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