Travel USA: Slow day in Big Sur – magic moments

Some places remind me of paradise, I have to admit I like most places I travel to. Aren’t you the same? A long time ago, long as in over a decade (and more) I went to Big Sur and loved it. I always hoped to go back one day, but so many other trips came in the way. But now it felt just about the right time to go again. Big Sur on Highway 1 is on California’s Central coast at the Pacific Ocean

The coast strip of Big Sur is idyllic and pretty wild at the same time. Waves are crashing heavily onto grey granite while the colourful flowers standing at the wayside remind me of an English country garden. Driving along Highway 1 is easy since there is hardly any traffic at all. I make a longer stop at Bixby Bridge to take a few snaps, go for a little walk into the canyon, and to simply marvel at the scenery. There is a massive drought going on, all fields are beige, but in contrast the canyons are all lush and green. I look at the sheer vastness of the more than thousands miles of blue ocean and true, I am easy to please, I feel a deep happiness.  



Henry Millers Library 


As I drive further down the highway I discover that the Henry Millers Library is (unsurprisingly) still in the exact spot under the big old trees. There is a cat laying in the front and the furry fella adds to the romantic atmosphere of the place. Have you read Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch? I have a proper look around while a Lady asks for Wi-Fi

The guy running the store seems very amused and lets her know that the internet connection is probably slower than snail mail in this place. The early afternoon sun comes through the windows, the rays tint the library in a very light orange, and who needs internet right now? 




Nepenthe Restaurant and McWay Falls waterfall


Before I become too nostalgic I leave the library and head further down Highway 1 to drink a coffee at Café Kevah. Ordering at the counter of the make shift Café on the terrace on the lower deck of Nepenthe Restaurant I decide that an apple cinnamon muffin would make my already perfect day even sweeter. There I am, again looking at the massive ocean. The feathers of the stellar jays, swooping down to steel some left behind cake from fellow customers, have the same deep blue as the water. To the left, next to the road, are rows of green-beige hills under the sunny sky. Someone tells me that I really need to go and see the McWay Falls waterfall in the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. 

New world vultures


I wanted this to be a slow day, where I don’t do much, and a browse in the late afternoon is just the thing to do. The guy who send me on this walk along a dirt track was right to do so, never before have I seen a waterfall plunging onto a cove by the ocean. This magical place is beyond beautiful. I spot some Californian condors, they are new world vultures, circling over the trees, their head is bold, and red. They seem to feed their chicks. As I said right in the beginning, some places remind me of paradise. 




Info Big Sur


Henry Miller Memorial Library 48603 California 1, Big Sur, CA 93920.
Nepenthe Café Kevah 48510 California 1, Big Sur, CA 93920.

Have you been to a magic place recently? What did you like best in Big Sur? I would love to hear from you and thank you so much in advance. 

From Berlin with love