By: Lisa ColemanSantorini, Greece ? Interlaken and Lucerne, Switzerland ? Positano, Italy ? The Himalayas ? these are a few of the destinations that make my short list of ?no matter how you imagined it, it?s better. ? After my recent trip to Oaxaca for my 50th birthday, it?s time to add a couple more to the list: Huatulco and the ocean front villas and casitas at Las Palmas. As a writer, I have the rare opportunity to travel through Mexico in search of paradise. I have found hundreds of amazing destinations throughout this marvelous country, but from the heart, I can tell you Huatulco is simply one of the best beach resorts in the entire country, and Las Palmas one of most perfect places where I?ve had a chance to stay? and that?s a tall order. There is a certain inexplicable magic here, a laid back sweetness if you will, all wrapped in the inviting smiles of the local people who are always happy you chose their charming, yet isolated, gem of a beach town on the Pacific. In the early 1970?s, the Mexican government embarked on an ambitious plan to develop tourism through a series of integrated master-planned beach resorts. FONATUR, which is the National Trust for Tourism Development (Fondo Nacional del Fomento al Turismo), was responsible for the blockbuster resorts of Cancun, Ixtapa and Los Cabos, as well as the lesser-known communities of Loreto and the Bah
