Akumal 2012 Day Four

Quick update today, since Im having too nice of a time relaxing to spend much time on the wifi.

Another great breakfast, if you couldn't tell, I'm all about breakfast.  I really did take pictures of other meals, but, can't seem to find them.  I'll keep looking. 

The weather vastly improved today, making snorkeling better, not perfect, but, definitely better. The sargassum is all over the beach, and still coming in.

We walked into town again today, ran into Alex in the CEA office, and just love her. Monday we'll stop in and get some souveniers from CEA, t shirts, mugs, that kind of thing. At Chomak yesterday we found out that Charlene is still recovering in the states and doing well.

Finally got Matthew to try his snorkel,. He's still nervous about having his face in the water but he did it. The resort is pretty full, lots of Italians and Spaniards and a smattering of Russians.

Right now Im sitting in the palapa off the lobby watching a baby lizard pretend to be a leaf in the wind. very cute. Matthew has a gecko that pretty much lives in his shower that he has named Philip. So far this trip has been so nice and relaxing.

Went to the a la carte last night, not real impressed with the food, but it was nice to see Jesus again. Tonight we're having our romantic dinner on the beach in front of Lol Ha, so, I got to go get ready.

Akumal 2012 Day Three

Well, we are almost done with our second full day, and what a trip it's been already. Antonia, Alejandro, Marianne, and everybody are just as we left them, all smiles and hugs. Got a cheek kiss from Renato, always a sweet guy. Found out that the rooms in the older section are on his plan for remodel to make them as nice as the superior rooms. He is currently moving the gym from its jungle side location to a new room they are just finishing under the theater. It will be much nicer, with more equipment, and AC. He's looking at new curtain fabric to spruce up the rooms, and just in general doing what he can a bit at a time.

Yesterday was Cheyenne's birthday, so she wasn't here, and today she looks a bit under the weather, can't imagine why. Maybe a little too much birthday cake.

Today there was a wedding on the beach in front of the Moonrise. An italian couple, so cute.

Stopped in at Turtle Bay yesterday and ran into Gary. Haven't had a chance to see Bart and to meet Jennifer. She helped me put on our vow renewal last year, and had to go to the states before we got there, so, we still haven't met. I really want to thank her in person for all she did.

In case anyone is interested in knowing what is provided in your room at ABR, here is a snapshot of the shampoo, conditioner, two bars of soap, a few hand towels, a bottle of water and clean glasses.  No washcloths, and the bottle of water will only be replaced if you specifically request it.  We had no problem with that as each floor has a water dispenser and we brought Bubba Mugs that we refilled when we wanted clean drinkable water.  I have heard that the resort has a reverse osmosis system and that the tap water is drinkable, and I had no issues when I brushed my teeth with the water. 

Early morning in Akumal.  The rain from yesterday has all but disappeared and the humidity is rising.  I just love the moisture in the air.  Each day I got up earlier and earlier trying to catch the sunrise.  Today was not the day, tomorrow may not be either.

Breakfast was always good.  Two kinds of scrambled eggs, and a chef making made to order omelettes, bacon or sausage, hash browns, chequilles, pancakes, french toast, lots of fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, granola, cold cereals, too many things to list, but, my favorite were all the breads, especially the sweet breads.  There is always hot freshed brewed coffee and an urn of hot water for the tea bags they had.  Yes they have equal and splenda.  The juices alternate, they always have orange juice and usually grapefruit juice, but, they alternate the other tropical juice, sometimes its watermelon, sometimes honeydew, and so forth.

 

Last night Tim, Matt and I took our red turtle lights and headed out to south of ABR to see what we could see. Well, almost immediately saw a mama coming ashore just beyond the bent over tree in front of the condos. She couldn't find a spot she liked, so back out to sea she went, and at the same time another came ashore north of the condos. Watched her for a while, but, she never liked any of the spots she tried on the beach, so she went up onto the driveway, and that was a no go, so, back to sea she went. While she was up in the driveway, we saw another mama come ashore right by the bent over tree and she started digging right away, pretty near the shore. She dug for quite a while, and then started laying her eggs. It was such a surreal experience. I've waited so long to see just one mama laying her eggs, and here were three in a row. I'm sure others were coming up around us. While she was digging we stayed well away from her, just watching.. Then, when it was clear she was going to lay her eggs, I moved up closer to her. It felt like it was just her and I, sharing that quiet night. Tim and Matt just sat back on a log, but, I wanted to be close to her, not so close as to intrude, but, close enough to share her space. I know, it's a weird thing, perhaps, but, I felt a bond with this mama after watching her for so long. 

Then, as she was half way through laying her eggs, a large group with some CEA workers came up the beach. The woman in charge immediately started measuring the mama, and talking to the group as they surrounded her and stood between the mama and I. Our moment in time was over. I know CEA has to do this to gather data, I know it helps with the turtle conservation, but, I couldn't help but wish that the mama and I could have completed our time together with her heading out quietly to sea, undisturbed. As it was, there were so many people talking and pointing. I just stood and gathered our things and headed back down the beach. Maybe another night.

As we walked past building 6 there was a group of people watching something up behind the palapas. I saw the tracks and knew it was another mama. It was still early, it was going to be a busy night

Taking a walk behind the resort.  I just love the jungle side.

 

This picture is for Katie, yes they do have Magnum bars in Akumal.  They have them at Super Chomack and a few other pl

aces in town.

One of the pelicans that hang out in front of the moonrise and Lol Ha.  Every so often they will dive down for a fish, and narrowly miss some unsuspecting tourist.

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The maids sometimes leave towel art, we had one cute animal in each room one of the days we were there.  Well we had an animal, Matt had a sail boat.

The weather has been amazing, mostly sunny (take that crazy weatherman , not a sign of 70% chance of rain). We had some rain yesterday, it was nice and refreshing, and short lived. Today, not a drop. The waves are kind of rough though, and the sargassum is piled high in front of the round restaurant building. The wind has been kind of steady, too. None of it is a deal breaker for sun and swimming, but, snorkeling is not as fun since its so murky. Maybe tomorrow will be clearer.

We have reservations for the a la carte, and plan to get back on the computer later tonight. Matt just showed up after spending the entire day in his room in bed sick. He had some kind of bug before we left home, thought he was done with it, but, it came back on him today. He's feelin better now, so, onto dinner.

Akumal 2012 Day Two

Our second day in Akumal was stormy, had a few downpours, but, even a stormy day in paradise beats a sunny day anywhere else.  As you can see, the waves were pretty choppy and the wind was blowing, so, not much snorkeling that day.  We slept in til after 8, and since breakfast is done at 10 it was time to get our day started.  I was still figuring out this camera, my Canon went awol when we were packing, so I borrowed Mindy's little Sony Cybershot.  A lot of the pictures came out really nice, so, I'm impressed with it. 

 For those who have not been to ABR, they have a wading pool pictured to the right of the pool guy, it's pretty shallow, just right for little kids.

 I took a couple of pictures of the pool guy cleaning because I've read some concerns people have had that they never see anyone cleaning the pool.  Well, this guy was out there every single morning scrubbing, and testing the chemical levels in the water.  He worked hard for hours every morning. 












 There is a pair of pelicans that hang out in the bay all day long.  We spent the morning chillin in the palapa and watching them dive for their lunch. 

 After lunch we wandered up the beach to the little town of Akumal where there are a number of small shops, restaurants, and the like.  Matthew found a hat he liked, an we scored some snacks for the room.  The beach was pretty busy for a Wednesday, which we found was going to be the case pretty much every day of our trip.  Lots of snorkeling tours, and locals all up and down the beach.

A little of Matthew's artwork in the sand.

This was Matthew's first time ever being at a beach or near the sea, so, he spent a lot of time just soaking it all up.  

At one point in the afternoon we were getting ready for something, can't remember what, and Matt came over from his room to ours.  His door shut behind him and he just stood there and said Uh Oh.  He had locked himself out of his room.  Luckily, we shared a balcony divided by a wall.  Tim climbed over and got in through the sliding doors. 

 And then the clouds rolled in.  It was obviously going to be a down pour, so we packed up and headed in to change for lunch.  There isn't much of a dress code at ABR, just don't go in the buffet wet, and I believe they want men to wear shirts.  Other than that, pretty much anything goes as long as you are appropriately covered.

 The day ended early again, dinner at the buffet, which was pretty tasty.  I had an air mattress taking up my side of the king size bed, Tim was more comfortable with just a couple of camping pads that we brought from home.  After family prayer expressing how grateful we were for a safe trip to Akumal and for this wonderful place and people, we all turned in.

Akumal with Matthew August 2012

July 24, 2012
We are heading out to Akumal again, this time with our 17 year old son Matthew.  We'll be there from August 14th til the 21st.  At this point we are starting the packing and organizing and in general pacing back and forth til the days pass and it's time to leave.  It's hurricane season, so, we are watching the weather websites and hoping everything stays calm.

 August 13 2012
We're nearly packed, suitcases are scattered around our bedroom, clothes all over the bed, looks like a bomb went off, but, in a few hours it will all be neatly tucked away and stowed by the front door ready to load in the car. We leave home tomorrow at the butt crack of dawn, 04:00 hours. Our Frontier airlines flight arrives in Cancun at 3:30 pm and USA transfers will be waiting to take us home to paradise.

August 14 2012
Left home promptly at  4am for our 730 flight on Frontier airlines, connecting in Denver.  Since we had two free checked bags each we decided to bring whatever we wanted, and decide after returning home what we could have lived without.  Yep, that's a whole lot of luggage.  The other airlines had their check in desks open, but, not Frontier.  We stood around waiting while every other airline checked their passengers in and had them on their way.

The airport itself wasn't much better.  When we finally checked in, we walked to the security area and were met by lines that extended to the exit doors for the terminal.  A security agent was standing directing the passenger traffic to try to maintain some kind of line, and was telling everyone that next terminal might have a shorter line due to it being a Delta terminal with more staffing.  So, we just avoided getting in this line and headed over to the Delta terminal.  She was right, practically no line, at least until word got out and the crowds made their way over from the other terminals.  By the time we were through security we could see it backing up quite a bit.  After getting settled by the gate we watched as another airline held a flight for passengers they knew were stuck in security.  About half the flight was still not at the gate, and the word was getting back that the lines for security were now out the doors.  People were running from security all the way to the gate to make the flight.  It was exhausting just watching, and made me so glad I figured in the extra time cushion to allow for things like that.

Finally it was time for us to board, and getting Classic seats afforded us priority boarding, which meant plenty of room in the overhead bins.  The Frontier filght wasn't as nice this time as it had been last trip.  They didn't even have the hot chocolate chip cookies anymore.  That was a really nice touch for an economy airline.  Made them feel just a bit more customer friendly.  The plane itself was getting run down, two of the three tv monitors in our row of seats had stickers over them saying they didn't work.  It just didn't feel as clean either.  On the website it advertises in flight food for purchase, but, as soon as the door closed the flight attendants on all four legs of our trip going to and coming from Cancun announced that they only had limited quantities of sandwiches and salads and that you had to use debit or credit, no cash purchases.  The customer service feel was going down.

 Our connection to Denver allowed us a two hour layover, so we had lunch in the Bistro.  Pricey but very good food.  Again we boarded first  and again we had at least one monitor that was broken.  Still limited quantities of food for purchase and not a pretzel or cracker unless you paid credit.  The flight itself was smooth and our arrival in Cancun on time.  As soon as the moist tropical air hit us it felt so good.  Knowing the Mexico customs lines, we hustled down to get through immigration and get a good spot by the luggage carousels.

Customs and Immigration was about half what I expected, a fairly good crowd, but, nothing crazy. A British Airways flight came in just as we did. As we were standing in line for immigration with a Brit family group in front of us. The immigration worker changed the direction of the line, seemed like we were going to be funneled to a different line to speed things along, But then he shut it down in a different spot and that put the Brit family behind us. They seemed surprised when we told them to go ahead of us. After all, they were there first, it was only fair.

Pretty much sailed through it all within an hour.  Then out to the throng of time share sharks waiting for unsuspecting passengers.The sharks were pretty bad this time. Never been stepped in front of before, but, I had no trouble letting him know I wasn't biting.  Pushed past them and did not give an single one a chance to slow us down.  They even tried to say we "had to stop" we "had to talk to them".  What a crock!  Please people, do not stop, do not listen to them.

Apparently the rule about luggage carts outside has changed, and we were permitted to take them both out to where our USA Transfers rep was waiting.  We were loaded and on our way to Akumal Beach Resort in short order.

The drive seemed shorter but was probably an hour and twenty minutes.  I guess having gone that route so many times makes it seem to go by quicker.  Not a lot has changed, and the sign for the ABR was such a welcome sight.

Our luggage was quickly unloaded and we made our way up the stairs to the main lobby.


There was a table set up with cold juice drinks for arriving guests, a very nice touch.   As you can see it's an outdoor lobby, with a view of the pool and the main bar.

Checked in with Antonia, after a big hug first.  We thought she might not remember us, but, as she was checking in another group she glanced up, saw us in line, and literally squealed out loud, jumped up on the counter reaching for us to give us a big hug.  We just love her.  After checking in, and getting the scoop on everyone at the resort, we went up to our rooms in building 5 third floor, room numbers 539 and 540. The rooms have a great view of the Caribbean and overlook the swimming pool.  Matthew had a gecko waiting for him in his shower, which he decided to name Philip.

 We barely set down our luggage, changed into our swim suits and dashed right back out the door.  As soon as our feet were in the soft cool sand , ahhhhhhh, and the water was bathwater warm. We are finally home again. We spent a couple of hours just floating and bobbing around in the water.  It was a good thing we brought beach towels from home, as the towel exchange desk was closed before we could get any.   As soon as I snapped this pic of Tim taking his first steps into the water, I set the camera in the palapa and took Matthew in for his first experience with the Caribbean.  I showed him how to do the stingray shuffle, and we waded out to where it was waist deep.  He loved it. 

 The grackles were still calling out for Ricky.  It was all so familiar and comfortable, as if we had never left.  It's funny, we say that every time we go back, and yet it's always true.  

After heading back to the room to change into something dry to wear to dinner, we strolled down past Wilbert at the main bar, busily making drinks and chatting.   The buffet was great, well stocked, at least 5 different veggie dishes, and a salad bar.  The soup was cream of mushroom, and so good.

Dinner at the buffet was really good, the Mexican night worked really well for us, needed me some Mexican food. Saw the eagle ray playing by the buffet.   I failed to get mosquito repellant on before leaving the room, so, it didn't take long for the mossies to find me and tag me about nine times.


By the time we finished eating it was nearly 9 oclock, and even though we wanted to stay up for the entertainment, we were all just too exhausted from the trip, so, early to bed, and in spite of the live band playing, we fell quickly asleep.  It was a great first day.

Maryland February 2012

We spent some time in Maryland last month, it was a short trip, the latter part of a trip to attend my mother's funeral. The funeral was more of a memorial service, and it was held in Pennsylvania. The next day we headed out to Maryland to spend a few days before heading home.

Driving through the Pennsylvania countryside was so nice, even in winter it's beautiful, and I really miss all the trees and the beautiful houses. The day itself was sunny with bright blue skies. We planned the drive to go past the Washington DC temple, on the way to our hotel in Columbia. It was so exciting to round the bend just before the turnoff to go to the temple, and as you get past the trees the temple appears gleaming in the sunlight. It's so gorgeous, magical, and ethereal. It's hard to believe we were married there.

We left the temple behind and went to the hotel, the Sheraton, situated by a small lake. After getting settled we headed out for a walk on the footpath that almost encircles the lake.

The next day was rainy. I had forgotten what it was like in Maryland when it would rain. In Utah it comes and goes, only occasionally will it rain all day long, but, in Maryland it gets absolutely water logged. Still, we were determined to spend some time on the temple grounds so we drove back into Washington DC, and found our way to the temple visitors center parking lot. There were practically no visitors due to the weather and it being a Thursday morning, so it was nice and quiet. We spoke with the sister missionary inside that we discovered was from Utah. We wanted directions to the LDS bookstore in the area hoping to get a unique temple portrait, so she directed us to the older couple that were running the front desk. After he found out that we were from Utah, and chatting a bit about that, we told him that we had been married in the DC temple 29 years ago, and he was surprised that we would travel so far when there are temples in Utah. We explained that we had been living in Minnesota at the time, where Tim was born and raised, and he said he was from Minnesota too, a little town called Dalbo. Well, were we surprised at that, Tim's Anderson side of the family were one of the founding families of Dalbo.

You can imagine the lengthy chat, and I do mean lengthy chat they had.

After they had covered most of the history of Dalbo, we headed outside to walk around the temple gardens and take some pictures. It's a bit of a tradition to have our picture taken by the fountain in front of the temple. With the rain, and a bit of wind it wasnt' easy, but, we mostly managed. Finally we asked a lady that was going into the temple to take a couple of pictures of us. Then we walked the gardens, even in the cold rain it was so nice. We took some more pictures, and then drove to the little bookstore nearby. There was one temple picture I wanted, but, had no way to transport it, so I'll just order it online.

We picked up some gifts for the kids, and then back to Columbia to regroup. On the way we decided to have lunch before going back to the hotel, and I suggested we find the restaurant where I used to work as a hostess back in 1980 , the Crab Shanty. I wasn't sure it was even still there, but there it was, and it looked almost the same. The inside was a little different but still felt the way it did back then. The food was great.

After lunch we drove up the road to see where my grandparents used to live. The old house looked pretty much the same, except that all the trees and shrubs were gone and the house was painted yellow. So were the house next door and my Aunt Sophies house across the street. None of the other houses in the area were painted, and since they were red brick it made no sense to me. Whoever bought them must have terrible taste. Still, it brought back so many memories to see the old house. It looked smaller somehow, even the driveway seemed shorter, but, I know it wasn't.

More to come.......

Storms

Trying to get caught up on this trip report.

So, the tropical storm that had waited for us to have our big day was officially done waiting. The morning was cloudy and off and on sprinkling of rain, so, we hit the ocean for some snorkeling. Saw turtles almost right away, they pretty much hang out in a grassy area just beyond the moonrise beach bar, and it was just amazing to see them and cruise alongside them. We kept our distance, respecting their space, and never hovering over them. They need to be able to come up for air and we didn't want to frustrate or bother them, we just wanted to share their day for a bit and then push off to see what else was hanging around the reef.




By afternoon the dark clouds moved in, and we could see what was about to happen, so, we gathered our stuff and went back to the room to relax before lunch. The rest of the weekend was punctuated with rain here and there.

The morning after

Tim had trouble staying asleep, the events of our wedding day kept playing in his head, over and over, and he was just so happy and caught up in the emotion of the day, by the time it was almost sunrise he was up and decided to head out to catch some pictures of the sunrise. I was sleeping like a baby, very satisfied with how our day went, and just in bliss.

Here are some of his sunrise photos.