Our Californian tour covers one road: Highway 1 between Monterey and Morro Bay, the stretch known as Big Sur. It is about a hundred and fifty kilometres of cliffs, redwood canyons and very few buildings. People drive it in a day. We take eight.

Spring is the time. From March to June the hills are green, the wildflowers are out and the fog burns off by ten. Later in the year the road fills and the grass turns gold and dry. Slides sometimes close a section in winter, and Tomás checks the road each week before a departure. He grew up in Carmel, delivered along this road for six years and has an opinion about every turnout.