Yolanda’s bit
Late into the night. From the airport a shuttle bus takes about 8 of us up and down the streets of San Fran in a complicated city tour which seemed to pass the same strategic points again and again for the increasing fury of certain passengers who saw their house passing a few times. We were the last ones to be dropped off by this downtown hotel, which was apparently really close to the airport, after a lucky couple of hours tour round the famous streets of San Francisco.

Nobody answered the door. After a while a couple of French girls came out asking us stuff in French as if we were the managers of the Hotel. After both sides explanations of I don't knows and mutual confusion, Mr. German bloke Mississippi ranger jumps off a land rover passing by with a bundle of washing and says hello to all of us at the door. We follow him thinking this might be our man.

Once French girls calmed and sorted out, he takes life slowly with us. He tells us his life and asks us about ours. He's German but he thinks people think he's Brazilian. He spent a few years there organizing alternative trips through the jungle and Mississippi river. He's traveled all over and misses it. He also speaks Spanish, of course. From here onwards, everybody would. We're starving. He shows us pictures and articles of himself on the papers. Finally he shows us quite a decent room and is a bit elusive to show us a place where we can have a bite.

We go out and head up the street. There's a few Mexican eateries and we have an enormous burrito in one of those. The best Mexican food I would have even in Mexico. First confusion about talking in Spanish or English to obvious Mexican guys.

We spent about four days in San Fran. We went to visit some museums, crossed the famous huge Golden Gate bridge overlooking the island of Alcatraz, bloody impressive even if it's just a tourist thing nowadays. On the other side there's this Sausalito place with the beach and nice walks and nice life, seemed to be.
We went to see other building sights like the pyramid building and so on and the bay, and a school of art which was in quite a strategic high point on the top of one of the hilly streets of San Fran with a fantastic view and a great building to study art in but not really very practical if you had to bring your big canvases or sculptures up and down the hill. Little trams going up and down this funny street system as some funny game from another time.
We went to China Town and the Italian Quarters which I particularly liked with all this early 20th century specialized shops and Italian restaurants and I could see maffiossi and gangsters in every corner!
A very friendly-relaxed atmosphere though.

And we changed our tickets. Miles would fly Mexico city-New York-London in a couple of weeks time and I would continue my route canceling other USA destinations. South America was waiting for me!
Even if we knew it would be hard, we were both happy with our decision.