What a day we had in the beautiful beachside resort town of Akumal. About a 45 minute drive from Playa that Luis our friend had arranged for us. His friend had a king-size van that was able to drive all 8 of us to one of THE best places to snorkel and dive in the Riviera Maya. We were SO excited. To say this place knocked our socks off is an understatement (well my socks would have been knocked off had I been wearing any!) Plush green foliage, hedges & palm trees lined the drive in to the beach. It unfolds before your eyes this long beach with bars and places to rent lifejackets & snorkeling equipment. It has little cliffs and luxury small resorts built on either ends of the area. So once we were ... read more

I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind. John Diefenbaker (From the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960) We were proud Canadians yesterday here in Mexico. Tattoos and Canadian T-shirts ruled the day which brought lots of attention! Mexican independence day is huge here, and they were really thrilled to see us enthusiastically celebrating our country with pride. I am reallllly interested to see what the Americans will do on July 4th. They'd better have some fireworks and hoopla here which is a VERY VERY special and important day ... read more

"May your time be filled with relaxing sunsets, cool drinks and sand between your toes." Yesterday was a banner day...up early to see the sunrise, then spent a part of the day photo-ing & videotaping Tonya's condos and finally some R&R. We had lunch back at Yan Ten; my gosh the chicken brochette was so tender you could cut it with a toothpick. Luis served us with margaritas, pina coladas, smoothies and all kinds of homemade salsas, chips, quesadillas and pico de gallo along with the chicken brochette with rice & salad & tortillas. All of that was served with a scoop of teasing us on the side! It was so fresh, flavorful and 7 of us ate for about $50 CDN. You can stay at a condo and eat cheaply my friends!! (And drink ... read more

Another sunrise, another new beginning There is just nothing as beautiful as seeing the sun rise over the ocean, with fingers of light playing through apricot clouds. Soon it will be a searing blue sky and the beach will come alive with music and people. (this is a photo over the Caribbean I took, Al's pics will surely be better.) It is quiet right now, a little past 7 am and the gardeners are sweeping the walkways and pruning the plants and cleaning the infinity pool & Jacuzzi. The colors of the plants and flowers here are spectacular; lush, vivid, blooming - makes you want to open your mouth and take a bite into the riches of this place called Playa. They take such loving care of this place and it shows. I wave to them, ... read more

How inappropriate to call this planet earth when it is quite clearly Ocean. Anyone that has spent any time at the ocean seems to have the same feeling I do about it - they love it. The ocean is calming, healing, soothing, invigorating and draws you back time after time. (I now have ocean sounds on my iPod to fall asleep to and let me say, it actually works.) For all that the ocean gives, she sure takes a beating from humans. In my daily walks along the beach in Playa del Carmen (MX), specifically first thing in the morning I would watch the beach workers rake up and thoroughly clean the beach from the day & night before. It's a grandiose effort when you think of the miles of beach in Playa. One of the ... read more