WILD, MAGIC, LUXURY & THE CULT OF SEX & ANARCHY
48 HOURS IN BIG SUR

by Rob Hill

Thirteen miles south of Carmel stands one of the world’s highest single-span concrete arch bridges, Bixby Bridge. Its beauty is matched only by the ocean waves crashing on the rocky coastline below. Reaching over 260 feet high and over 700 feet long, it is a structural masterpiece, and probably the most photographed object along the coastal route.

It is here, at the river mouth that flows under the Bixby Bridge, that the endangered California Sea Otter was rediscovered playfully frolicking in the kelp beds and rescued from “extinction.” October 2010 marks 78 years that the Bixby Bridge has allowed travelers to easily traverse the Big Sur coastline. Although Big Sur has no specific boundaries, many definitions of the area include the 90 miles of coastline from the Carmel River south to the San Carpoforo Creek, and extend about 20 miles inland to the eastern foothills of the Santa Lucias. Other sources limit the eastern border to the coastal flanks of these mountains, only three to 12 miles inland. Another practical definition of the region is the segment of California State Route 1 between San Simeon and Carmel. But one thing it has always had going for it was its isolation. It’s no wonder then that in the early to mid-twentieth century, Big Sur’s natural beauty began to attract writers and artists, including Robinson Jeffers, Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson, Emile Norman, and Jack Kerouac. Jeffers was among the first of these. Beginning in the 1920s, his poetry introduced the romantic idea of Big Sur’s wild, untamed spaces to a national audience, which encouraged many of the later visitors. Henry Miller lived in Big Sur from 1944 to 1962. His 1957 novel Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch described the joys and hardships that came from escaping the “air conditioned nightmare” of modern life. Lit bad-boy Hunter S. Thompson worked as a security guard and caretaker at Big Sur Hot Springs in 1961. Jack Kerouac spent a few days in Big Sur in the early sixties and wrote a novel titled Big Sur based on his experience there.

Highway one wind like a serpent through the changing coast line of California: fields, cow pastures, beaches, cliffs and forests. But it is at big Sur that the redwoods spill onto the cliffs, creating a beautifully vertiginous landscape, rugged, hostile, unearthly and luxurious. In fact, it was so breathtaking that Orson Welles bought a house as he was passing through for the first time. (He never spent a single night and now the dwelling is the infamous Nepenthe restaurant. Once you enter the enchanting forests of Big Sur anything goes: cacti snuggling with redwoods; seals fornicating on the beach; a twenty million dollar house clinging to a jagged cliff; misty foggy mornings giving way to gorgeous sunny afternoons that bleed into impossibly windy, cold nights; rare wild orchards being munched on by giant salamanders; and soaring condors dive-bombing the salamanders and eating them for breakfast. And some of the most awe-inspiring state parks in all of America: Carmel River, Point Lobos, John Little & Andrew Molera.

Sitting right in the center–anchoring the area like shaman–is Esalen Institute, a veritable hub of some of the best healers in the world working in massage, Gestalt, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, art, music, and much more.” Esalen offers more than 500 public workshops a year in addition to invitational conferences, residential work-study programs, research initiatives, and internships. Once home to the Native American tribe Esalen, the underground tepid springs–open to the public from midnight to 3am–have been used as a panacea for all kinds of diseases. And don’t be surprised if you hear music you know on the grounds–live music. Performers such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr have played here.

But if Esalen is Big Sur’s cradle of healing, the Post Ranch inn is its lap of opulence. The luxury 30-room, architectural tribute comprising ocean, coast, mountain, tree and butterfly houses, is a slice of heaven—and breathtaking luxury. Environmentally sensitive and completely in keeping with its natural, tranquil setting the inn includes king size beds, fireplaces, private decks, massage tables, spa baths, stereo systems, complimentary mini-bars – all first class amenities with panoramic ocean or mountain views. Sierra Mar Restaurant, a glass structure, features regional Californian cuisine complemented by a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list. The menu for the four-course prix fixe dinners changes nightly. There is a heated swimming pool and a basking pool. Activities include nature hikes, massage, yoga, star-gazing lectures and wine tastings. As if carved into the mountains by a deity, the Post Ranch Inn is built with reclaimed wood, glass, steel and stone—”organic architecture.” Architect Mickey Muenning, who built the hotel in the eighties, had a vision of “luxury, sustainability, and natural beauty.” From the moment you enter the grounds, there is a timeless collision of respect for the land and and pure relaxed luxury: Guests are chauffeured in a Lexus Hybrid, the landscaping uses native plants and is drought-resistant, the cleaning system is biodegradable, and the grounds provide a habitat sanctuary for the endangered Smith’s Blue Butterfly, California Red-Legged Frog, Western Pond Turtle and California Condor.

Just down the road is the fashionable—and cheaper— Ventana Inn & Spa. Meandering over 243 acres of wooded hillside, 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean on the Big Sur coast, Ventana Inn & Spa is quiet, secluded and beautiful. The Inn provides a peaceful and soothing atmosphere enhanced by its proximity to the area’s natural wonders. The spa is world-class: it embraces the magical essence of Big Sur through the use of nature’s healing gifts. Choose from a variety of massages in the privacy of your room, on your deck or in our spa, either by yourself or with your partner. Take the opportunity to lose yourself in the fragrance of wild mountain lavender and other natural botanical essences. Practitioners are dedicated to providing a sensory experience that offers relaxation and connection where one can find inner peace and sanctity.

But don’t skip town before dropping in on the Henry Miller library/museum. The grounds are free and funky, a real Bohemian vibe high-lighted by a ping pong table, outdoor chairs, and flower-garden of immense hue-bearing— maybe if you are lucky you’ll even see Neil Young, Henry Rollins, Patti Smith or members of The Grateful Dead playing an impromptu concert or reading poetry on the garden stage. Up the steps and into the house once owned and occupied by Henry’s dear friend, groundskeeper Emil White, who inherited the property after Miller’s death in June, 1981, lies a rustic cabin with a treasure trove of the author’s finest pulp, non-fiction, biographies, letters and out of print books. You can find rare editions and various paperback incarnations of Tropic of Cancer (a first edition, which back in the 40s had to be smuggled into America in hollowed out Bibles because the book was banned for its lascivious nature, often times pops up for sale), Tropic of Capricorn, Nexus, Sexus & Plexus (The Rosy Crucifixion), The Air Conditioned Nightmare, Big Sur and the Orange Blossoms of Hieronymus Bosch; you might even find a coveted edition of the notorious Opus Pistorum, re-released as Under the Rooftops of Paris. In addition to books, there are rare watercolor paintings by Miller, recordings and magazine articles. Like all of Big Sur, the lazy, serene days go by deceptively fast on the grounds and before you know it the sky has darkened and the barking seals can be heard from the nearby beach. But before you leave, don’t forget to check out the restrooms. They are showpieces in and of themselves, festooned with authentic hand-scribbled notes and other eccentric photos and artifacts.

Time to head back to real life: Don’t split before you grab a blue crab avocado eggs benedict and freshly squeezed bloody mary while enjoying one of the top 10 views on earth, at Cafe Kevah. Zen ambience has never been more grandiose.