Esalen

Today I woke up at 2am to take a bath. Normally that’d be a strange thing to do, and even more strange to write about. But it’s notable because I’m currently staying at the Esalen Institute which is famous-ish for many things including their natural hot springs.

This is my second time visiting Esalen (my wife has come here a few more times on her own) and it’s possibly my favourite place in the whole world. That comes as a bit of a surprise to me, given that spirituality and mindfulness have never really been my scene. But this place is nevertheless very special, and if you ever have the opportunity to visit you absolutely should.

We were able to come this weekend because my sister-in-law is visiting us with her family and they offered to look after our son for the weekend. It’s the first time Maria and I have been able to get away on our own since becoming parents, and I’m extremely thankful to have this brief moment of time to ourselves.

Maria is doing a workshop all weekend while I’m on a “self-guided” track. Since meditation and such aren’t really my thing (I wish it did work for me, I’ve certainly tried), my self-guided approach is mostly wandering the grounds, enjoying the crashing waves of Big Sur, and spending as much time as I can in the hot springs.

We moved to the Central Coast of California about 3 years ago, when we had the opportunity to go permanently-remote during the Covid pandemic. We used to take weekend trips to Carmel and Pebble Beach while we lived in the Bay Area, and it seemed like a great area to move while still making it possible to drive into the Bay Area for work if needed (though it’s definitely not a commute I’d want to make regularly). It has been an amazing experience so far, and a wonderful place to raise a family.

The Central Coast is mostly very empty, espcially south of Carmel. Once you get into Big Sur things get very remote very quickly; and that’s where you’ll find Esalen on a sliver of land between Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean. The difficult terrain on one side and Pacific on the other makes Big Sur an ideal place to see the night sky.

And so, both times that I’ve come here I’ve made a deliberate attempt to get up in the middle of the night and go to the hot springs (which are open 23 hours each day). The hot sprigs are built on top of a cliffside, with the very loud crashing waves just below it. I stayed in one of the solo bathtubs for over two hours, intermittently overflowing the tub with super-hot spring water. It’s a very memorable experience to be here, and I have many reasons to be thankful for it.

If you ever do plan on coming here, be sure to check a moon phase calendar for when the nights will be as dark as possible.