i'm taking a few "rest" days in Santa Barbara, sitting around on the beach reading and hoping my muscles will feel less sore tomorrow.

It's a nice town - as i've got further down the coast the old spanish influence has become more prevalent, more town centred towns, more stylish architecture, mission buildings etc.

Since Santa Cruz these places have been becoming more and more what you imagine south california to be. duh. palm trees, roller skaters and joggers along the edge of a beach covered in volleyball courts and people playing frisbee. VW campervans with surfboards on the roof, blue seas and crashing waves. San Luis Obispo was allegedly voted the third happiest place in the world (after Copenhagen and Singapore)

But Santa Barbara is messing with my internal compass, because it's on a south facing coast. (rather than as you would expect, west facing).

It seems like the sun is setting in the north...