New VIP Community Contributors Announced!

[curtiejoe]

kyshel wrote:
Curt and Bonnie--this article just popped up on an email from Frommer's Budget Travel. I was a bit surprised--for the limited time it's available, it's a great value. The perks added in the LL pkg seem to be nice upgrades.

http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt...src=newsletter

Hi kyshel



I had a look at the Budget Travel Online weblink you provided and saw that both the Ka'ana Resort and the Machaca Hill Lodge were featured. The latter is offered at an amazing $90/night and looks to be every bit as luxurious and exotic as the one we discussed earlier. IAnytime the Machaca property comes up for auction or sale on LL, it would be a fabulous property to bid or buy if you're interested in an amazing vacation in Belize. Thanx for the tip! Cheers,



Curt

[curtiejoe]

bonniejoy03 wrote:

Hi CurtieJoe. We are planning to go to Ka'ana in 2008. We have heard very nice things about the property. This will be our 3rd trip to Belize though we have never been to this region. We also plan to visit Guatemala; Tikal, Antigua and Lake Peten. This region is quite lovely and not as touristy as the beach properties. Will keep you informed as I finishe the planning. Thanks for asking!

Hi bonniejoy



Belize must be a wonderful country to vacation in, as you've already been there twice before. Though my wife and I have never been there, we do like Central America and the Caribbean islands a whole lot. We spent a wonderful time in Costa Rica last November at a fabulous resort on the noth-west coast in Guanacaste Region near Liberia. One of our very favourite Caribbean destinations is Cuba. We've visited there three times over the past six years and thoroughly enjoyed each stay, be it along the magnificent white sand beaches and crystal green waters of Cayo Guillermooff the north-central coast or along the craggy southern coastlineabout 70 mileswest of Guantanamo Bay and about a half-hour drive from Cuba's second largest city Santiago.

Looks like you too enjoy the same sorts of lacales since you plan to travel to Antigua and Guatemala. I look forward to seeing your posts about those exotic places in the future.



Curt





Message Edited by curtiejoe on 08-07-2007 03:11 PM

Message Edited by curtiejoe on 08-07-2007 03:12 PM

[bonniejoy03]

Great reviw on Cuba Curtie Joe! Thanks. We have never visited there. I think it would be difficult to compare the Caribbean waters with Central American waters. Typically the places we stay in CA are on the Pacific Coast. The beaches tend to be a little darker sand than Cuba and Caribbean. We love it though. And great news, our January trip is almost ready. We won the auction to Ka'ana Boutique Resort. We are going to incorporate this with a trip to Guatemala. Yeah. Can't wait!

[curtiejoe]

Hi bonniejoy



Congratulations on winning the Ka'ana auction! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time in Belize as well as Guatemala when you head to central America for a vacation. I know just what you mean about the beaches down there on the Pacific side: at our resort in Costa Rica last November we too found the sand along the shore to be quite dark, almost black in some areas. We were told by the local folk that this is due to the volcanic origin of most of the soils along the west coast of their country. At first, the dark sand threw us off a bit, as we're used to the sugar white sand beaches of northern Cuba, Florida and Turks & Caicos. But, after a day or so, the dark hues were actually quite intriguing, as the black shades seemed to vary in intensity with the angle and brightness of the sub-tropical sun above. This phenomenon actually added to our enjoyment of the Costa Rican resort we were staying at not far from Liberia in the Ganacaste region.



Curt

[kyshel]

Curt--did you stay at the Occidental Grand? If so, I'd like to know more about it--we had to stay at the family one (Allegro) with the kids but it was their first trip to CR. They would have never known the difference. They ate everything in sight and drank most of the pool and all the sodas in the country! Still talking about the ziplines at Witches Rock, too. The dark sand was startling--almost like the beaches were dirty, but we ended up liking the cool look when it was wet. And, of course, the monkeys and dolphins!
I like the quick airport service and car rental in Liberia to get to the resorts easily.

[curtiejoe]

Hi kyshel



We spent a wonderful week at the Occidental Grand Papagayo. It was fabulous! Set high on a hilltop overlooking a lovely bayand the Pacific Ocean. The accomodations were elegant with a wide array of amenities on-site, including an outdoor spa, two specialty restaurants as well as an amazing buffet restaurant (the food at all three was consistently superb and varied) with white linen tablecloths and some of the friendliest and most attentive servers I've ever come across.







We stayed in one of the sumptuous Deluxe Oceanview rooms high on one of the hills on the property. It had a covered verandah in front where we sat in lounge chairs and sipped cool drinks while watching colourful tropical birds and lively little monkeys dart from one tree branch to another. We also had a wonderful vantage point from which to watch the setting sun each evening. Very romantic!

From the resort, we ventured abroadon escorted excursions to: the active volcano Arenal and its amazingly beautifulhot springs set amidst a tropicalrainforest; to Rincon de la Vieja, a dormant volcano at the base of which we too zoomed through the rainforest canopy on ziplines; to three secluded beaches for beach-combing for shells, and snorkeling amongst tropical fish and coral reefs. Awesome! It was truly a remarkable vacation that we'll remember forever.



Curt


Message Edited by curtiejoe on 08-08-2007 09:01 PM

Message Edited by curtiejoe on 08-08-2007 09:03 PM

[Mountie]

LL_Moderator_ks, I was just checking to see if the list has been posted for 3rd Qtr VIP Community Contributors. Thank you.