Akumal, MX

I'm never taking a ferry again in my life. Ever. 

Normally I'm not too bad on boats- I just watch the horizon and convince myself that this is fun. Not this time. This time the horizon was jumping up and down like crazy and I couldn't see it half the time. It doesn't help that it's unbearably hot either.

After the airplane, the taxi, the ferry from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen, the walk, and the van, we have arrived in Akumal. And I guess it's good that it's so pretty, because like I said, I'm not getting back on that ferry. So I guess I'm staying here.

This is Dan's first time out of the country unless you count Canada, which I don't. It's his second passport stamp if you do. Pretty exciting business. As it turns out, Mexico agrees with Dan. Sitting around and drinking beer and looking at the ocean. Not a bad alternative to March Madness. Especially for me.

Akumal is a teeny, tiny town south of Playa Del Carmen. They have beautiful beaches (deserted!) and the greatest ice cream.

Gotsta do some shopping while we're here. It'd tradition...

Day Trip 1: Coba (Cobe-Ha)
On our first day trip we went to the ruins of Coba- a pre-Columbian Mayan civilization. Coba is estimated to have had over 50,000 inhabitants at it's peak. It has many different sites including a ball court where they practiced human sacrifice to their gods.

This is a jaguar stone in the ball court.

This is one of the many Temples at Coba.

Since Coba was a trading center, they had this lookout tower so the lookout could see for miles in many directions to know if anyone was approaching.

The largest temple is Nohoch Mul and is still open for the public to climb. So we did. It's 138 feet tall and pretty dang steep. They have ropes to hold on to, but this is Mexico, it's still pretty dangerous. I was climbing down backwards so I didn't freak out and have to live on the top and the side of the pyramid just ceased to exist. I almost fell a good 70 feet.

But before that we had a photo op. Obviously.

After trekking up pyramids all day, our tour guide took us to a Cenote. I don't know if people were ever sacrificed in this one. It's not nearly as spooky as the one my mom has told us about. We all swam in it and were terrified by minnows and kept crashing into rocks. We were making quite a ruckus... I'm surprised we weren't asked to leave. 

Day Trip 2: Tulum

On our next day trip, we went to the better known ruins of Tulum.

Tulum is a walled city on the ocean that served as a major port for Coba.

Time for a photo op!
Alex and Dan:

Rob and Marcey:

Alex and Dan again:

Mac and Alex:

Dan LOVES Mexico.

Dad LOVES Iguanas.

After a fairly grueling tour with some woman (presumable from Texas/New Jersey) we ate some lunch (avoiding water, tomatoes, all fruits, vegetables, and and anything else that has ever seen or heard of water) and then went shopping in the market outside of Tulum. It's pretty touristy and they even have these real Mayan dancers to make it feel really authentic.

After seeing a little bit of Tulum, Playa Del Carmen, and Cozumel, I would definitely recommend staying in Akumal. It's not very built up or crowded and you're still close enough to everything you'd want to do. And personally, I think the rocky beaches are more beautiful than anything else around.

Oh, P.S. I did take the ferry back. And it was worse than the first one. I'm sorry, it's unacceptable to have some "band" sing over recorded music played through a huge amp with a tambourine and expect anyone to live through it. And we're certainly not going to buy your CD. Thanks.