San Diego: A Confusion of Canyons
An urban explorer, lost in grand canyons
There’s nothing I like better than being dropped into the middle of a strange city and finding my way around. San Diego is easy. It has an efficient system of public transport from trolleys, trains and buses, even bendy ones. The streets are wide, with sidewalks, making it a great walking city. Streets are laid out in a lovely, logical, grid system with the north-south roads consecutively numbered, starting with 1st Avenue nearest the bay. The names of many of the cross streets are grouped alphabetically in each neighbourhood so you know which way you are heading. For instance one area might have chosen birds – albatross, blackbird, coote; another trees – ash, beech, cedar, elm. You get the idea. Having mastered the local bus routes, and armed with my city map, I donned my hiking boots and set off to explore. All went well for a couple of days as I stuck to the main sights listed in the guide books.
Getting more adventurous I began to explore the local neighbourhoods and one day, arranged to meet an acquaintance in Eagle Street (bird area, see) which I knew from my map was south of University Avenue, a major through route. All went well until the road disappeared. Yes, it just disappeared over the edge of a canyon. Did I mention that in order to actually see these side streets on my map you needed a 50x magnifying glass? On closer inspection, the bit of Eagle I actually needed to be on was across the other side of the canyon. The road names just continue, without any
acknowledgement of the cleft in the earth’s crust in the way of a nice, straight road. So unless you know the exact street address, you don’t know which bit you need to be on. These canyons are what make the city so unique. They provide wonderful backdrops and hanging gardens for those lucky enough to be able to afford a property which backs onto these green valleys. Hiking trails run through some of them, right in the middle of the city. There are even historic footbridges and suspension bridges, built in the days before the motor car.
For a walking holiday with a difference, or a new way of seeing a city, these valleys are a hidden gem. There are views of mountains to the east, the glittering Pacific to the west. There is wildlife here if you are patient and all manner of exotic plants. Surprising combinations of trees grow together – palms alongside oak, junipers with eucalyptus. The smells of herbs, pine and something like orange blossom I haven’t yet identified all collide. The city’s parks and gardens are manicured to within an inch of their lives. Very beautiful they are too. But for that wild, wilderness feeling, you can just go to the end of the road, jump a barrier and head downhill.
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