The design of Villa Estrella is a stunning display of the natural beauty of Mexican architecture.

In the villages of Mexico’s Pacific coast, architecture is closer to the earth. Fences are made of sticks, building is predominantly in wood and adobe (sun-dried mud bricks) and the palapa structure, a simple shelter roofed with a thatch of woven palm fronds, endures in a form little changed since pre-Hispanic times. The isolation of the rural environment has produced a timeless vernacular architecture that…. hardly needs any architects.

Even the powerful Mexica or Aztec Empire, which extended as far west as the Pacific, showed little interest in building along this coast as it did in the Valley of Mexico. Yet we know that Montezuma and other great rulers made regular pilgrimages here in search of sun, sea, and recuperation. Perhaps the extravagant beauty seduced the Mexica visitors into a state of euphoria, reducing their usual ambition to build great monuments in stone to a simple desire to enjoy the seductive surroundings.

Not much has changed. When it comes to building along Mexico’s Pacific coast, a different set of rules applies. The monumental elements so prevalent in most contemporary Mexican architecture – the stone-paved courtyards, massive walls, and formal haciendas are willingly discarded.

In their place is a more dreamlike architecture that has no doors, no windows, and very few walls. Angles are replaced by sensuous curves, edges are more rounded, and furniture is forsaken in favor of built-in benches and beds. The line between inside and outside has disappeared. Nature flows seamlessly, invading the house, drawing the occupants to live at one with the seductive and splendid surroundings. Natural rock and plants give the privacy, abundant flowers decorate the space, stunning views and sunshine infuse the house with glory.

The sounds of nature, the sound of wind swaying the palm fronds, the sound of waves surging on the rocks below, the call of birds all immerse the architecture with a symphony of wonder.

The steady sea breeze, warmed by the sun caresses and soothes the skin. The brilliant sun dances like diamonds on the blue ocean. The thick palapa umbrella cone provides the shelter and cool shade from the blazing merciless sun, an ancient design with venting at the top to let the heat escape. You live under and inside a hand crafted, hand woven masterpiece of natural beautiful palm fronds, thousands of them, woven into a simple structure of rustic poles that soothes the soul with its earthy beautiful hand made honesty.

Only natural materials are used. Leather for the furniture, hand woven fabrics, rustic wood, rough stone walls, palm fronds for the roof, clay tiles, and everywhere the plants. Rich, simple, natural textured materials, glorious coloured blossoms, butterflies, hummingbirds, fireflies.

Villa Estrella is the inheritor of these traditions; the antidote to a modern life of tension, technology, hurry and worry. The villa represents the deep felt desire of man to be at one with his natural surroundings, to live as simply as possible, in tune with the deepest rhythms of nature that make the earth turn.

We live with the cycles of the sun, sunrise, sunset, heat of day, cool of night, stunning brightness, velvet darkness. We live with the cycles of the moon and the tides, that infinite cycle, the rising and falling of the seas, the endless mating of sea and shore. The rhythm of the waves; those long deep swells that surge across the oceans in endless powerful rows, surging forever upon the shores below, a thundering drama of explosions on the beach. The cycle of the winds, that rise during the course of the day, only to die in the evenings. The cycles of the seasons that brings rains. The cycles of the pelicans and frigate birds appearing every day. The cycles of the whales appearing and disappearing every year. The cycles of plants that grow and flower. These are the cycles of nature that ground the spirit, bring us peace, comfort, joy and restore the balance of our souls.

This you can expect from Villa Estrella. To see more pictures of our luxury Mexico Villa, visit the Photo Gallery.

With a location as magical and beautiful as Villa Estrella, it is no wonder that we have so many joyous testimonials.

One fun thing we like to do at every visit is to go through the guest book that we keep at Villa Estrella. We eagerly read the comments and testimonials that our guests write into the book. We find it heartwarming and delightful to read about how much our guests have enjoyed their stay at Villa Estrella, how they love the staff, especially Rosa, how they love the food, and how sad they are to have to leave.

We don’t think their comments should languish in a book on the shelf. This kind of joy needs to be shared, and we would like to share it with you. So here you are; below are some of the pages written by our beloved guests during their stays at Villa Estrella in 2010. These are real and wonderful people. During the bookings process I get to know them a bit. These are all unique people with whom we have a lot in common. We all share that deep love of nature, beauty, individuality, ocean and adventure. It’s a very powerful, common bond.

Thank you so much for making our stay so special. None of us want to leave this beautiful place. The staff was awesome!! The food was awesome, everything was perfect. The tranquil environment really enabled us all to re-connect to our spouses in a special way. We all renewed our vows to each other while we were here. We will never forget this place! Thank you! – The Allens, The Gregory’s and The Gallaghers

We had a wonderful time! Very relaxing and great food! Your villa will be remembered and recommended to lots of friends! It was great to have no TV and to enjoy the sounds of the ocean. Surfing & boogie boarding was amazing. – Dan and Tonya Decker p.s. can we take Rosa home to Steamboat Colorado?

Wow what a great piece of paradise. Great food, fun and friends. We will always remember the memories from this vacation. The views, surfing, fishing, boogie boarding, the waterfall, the drive to the waterfall, and of course the great staff! Thanks for everything! – Jeff, Shellyn & Marcy Dillingham
Clark, Colorado

I do not want to leave!! Thank you for sharing your lovely home with our families. We will miss the incredible views, the ocean, the waves, the birds and the sunsets. Profound relaxation in nature is invaluable. We hope to return soon! – Sack-Albert Family, Seattle, WA and Stosur-Hatcher Family, Portland OR

This was our second honeymoon and it was spectacular! Rosa’s cooking was heavenly and we enjoyed a great fishing trip, (we had tuna sashimi for dinner!) and we also enjoyed the jungle cruise- at lunch we were introduced to the most wonderful oysters we ever had. I could go on and on and on. the house was wonderful, sleeping to the sounds of the ocean will be missed and the PURE RELAXATION will be longed for. We will be back! – The Freemans, Texas

We gad a great week here at Villa Estrella! Beautiful house, awesome sunsets, amazing views, and the most fantastic staff works here at Punta el Custodio! We could not have asked for a better place to spend our vacation at. Definitely will be suggesting this to our friends and family. Ulrich and Jackie, thanks to opening your home to us. Rosa, thanks so much for the delicious meals and your smiling face every day! Ismael and the rest of the staff thank you so much for always helping us with whatever we needed. Hope to be back sometime soon! Muchas Gracias para todos! – Sarah & Andy, Gridwood Alaska

The villa was perfect! We loved how the tropical outdoors came right into the interior! We loved the brightness of the sky at night and saw millions of stars every night as we relaxed in the infinity pool to all hours of the night. It was a super place to surf, or at least learn how to surf. We enjoyed the friendly staff. A wonderful and relaxing holiday. – Dr. Ron & Wendy G. & family

This villa was amazing! Rosa and the food couldn’t have been more perfect! What a great way to getaway and relax. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean is fantastic. Boogie boarding was such a fun experience. We really don’t want to leave Rosa, such a smiling happy person, we will never forget her!! She makes the most unbelievable food. Her keylime pie is to die for. Overall the staff here is amazing, Thanks so much for a wonderful week we loved it! – The Kupchella Family, Minneapolis, MN

This was truly the most wonderful vacation we have ever taken (this includes our honeymoon). We have never been so well taken care of, fed, rested and relaxed. I recommend Villa Estrella to anyone needing a hideaway from the crazy world and time to reconnect to themselves or to those they love. We will be returning in 2011….. and we are trying to find a way to get back this summer. We have tried other vacation spots to no avail and have decided we will make Villa Estrella our annual kid-free vacation. – Cara Vanberg Freeman

To Read More reviews left by our Guests, see our Testimonials.

Villa Estrella's real palapa roof made of interwoven royal palm fronds.

Last November we spent 6 weeks here at Villa Estrella. It’s a lovely time of year, we come every year at this time, the rainy season is just over, and everything is lush green. The heat of the summer has started to wane, and the fresher winter season has not yet arrived, the ocean waters are deliciously warm, the tourists are nowhere in sight. It’s a time of beauty, peace, and for reconnecting with our wonderful friends here in Mexico.

It’s also a great time for us to make sure the Villa is properly spruced up for the upcoming rental season. The power of the summer storms, the huge amounts of wind and rain, the salt spray, all leave their mark. We make sure all the linens and towels are in good shape, replace worn kitchen utensils and do paint touch-ups. Often we take a trip to Guadalajara to restock on fabrics for draperies, get fresh colourful cushions for the banco, and replace tarnished light fixtures. This time we replaced some of the washroom faucets as they were looking tired as well. I think the ceramic tiles in the bathrooms are the next candidate for upgrade. The big item this year was the replacement of the entire palapa roof. The roof was now 12 years old, and the royal palm fronds that are woven into the wood framework were finally starting to crumble. Small bits of daylight were visible, and during the rains….well there would be drips on the floor.

Jackie always does a major garden tune-up. The wild summer storms lash the plants with salt spray which damages many of them. The heavy rains have beaten up all the flowering plants, so they need nursing.

Our new hammock, swaying in the warm breeze with a beautiful view of the ocean, awaits you.

The indoor plants suffer from light deprivation, so they get switched out for fresh ones. There is always a visit to the vivero (nursery) for a fresh supply. Often the little plants we put in years ago have become giants and suddenly there is too much shade, so those have to be pruned. This year I couldn’t get my satellite internet dish to pickup the satellite signal….well you guessed it…the palm fronds had grown up so large, they blocked the satellite dish. Jackie and Jaime our gardener spend endless hours pruning, moving and replacing.

One of my favourite new acquisitions was the hammock. The old one, although lovely finally gave up the ghost as the woven cords finally disintegrated from old age. Hammock is mandatory. The hammock is hung from the big rock wall in a quiet corner behind the kitchen, surrounded by Bougainvilleas, hummingbirds and butterflies. I slip into it with a book, and before you know it am fast asleep. The one we found is an extra wide one, good for two.

Mike caught in a big wave fishing at the rocks at Villa Estrella.

Mike went out fishing with Ruben, the best fishing guide around, (he is from San Blas) and he said the experience was fantastic. Mike first tried his luck with one of the locals with the “Pangas” down on the beach in Platanitos but all they did was drive him to the Bajo and let him sit there for 3 hours even though not one fish was biting, he was very disappointed when he came back.

The next time, Mike decided to try his luck with a different fishermen. Ismael our manager at Punta el Custodio, recommend Ruben. Ruben picked Mike up on time, had sandwiches, water, sunscreen, cushions for the little panga, even a sail to provide some shade. Ruben has 40 years of guiding experience and was using a GPS to track the fish. First he caught a couple of Dorado and then suddenly a little bell was ringing and Ruben raced over to the pole and hooked the fish really hard (Mike is telling me the story as I didn’t go…I get sea sick) and handed Mike over the pole. It took Mike 45 minutes to wheel in the fish (I guess its called “Bella” in Spanish? At least that’s what Ruben was yelling…bella bella and pointed to the ocean while the bell was ringing).

Mike posing with his trophy from his Mexico sailfish fishing excursion.

He said the sight was amazing…the sailfish was jumping out of the water and was fighting really hard. Ruben and his “helper” got the fish into the boat and wanted to clean and filet it but Mike didn’t have a camera so he said he has to take the full fish home to get a photo. Then Heimar and Vincente (I am sure I butchered their name) cleaned the fish and filetted it – very NICE! I had asked Heimar to divide the fish between all the employees of Punta El Custodio but I am not sure that happened…when I asked Ismael and Cynthia if they got fish they said no…fortunately we had some more and gave it to Ismael…Rosa also got some and Mike gave her all the Travails he caught on the rock down from villa Estrella.

Mike said they had to go out 4 miles out…kind of a little bit left of Villa Estrella at the point. I’ve attached a couple more photos. If you take a look at the very last photo and look really close you can see Mike caught in a big wave leaning at the rocks and the pole sticking out (grey hair…you can see his head in the middle of the photo in a dark spot and white shirt if you look really close)…he loved fishing off the rock to the right down from your Villa. He was in heaven!

Mike and Dunja showing what the best Mexico fishing trips are all about.

Ruben said in November and December is the time to catch big fish, they were fortunate that they caught such a big fish this time of the year. Mike said Ruben was just amazing and how much knowledge he had about the area, a true fisherman who’s pride is measured by how many (big) fish his clients catch (not like the Panga guys from Platanitos, they really didn’t care if Mike would catch a fish or not).

Mike and I want to say Thank YOU for renting us out your villa and thank you Ismael for catering to all our special requests. Mike was very happy about his burger and the BBQ couldn’t have come to a more perfect time to BBQ the sailfish he caught that day (I have attached you a couple of photos). We BBQ’d all the way out under the big fig tree to ensure no flames or ashes would get close to your beautiful palapa roof.

Your place is beautiful and we loved everything Rosa cooked for us, your personnel is fantastic, everybody is so friendly and accommodating. Thank you both for allowing us to stay in your beautiful villa and making our vacation so very special. We hope we will have an opportunity to come back soon.

Written By Dunja, Villa Estrella Guest, May 2010.

The wandering vendors were all over us like a feeding frenzy of mapaches (Mexican raccoons), for the first while we could hardly enjoy our cervezas. There is always the horde of jewellery venders with open attaché cases of silver stuff. Once guy claimed that his one particular bracelet would cure arthritis, and this was a well know fact that everyone in Mexico knew about. Some pretty girl in native dress, apparently from Chiapas, sold us a cute little colourful hand made purse that will be nice for our grand daughter. After about the 20th vendor we put on our stone face and tried to ignore them (with limited success)

Once again, there was this neat old guy with the beat up guitar that had a harmonica taped to the top of it. He was missing quite a few teeth. I always fall for these charming old timers and ask them to sing a few songs. His name was Simon, his voice was great, he danced while he played, his tunes were joyful and he sang us 3 lovely songs for 100 pesos.

A day trip to Bucerias isn't complete until you have visited the many vendors where all sorts of hand-crafted treasures are sold.

So, no trip anywhere is complete without…you guessed it….shopping….naturally, and in no time at all, in a back street of Bucerias where I could hardly squeeze in with my lumbering Suburban, we found a store with stuff we just HAD to have; these fine hand woven tapestries from Oaxaca, hand woven by the family that ran the store. They showed us how they make their own dyes; browns from nut shells, and purples from some powdered insect. If you added lime juice to the purple powder insect, you got orange dye. There was pictures of papa grinding the nuts, pictures of mama cording the wool. To make a long story short we are now proud owners of a tapestry full of colorful fish, and a hand woven bedspread of blues and oranges for the king size bed.

After that a short wander down a street lined both sides with hundreds of little vendors stands, each one trying to con you into buying something, all kinds of silly trinkets and souvenirs that will gather dust back home. Well we decided to quickly pickup some Christmas items for the folks back home. We zeroed in on these cute little Mexican tequila shot glasses, hand blown, each one a little different from the other. We got four blue ones for one person, four red ones for another, then four more yellow ones, not sure if we got the green ones as well. By the time we got done it was already 3 o’clock. Now there is still a 2 hour drive to get back, and we wanted to be back at Villa Estrella before the sun goes down. Missing the nightly sunset ceremony is not something to be taken lightly. You never know when you might miss that ultimate sunset experience; the elusive “green flash” (that’s the subject of another story).

On the way home through the mountains between Bucerias and Sayulita we pass the pueblito of San Ignacio, blink and you miss it. There were a couple of rustic rickety fruit stands, and right beside one of them, lo and behold; they were selling these nice rustic hand woven rattan type basket-weave lamps which are perfect for the architecture of Villa Estrella. I have to tell you, Villa Estrella has a palalapa roof, which is basically like living inside a huge woven palm frond basket, so these were just the lights to go with the look. There was no one there to sell them to us, until we noticed that the simple sleepy dusty house behind the stand, had a man and woman siesta-ing in two hammocks in the yard beside the rusty derelict truck, so we had to wake them up to get service. We tried to bargain for a lower price but he wouldn’t budge, we got the lamps for half the price of anywhere else.

Back on the road again, the rest of the trip pretty uneventful, jungles, and valleys, and fields, and farms, distant mountains and scruffy charming villages. Another stop at one of those cute fruit stands for the best little bunch of bananas anywhere, and then back home just in time for sunset.

The plan for tonight is crank up the pool heater and have a toasty hour daydreaming under the black velvet starry sky, with the ocean surging below, looking out across the sea at the twinkling lights of pangas night-fishing, and then much further beyond, the lights of San Blas in the distance. It’s in the pool that all the weighty issues of the day are rehashed; as in; where shall we hang the new tapestry?

Another day in paradise!

One of the most popular activities planned for guests at Villa Estrella is a trip to the El Cora Waterfall.

The falls are about a 30 minute drive from Villa Estrella, driving north along the coast road toward San Blas and then taking the inland fork toward Tepic for another 15 minutes until the village of El Cora.

The lush forest was like something out of a movie. Our guide explained that we were going to walk down a gully to the waterfall and informed us about the area and the habitat we were to visit. We parked and then debarked for our short hike down to the waterfall.

The first thing to hit us was the view; such a magnificent landscape awaited us. It was a warm day, but there was a nice breeze that kept us energized and ready to take in the trek. The walk down was a nice stroll, not too steep, but also worthy of the term, ‘hike’. As we strolled, we took in the amazing vegetation and sounds of the birds in the trees (all the while thinking, I hope this was worth the drive). I was very soon eating my words (or thoughts) as we came to the impressive El Cora Waterfall.

The falls were not massive, but extremely picturesque and set a wonderful canvas of contrasting greens of the trees against the grey-blue of the water. I’m happy we remembered our swim gear (as I’m prone to forget important items on big trips). The water was so refreshing after the road trip up and the subsequent walk. We knew many people had been here before but the setting was so intimate and romantic that everyone has a chance to make it their own. I could definitely see someone proposing here (although they’d have to make sure to hold onto the ring as the waterfall basin is fairly deep).

After an hour or so swimming in the falls, we dried off on the side of the pool for a while and then made the trek back to the car. The way up is usually harder than the way down, but we couldn’t stop talking about how spectacular the experience at the falls had been and before we knew it, we were back at the car. The same was true for the car ride as the majority of the drive was spent on discussing how the waterfalls were above and beyond what we had expected.

After arriving back at Villa Estrella, it was time for more of Rosa’s wonderful cooking and then a Del Sol and a dip in the infinity pool. A wonderful end to a phenomenal day!

Written By Carl A., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010

We love the beautiful historic area of Tlaquepaque, which is almost an independent town within Guadalajara. It is rich with colonial buildings, historic atmosphere and absolutely full of wonderful life. If you hang around the main square area on any evening it’s always abuzz with wonderful people, vendors, music, food and fun.

This is a beautiful picture of the pool and atmosphere at Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel. For more information visit www.quintadonjose.com

We stayed at a different hotel this time called the Quinta Don Jose Boutique Hotel. We loved it. This hotel is right in the center of Tlaquepaque, one block from the main square where the 2 gorgeous cathedrals are, and one block from the Mariachi square (for more inspiration, read the post about The Mariachis in Tlaquepaque). We got the last unit which was actually a little one bedroom suite, right across the road, nicely appointed and comfortable for only $85. It was like having your own apartment right in the town and an added bonus is that they have free telephone to USA and Canada.

Quinta Don Jose have a great 2-for-one happy hour with fabulous margaritas, which hit the spot after the 4 hour drive from Villa Estrella. We met up with our friend Ollie and his gang, who happened to be staying there as well and had a great time. Our villa renters who only know Puerto Vallarta are amazed to find how close Guadaljara really is, and what a genuine Mexican experience this city is. Puerto Vallarta is an overpriced tourist town, whereas Guadaljara and Tlaquepaque are a genuine experience in Mexican urban life and history.

The trip from our Puerto Vallarta Villa Rental to Guadalajara is also a wonderful adventure. Its an easy drive on great roads. The scenery and landscape are as beautiful as anywhere in the world. The small towns along the way include the town ofTequila, the center of the tequila distilling industry, that is set in a gorgeous tapestry of teal blue agave plantations.

Villa Estrella's gardens are lush, tropical and meticulously maintained, giving the whole community a dream-like atmosphere.

We woke to exquisite sunshine and blue ocean, clean clear air with crystal clear views of the beach all the way to Punta Mita in one direction, and North to San Blas. A perfect day on the Riviera Nayarit. The dinner party with the young folks at Casa Colibri last night was fun, they cooked up a blizzard of pasta. The dinner was followed by the Mexican train domino tournament, washed down with slightly excessive quantities of vino. Felix the cat trotted back home with us to Villa Estrella and is snuggled up tight by my side on the couch to keep warm.

Jaime, the Punta el Custodio handyman, finally got the new pool heater gas valve in to the Villa from Mexico City. Having a warm pool to float in every night is one of the MAJOR pleasures down here at the villa and we’ve been without it for a week (it even caused minor marital crisis). So it’s finally fixed. We are pouring fortunes of propane gas into the heater to get it cozy for tonight’s marine pleasures under the full moon, looking down at the ocean surf crashing below from our private, negative-edge pool. We love hanging out in the little cliff-side pool for hours, watching shooting stars, identifying the constellations, finding the north star. Tonight the moon is pretty much full and will illuminate the crashing surf below. When we’re not star gazing, the pool is also perfect for aquacise, and working off Rosa’s cooking (not to mention all the margaritas). We marvel at the wonder that is Mexico and at the magic of Villa Estrella and its stunning setting, surrounded by ocean, and nature.

This is an example of one of the many Mexican Tapestries that decorate Villa Estrella.

Rosa is sewing something for Jackie in the kitchen, I think it’s a cotton blouse. Soft jazz is filling the palapa, the sun is shining beautifully, the ocean is a stunning blue, the palm trees are swaying gracefully in the breeze. I hear the waves gently surging on the rocks below. I smell something good cooking from the kitchen – Rosa is cooking Comida (lunch). I’m looking forward to my nap in the hammock afterward, but for now it’s after 12 and time for my first icy Corona of the day.

You should see the lovely new hanging lamps we picked up for the villa on our trip to Guadalajara last week. We bought huge spherical basket lamps that are now hanging from the high palapa, plus some beautiful stars  that are now hanging over the tequila bar in front of the kitchen. The lamps were so huge we barely were able to squeeze them into the Suburban for the 4 hour trip back home. This type of decorating is so Mexican – using big bold elements, high spaces, fabulous dramatic environments. We like to give our renters an amazing villa experience with beautiful Mexican art, Mexico pottery, Mexican ceramics, colors and design.

Our whale watching excursion was the highlight of the trip and a life-long memory that seem to be part of daily life here at Villa Estrella.

Today we went whale watching. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Earlier this week we talked to Ismael who helped to set up the whole trip. We set out early morning (but not at an ungodly hour…we’re still on vacation after all). We went down to the water to load into the boat. We packed a backpack full of snacks and brought a little cooler full of drinks. As we set out on another gorgeous, sunny, Pacific morning, we could tell it would be a special day.

We passed some large fishing boats on the way out and our guide, fluent in English, gave us a commentary on fishing and the ecosystem that surrounded us. It didn’t take long at all for the excitement to begin; off to the left side of the boat, a pod of dolphins emerged from the water. In what seemed like hours but was probably minutes, we watched as they rose and sank, rose and sank in a primal, choreographed game.

Continuing on our trip, after having sufficiently taken in the dolphin display, we set out to find whales. I felt like a man on a mission – Captain Ahabish but without wanting to hurt anything. A quick note about our guide, he was awesome. His knowledge of the sea life and the history of the area was bar none. He was the best tour guide we’ve ever had. Back to the whale watching…. About a half hour after finding the dolphin pod, we saw some action in the distance. It was a mother and her calf. We approached with caution and kept a safe distance, but we were able to see so much detail on the animals. Humpback whales are such large, misshapen mammals  yet so graceful in the water. We cut the motor and just listened as they surfaced and then submerged.

Their blowholes and the waves were the only sounds for about forty minutes. Then, they dove deep and that was the last we saw of the mother and her baby. Not long after the first whale encounter, we saw another whale on the horizon. By the time we caught up, we realized that this was an enormous whale. The guide, in all his wisdom, was amazed as he had never seen anything like it. You see, normally, the humpbacks would breach for a while and then dive deep for a long time, but this whale gave us a 2 hour show. The only reason we left was because we would run out of gas to get home. The display was amazing. The whale would go under for 10 minutes or so then explode out of the water in a dazzling show. At some points, he breached so close to the boat, we could see the barnacles on him (at least I think it was a him). He would slap his fins and roll. I’ve never had an experience like it. As we left him, still playing on the horizon, we waved ‘Bye’ and thanked our guide profusely.

Our whale watching excursion was the  highlight of the trip and a life-long memory that seem to be part of daily life here at Villa Estrella. What a wonderful, magical place.

Written By Carl A., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010

Horseback riding is one of the many exciting activities that can be organized for you during your stay at Villa Estrella.

We awoke to Rosa’s breakfast as everything is coordinated at Villa Estrella, only to be told moments later our horses were ready for us and waiting on the beach. As we made our way down to the beach taking in the flourishing flowers around us, we were taken across the estuary by boat, only to see our beautiful horses awaiting us. We were greeted by our friendly guide who helped us with the horses. I was impressed with how healthy and well looked after all the horses were.

As we began our ride, it was like out of a movie…we were the only ones on the 18km long sandy beach with the ocean waves crashing on our right and gorgeous palm trees for as far as you could see on our left. It was a scene out of a movie! We continued our ride along the beach, taking the horses and frolicking in the ocean waves when our guide stopped and cracked a coconut open for us to have a drink.

We then cut through the palm trees and the guide led us down in behind the estuary where we hit a ravine of water allowing the horses to cool off a bit. As we rode back to Villa Estrella though the palm trees, we came across the crocodile sanctuary and were able to stop and have a break while looking at all the baby crocodiles! As we continued our ride through Turtle Bay we took in all the beautiful scenery and were very impressed at how well trained the horses were and well looked after! As our ride came to an end we galloped the horses down the beach one last time.

Written by Sarah E., Villa Estrella Guest, January 2010.