CalActive.com Activities Blog

Went to the Mayan Riviera recently in search of paradise. Cancun wasn’t the destination. Nor was Playa Del Carmen. I was going further south to Tulum, home of eco-chic resorts, and an oceanfront Mayan ruin. Sounded good to me. Flew into Cancun with my daughter, who was on Spring break from Paris. Had never been to Cancun, but kinda knew what to expect; ginormous resorts side by side, all-inclusive, ensuring the traveler the most inauthentic Mexican holiday imaginable. But more on that later.

We got the car and drove south through Playa del Carmen, rumored to have one time been cool. Gooch little beachside Italian clubs and restaurants (’course if I want to see Italians I’ll go to Italy). I’m sorry to report it is Cancun’s little brother Shit Howdy! Slightly more chill, but still one big tourist trap. The de riguer pedestrian walkway is now flooded with inauthentic jewelry, $120 bikinis, sunglass hut after sunglass hut, and the requisite Senor Frogs - and Starbucks. Everything you need for a drunken Spring Break.

So Tulum it was, one long line of eco-chic resorts nestled in the jungle, replete with charming casitas on the beach, open air restaurants, and the requisite hip “Mayan” spas. Much more authentic. No AC. No swimming pools. Just the shimmering Caribbean and her silky sand. And the almighty dollar! Who would of thought that eco-chic was really a way of saying “triple the price of the real Mexico.” Sure, the resorts were spotless with exemplary maid service. Paths were cleared, windows rid of sea salt each and everyday, beds made. But still they were primitive casitas with palapa roofs. The charm was in the rustic appointments, the sea breeze instead of air conditioning. But $325 a night at the Cabanas Capal? For studio Cabanas on a windswept rock ledge where there was no beach?

Cabanas Copal Muy Caro

And the bargain price of $95 for their “garden” cabana? Some garden. A tiny dark room with no windows, surrounded by a thicket of jungle where the air doesn’t circulate? Sure, it would be charming and romantic to go without electricity if there was a breeze. But this was March, the wind was howling non-stop just 20 yards away, but the “charming” jungle had not been thinned and I sweltered like a Vietnam POW. I might even vote for McCain now.

No Electricity

At least get us an overnight fan! And the spas? I thought massages in Mexico were in the $20-30/hr range. But apparently nobody told these folks. Lowest price at any spa I saw was $70/hr. Eco-chic indeed.

Despite the gauging, the coast is lovely, the water an amazing turquoise, and the setting incomparable. When we were there the wind was pretty much constant and the water extremely choppy. We’re told this is common. It makes for great kite surfing, but ocean swimming and snorkeling is another story. And of course there are no waves for surfing of body boarding. I have to say one of the most interesting parts of the trip were the cenotes, the system of underground rivers that runs throughout the peninsula. Cenotes are the occasional holes in the ground where these freshwater oasis are found. The water is clear and drinkable, and you can snorkel through underground caves filled with stalacalites. Plus the sun comes underneath and through these caves casting a brilliant cobalt patina on the water. Capri’s Blue Grottos have nothing on this.

The way cool Cenotes

At the end of the trip I crossed to the other (Pacific) Coast of Mexico, where I got back in touch with my inner primitive Mexican soul. Flew to the southern Pacific coastal resort of Huatulco. La Bahias del Hautulco you say? Never heard of it? You will. This is a big time Mexican resort that was built in the 80’s, failed, and is now experiencing a resurgence. But I didn’t come to go there. I went north (or West) to the fishing village of Puerto Angel. Okay, the Pacific side may not have the turquoise water and the lush tropical jungle, but it’s dry and bug free and untouched and real and everything I was looking for. Zipolite is ther hippy beach that time forgot: same palapas on the beach as Tulum - OK maybe a little more rundown with less vigorous trash collection. But rooms for $20, and hammocks for five. A good meal with cervesa for $5. And that beloved massage on the beach for $20. Plus waves - big ones, that require some restraint. Still, El Pacifico is the place for me.

La Boquilla

Looking for something exciting and fun to do at the beach this weekend? Why not meet the Laguna Beach community down at Oak Steet in Laguna Beach for a positive, fun and friendly beach clean up followed by an action packed surfing competition. Want to surf in the competition? Why not, it would be fun. Plus you could win some awesome prizes that have been generously donated from many of our local shops and businesses for this exciting community gathering; a Cordell Surfboard, Victoria Skim Board, Hamboard Fish, Gift Certificates from K’Ya Restaurant, Splashes Restaurant and many more! This is the first surf jam and beach clean up hosted by our friends at Soul Surfing School. All the festivities will start around 7am on Sunday, March 9th, 2008.

For more information, click here.

Hope you can make it!

Thank heavens for all the surfers, beachgoers, environmentalists, and other concerned individuals and organizations for standing up and being counted, for it is thanks to them, the Californian Coastal Act and brilliant organizations such as Surfrider, that Trestles and the San Mateo campground in San Diego county have been saved from destruction by the proposed 241 toll road extension, following what was referred to as a “David vs. Goliath” battle.

According to Surfrider’s Save Trestles website, surfers across the country were asked in a recent poll which surf spot they would most like to have in their own back yard. Over a quarter of those who responded said that they would choose Lower Trestles – just behind Australia’s Snapper Rocks and ahead of such legendary breaks as Pipeline and Macaroni’s. Yip, it’s that good! Check out the Save Trestles blog for all the latest news including a very thoughtprovoking article on the 10 reasons why the Foothill South Toll road extension failed.

Some of you may remember the big swell that came through SoCal last April – here are some snaps that I took, thinking that maybe it would be one of the last chances I would get. I am so very thankful that this is not the case.

Tomorrow, February 6, 2008, The California Coastal Commission will have a hearing for arguments for and against the proposal for a six land toll road that would eliminate 60% of the state park. In 1971, President Ronald Regan set aside this land specifically for recreational use and to be preserved FOREVER!!!

The Coastal Commission hearing is the last chance to stop the Toll Road through San Onofre State Park. Many argue the Toll Road will relieve traffic congestion, the park will continue to operate the same as it does today, there will be no cost to the taxpayer, and this plan is an “environmentally friendly” alternative. Personally, those arguments are BS!! I wonder how a transportation project can be “environmentally friendly” when it’s about to plow through a 16 mile stretch of undeveloped and protected space and degrade all outdoor fun within the park. In a recent poll, San Onofre is a surf spot that most would love to have in their own backyard. We want this land to be preserved forever as open space and for future generations to enjoy it as much as we have.

Surfrider Foundation will be webcasting for those who want to stay updated throughout the day. If you can’t participate in the day’s events, you can take action by sending a letter to the Commissioners asking them to Save Trestles and San Onofre by clicking here. Your voice counts!

SAVE TRESTLES!!

The transfixion of animation on the plastic is a worldwide phenomenon, and its consistent manifestation in the form of a dimunitive person brings up several social and psychological issues that must be adressed. The Plastic Gnome, often of the garden variety, maintains a ubiquitous presence across lawns and wholesaler shelves throughout civilization. These small plastic ‘persons’ (members/contributors of moral communities) coldly monitor our every moves; But why? Why do we subject our selves to the presence of these distorted human reflections? How, in fact, do they function?

The answer is complex and by no means conclusive. The human condition is ripe with frontiers where the imagined bleeds into the physical, to the point where it stradles two worlds at the same time. Gnomes exist at the point where the imagined is so powerful that it demands our desire for tangibility. Gnomes reflect our need to build social human communities, with controls. They look like us, yet their dimunitive stature prevents ambiguity within our sense of what constitutes the human, and does not pose a physical challenge to existing human relationships. Their resemblence to the elderly father figure does not threaten our sexuality(reproduction) and represents selfless guiding and nurturing for the future. It is no accident that they watch over gardens and lawns, protecting and promoting safety and sustenence. There accessability allows everyone to create their own secure yet disposable world.

Recently, the Gnome phenomenon has taken a new and dramatic step. Their is now sufficient evidence to suggest that human gratitude for the imagined is being displaced on the Gnome. Owners of gnomes are including their plastic figuriens in family and social activities. Inclusion of the imagined into activities of the real shows an evolution for our desire to build lasting human relationships, even when they definitively cannot exist outside of dillusion. Gnomes are travelling, learning new skills, even participating in exciting activities as exotic as surfing. The Human ‘G’nome Project will continue researching this untracked academia-stay blogged for further updates.

How many waves must a man surf down, before you can call him a man.  The answer my friend, is blowin in the wind, the answer is blowin in the wind.  offshore wind. Straight offshore wind. Howling. Burning. Blowing mini emerald tubers straight out the back. Maybe too small. I’m going kayaking. 

Last year, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to learn to surf.
This year, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to continue learning to surf…

Whilst I did at last make a start on making good on my 2007 resolution, going so far as to pay for a surfing lesson last year and even splashing out by treating myself to one of those very attractive blue Costco softboards, I am, in all honesty, no more a surfer today than I was at the beginning of last year. So I am determined to really make it happen in 2008.

Some (but by no means all) of the reasons why I’m going to learn to surf this year:
1) I live and work in Laguna Beach, with the beautiful Pacific Ocean almost on my doorstep, so really have no excuse not to
2) My husband bought a board at the same time as me last year and he has become much better than me - this will not do
3) I have always loved being in/on the ocean and this is just one more way of getting into/onto it
4) One of my colleagues is an actual, proper, real-life surfer dude and I am hopeful that if I bribe him with enough food (perhaps even leaving a trail of bagels leading down to the water’s edge?), he will succumb to joining me in the water on the occasional lunch break to give me a bit of coaching and helpful hints
5) I want to learn to speak the lingo so that I can understand what said-colleague is talking about when he goes off into a diatribe speaking Surf
6) A whole bunch of my buddies back in South Africa are surfers, and I would love to see their faces when I do my thang on the waves next time I am back home
7) Surfing = cool

So, I shall be using this blog to share my surfing pleasure and pain over the next few months. I can’t wait to get in the water! Just as soon as it warms up a teeny bit more….

another great day for surfing in laguna