(From the Dept. of Shamless Self-Promotion)
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So a couple
of friends and I are building a resortlet in In no time,
you could be shooing monkeys off the deck of your four-bedroom villa overlooking
the Pacific (complete with broadband, flat screen TVs, little soaps – all that)
. . . bird-watching in a
wildlife refuge less than two miles away . . . riding horseback
to a waterfall, surfing in Manuel
Antonio or snorkeling
through nearby coral reefs, whitewater rafting,
sportfishing,
zip-lining . . .
or just getting a massage out by your
private infinity pool. I can take no credit for the
website. The copy I submitted was deemed “unhelpful” by my partners. (“Zip-lining,”
I wrote, “involves a tremendously
strenuous climb to the canopy of the rain forest, where you are hooked onto a
wire – that could break, for crying
out loud – to ‘zip’ from tree to tree, easy prey for whatever lives up there
that wants to bite you, sting you, or peck yours eyes out.
Are you out of your mind?” This was revised to: “Climb to a height
of over 100 feet with your English-speaking guide and savor the beauty of this
rare and awe-inspiring natural resource, while perched on the canopy of one of
the primary rainforest’s ancient trees. Once you’ve had the time to observe the
rainforest’s exotic birds and wildlife, you’ll fly from treetop to treetop,
adding even more excitement to your adventure!”) But the website
does answer most of the questions you’d be likely to have. And while I’m
not suggesting that a lavish vacation is a good way to enhance your financial security
(didn’t you just resolve yesterday to live beneath your means?) – what if you split the villa two or three or four ways? What if you booked now, at the 33% off “shake-down”
rate? It becomes so cheap that way, it’s almost as if we’re paying you to come. As for the cost
of “getting there,” why, dear reader, do you suppose God invented frequent
flier miles? If you do
check out the website, please don’t be shy about making suggestions or
reporting bugs. We’re in beta.
Happy New Year!
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Andrew Tobias