It is situated near the town of Tulum, which is built near the Tulum ruins, one of the only Mayan sites located next to the sea. I was literally just up the street from the entrance to Sian Ka’an, which was totally worth a day trip all the way down to Punta Allen. Another day, I took a day trip to drive out to Chichen Itza, which is so amazing it is truly beyond description. I enjoyed my first week at Cabañas Copal so much, I extended my stay for a second week. It really was that good!

The staff is very friendly and helpful, yet not intrusive. Alejandro at the front desk helped me figure out places to go visit in the area. Jose was really nice to talk to, with a calm gentle spirit. The restaurant and bar staff were polite and friendly. I ate ceviche on the beach every day for lunch. It is absolutely incredible! I really enjoyed how Luis added some special touches in the rooms each day with the towel arrangements. Every encounter with the staff was pleasant and professional.

Maya Spa is full-service and very high quality. Flavio gave me the most amazing deep tissue massage I have ever had in my life. It was so good I returned for a neck and back massage before I departed. After a strange leg muscle injury from a day of snorkeling, I returned for a Swedish massage from another masseur, whose name I don’t recall at the moment. It was incredible and completely relieved my discomfort. I also took in an aloe wrap from Edith to help my well-worn skin cool off a bit before I returned home.

I would highly recommend going to a Temazcal when you visit. It is a Mayan sweat lodge, and there is one right there at Copal. I can honestly say I had a life changing experience at the Temazcal. It is a ritual of renewal and rebirth. I came to Copal to close a very painful chapter of my life and start a new one. The Temazcal provided the perfect rite of passage.

The clientele is very relaxed. If you’re looking for a raging party, this is not the place to go. The focus here is on tranquility, intimacy and spirituality. Most of the people who come here mostly keep to themselves while being polite and friendly to other guests. The domestic and international guests at Copal when I was there included honeymooners, happy singles, retired couples, all sexual orientations, and young families with very well-behaved children thanks to their very active, involved parents. I made many new friends among the guests at Copal.

I rented a car during my stay, which allowed me to head out to visit Tulum Pueblo and Ruins, Coba, Chichen Itza, Sian Ka’an, Playa del Carmen and several nearby cenotes. For my next trip, I will likely just take the bus down to Tulum Pueblo and then a taxi to Copal. There is a shop just down the street that rents mopeds, bicycles and snorkel gear, so most of my needs for transportation and equipment could be met right there. If I need a car, I would just rent one for the day right there at Copal. It’s also very easy to get a taxi to get you around if you don’t want to bike or drive a moped.

The beach was very nice. There are about 10 palapas and a range of furniture to relax and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean atmosphere. Every morning, I got up at sunrise (amazing to watch here) to go swim in the sea. Then in the evening, I returned to swim at sunrise. On the nights the moon lit up the sky, I enjoyed a night swim. On nights without moonlight, I reclined on one of the beach chairs to gaze at the beautiful bright stars. The sand is white and powdery. There are some rocks along the cliffs below Azulik. This end of the beach was sandy when I arrived, but storms out at sea churned up waves that stripped away the sand. It’s a natural beach, so it started to wash back ashore by the time I left.

With the exception of the reception area and restaurant (which are located along the main road through Tulum Playa), the entire resort is clothing optional. It’s a very comfortable option, though. People do as they choose. It’s very relaxed, non-threatening and not sexually charged whatsoever. If you’ve never tried it, this would be a great place to give it a shot. Just be sure to use extra strong sunblock in areas that have not seen much sun because the sun here is bright and intense! Also, the resort to the north allows nudity on their beach right next to Copal, but you shouldn’t wander too far down that side without at least a sarong or wrap, except maybe at sunrise before people are on the beach. I got the perfect tan and enjoyed the freedom of being naked in the sun, cooling off in the sea as needed. If you are interested in other beaches to explore without clothing, check out Cesiak at Sian Ka’an or El Mirador just south of the ruins. There are no services at these beaches, though, so you’ll need to bring in (and take out) anything you need such as food and water.

Snorkeling naked is something I especially recommend! A few times I found myself surrounded by a large school of fish that seems to live in the area. There were probably 10,000+ fish. If you’re interested in cenotes, be sure to check out the area just offshore Azulik 3 — 5 where cenotes deliver freshwater into the sea. When you’ve found the right spot, you’ll see your vision go blurry. Your eyes are fine. It’s just the mixing of salt water and fresh water you are seeing. It’s pretty cool. You’ll also see many beautiful tropical and marine birds. Copal is in a wild place, literally cut out of and surrounded by the jungle. There are many iguana and geckos around the entire property. A few times I had one or two geckos in my cabana, but they are tiny, gentle creatures that couldn’t possibly cause you harm. Enjoy the closeness to nature at Copal. It will add to your experience.

My cabanas were clean and comfortable. These are cabanas, not hotel rooms, so you’ll have plenty of fresh air, bright light and sounds of nature all around you. One night there was a thunderstorm that passed directly over the resort. It was loud and bright in my cabana for a few hours, but I stayed comfortable and dry. Not a drop came through the thatched roof. The first week I was in #13, an ocean view cabana. The second week I was in #29, a garden view cabana. Each was quite comfortable, though the garden view was a bit more quiet. You’ll be surprised how loud the constant roar of waves on the beach can seem in the wee hours of the morning!

I would advise you to be sure to bring your own beach and bath towels. In addition to towels, you’ll need far more sunscreen than you think. Get plenty before you arrive because it really is very expensive–about 200 pesos–at the local mercados and supers. You’ll also want to bring mosquito spray. It was only a problem around sunset for about an hour or so, when mosquitoes from the jungle move out to swarm. Make sure to close up the mosquito net around your bed before sunset to make sure no unwelcome flying visitors spend the night with you beneath your net. Also watch out for the tabanos, large flies with a yellow back that bite, draw blood and really hurt! They are way more troublesome than the mosquitoes, but also far fewer in number. I brought a big bright flashlight and plenty of batteries. I used it once or twice. If you’re really afraid of the dark, you’ll want one. Once I had been there for a few days, I kind of knew my way around and didn’t use it as much. Candles in the cabanas at night are very relaxing, though I recommend shaving before it gets dark… The tap water at Copal is brackish, a mix of salt and fresh water, so you won’t want to drink it. All the cabanas have 20L jugs of purified fresh water. I would use that to brush my teeth and drink. If you want to be mindful about the impact of plastic on the environment, bring your own water bottle to refill from the bottle in your room. Bottled water is cheap, but plastic is forever. I found I needed far less clothing than I brought. The weather is warm and muggy, so think about staying comfortable in this kind of weather: shorts, flip-flops, shirt always optional… Also, keep in mind that Cabanas Copal is an eco-resort, so all these elements add to the experience of a wonderful vacation that is also friendly to nature. I hope everyone enjoys this special place as much as I did.

This weekend I am moving to a new home in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. I have never lived in this area before, so this evening I was doing some basic Internet research to learn about the history of the neighborhood.

I discovered that in 1849, my neighborhood did not even exist. It was part of Yerba Buena Cove in San Francisco Bay! In between then and the 1906 earthquake, the cove was filled in and developed. The South of Market area was mostly industrial then. The destruction of the 1906 earthquake was only exceeded by the fires that followed. My neighborhood took a direct hit from the tremors and fires; whatever did not fall in the quake burned in the fire.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta quake struck the Bay Area. It was—and still remains—the largest earthquake since 1906. Again, my neighborhood was severely impacted as the nearby Embarcadero Freeway, a double-decker built during the auto expansion of the 1950s, was damaged so badly it had to be destroyed. This resulted in a renaissance for the neighborhood, as the City’s waterfront was again opened up for all to enjoy. After that, a development boom resulted in new residential and commercial development for the neighborhood. We are moving into one of these new residential units in a brand new building that I hope is earthquake-safe, fire-proof and flood-resistant.

Growing up in the Midwest, lightning and thunder were frequent occurrences. The sound of  a storm approaching came up as a low rumble over the horizon, growing louder as it approached. I’ve had many nights’ sleep interrupted by it, to the point it became a soothing, comforting experience. When I moved to California as a teenager, I left that pleasant experience behind along with colorful autumn leaf displays, cold snowy winters, and stormy spring tornado seasons. I’ve always missed the thunderstorms, though.

Last night, we had a nice one pass through the Bay Area. After going to bed around 1 a.m., I was first awakened by the approaching storm around 3:30. By 5:00, I just got up for a while to watch and listen. Around 6:00, I went back to sleep satisfied with the experience. Suddenly, about 8:30, a bright flash and immediate loud explosion rocked my neighborhood, waking me up and sending the cats scurrying beneath the bed. It reminded me of the crescendo of light and sound that happens at the peak of Midwestern storms. It turns it was an exploding transformer, that left part of the city in the dark.

I don’t know why I find the weather so fascinating, but I do. I guess I love the intensity of nature, especially when nobody is being hurt. This afternoon, I found this photo on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website. I’ve never seen a photo like this, of lightning striking into the fog. I guess it’s another only-in-San Francisco thing.

If you want to, you can read the whole story there: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/12/BA0319MAI7.DTL.

Check this out, excerpted from the L.A. Times blogger Pete Thomas:

As Southern Californians continue to deal with fire and smoke, residents and tourists in Baja California Sur are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Jimena, an intense storm that might cause widespread flooding and damage.

The 8 a.m. Monday advisory from the National Hurricane Center positioned the eye of the storm 355 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas. It’s traveling to the northwest with maximum sustained winds of about 145 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane. It will make landfall in the Magdalena Bay area late Tuesday or very early Wednesday.

The government of Mexico has issued a Hurricane Warning for the southern half of the state. That means hurricane conditions are likely within the next 24 hours.

Beachfront hotels are shoring up and fishing fleet crews from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz have been pulling boats from the water or moving them to safer areas. Guests at Rancho Leonero Resort on the East Cape were sent home. Guests at nearby Hotel Punta Colorada were moved to Hotel Palmas de Cortez. Both are Van Wormer Resorts properties.

Tracy Ehrenberg, general manager of Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, said Monday morning that seas were calm and the port was still open. In fact, Pisces has two charters today. Ehrenberg expects the typical chaos in advance of a hurricane — long lines at gas stations, etc. — to ensue throughout the day.

Mark Rayor, who runs Vista Sea Sport in Buena Vista in the East Cape, took delivery of a Cabo 35 fishing boat Friday in La Paz. A day after he drove the boat south to the East Cape, he drove it back to the protected harbor in La Paz. “The people I bought it from told me it was a lucky boat,” he said. “I’m hoping they were right.”

If there’s a silver lining, the region is drought-stricken and parched, and Jimena is already delivering showers. Said Eric Brictson, owner of Gordo Banks Pangas: “It has been a while since we have been hit, so this could be the one one that finally brings some much-needed rainfall.”

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/08/hurricane-jimena-.html

Hubble Telescope Pillars of Creation

I am, admittedly, not much of a scientist. I find the scientific process tedious and uninspiring, in general. I mean, how compelling can forming and testing hypotheses be? Either it works and can be repeated (resulting in scientific fact) or it doesn’t work.

The Hubble Space Telescope, however, is one of those things that has bridged the gap between science and art. Could we have imagined 20 years ago how much we would learn from the images taken by Hubble? Such breathtaking imagery was simply beyond our imaginations. Even those images were potentially compromised when the original mirrors were cut in a way that left the telescope essentially disabled after launch. Later super telescopes have expanded the point-of-view first revealed by Hubble, allowing us to see non-visual spectrums of light revealing even the furthest reaches of the known or imagined universe.

Today, the space shuttle Atlantis launched what is likely to be the last repair mission to Hubble. It’s gyroscopes are not functioning well, leaving it wobbling in place in orbit. Left to the natural course of things, it would soon crash to earth. It will crash to earth someday, but the emotional response triggered by its breathtaking imagery led to an unprecedented demand amongst the public to keep it up there running a while longer.

Space travel is never without risk. This mission is being openly labeled higher-than-usual risk by Mission Control. I hope the brave astronauts complete their mission and return home safely.

H1N1 Virus, public enemy no. 1

We’ve been warned for many years that it would happen. Now, finally, it has. In our modern world, an outbreak of a highly communicable disease in one area often means outbreaks elsewhere will soon follow. For that reason, the CDC and international health organizations have coordinated to spot outbreaks of disease.

I think we felt safe in the U.S. that such an outbreak would happen outside our borders, far away in some poor remote 3rd-world village where people drink unclean water. We were prepared for bird flu flying in from Asia. Ultimately, it was a new bird-swine-human flu virus emerging in our backyard, in the neighboring nation of Mexico. Since hundreds, perhaps thousands, of flights between Mexico and the United States take place every day, the disease quickly jumped the first plane out of Mexico into the United States.

While it seems that the initial outbreak in Mexico caused many deaths, the cases in the United States have been described as more mild than the seasonal flu. This is good news, and the usual course for outbreaks of disease. Viruses want to live, so the best way to do so is to adapt to the conditions of the host in a way that allows the virus and the host to continue living. This less virulent outbreak here and abroad gives scientists time to develop an effective vaccine.

The hysteria that has characterized the past ten days or so was predictable. And really, who wants to catch a disease whose sudden emergence kills so many? The media quickly went into its usual role as death-drum-pounding, sky-is-falling, end-is-here predictor of doom and despair. So it was good to get clear information from our government on what the risk is, how to avoid it, what to do if we get it, and what not to do if we don’t. From a P.R. perspective, Federal officials from President Obama down handled the situation well, with the comedic exception of Vice President Biden’s authentic, unguarded response to Today Show host Matt Lauer’s question.

So some plans will be changed, some lessons will be learned, most of the sick will soon be back in good health, and we will all move on hopefully with a greater understanding that these things can happen even in our own back yard, not just far away places. This too shall pass.

For the past 3 days, San Francisco has been baked by a record heat wave. What that means in real numbers around here is highs of 86° to 93°. As somebody who grew up in the Midwest, this isn’t too impressive. After all, there I endured months of temperatures at least that high, along with unbearable humidity—not to mention the winters. However, San Francisco is a different kind of place.

The real secret to weather in San Francisco is not the temperature, but the wind. Tucked just inside the Golden Gate along California’s Central Coast, San Francisco is surrounded on three sides by water that rarely exceeds 60 degrees. This gives us mild temperatures year round. In the summer, though, the heat inland near Sacramento draws in the cool air from the ocean. All this cool air passes the coast through the Golden Gate resulting in very cold summer sea breezes that keep the City very cool, often just plain cold. We can always tell the tourists in San Francisco during the summer time as they huddle, freezing to death, at the cable car stops in shorts and flip-flops.

What we get in exchange for this cruel meteorological injustice are amazing springs and falls. Even in winter the weather here is often nicer than during the summer, unless it’s raining. (When it rains here, it often REALLY rains.) This week we got our hottest heat wave so far this year. Since our weather here is so mild there are not many air conditioners in San Francisco, so when it gets hot here, it FEELS really hot because there is virtually no where to escape the heat.

Yesterday, my partner and I went on a long walk to enjoy the heat. It turned out to be a bit much for me. I wore SPF48 sunblock, but still got sunburned. About 2/3 of the way through our trip, I had to give up and take the bus home. The sun had been too much for too long. My head was pounding, and I started feeling nauseous. I felt a little embarrassed, but then I realized that spending 6 hours out in 96° heat was likely to make most people suffer. We returned home to a baking hot apartment that offered no respite. The wind we curse most days of the year had let us down.

For what it’s worth, the record heat and lack of our usual sea breeze offered a rare opportunity to comfortably walk across the Golden Gate Bridge wearing shorts and t-shirt. Usually, this would be a miserably cold experience. The last time I went across the bridge on foot was August 3, 2008, running the San Francisco Marathon. It was 58°, foggy, windy and very cold. This time, it was so hot we had to stop to take shelter in the shade of the bridge tower. I suppose it will be a long time before that happens again, so it seemed worth documenting with a photo.

Susan Boyle’s amazing debut on Britain’s Got Talent

Once in a while someone comes along who challenges everything we believe about each other. In doing so, they challenge what we believe about ourselves. This performance by Susan Boyle, a never-married, middle-aged woman who sings at church and lives alone with her cat in Scotland, cuts through all our mental clutter. Everyone I know who has seen this—and it seems EVERYBODY has by now—has been deeply touched by her performance.

Authenticity is in such short supply in our world today. This performance reminds us all of the simple truth that beauty always comes first from inside. In a media-saturated world, particularly the reality TV genre, we are used to seeing mediocre talent performing simply for the sake of becoming famous. Fame, as an end in-and-of-itself, is such a shallow pursuit. We’ve seen so many of our young, “beautiful” stars fall, tragically, unable to handle the spotlight when it revealed the inner weakness their outer beauty disguised.

Susan Boyle turns it all inside out by coming out on stage in the most unassuming way. We are prepared to laugh her off, kick her into the comic side-show category along with other has-beens who never should have made the show. Then, unexpectedly, she begins to sing, pitch-perfect, immediately evoking an emotional response from all who hear.

Anyway, my enthusiasm is sincere. Like so many millions of others, I was moved to tears hearing her angelic singing and watching her amazing performance. It’s rare to see a real talent that has been overlooked, likely pushed aside, take its place in front of us and touch our souls. Here’s to you, Susan Boyle! I wish you ever success in your new music career. Thank you for revealing to the world the unparalleled beauty of simple authenticity.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well that I absolutely love San Francisco. There are so many amazing things to see and do here. For the most part, visitors tend to stay close to tourist attractions on the east side of town. I prefer the west side of town, especially Golden Gate Park with its museums, lakes, running paths and buffalo. Yes, I really did just say there are buffalo in San Francisco!

In 1989, the largest earthquake since the 1906 quake struck during rush hour. Fortunately, due to the World Series game taking place between the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, traffic was lighter than expected resulting in far fewer deaths than would have occurred otherwise as freeways and bridges around the Bay Area crumbled.

Less famously, some of San Francisco’s world-class cultural institutions also suffered severe damage that ultimately required them to be replaced. In Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences and the DeYoung Museum were both severely damaged. In recent years, each has rebuilt and opened beautiful new facilities. I took this picture from the tower of the DeYoung, facing south toward the Academy. The campus of University of California at San Francisco is on the hill behind the Academy on the edge of Mount Davidson, the highest of San Francisco’s famous hills. On a lower hill behind Mount Davidson rises Sutro Tower. Originally built to support the war effort in the Pacific during World War II, Sutro Tower now beams radio, television and cell phone signals to the Bay Area, and satellite signals to the world beyond.

This picture was taken on August 2, 2008. San Francisco is famous for its cold, foggy summers. This August day was a beautiful exception to that rule; an example of why I love living here year round.

On September 11, 2001, I remember being acutely aware as events unfolded that the world had changed. History had been made and nothing would ever be the same again.

On November 4, 2008, a new moment in history was marked as the United States elected its first African-American president. What a proud moment for our nation! And what a contrast of hope compared to the terrorist attacks which were the harbinger of fear.

Today, we proudly inaugurate Barack Hussein Obama the 44th President of the United States of America. I am supremely proud to be an American today. I truly believe President Obama is the right man at the right time.

Today we raise our heads a little higher thanks to the audacity of hope.