the Yucatan vacation 

  the flight from Fort Lauderdale to Cancun is less than 2 hours

but it is 2 days travel to get from home to Akumal

only an hour south of Cancun

first is the 3 hours drive from my house to Fort Lauderdale

when you leave the west coast of Florida 

and head across the state on Alligator Alley

you leave the people behind

the drive through the Everglades is so peaceful

lots of open space and very little traffic

once you get close to the other side (Fort Lauderdale) the road

became 6, 8, 10 lanes all full of cars, just boom out of the Everglades

into the fast lane

I found the hotel that had free parking and an airport shuttle on the internet

though the next morning they said oh no - you can't park here

little drama there and I went next door to the hotel where I paid to park

their airport shuttle was just leaving as I was late

later the plane would be an hour late and we sat in the airport

such is modern travel

arriving in Cancun is a test in patience

they have set the airport up so that there is no way to walk out and get public transportation

just a bunch of slick guys selling you rides

I was determined this year that I would avoid the expensive ride.

I was going straight to Akumal - about 1 hour south

I tried to take the bus, there was one that left the airport and went south

almost to Akumal

it was over $30. US and I still had to get a ride from there

it was 2 hours out and getting dark

a taxi straight to where I was going was about $100.

I walked further down the sidewalk

one of the guys said he could get me a taxi all the way to where I was going

for $50. right there, right then

that was a good deal, I got in

he put a couple in the back seat 

who were going to the town the bus went to and did not want to wait 

then he took off

the car was not a taxi and sort of funky, with a nice young man driving

after we got out of the airport, he stops at a gas station

and says to wait for a car with air conditioning

(I translated)

the couple are starting to get nervous, super nervous

they tried to get me nervous too but I just knew I had 

gotten a great deal

pretty soon the guy who took our money came with another

nice guy with a real taxi and he took us right to where we wanted

to go.  It was their way to break into the airport transportation

market - I was all for it

Akumal

 Place of the Turtles in Mayan

I had rented a most wonderful place

called Nai na

they always do this with the towels in the Yucatan everywhere

even the dish towels

the apartment was great

it was the downstairs unit of a 3 story small building

across the street from the beach

everyone wants to be on the beach

not me

it is windy, too bright and not private

the best spot is across from the beach

where the back of the space

looks out onto the jungle

sitting there at night made me realize I had forgotten

how many stars there are

the fireflies came by often just after dark

it was a simple place and yet had everything I needed

I have stayed in lots of places in Mexico

this one was one of the most comfortable

with beautiful old salteo tiles

no air conditioning or internet connection

it was a haven

first day I snorkeled in Yalku lagoon

I saw the most amazing phenomenon -

it was full, I mean the whole lagoon

6 inches from every side, top to bottom of the lagoon

was filled with sardines!

they were about 6 to 8 inches long and quite fat

I had never seen so many fish in one place in my life

this silver wall of fish

the next day I snorkeled in Half Moon Bay,

the beach across the sand street from the apartment

I did not swim out to the big reef off shore

you can see where the deeper blue water starts

but there was lots to see without even going over my head

the next morning I headed to the bay south

Akumal Bay or Bay of the Turtles

when we were here last year, I had heard you could swim with

sea turtles that live in the bay year round

 or you could call it tourist beach

cell phones and all

but if I could find a turtle it would be worth it

these are not my photos

but I did find a turtle in fact three of them

the first one I found was taken over by a tour snorkeling group

they so crowed around the turtle you could see it look around

anxious as to where to come up for air

I swam away

I went out farther

found a very large turtle, stayed a ways away and swam with her

it was a very magical experience

the reef itself was something I had never seen before

live coral

it had been very damaged by 2 hurricanes in 2005

and was struggling to recover

but for me it was amazing - live corals

of which no photo I have found can show the 

diversity, color and magic of these corals

complete with their many species of tropical fish

the last turtle I saw was on my way in

it was over the reef and trying to hide

as several swimmers with fins and snorkels pursued it

one guy put his camera right in the turtle's face

does that look like a happy turtle to you?