Lagoon in Akumal

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Lagoon noun: a body of water cut off from the open sea by coral reefs or sand bars

What is it about being in a lagoon that makes your stress completely disappear, and a zen like state washes completely over you? Talk about tropical therapy for the body and soul.

Yesterday the family headed to Akumal (half an hour from Playa) for an excursion to Yal Ku lagoon. We've been there before and it was truly an amazing adventure and yesterday proved the same for all. The grounds are meticulously maintained with interesting sculptures throughout. It's an ideal place for both adults & kids to snorkel since the waters are so calm. There are tons of tropical fish to see, and with the water so clear you feel like you're in your own aquarium! The limestone formations are really cool as well. It's a small fee to get into the lagoon, and then you can rent your snorkel equipment and life vest. There are many entrances to the lagoon itself, with stairs so it's easy to get in and out which is ideal.

A lunch of sandwiches was packed along with snacks and drinks to enjoy while there. You can rent your own private palapa for $20 which is a nice place to relax after a snorkel and take a break from the sun. Al shot both video and pics so I'll attach them both, the video in the next blog. He has an underwater video camera so he captured some cute clips of the schools of fish. In one clip there's a funny troublemaker fish who stands out when I saw the video. All in all everyone had a great day, and really enjoyed the lagoon's natural beauty. Last night we had a BBQ up on the rooftop and there are some pretty cools pics we took against the backdrop of the ocean and sky. (see previous blog for some nice pics of the roof/sky/ocean)

Yesterday morning a thunderstorm blew in around 10 am and it was a heavy rain, then cleared up till mid afternoon and it came down again. But with the heat and humidity you can still participate in water events for the most part so it didn't "damper" the day for everyone...

On the Pacific coast a tropical depression named Dahlia has been hanging around Acapoulco which in turn I think has brought the thunderstorms here. Yesterday was the first day it rained during the day so no biggie. However this morning it blew in with the palm trees bent over and the boats bobbing around furiously. Thunder and lightning; but we're optimistic it'll be on its merry way sooner than later.

For the heck of it I was looking up what the The World Meteorological Organization, has named their hurricanes for 2013. They alternate between female & male names as follows:

Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand. Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy

Well let's hope after all the bad weather all over the world we only get to "A" on the hurricane list.

Given the weather, I guess one day indoors won't hurt us. We talked about going to have a game of pool, and/or watch the rain fall from a cafe on the ocean. The owner of Abyss Diving, Dave invited Al for a drink at the Dirty Martini today to discuss his upcoming dive, so I'll tag along for you guessed it...a martini!!

We also brought with us Planet Earth in case of a rainy day. There's a particular episode called "From Pole to Pole", specifically about the elephants in Africa. I am fascinated by elephants and have a small collection of elephant figurines.

Elephants are magical and mystical gentle giants; I have been mesmerized by them since I was a little girl and saw a circus in Ottawa. I think I spilled my popcorn when I first laid eyes on the big elephant coming into the circus tent. I'm not sure I even took a breath when it paraded around the circus tent in all its natural wonder and glory. I was spellbound when it performed tricks.

I love the fact that elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups called a herd of up to 100. The herd is led by the oldest and often largest female called a matriarch. (GO Martriarchs!) Here are some other elephant facts that may surprise you...

When a calf is born, it is raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd. Males leave the family unit between the ages of 12-15 and may lead solitary lives or live temporarily with other males. (aww seems sad!) If a baby cries, the whole herd will go over to it and caress and touch it and if there's a stillborn, the herd grieves deeply...(sniff)

Elephants are highly altruistic (have concern for others) and will aid other animals including humans in distress. In India an elephant was helping locals lift logs and placing them in pre-dug holes. At a certain hole the elephant refused to lower the log. Turns out they realized a dog was sleeping in the hole & the elephant would only lower the log once the dog was removed.

Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and have memories that span many years. They also understand teamwork and also display signs of grief, joy, anger and play. I've seen video of elephants playing soccer, painting, tossing a football, and have outwitted humans on intelligence tests leading scientists to believe elephants may be the world's most cognitively advanced animals.

I knew I liked them for a reason...they're so much like humans but much much better 😊

Well now that you've had your nature lesson for today, I'll sign off. Next up a few of Al's videos

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