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The sea retreated as she broke the grip of the tumbling waters. Soft swells revealed an ever-lengthening expanse of smooth, mocha-colored skin. Warm rivulets of salty water ran down her from long wavy auburn hair. She had been swimming hard against the retreating tide. The breeze rustling the palm fronds she watched along the beach felt like the gentle breath of angels.

“Here’s an Agua de Pipa with ice”, I offered.

“Just what I need. I’m parched”, she quickly responded as I held out the dark brown ball that was a chilled, wet coconut.

A hole had been sliced into its top to admit a long yellow straw. She sipped for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to her salt-cracked throat, the sweetness contrasting the Pacific’s salt. Whirling abruptly, she dropped into the blue wooden lounge chair next to me, throwing a cartoon character towel across her dripping torso. Her feet buried themselves in the moist, warm sand. Shade from the blue and white canvas beach umbrella blocked the late morning Acapulco sun. Raggedly clad vendors plodded their way along the beach hawking chili-powder-sprinkled mangoes, cheese-filled roast platano slathered with sweet cream, and clear plastic bags of brightly-colored soft drinks. Straws protruded from their twist-tied tops.

“Would you like a nice, relaxing neck and back massage?”

Looking up, the face of a middle-aged black woman appeared. Her sun-bleached brown and black hair in neatly-done dreadlocks. “Only 10 pesos to do your head and neck.” Stepping behind me she began to massage my neck and shoulders briskly. The scent of perfumed coconut oil adding to the sensation. “A full body massage is only 50 pesos”, she added.

Much drier now from the sun, heat and towel, my wife chimed in, “Go ahead and get one. I’ll treat you for Father’s Day.”

Together they made me an offer I didn’t refuse. The Rasta woman spread our large cartoon character towel on the crystal sand. I prostrated myself on its moistness and in moments began to drift wonderfully away to the sensation of a thousand magic fingers on my sun-tanned skin and the aroma of perfumed coconut oil.
Getting to Acapulco

Getting to Acapulco is pretty simple; from Mexico City, it’s a six-hour, 230-peso bus ride from the South Terminal (Terminal Sur - metro stop: Tasque

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17. Mexico’s best place for a delicious nap - The beaches at the Si’aan Kaan Biosphere offer white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water. This nature preserve, located on the Yucatan peninsula-just outside Tulum-is also home to iguanas and exotic sea birds. Chances are, it’ll just be you, a good book and the animals here. Should you nod off, the only thing likely to wake you will be the roar of the surf.

18. Nicaragua’s best sunset views - Rancho Santana, a 1,700-acre reserve along the southern coast of Nicaragua, consists of two miles of coastline and three secluded beaches: Playa Rosada (Rose Beach), Playa Dorada (Golden Beach) and Playa Escondida (Hidden Beach). Set on a hillside, the reserve affords spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to leave after sunbathing-sunset here is unbelievably beautiful.

19. Panama’s shimmering secret - Less than 25 miles from Panama City, Contadora Island boasts white-sand beaches, clear turquoise water, hidden coves and wildlife viewing. The beaches here are far less crowded than at the country’s tourist resort areas. However, for a truly private experience, you can visit the beaches of other islands by boat or jet ski.

20. Argentina’s best chill-out session - The Atlantic Coast of Argentina-just 200 miles from Buenos Aires-offers beautiful scenery, numerous sports activities, as well as a fair amount of solitude. The beaches in the small resort town of Pinamar are pristine and comparatively uncrowded. Located adjacent to a natural pine forest, this area is one of the most beautiful in the country. What’s more, the seafood restaurants here are excellent.

21. Brazil’s best place for gliders and voyeurs - S

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The huge monolith known as Uluru - formerly Ayer’s Rock - remains one of Australia’s most mysterious and beautiful natural features. Rising more than 1,000 feet above the flat red center of the continent, “The Rock” is eight miles in circumference and honeycombed with caves, displaying Aboriginal wall art. Uluru once stood at the bottom of an inland ocean, and is a spectacular sight as it changes color through the day. The sandstone it is composed of contains many minerals like feldspar which reflect shades from deep red to violet, according to the angle of the sun.

However, while Uluru is probably the most famous Australian geological wonder, it is certainly not the only one. The amazing Bungle Bungles in Western Australia are huge pillars of sandstone that look like ancient ziggurats. But nature, not man, made these orange and black striped monoliths, situated in Purnululu National Park. The black stripes are caused by lichens growing on the orange sandstone. Known to Aborigines for centuries, it remained a secret to the rest of the world until the 1980s, when the stunning rock formation was spotted from the air.

The Devil’s Marbles in the Northern territory are another example of Australia’s geological diversity. The “marbles” are huge roughly hewn ovoid boulders piled on top of one another, some seemingly defying gravity, poised like eggs balancing on end. Made of coarse granite, the marbles have gained their shape by constant weathering.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the few geological wonders that can be seen from space. A spectacular 161 square miles of coral reef, it stretches from New Guinea down the Queensland Coast. Dotted with coral islands, the reef is the largest structure ever built by living creatures. These tiny polyps leave their skeletal remains behind, forming stretches of coral reef.

Nullabor means, literally, no trees, and the Nullabor Plain between Adelaide in South Australia and Perth in Western Australia lives up to its name. It is a vast 155,000 mile flat desert that drops with frightening suddenness into the Great Southern Ocean. There are no towns or permanent habitations on the Nullabor Plain - and definitely no trees.

Wave Rock is a stunning formation in Western Australia that looks like a breaking wave on land. The smooth curve of the rock was believed to be caused by water erosion. Around 500 million years old, the wave shape was formed by granite flowing in molten form.

For more information about travel (airfares, hotels, car rentals, vacations, cruises, etc) to Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Cairns and Brisbane, please visit http://www.icheapairfares.com/Australia-Airfares.htm

For more information about travel (airfares, hotels, car rentals, vacations, cruises, etc) to Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Cairns and Brisbane, please visit http://www.icheapairfares.com/Australia-Airfares.htm

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