Next Pool for the Grand Mayan?

The Grand Mayan Resort at Nuevo Vallarta claims to have a large sized pool area.

Well it is true. But maybe not by Chilean standards. Take a look at the following article:

Try making a splash in the world's largest swimming pool... it's 1,000 yards long

Last updated at 08:38 23 January 2008

If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one.

It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.

Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world.

Acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest swimming pool, the lagoon measures 1,013 metres in length and covers an area of eight hectares.

But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own and you have the space to accommodate it then beware:

This one took five years to build, cost nearly £1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be £2million.

The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile's southern coast, since it opened last month. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end. It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb - nicknamed the Big Splash - in Morocco, which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympic size pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards.

The saltwater pool contains 250,000 cubic metres of water and is navigable in small boats.

Children play in the clear waters of the 3,323 ft long pool.

Chile's monster pool uses a computer- controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other.

The sun warms the water to 26c, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea.

Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build "an impressive artificial paradise" even in inhospitable areas.

"As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, and it causes no damage to the ocean."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-509718/Try-making-splash-worlds-largest-swimming-pool--1-000-yards-long.html#ixzz0W1CoS4JW

Wow!

Thanks to Mail Online, Thursday November 5, 2009 edition for the article and Reuters for the photos.

If you would like compare the Grand Mayan pool with this one, follow this link.

Travel Ideas in Riviera Nayarit

Our objective was to see as many sites as we could while we visited Riviera Nayarit. Our base was the Grand Mayan Resort at Nuevo Vallarta, so we decided to see how far north we could get.

Originally, we checked out www.homeandabroad.com to get some ideas about specific interesting sites in the area. The website offers a great tool that allows you to personallize your interests and keep track of your trip. Changes are not a problem. There is an estimate of the amount of time the adventure will take. And there are lots of other tips and photos. Seems to be growing.

We created list of of things to see. Very ambitious list, I might add. But, as is the case with all best laid plans, we made changes. Instead of renting a car for the week, we decided to rent for a day. Instead of tackling all the projects we planned, we tackled one.

Our drive north included Rincon de Guayabitos (on the left, above), Los Ayala (on the right, above), San Francisco, Sayulita, and Punta Mita. We found each location to be quaint, quiet, beautiful and available.

Rincon de Guayabitos, for example is a phenomenal beach area, and it is beautiful in its simplicity. Los Ayala is just around the corner from the Guayabitos beach, and is very quiet, comfortable and unspoiled by the rest of the world.

For more photos, check out www.aimfair.com and click on "Excursions".

Not only are there additional photos of Guayabitos and Los Ayala, but there are pictures of San Francisco and Sayulita as well.

The beauty of this area is attracting hotel owners and other investors. We were told by a couple of Canadians, who are in the process of buying a home nearby, that plans to build large resorts are being made. Big resorts. So our suggestion is to get in your car and spend some time exploring the Riviera Nayarit now. You can tell your grand kids that you were there when is was beautiful and quiet.

Enjoy and hasta luego!

Belated Happy New Year

Our Holidays were great! Kids in town, grand kids all over the place and plenty of good wine!

In the meantime, we have added to our passion, which is traveling in Mexico. The only challenge we have now is to understand all of this "new" technology. You know, blogging, websites, posting interesting content, images that stimulate the thought process. All that stuff.

Well, since our last update, we did travel to Nuevo Vallarta and spent 2 weeks at the Grand Mayan Resort. Since this was our first visit without any children, we had great visions of accomplishments.

So, what did we do? We got the lay of the land. We checked out the new building called the Grand Luxxe, which is a new offering by the Grupo Mayan, now Vedanta Capital. We had seen pictures but had not visited. We own so we wanted to see what it was all about.

Take a look at the Grand Luxxe tower. Five stories when we arrived grew to 7 with the 8th on the way. Looks like it will be a 9 story tower.