One of our correspondents recently had the tough job of going on a custom tour in the northern Patagonia area of Argentina with the premier upscale agency Mai10. Hey, somebody’s gotta do it.

She started in Buenos Aires at the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, but then stayed at a range of intimate estancias and fishing lodges in the countryside after she headed south.

It’s a tale of panoramic views, fly fishing, horseback riding, nature parks, and spas, taking in the best of the best that northern Patagonia has to offer. Of course that includes lots of fine wine and wonderful food.

Read the full story here: A Tailor-made Tour of Argentine Patagonia’s Lake District.

If you’re staying in Panama City, the Bristol Hotel is the prestige address in town. It doesn’t have a pool, but it’s the place to be if you’re looking for luxury rooms and personalized service.

Now the company has opened it’s long-awaited beach resort and we have a review of it: Bristol Hotel & Spa at Buenaventura.

The hotel has gotten a bit of press, but everything I’ve read has come from a desk-bound junior editor in New York who has never set foot in the place. We don’t work like that: our frequent Panama contributor Beverly Gallagher got the inside scoop in person.

This hotel is part of a planned community of condos, villas, a shopping center, a coming golf course, and even a church. It opened as the clear top large hotel on the beach in Panama, but is just 90 minutes from the capital. A few years back there were few hotels outside Panama City to recommend, but as tourism picks up and more foreign residents move in, standards are rising quickly.

In case you missed it in all the 24/7 Michael Jackson coverage, there was a military coup in Honduras over the weekend.

If your travel plans in the coming weeks had something to do with Honduras, you may want to keep an eye on the news. This story has more layers than a big fat onion, but the headline version is that there has been a coup and the legally elected president was put on a plane and sent to Costa Rica. He’s no angel either, and he had just sacked the head of the military and tried to pull a Chavez and alter the constitution to serve longer. It’s messy.

Honduras is not Iran, however, and things have remained pretty calm on the mainland. They may not stay that way, but for now, no bloodshed. On Roatan and Utila, the divers are probably oblivious, so if you’re just flying into an island and flying out, there’s probably no need to change plans.

Just stay up on what’s happening. Honduras This Week is the local English language paper and it has a good website. Otherwise log into the BBC or just pull up Google or Yahoo news for Honduras.

Belize carrier Maya Air just announced two flights a day between Belize City and Cancun, Mexico, beginning on July 8. This news couldn’t come at a better time for me since I was not looking forward to taking a bus from Belize City all the way up to Cancun at the end of my Belize trip this summer with my family. I’m sure many other travelers are breathing a huge sigh of relief as well and gladly opening up their wallet to pay the $189 advance one-way fare.

This will also make it much easier on Europeans, who have many flights to Cancun but not so many to Belize. A trip to Belize from Europe usually involves a stopover in U.S. airport, which is no fun for anyone these days.

Following this link for Maya Air’s flight schedule and rates.

Thanks to the folks at Turneffe Flats island fishing resort in Belize for this tidbit from their newsletter.

I took a break from posting updates from my May trip to Los Cabos, Mexico in May, but here are some highlights and photos from another spectacular resort there: Esperanza. This is an Auberge resort, so combine a French name for inn with a Spanish name for hope and you don’t have to hope to get a good room at the inn.

There are a lot of terrific spas to sample in Los Cabos if that’s your thing, and this one ranks at the top in lots of polls,  even as the best spa in Latin America from Travel & Leisure. It incorporates the natural elements of the area—water, light, and the sea—in a restful environment and uses an array of local products for the treatments themselves. (Think desert clay, mango, papaya, sea salt, and grated coconut.) There’s a grotto, a steam cave, cascading waterfalls, and a shady open-air lounge.

All I know is that the masseuse that gave me a rubdown got out all the kinks I had built up from being hunched over a computer keyboard way too much.

Esperanza resort itself is a 57-suite hotel, but with a 60-villa owners section as well, which explains why it looks bigger than you would think. This is the place to go for dramatic views instead of a sprawling beach in front of your room: it’s perched on a cliff overlooking waves crashing against the rocks of “Whale Point.” You are right over this point while dining in the main restaurant. Here’s the catch of the day. Hungry?

Everything looks fresh and new at Esperanza since the spa and suites got a major upgrade at the end of 2007. If you want to really spash out, there’s a 2000-square-foot penthouse with close-to-perfect views. Naturally, it comes with its own elevator, private butler service, and a hidden hot tub and lounge chair on the deck. (Hint: you might want to send the butler away if you’re going to use those au natural.) It goes for $6 grand a night, but with occupancy falling off the nearby cliffs lately, I’m sure you can get them to at least throw in a few spa treatments in the his-and-hers massage area…