We all slept in this morning. Peter and I woke up a little earlier than the kids, so we were showered and dress when the maid arrived. We had to drag Katya and Matthew out of their beds, and then we all walked to a restaurant for a delicious breakfast. Afterwards, I believe the kids feel back in their beds while Peter and I took a long walk along the beach. There are about three all-inclusive resorts south of our condo complex. Luckily, zoning laws must have restricted height of the buildings, so they are not too intrusive. Past these places are private properties, but the beach, of course, is public, so we were able to walk for a couple of miles on the white sand. We came across turtle nests that had been marked with small signs by a local ecological group as well as tracks to the nests. The nests are difficult to distinguish after the tracks showing where the mother turtles have hauled themselves up the beach get washed away by the next tide, so marking them is essential to protecting the four imperiled species of turtles that nest on the sands of Akumal Bay.
As we walked along the beach, we were delighted by something we had never seen: hundreds of swallowtail butterflies flitting across the sand and rocks where the water laps the shore. It seemed to be a strange place for butterflies. At the same time, Magnificent Frigatebirds, with their long wings and scissorlike tails soared effortlessly above us.
After we returned, I could persuade no one to go in the sea with me, so I went by myself. How great it is to be someplace where we can walk across the patio to the path along the shore and cross it to get right into the water! I ventured further along the reef than we had a couple days ago. The coral seems to be fairly healthy, and there is an abundance of fish. I love hearing the parrot fish crunch away at the coral and watching all the fish dart in and out of the crevasses of the coral. Swimming back to the beautiful beach, I encountered one turtle feeding on the grassy bottom; I floated above him for a while. The patterns on the shell were beautiful.
I sat in a lounger on the patio, reading a novel, while birds called to each other in the palms, flame trees, bougainvillea and other trees around me. The noisiest is the great-tailed grackle, a large purple-glossed blackbird that has a wide variety of calls: a harsh check check check; a high key-kee-kee-kee; discordant notes; whistles; clucks; and a rapid ma-ree. One bird can seem like many.
In the late afternoon, Peter, Katya and I walked into the little town to purchase food since we used most of our supplies during the rainstorm last night. We also visited the office of the Ecological Center, where we signed up to go for a walk with a guide at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning to look for new turtles nests. Four different species of turtles--hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, green and loggerhead--nest on the shore of the Yucatan Peninsula. Right now, the loggerheads are making their nests on the shores of Akumal Bay.
Next, Peter and I went snorkeling right in front of our place. We spotted two turtles, a needlefish, a small school of iridescent squid and a lesser electric ray. This ray was lying quietly on the sandy bottom. We thought it might be a skate, but we were wrong. Luckily, we did not disturb it, because (according to my definitive reef fish identification book), if touched, it can deliver a mild (14-37 volt) shock! In addition, there are gobies, cardinalfish, bluehead and other types of wrasse, a variety of parrotfish (including many spotlight parrotfish in their initial phase sporting alternating black and white scales dorsally and laterally with bright salmon-red bellies and fins), sergeant majors, surgeonfish, butterfly fish and many others too difficult to distinguish from other species.
This evening we visited our fourth restaurant in Akumal. (They all can be reached by foot in less than 5 minutes.) This one specializes in fish, but they made vegetarian tostadas for me. We all thought our food was quite delicious. There is so much to love about Akumal!
Tonight, even though we slept late this morning, we hope to go to bed early in order to wake up around 5 a.m. so that we can meet our turtle guide in the early morning light.
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| Loggerhead turtle tracks going up the beach to a nest |
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| Tracks leading out of the sea |
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| One of the many butterflies on the beach |
I sat in a lounger on the patio, reading a novel, while birds called to each other in the palms, flame trees, bougainvillea and other trees around me. The noisiest is the great-tailed grackle, a large purple-glossed blackbird that has a wide variety of calls: a harsh check check check; a high key-kee-kee-kee; discordant notes; whistles; clucks; and a rapid ma-ree. One bird can seem like many.
In the late afternoon, Peter, Katya and I walked into the little town to purchase food since we used most of our supplies during the rainstorm last night. We also visited the office of the Ecological Center, where we signed up to go for a walk with a guide at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning to look for new turtles nests. Four different species of turtles--hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, green and loggerhead--nest on the shore of the Yucatan Peninsula. Right now, the loggerheads are making their nests on the shores of Akumal Bay.
Next, Peter and I went snorkeling right in front of our place. We spotted two turtles, a needlefish, a small school of iridescent squid and a lesser electric ray. This ray was lying quietly on the sandy bottom. We thought it might be a skate, but we were wrong. Luckily, we did not disturb it, because (according to my definitive reef fish identification book), if touched, it can deliver a mild (14-37 volt) shock! In addition, there are gobies, cardinalfish, bluehead and other types of wrasse, a variety of parrotfish (including many spotlight parrotfish in their initial phase sporting alternating black and white scales dorsally and laterally with bright salmon-red bellies and fins), sergeant majors, surgeonfish, butterfly fish and many others too difficult to distinguish from other species.
This evening we visited our fourth restaurant in Akumal. (They all can be reached by foot in less than 5 minutes.) This one specializes in fish, but they made vegetarian tostadas for me. We all thought our food was quite delicious. There is so much to love about Akumal!
Tonight, even though we slept late this morning, we hope to go to bed early in order to wake up around 5 a.m. so that we can meet our turtle guide in the early morning light.
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