enRoute’s Favourite HideawayS

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COSTALEGRE, MEXICO

By Benjamin Leszcz

Sam flies ahead of me, a flash of blond hair, as her Overo horse, Pinto, gallops evenly along the sand. I trail behind, holding on for dear life and bouncing awkwardly along with my horse’s unsettling canter. Our guide, Rafael, waits at the end of the beach near a jagged cliff face; before long, Sam has caught up with him. As I approach the pair, she is standing with her hands on her hips, smirking. “Rough ride there, amigo?” she asks. Rafael smiles. He wraps the frayed reins of our horses around his hands and rides off. On La Soledad beach, flanked by eroding cliffs and lined with thick forest, we’re alone.

After riding under the Mexican sun for an hour, we are thirsty for the ocean. We approach the bamboo mats and umbrella artfully laid out in anticipation of our arrival and shed our sweat-soaked clothes. The oven-hot sand burns our feet and, running into the ocean, I can almost hear the water sizzle. The waves, which were overwhelmingly powerful near our villa, are calm here. We float in the warm, salty water, losing track of time and space.

It’s easy to forget such basic concepts at Las Alamandas, an isolated 14-suite resort about two hours south of Puerto Vallarta along the coast. Here, a mostly unseen staff of 100 seldom offers anything, but cocktails, tortillas and fresh linens seem to materialize at precisely the right moments. Little surprise, then, that just as we start to consider our hunger – and our pruney fingers – a faded white pickup approaches, kicking up a golden cloud of sand behind it. A grinning, boyish-looking man emerges with a cooler containing our lunch: mango and orange, ceviche, bread and ice-cold Coronas with slices of lime.

Eventually, Rafael returns with our horses and we take a different route back, up a dirt-road hill and past a garden dotted with sage, basil and parsley. We pass an orchard where oversize papayas hang on trees beside mangos and passion fruit. (Almost all of the food consumed at Las Alamandas is grown organically onsite; there’s even a chicken pen.) We pass by rabbits, badgers and who knows how many of the resort’s 100-odd species of birds. Instead of turning the land into a golf course as was once planned, owner Isabel Goldsmith-Patiño created a 1,500-acre ecological haven. Her house on the property, a bright pink palace on a nearby mountaintop, is a constant reminder of the benevolent, often-absent queen of Las Alamandas.

When Sam and I, exhausted, return to our room, we cannot rest: We’re late for a side-by-side massage on the beach. “On your feet!” I command Sam, who sprawls on the hammock. But as I move to rouse my weary girlfriend – lying in a turquoise bikini, shoulders sunburned and new freckles everywhere – I pause and then collapse beside her. “Okay,” I sigh. “You win.” For a few minutes, at least, the massage will have to wait.

5 More Reasons to Visit Costalegre and Puerto Vallarta

1 About 40 minutes from Puerto Vallarta, the tiny hotel Casa de Mita is supremely isolated. This eight-room resort feels like the home of a very wealthy (and accommodating) friend.

2 Among the area’s seven golf courses, El Tigre, the par-five 18th at El Tigre Club de Golf, is the toughest hole. At 621 yards, just making par is a feat.

3 The hideaway concept seems incongruous with Mexico’s thousands of hotels and infinite online reviews. Thankfully, Mexico Boutique Hotels has pre-trip concierges and a well-curated collection of the most intimate properties, from El Careyes (with a spa) to the jungle-side Verana (with a tequila menu).

5 There’s more to Puerto Vallarta than The Love Boat.  See its burgeoning arts scene on the Old Town Art Walk on Wednesday nights.

Write to us: letters@enroutemag.net

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