountains, in the middle of nowhere, and it is designated a scenic route. Just at the beginning of the road, not far from Yosemite's entrance (Tioga Pass), there is a beautiful lake: Mono Lake.



This place is so remote that housed a secret US military facility during the Cold War. Nothing remains of that facility now. The lake is interesting because it is a tufa reservation. Tufa are strange calcium based structures which grow from the bottom of the lake to its surface. This lake has been used by LA for water supplies and the level decreased dramatically in a few decades. Now, that is not allowed and the lake is protected. Anyway, these excesses made the tufa get exposed out of the water. Their shapes are quite interesting and many times surprising! Enjoy all these photos I took!

Yosemite NP Revisited

Yes, last weekend, I went camping to Yosemite NP, one of the National Parks I have liked the most. I came here last Spring and wanted to see now how Autumn affects the landscape. Not many trees change leaves in Yosemite, but still some do and it is really spectacular. I spent two days there and therefore, had time to visit places I did not visit last time: Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, Tioga Pass Road, some longer hikes...

And above all, it was great time for photography. Have a look a the following photos! :)

Flight over Pasadena

Today, the Flight Club at Caltech organized a BBQ and some free flights in Del Monte Airport, near Pasadena. I went there with some of my friends here and enjoyed a nice day. During my flight, I could see some cool places I will show later. I was a bit disappointed I did not fly to Downtown LA as some people did, but anyway, it was an interesting flight!

Here, Bernardo and Alejandro trying the club's test plane.



I flew with Bernardo and a real pilot in this plane:



That's me ready for takeoff!



We took off just over I-10. Quite a view to start with!



Then, we flew over Huntington Gardens, Pasadena area's major tourist sight:



And over Caltech:



We also saw the Rose Bowl, where Brazil won the football world cup in '94.



And up to the mountains to fly around JPL/NASA:



Going back, the racetrack at Arcadia.