last episode from a great vacation
snorkeling at Akumal
we stayed for 3 nights in Akumal at Half Moon Bay
not our style but
we figured if we stayed within biking of the lagoon we would be sure to get lots of
snorkeling in
again the bikes were great and we could bike everywhere we wanted to go
our room was on the backside from the Caribbean Sea
which was a very good thing as it was incredibly windy on the sea side
hence the shirt on my head
(do you say "care-a-be-an" or "ca-rib-e-an"....)
we did find one empty lot we could walk to and watch the sunrise
I am use to the sunset over the water not the sunrise
it was pretty spectacular
we did not stay in Akumal for the sunrise though
we came for the Laguna Yul Ku
the laguna is an amazing place full of tropical fish of all sizes
there are 3 such lagoons on the Caribbean coast of Mexico
2 have been turned into Disneyland
and this one is the only natural one left
it was like swimming in a huge aquarium
the first day we went it was crystal clear
good lagoon karma
the lagoon is the shape of an "L"
the top of the L was were the Caribbean Sea washed in
and the bottom of the L was safe and current less water
the site was filled with sculptures
which only added to the magic
and surrealness of the place
it felt very safe
and being Mexico there was a lot of freedom to
swim and explore where you wanted
there were huge slabs of rock at various depths
always some shallow enough to stand on
and then sometimes it dropped of and seemed super deep
we had a cheap disposable underwater camera that took crappy pictures
they could not begin to show how fantastic it was
amazing to see the florescent glowing colors
to swim with a school of huge blue fish
to have schools of small bright colored fish come toward you curious but cautious
skinny needle fish that like to swim just under the surface
occasionally on the bottom you would see that huge barracuda
certain areas had tons of anemones
they were fascinating to watch, as they opened closed, ate and protected themselves
not as boring as they may seem at first sight
(this by the way is not my photo - you knew that....)
we could not of course swim all the time
and the little town of Akumal had some cute shops
of Mexican handicrafts
they are so talented and creative in Mexico
one of the claims to fame of Akumal
is that a Spaniard Gonzalo Guerrero was shipwrecked here in 1511
he was captured by the natives and it is said that the Mayan princess that
was so fascinated with him that she saved him from being sacrificed
and married him
he is believed to be the first Spaniard to set foot on Mexican soil
it was a beautiful statue
I love the look on her face
their children were the first mestizos
the story goes that when the Spanish came to "rescue" the men in 1519
only 2 were still alive
one was happy to be found but
Guerrero wanted nothing to do with the them
he fought with the Maya and helped them evade the Spanish for many years
one last cool thing in Akumal
was this great house for sale
I loved it
it was empty and I could peek in
what - not quite ready to buy another property in Mexico....
Akumal is known for the sea turtles that nest there in the summer
but swim in the area all year
the last day we were there we found out the scoop
in the next bay over you can swim out to the reef and swim with the turtles
wow - that would be so cool
we checked it out the next day and the beach had red flags
and was closed due to rip currents and strong waves
so now
we have something exciting to look forward to on our next trip
to the Yucatan
which will be soon I hope
