Akuhmal

Jill, Lydell and I went to Akuhmal on Friday. Mike was in Belize and the girls, Michelle and Raquel, had headed off to Coba with Joey our classmate. We decided that we wanted to do something fun!! So of course Jill decided it was a perfect day to go to Akuhmal. We walked to the front gate of Puerto and grabbed a taxi heading to the beach there. When we got there we walked up the path and saw a little snorkeling stand to the left. The man said that we could watch a quick 5 minute instructional/informational video then make a decision if we wanted to do it. He then took us outside where he started to explain the different kinds of packages there are. He got through the first one and we all looked at each other and said how much? He said that it was only 25 dollars. We again looked to each other and simultaneously decided it was a definite go!! (Did I mention that included renting to snorkeling gear!!)

 

We all striped down to our bathing suits and the man got us all fitted with snorkeling gear. We walked to the beginning of the ocean water and started trekking across the sand toward this boat. When we reached the point where we were about waist deep in the water he stopped and had us put on our fins. He offered us life vests but Lydell was the only one who decided to go the safety route. He said that in the salt water you just float and you didn’t need the life vests. I was a little skeptical but to my surprise I was floating without a care on the surface of the water looking down on the spectacular coral reef in no time!! It was the first time Lydell or I had ever snorkeled before so it took some getting used to but I was a natural right away and I got the hang of it. Lydell on the other hand seemed like a fish out of water and struggled a little running into Jill and I but eventually got the hang of it as well. It was breathe taking to say the least. I brought my underwater camera with and I was snapping photos left and right!!! Jill would try to scream at me through her snorkel when she saw something she liked and wanted me to take a picture of. The highlight of the swim was the turtles! We saw four sea turtles feeding on the sea grass. One of them stopped eating momentarily to get a breathe of air, Jill popped her head out of the water right when the turtle did and she said the moment was really cute. Then he swam right back down and continued to graze. At the end of our hour and a half long journey in the ocean we arrived back where we had started. We were cold when we got out of the water and a little disoriented about where exactly we were at first but we in time found our way out and to a warm shower.

 

After we collected our things and dried off a little we started yet another trek to La Buena Vida. We were starving from our snorkeling adventure and needed some fuel. It was a semi-long walk but we made it. We plopped ourselves down on the swings next to the bar. It was beautiful and the food was amazing, just a little windy. After dining we started our walk back and found a taxi (negotiated the price to get home, he reluctantly agreed with me) and we got in. All in all Akuhmal was amazing and I am looking forward to returning with Nick when he gets here.

 

Mercedes Forslund