Sunset at El Matador Beach, Malibu, California.

 Sunset at El Matador Beach, 

or 

Why It’s Important to Study Well in School.

Although it’s never too late to learn! I’m telling you this! I’ve been a teacher for forty-five years. Can you imagine what a fossilized specimen I am?! But when you teach someone, you inevitably learn yourself. So my student life has lasted my whole life.

How were your school years? Not bad? I studied well, which doesn't prevent me from admitting the inadequacy of the education I received and my lack of understanding of what I once studied. I’m not talking about knowing as memorizing; I’m talking about understanding. After all, you can cram something in, but that doesn’t mean you truly know and understand what you crammed.

How does this relate to a trip to the beach? Be patient! I also thought that after visiting the beach, I would simply post photos for you—and that’s it. No, “simply” doesn’t work for me.

So, let’s start from afar. I decided to visit the tourist spots in my own city. People who come to Los Angeles always go to the beaches. Usually, it's Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Venice Beach... But since I decided to drive along the famous beaches after watching the sunset at Santa Monica, I started systematically, "left to right, according to the map," from Malibu, and decided to go to the distant El Matador Beach.

This time, having learned from my travels, I did my "homework": looked at the map, read Wikipedia... ("It’s boring, girls," as Ostap Bender said to the members of the chess club in Vasyuki.) Most of all, I was impressed by the dramatic photos of sunsets on this beach that I saw online. I decided: I’m going to watch the sunset.

El Matador is one of three so-called "pocket beaches" that are part of the Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach. Historically, California was part of New Spain, and then Mexico. Although this region became part of the US in the mid-19th century, many Spanish names for streets, cities, canyons, ranches, and natural objects have survived.

All three beaches have Spanish names:

• El Matador – "The Fighter"

• La Piedra – "The Stone"

• El Pescador – "The Fisherman"

Robert H. Meyer, after whom the beach was named, is an amazing person! I searched for information about him for a long time. There are many people with this name and surname on the internet, but not a single one whose name is associated with the State Beach in Malibu. I connected to Gemini, asked in Russian, in English, varied the questions—nothing. By the end, Gemini even started suggesting where else to look, but still found nothing... You have to be that good at keeping a low profile and yet become so famous that a park is named after you!

All three parks have small, inexpensive paid parking lots.

I arrived in the second half of a weekday, and on the way, I was thinking about how safe it would be to be there, as I might be practically alone on the beach. Fat chance! The parking lot was more than half full. I wasn't the only one dreaming of meeting the sunset at El Matador! But everyone was kind of spread out across the beach, to be honest. You'll see almost no one in the photos.

The parking lot is on a very high bluff.

The first thing that impresses and frightens is the cliffs.

You stand on the rocks, right at the top. There are no railings, no ropes, not even warnings about the drop; the paths are laid out right along the edge.

A cliff—and that's it.

You can approach the edge. At your own risk. As close as your courage and sense of balance allow. (Now I’m sitting at home. I’ve turned my brain on, excuse the expression. Do not approach the edge. Do not do it!)

Yes, there is a lifeguard stand. 

But no lifeguards. 

And what could they do if someone fell?!

The park is relatively small and surrounded by high cliffs.

To get to the beach, you must first descend a fairly wide path, and then a staircase.

The staircase itself (sturdy, reliable, but rusty) offers stunning views of the coastline.

The beach is famous for its impressive sea stacks and grottos—caves created by erosion. 

Stairs, part two, just as rusty, and just as sturdy and reliable.

And the view from that staircase...

Once you descend, the first thing you notice is the towering shore, the sandstone cliffs, eroded by rain and gravity, especially picturesque in the light of the setting sun.

And now a bit about the inadequacy of my education.

You are looking at the photos, they are good (I think), and you can skip the story if you studied and UNDERSTOOD physics and astronomy in school. The text between the photos is part of my homework before the trip to the beach. I will insert the photos in groups. Those who only want photos—skip the text. Those who want the text—skip the photos. Although, in this story, I would recommend both. Regardless of your age or interests. Well, I told you I'm a teacher with experience.

 

A small request. 

As you look at the photos, note how far the water has receded! I arrived during a major low tide. All these stones in the foreground, the passageways and caves are washed out by the water; during high tide, they are flooded and disappear beneath the surface.

I'll ask you a few questions first, okay? 

The Moon orbits the Earth, everyone knows that. But why do we always see only one side of it? Did you memorize the answer or do you understand it? Tides—high and low—are the influence of the Moon's gravity, everyone knows that. But are they all the same? Apparently not... Why? And do they occur at the same time of day? Or night? Apparently not... Why? 

No, I was surely taught this in school. But, honestly, no one listened to our physics teacher, so I heard something in class, read a paragraph in the textbook, answered the lesson—and forgot... I’m a literature person by nature... 

Have I listed all the arguments? All the "excuses"? Didn't I mention laziness and youthful carelessness?! 

Alright, better to understand late than never.

Now I’ll explain it to you, because only by explaining to others can you understand yourself! Let's start with the Moon. The tide and ebb at Matador, as at any other beach, depend on the Moon.

The most popular question: 

Why do we only see one side of the Moon? 

This happens because the Moon moves very unusually, synchronously with the Earth! This is called synchronous rotation. The Moon rotates around its axis (as the Earth does in one day). 

At the same time, the Moon travels around the Earth (which takes about 27.3 days). The most interesting thing is that the Moon makes one complete rotation around itself (around its axis) in the same amount of time as one complete revolution around the Earth, the same 27.3 days! 

Did you get it? Me neither!

I figured it out, I'm explaining it on my fingers:

 You, my dear fellow, or dear lady, are the Earth! I am the Moon. And I revolve around you. (For those 27.3 days, tirelessly.) And, deeply respecting you, I don't want to turn my backside to you, so as I move in orbit around you, I also rotate around myself, my axis, constantly looking at you, Earth, with devoted eyes... 

If I just walked around you but didn't turn around myself, you would see all my sides (first my face, then my side, then... oh-oh-oh, how impolite!). So I have to rotate synchronously: one rotation around myself equals one revolution around you. (I spin for twenty-seven days for one revolution! Plus a little extra!). 

Tell your grandchildren, suggest they play a game, say: "If you walk around a friend and simultaneously turn yourself so that your face is always pointed at them, they will always only see your face! The Moon does exactly the same thing in relation to the Earth!" That's why we only see one, the near, side of the Moon.

Okay, I understood that. 

Bell rings, small break, rest for a couple of minutes!

See how high the shells are on the rocks? The tide will begin soon, and they will disappear under the water!

And why high and low tides? 

Well, the sympathy, or you could say, the love between the Earth and the Moon is mutual. The Moon pulls the Earth, and because of the pull, a bulge forms on the side of the Earth closest to the Moon... 

(Oh, that didn't sound good, this explanation isn't suitable for children! Let's change it.) And a large watery tidal hump forms on the near side. 

Not much better, honestly. Humps should be on the back. 

Do you think the scientific explanation is clearer? Understand this: "The gravitational force of the Moon pulls the water on Earth. Since water is more mobile than the planet's solid crust, it 'bulges out' or collects toward the Moon, forming a tidal hump (bulge)." Here I should use a lot of smart words: center of mass, centrifugal force, inertia... 

No, when I read it, I understood, but to explain it?! I'm a literature person! 

I'll explain the tide on the opposite side of the Earth on my fingers: 

So, the Moon pulled the water, and a tidal "hump" formed. 

At the same time, the Moon pulls the Earth itself, the solid body of the Earth. 

Since the Moon pulls the solid Earth more strongly than the water on the opposite side (because the water there is further away), the Moon "pulls" the Earth itself out from under that far water. 

And the water on that opposite side of the Earth is left "behind"! And it also gathers into a bulge, forming a tide. 

I understood it myself, what about you? Thus, there are two high/low tides per day... 

Oh, I need to digest and rest.

It won't be possible to see the maximum high tide at El Matador in practice; it will be around nine in the evening, in complete darkness, and the beach will be closed, so we admire the low tide...

(Someone's private staircase, the passage from the beach up is closed.)

Rest up? Let's read! 

I was thinking about how to explain (to myself, to my favorite self) more simply in order to understand. I understood it myself, so I'm telling you.

Why is the time of the tides not fixed, not the same every day? 

A literature person's explanation for literature people (physicists, oceanographers, meteorologists, and others, do not read!): 

If the Moon did not revolve around the Earth but stood still, everything would be orderly: high and low tides every six hours, strictly on schedule, two high tides and two low tides a day, and always the same height, dependent only on the Earth's rotation. (Well, with an allowance for the Sun and the wind, but we are not considering that now, and anyway, we, LITERATURE PEOPLE, understand and explain as best we can!) 

It's simple, clear, perfect, but this model seems more suitable for mathematicians. That’s if the Moon didn't move around the Earth. But it does move... 

So the Earth rotated around itself, returned to the previous point, to our El Matador beach: "Moon, where are you? We have gravity, a high tide!" But the Moon moved forward a little, ran away by about 13 degrees. (After all, the Earth and Moon are moving in the same direction. The Earth around itself, the Moon around itself and around the Earth, and together around the Sun, which doesn't concern us at the moment). We are concerned by the slow movement of the Moon around the Earth in the same direction, from west to east (counter-clockwise): it travels 360 degrees around the Earth in 27 days, which is where those 13 degrees per day come from. And for the points to coincide again, for El Matador to be on a straight line with the Moon, the Earth needs to "rotate further," catch up, run to the Moon, and that means an additional fifty minutes every day! So, if today's high tide is at 12 PM, the low tide is at 6:25 PM, the next high tide is at 12:50 AM in the deep night, the low tide is at 7:15 AM, and so on. The time between high tides is 12 hours and 50 minutes.

And then you also have to consider the Sun's gravity, there are spring tides (the highest) and neap tides (the lowest). They invent such smart terms; you have to figure them out, understand what you're talking about... Let's leave that to the physicists; let them figure it out, it's easy for them to understand, but general knowledge is enough for us. (I respect you, dear physicist friends! I take my hat off! What a subject you chose to teach! By the way, girls, check if I understood correctly!)

Break time! Hooray! Did you like physics or astronomy? I loved Russian, history, literature... I studied the other subjects out of necessity. And I also played Battleship with my deskmate during class. 

If only I had that time now! Although... every age has its own joys.

(During a high tide, by the way, this passage is completely gone.)

Why? Why do we need to know this? 

Well, what if you decide to go to El Matador Beach to watch the sunset! And you don't take into account that there’s a high tide that evening! Well, what will you do? The beach will be practically flooded, you won't be able to walk among the rocks, take photos of the same rocks and arches, examine the small pools forming on the sand where sea creatures sometimes swim, or admire the mussel colonies...

And back to the question of "why" I need to know. We live in an age of accessible information, so it’s easy to ask Gemini for a tide schedule for a week, or even two, and choose a suitable day, ask the Intelligence to explain how it works... no textbooks, no teachers, just the desire to understand how Nature provides us with this daily celebration. 

It's interesting to understand how the system works, not just exclaim, "Oh, how beautiful!" (I feel like I could already teach as a substitute in middle school, I just need to brush up on the textbooks. Just kidding, just kidding, girls! Smile, my friends! And everyone reading, too!)

When I arrived at the beach, these rocks with birds (you can track the water level well by them) were on the sand. By the time I reached this spot, they were already under water. The tide comes in very quickly.

While I was taking pictures, the water started to rise sharply. Sharply—that is, every (every!) wave was closer and closer to me. I was absolutely alone on this remote beach, which was very pleasant, but suddenly I wanted to be around people... To be honest, I panicked a little. I returned to the "ladder of salvation, just in case," at a quick pace.

At the beach, you can only look. This is a complex ecosystem; you can’t collect the mussels covering the sea rocks; if you find sea snails, urchins, or stars left in small pools on the beach, you can’t touch them either. I, however, didn’t find or see anything special.

Well, you understand that the caves and arched rocks are best explored during low tide, preferably during the lowest tide. During a strong high tide, they may be flooded or inaccessible.

And also, ask Gemini for the weather forecast.

The best conditions for sunset at El Matador are partly cloudy skies, when the sun's rays illuminate the clouds, initially painting them in bright colors: red, orange, yellow, pink...

And the sun slowly sets into these clouds on the horizon... 

And you keep shooting, and shooting, and there is no stopping until complete darkness falls around you.

Say thank you to me. 

Say it right now! 

For what?! 

Well, I saw those clouds in my photo and decided to refresh my knowledge of what they are like and how they form... 

But I'm not giving you a lecture, I’m not torturing you. 

Did you say thank you?! 

Did you smile?

The internet writes that El Matador is a favorite spot for photographers and romantic walks. I agree.

Everyone who came was waiting for the sunset, everyone was taking pictures, there were three or four people with professional cameras, and there were even professional photo shoots and even filming (for which, by the way, you need to ask for permission on the state park website).

Beautiful photos, a stunning sunset... But what if someone, after reading my story, wants to go there? 

I must give a warning. The first important thing for a walk on the beach is good sneakers. I wore special ones, for the pool, light, quick-drying, non-slip on rocks. I had to walk on the rocks a lot, and several times I regretted not bringing Swedish poles; balancing on wet stones at my age is quite an exercise! 

The cliffs along the California coast, including the impressive bluffs of this beach, are inherently unstable and prone to collapse, especially after rain or during winter storms. Never stand close to the edge of the cliff! I’ve told you this already, and I repeat it because I know from experience that I break my own rules. The ground can be undermined and collapse beneath you. 

Likewise, you should not walk (or lie down, sunbathe) directly under the cliffs or bluffs. You should, as advised online, keep a distance of at least eight to twelve meters from the base, as stones and earth can fall at any moment. 

Check the tides: this is critically important for El Matador, I speak from experience. To safely reach the sea caves and arches, you must visit the beach at low tide. Rising tides can quickly make passage impossible, leaving you "trapped" near the rocks or in the caves. 

I have already written about the, to put it mildly, danger of swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Most of El Matador is considered a closed swimming area due to strong waves, rip currents, and rocks in the water. But what if you decide to walk through the shallow water for a photo? I understand that. But if you enter the water, stay in the shallows! And never turn your back to the ocean! There are "Sneaker Waves" here. These are unexpectedly large waves that can roll far up the shore even on calm days and drag you into the cold, deep water. 

It's better to go with friends or relatives; create a safety system for yourself. If you are alone, ask someone to make a control call to check if you are okay. I apologize if I upset or scared you, but better safe than sorry; beauty is beauty, but you must always remember your safety.

It gets dark quickly there. Somehow, everyone started leaving almost at the same time. They stood on the road a little longer, photographed the sunset from the last bluff, took selfies against the background of the sunset...

They took a last look at the shore...

They couldn't resist once more, looking at the crimson clouds, and took a photo.

The color of the water changed interestingly there: blue, then steel, then pink... It ended in deep black.

In the already nighttime, black ocean, a boat with a searchlight was floating, I think.

The last ray of sun painted the clouds above my head a delicate pink.

I looked back. One last time. 

And headed to the parking lot.

Cars were barely visible; people found their vehicles either in the headlights of those leaving or by lighting them up with their phone flashlights.

The drive home took a little over an hour on unfamiliar night roads, over a pass, then on a busy freeway; I had to drive slowly, attentively, and carefully the whole time. 

An adventure in itself. 

It was a beautiful day.

P.S.

Here, fellow travelers like me came to El Matador, but during high tide! And during the day. Watch it on YouTube. They have a completely different impression of the beach! I’m not saying it's bad, just different. My memories of the beach are more dramatic, more colorful. Again, I repeat, it’s not better or worse. We were just lucky, but lucky in different ways.

Exploring El Matador Beach California & Lunch at Malibu Seafood: Waves, Wildlife & Wonderful Lunch

By tradition, for my memory.