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 Feeling the travel pinch? Puerto Peñasco is close to home but a world away when it comes to solitude and serenity. With gas at $4 a gallon, a new word should be added to our lexicon: “stay-cation.” Families are making vacation plans closer to home and setting driving limits to destinations no farther away than a couple tanks of gas. With that in mind, let me introduce you to Puerto Peñasco, a Mexican seaside village with one of the best golf courses I’ve played and, depending on what you drive, two tanks of gas should get you there. Puerto Peñasco (puerto-penasco.com), also known as Rocky Point, is 60 miles from the Arizona border and about 200 miles from Phoenix and Tucson. Tourism growth is expected to explode, but the locals think it already has. In less than eight years, a half-dozen high-rise condominiums have sprouted on Sandy Beach about five miles from the center of town. Later this year, a new highway will open that will trim about 100 miles off the trip, and a new airport is scheduled to open next April. Think of Puerto Peñasco as Cabo San Lucas before it became overdeveloped and expensive. I must admit that when I was single, Cabo rocked. But I’m married now with two young children. There’s not much nightlife in Puerto Peñasco, but there’s good food and nice restaurants, and the condos for rent are so fully appointed that we bought fresh seafood off the boats by day and cooked in at night. We stayed at Las Palomas Beach and Golf Resort, the biggest project on the beach that will have a dozen high-rise buildings when completed. For $175 a night we rented a one-bedroom condo with a shaded patio facing the pool complex and ocean. There was a stocked granite kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, washer and dryer, two big screen TVs and high-speed Internet service. The complex has two nice restaurants, but once we discovered we could buy shrimp the size of my fist for $6 a pound, why go out? Each floor of the complex has numerous built-in barbeques, and I never got tired of “shrimp on the barbie” washed down with tequila and Coke.  The kids couldn’t get enough of the pool complex with its four hot tubs, children’s pool, swim-up bar and “lazy river” that had just enough current to keep you moving on an inner tube or other floating device. The kids’ daily walk on the beach produced buckets of shells and lots of hermit crabs they tearfully said goodbye to when we let them go. My 8-year-old daughter, JoyAnne, was the center of attention at school when she got back from spring break with blond braids tied by women on the beach for $15. The best part for golfers staying at Las Palomas is that the first tee of the Links at Las Palomas (lplgc.com) is about a driver and wedge from all four buildings. Ron Castillo, the general manager and head professional at the course, calls it his “dream job.” From moving dirt to laying sod, Castillo was involved in all aspects of getting the Links at Los Palomas ready for its opening date in 2006. Laid out by the sea, it plays like a true links course with shots that can run up to the green from the fairway. The sound of seagulls, the ocean air and the ability to walk back to my condo in bare feet on the sand made it a great day. And it’s a bargain for resort guests, with green fees at $60 during the week and $75 on weekends. The golf course I’ll remember most, however, is the Peninsula de Cortés at the Mayan Resort, 30 minutes east of Puerto Peñasco. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the oceanfront layout will challenge your game and stimulate your senses. Nestled between the Sea of Cortez and an estuary that starts out dry in the morning but fills with water during the day, your mind can’t help but wander as you drink in the sapphire blue beauty that surrounds you. I’ve visited places during my travels that weren’t popular tourist destinations at the time but became so after word got out about their charms, such as Cabo San Lucas and Negril, Jamaica. I predict Puerto Peñasco will grow to the point that those of you who also visit now will someday say: “I remember when it was just a sleepy little fishing village …” SG Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
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