The World Was Here.

There's a cruise ship called "The World" which you may have heard about, and it was here last Wednesday for a quick pit stop before heading to Cabo and destinations unknown. The deal with this ship that's different from others is that rich people buy a condo aboard the ship and come and go as they please while this billionaire's behemoth plies the open seas. I had a friend go aboard for the evening due to a special dinner hosted in part by Thierry Blouet of Cafe des Artistes fame, and she gave me the scoop including the fact that to even gain access to the gang-plank you have to flash a valid passport and plenty of bling.
First of all, just the yearly maintenance fee is $250,000 U.S., so you can imagine the prices of the condos! They are in the multi-millions and for most clients, this is not their only home. There's a "main street" aboard, with a fancy grocery store, a bank, a jewlery store and lots of dining options. You won't find Target or the Golden arches here! A heli-pad makes it convenient for quick departures and there is no end to activities provided while you are aboard (including a casino to gamble away those excess greenbacks. Since most of the passengers are senior citizens, there is also first class medical care and wheel chair access to all corners of the ship.
Well, it's nice to dream for awhile about what it would be like since most of us will never see the inside of a luxury cruiseliner let alone one as opulent as "The World" but we can always hope.

Villa Amor, Surfing and Cheap Beer.

On Saturday, the hubby and I decided to take a little road trip and check out the new highway to the surfer town of Sayulita. The highway WILL be great when it's done, but unfortunately there was still too much construction on the Punta Mita leg to be enjoyable. We did it anyway and I guess it only took us about 15 minutes to get to Sayulita after taking the turn-off onto the new highway, but unless you're into off-road driving conditions, I would stick to the old highway for the time being.

Once we got to Sayulita we parked and hoofed it along the main beach towards the point and a hidden beach known as "Los Muertos" beach, (probably because you have to walk through a cemetery to get there.) As we were heading South, we passed a really nice little hotel called "Villa Amor" overlooking the water. We decided to check it out because it's so appealing and found out the following: "Boutique resort offering 35 rooms and villas each with a spectacular view." Some villas have private plunge pools and they ALL have a GREAT view! It would be an ideal place to spend some time with the honey or celebrate a special occasion. They have everything from a one bedroom with fridge and coffee maker for $85 a nite to the Honeymoon Villa with full kitchen, sitting area, terrace, pool and 360 view to ocean. That suite is a cool $350 a night. Anyway, I'm sending this info because we were so taken with the place and if you want to see more, they have a web site at: www.villaamor.com You just might want to check it out.

So, what about the cheap beer? Well, once we had walked the whole beach and settled down in the shade to watch the surfers, we found a shop selling $7 peso beer which was icy cold and a true bargain which just goes to show you there's something for every budget in Sayulita.