With envy I read about Jack London's visits to Hawaii in the early 1900s, when Waikiki beach was undeveloped except for a few houses and hotels. I fantasized about sitting under a roof of palm fronds, cold drink in hand, looking over at Diamond Head across an uncrowded strip of sand the way he had. A fantasy it would remain, lost over time to the towering hotels packed into every inch of space and the crush of tourists like me angling for an available patch of sand for my beach towel.

On a secluded 9-mile stretch of beach near the sleepy tourist town of Zihautanejo, we found London's Waikiki with a Mexican twist. Jack London had relaxed in rugged beachside luxury at the Outrigger Canoe Club. Our version, Hotel Las Palmas on Playa Blanca, had everything to soothe the traveler – ice cold beers, palm-frond umbrellas, fresh fish, spicy salsa, and hot shrimp enchiladas washed down with margaritas on the rocks, salt please. In place of Diamond Head, we looked out to a small pointed mountain at the tip of Barra de Potosí. For miles in either direction we saw only a few homes, and fewer people. A whole day could pass without spotting another soul on the beach, not counting a surprised crocodile that slipped quickly into the waves.

Our first night, we had the hotel to ourselves. The next day two more honeymooning couples checked in. The hotel had only six rooms, and we were in a large open-air room with huge wooden-shutter doors in place of walls. The low rumble of the waves was our soundtrack. The shower was actually part of the veranda, with strategically-placed plants serving as a shower door. We drank, ate, read, tanned, slept, walked and relaxed more deeply than I ever have. When we felt motivated to explore, we went into town, rode horses on the beach, or chilled at an enramada (beachside cantina with picnic benches and hammocks under a large palm roof) on Barra de Potosí. What a way to pass an afternoon - drinking ice-cold beers and feasting on grilled snapper caught in the waters we saw before us. But most days we just relaxed by the pool in our own little paradise.

We hope you enjoy the pictures of our honeymoon!

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