The Big Sur Coast stretches from just south of Carmel down to San Simeon, home of Hearst Castle. Spanish missionaries called the area el pais grande del sur, which means "the big country to the south." In a heavily populated state, Big Sur is stark, remote, and sparsely populated. Here, seals and sea lions may outnumber the humans.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "A Drive on the Wild Side," May/June 1998, National Geographic Traveler magazine)
