10/30/2014

This morning, Jill and i went for a walk with a little running at a sports complex a block away. We got cleaned up and waited for the the Canadian to go to Akumal. Akumal is a beach in a bay where sea turtles live.  Me, Jill, the Spaniard, and the Canadian all went on this little excursion. We caught a collective to the bus stop. Collectivos are passenger vans that pack people in for 5 Pesos.  We stopped at the interstate and waited for a bus to Akumal. We waited in the wrong place for a bit until the spaniard got us to the right place and caught another intercity collectivo. I recommend having a bilingual spaniard when in Spanish speaking places. The next collectivo got on the highway and drove about 90 mph to Akumal. Everybody there wanted to sell us something. Grown around Akumal is an industry of guides and accessories rental. The place wants your money so badly. We had got some masks from the hostel and were already set. No, Gracias. No, Gracias. No, Gracias. No, Gracias. We got to the beach and were told that we needed to rent life jackets to protect the bottom in one area. We all ignored that and just didn’t touch the bottom in that area. There were big sea turtles and some little sea turtles. I saw three. There were little bright blue fish and little bright yellow fish. I saw a Barracuda hanging about. We had a late lunch, then walked down the beach. We discovered that beyond the buoys and tourists the beach was empty. They are also building a lot of new hotels.

We jumped in another Collectivo on our way back. This conductor drove only 80 mph. The bus was super full of people returning to town. He got pulled over for letting a passenger off in the middle of the street. So we all waited while the driver spoke to the policia. I’m sure he will not here the end of that from his colleagues. We were dropped in the plaza and walked back to a different collectivo and rode back to the hostel. It is a good day so far.