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Published: March 10th 2009
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Woke up early again this morning. Started my morning routine with opening all the curtains in the living room, started the coffee, and got on the computer to catch up on some emails. This morning was very overcast so I checked a weather website and saw we were going to be under clouds for most of the morning. The boys got up about an hour later and we took a stroll down the beach in the other direction.
When we got back from our walk it was getting close to when Isabel, our housekeeper, was due to clean so we decided it was a good day to check out Aktun Chen. I had read about this nature attraction and thought it would be a great time to go underground for a couple of hours. So we headed south on 307 a couple of miles and found the entrance to Aktun Chen. We drove down a progressively more narrow and bumpy road for quite a while until we finally found the entrance to the park. On the way, towards the beginning of the road to Aktun Chen, we saw a young couple who had taken a collectivo and were going to
walk to the park. As we travelled down the road for what seemed to be at least 7 miles we started to feel sorry for that couple. The park is a considerable distance from highway 307 and I would not advise anyone to walk. When we arrived at the front desk there were about 25 people also there and this is the group we were with on the guided tour. Before the cave tour started we met the resident spider monkey, Chiapas who took a liking to me. Cute little bugger and when it was time to start our tour the little guy didn't want to let go of me. To make it even better, the tour guide who was helping us with Chiapas just walked away to start our tour...while I am stuck trying to pry this little monkey off my arm.
The tour was very interesting and took about 1 1/2 hours. We walked through a series of grottos and caves which was so cool. At the end of the tour you are taken to an underground cenote where they have placed lights strategically to view the beautiful clear water and the otherworldly stalgtites. Even Aidan said
it was cool (a tough job some days). The cost was a little high and it was a total of 760 pesos but I think it was well worth it. Once again, it was a great way to wait for the clouds to burn off and when we left the sun was shining.
After we left Aktun Chen we decided we would try Lucy's in Akumal for lunch but when we pulled into our parking place Cueva del Pescado was right in front of us. I had read this was a very good restaraunt that serves very fresh seafood so we opted to eat there. Coincidentally enough, while we were eating lunch, we asked our waiter what Cueva meant in english and he said Cave. Certainly a perfect place to follow our cave adventures. Sean had the fish vera cruz which was grouper cooked in a pouch with butter, tomatos, peppers, onions, bannanas, and raisins. He enjoyed his lunch. Aidan had the fish tacos and I stuck to the chicken tacos(which were good but not as good as the Luncheria Akumalito). Sean and I had 2 beers each and Aidan had a Coke and our bill came to 465
pesos. Also, while we were there our waiter, Ahmed told us about the fishing trip they offer. For 3 hours you go out with them and they will cook your fish for dinner that night for $150 US. We signed up for a trip on Thursday afternoon.
After lunch we decided we were ready to head back to the condo to relax on the beach. When we got back we noticed the waves had died down so we all took a dip in the water and snorkeled for about 15 minutes. The water was warm but unfortunately we didn't see anything too exciting. It did come to our attention today that there are many people who stay here that don't understand the importance of not standing on the reef. Almost everyone we saw this afternoon in the ocean just ignored the underwater life forms and were walking all over them. It will be interesting to see how much longer Akumal can keep their reefs healthy.
Tonight we are planning on staying in, cooking a frozen pizza, eating some pico de gallo I made, and having an Uno tournament. All is good!
Hasta Manana!
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