Akumal turtle
Happy Hour: Kathy, Maggie, Craig, Gary (Shapeshifter)
This report is just a brief overview with pictures from our July, 2008 trip to
Akumal and Xcalak. This was, apart from some extra driving, a pretty laid-back
trip. The weather was perfect the whole time. The only rain was a brief shower
our first evening while we ate dinner at Turtle Bay. Otherwise almost always sunny,
warm but not too hot, and a light breeze. We spent the first two nights in Bungalow
116, the first time we'd had a bungalow with kitchenette, not that we were going
to do any cooking, of course. Snorkeling was good, with lots of turtles
in Akumal Bay as well as some rays and other small fish. We ran into quite a few
Locogringos...OK, Gary (Shapeshifter) and his wife Martha, Xcalak Steve, and as always
Maggie from the library.
The morning of our third day we packed up and headed south to Xcalak. Along the way
we stopped at Limones to look at a pyramid right along the highway. We had good
roads the entire distance to the pueblo of Xcalak, but many portillas (potholes)
going north from town to Costa de Cocos resort. We had a very comfortable cabana-style bungalow,
as are all the accommodations there, overlooking a pier and some beautiful palm
trees. I had to comment that it looked a bit like Gilligan's Island. We shared the
resort with a wonderful group of teens on a "Broad Reach" tour of dive locations
and archaeological sites in the Yucatan. The tours are listed online at
http://www.gobroadreach.com where one of their tours is listed as "Yucatan Adventure".
They actually have some diaries written by the kids on the trips, including the
group we met.
The highlight of our stay at Xcalak was suggested by Xcalak Steve: a three hour
snorkel tour which took us within ten feet of Belize into the Bay of Chetumal, then
back out into the Caribbean for some of the most wonderful snorkeling. Absolutely
transparent water, thriving vibrant coral, and lots of fish. Our underwater enclosure
for the camera had fogged a bit on an earlier snorkel in the Bay, so unfortunately
we didn't get any pictures from this site, which was south of the pueblo of Xcalak
a bit. Next time for sure we'll get pictures out there.
Again we spent only two nights before heading back to Akumal on the date of our
anniversary. We took a side trip to Mahahual, then headed north. Along the way
we stopped for lunch at El Faison y Venado in the city of Felipe Carillo Puerto.
This is a pretty nice Mayan restaurant, whose name means "The Pheasent and Deer".
They have an air conditioned section which is where we sat, sharing Sopa de Lima,
Quesadillas, and Cochinita Pibil. Two of the three distinctly Mayan. Back "home"
in Akumal we checked into the Hotel, getting the room (408) directly above the one we
had on our first trip to Akumal 10 years ago. We spent the rest of our trip relaxing,
snorkeling, dining, and so on. Our last evening, after a walk along the water's edge
all the way past the Akumal Beach Resort, we stopped back at the beach bar for a few
sips of tequila. We met Danny Romero, the son of the famous Lalo of Chemuyil, and
had a nice talk with him.
