As the cold creeps in, memories of Akumal are keeping me warm. It's crazy because we almost didn't stop here, we figured we would just go on ahead to Tulum but I insisted I wanted to see the turtles. October is the season for them, in they come, waiting by the shore line & at night lay their eggs on the beach. Good luck finding them in the morning because they are buried under 4 feet of sand, so there is no fear of stepping on them. I spent two days in the water snorkelling around them, I was in awe. They are such beautiful creatures & if you listened carefully, you could hear them munching on the seagrass.
We stayed in another amazing Airbnb in Akumal called the Hellas Room, inside Villa Tajkumal. Our room had a Mediterranean vibe to it, we absolutely loved it & the pool out back was to die for. Our host Myrna was amazing and we would recommend anyone heading here to check out here site and other accommodations.
The beach is perfect. It is the nicest beach I have ever stepped on. The sand was perfect, the beach was clean, the water was turquoise and calm. People signed up for tours to see the turtles all day long but it really isn't necessary to do a tour as they are just waiting to be seen in the water. Rent a lifejacket & a snorkel kit and off you go. You will see plenty of them ranging in size. It is a good idea to respect the turtles & to not dive down & touch them. It is stressful for them & less turtles will return each year if tourists frighten them. They all seem to be tagged, I guess they are watching to see how far they travel each year. You will spend all day watching them gracefully swim about, it's an amazing experience.
What I didn't realise when entering Akumal is that it is a gated community. The long winding road up to Yal Ku Cai Lagoon is all privately owned properties and they all got together to make it a community. It is a little weird in a way, but the advantage is it is well taken care of. Over the highway & across the bridge is Akumal town. There really isn't much there, a small shop, a few restaurants but its pretty tiny, cute but tiny. The weather in Akumal was unreal. Blue skies all day long. It was the only place on our trip that we got to see a sunset. The sun was splitting the stones, it was so hot Farah could barely handle it & she's the tropical one. For me, my lower back & the backs of my legs went all out Irish on me, they got burnt during all the turtle swimming. Aloe, became a good friend of mine. It wasn't a bad burn but I saw people on the beach clearly burnt to a crisp from the day before & not covering up. How they managed the sun hitting their burns a second day in a row, i'll never know? Not only is it dangerous but it really hurts, it feels like you're cooking. This one fella was redder than a cooked lobster. Another couple were oiled up, her skin was like a cheap leather belt but shur, she thought she was the bee's knee's.
Golf carts are one way to get around the strip, bicycles are another. Restaurants are dotted along the coast. Luckily our place was plonked right on the beach, right next to the turtles, the boats, the restaurants & all the action. What a fantastic spot! At the opposite end is Yal Ku Cai Lagoon, a nice area for a quick snorkel, if you are not a great swimmer it's a good idea to have a lifejacket here as well, there is a nice current. If you are heading to Akumal and reading this blog, I am deeply jealous. You will have a ball.
