Akumal Snorkeling

The first stop on our Mexican Adventure Road Trip was Akumal.  It is a little over an hour south from Cancun, past Playa Del Carmen.  We took a Boat Snorkeling tour with Akumal Dive Shop.  In short, it was spectacular!

We ended up being 90 minutes late for our tour because it took longer to get our rental car and supplies and to get on the road, but the shop was super relaxed.  It was just our family and our guide Raul.  

Here was the clue:

"The rays will sparkle from the sky above to the ground below.  Set sail to where the beginning and ending of two worlds collide.  The baby fishes and Tortugas will be your guide."

Akumal Bay was so warm and with the gentlest waves.  Practically like swimming in a pool, that's how calm it was.  The sand is super fine and there is a ton of vegetation around.  Lots of people sitting under the palm trees.  Our kids like the super fine sand in the water because it packed down so they could throw balls at each other.  But they complained about it on the beach because it was packed down hard.

Out on the water.

Ready for the first snorkel spot.  We went to a little inlet a 15 minute boat ride away.  It is where the freshwater enters the ocean.

This was such a great spot to snorkel in.  The water was very clear but our pictures don't show it.  There is a weird effect that happens underwater when the freshwater and the salt water mix together.  It's almost like it shimmers and sparkles, with a rippled effect.  Rose and I really noticed this because we were behind the rest of our family so every time they kicked their flippers it made it difficult to see.  So we hung back and took our time swimming up the inlet.  

The inlet is very protected.  It was a beautiful spot to snorkel in.

After we made it to the end.  It was only a 15 minute swim against the current.

On the way back our guide went to the boat and left us to take our time and explore on our own.  It was fantastic to have this place alone with just our family.  There wasn't much of a current either.

This ground in this area is covered with mossy stones.  There are lots of caves and crevices, which is why it is a favorite area for baby fish.  

Here's a picture of my baby fish:)

And me.

We saw some truly amazing fish, I am sad that they didn't show up very well though because of the water effect.

Nathan

This picture of Nathan shows the ripply effect of the water.  Nathan really started to dive under with his snorkel in this area.  He loved it.

As soon as Rose surfaced I asked her what she thought and this is what she did.  She loved it!  We all loved it.  It was so peaceful and quiet. We snorkeled in this area for about 45 minutes.

This is our guide Raul.  He also does Scuba tours.

We went back to the bay and before we even anchored we saw two turtles pop up for air.  The kids were so excited to hop in this water. 

The turtles feed on the grass that is close to the beach.  Further out there is coral, we snorkeled though both areas for about an hour and a half.

We were not disappointed.  The kids estimated that we saw about 15 turtles!  Some had shells about 2 1/2 feet long, others were close to 4 feet long.

Nathan said, "It was so cool that we got to see them eating the grass!"

Rose said, "It was so cool because we got to see their heads poking out of the water in real life and we got to see alot of them!"

Ginger said, "It was so cool that we saw the turtle go under the boat.  And that we saw the baby turtles."

Darin said, "The turtles are like water goats!" Goats being the favored teenage boy term this summer.

They all said, "It was Epic Awesome!"

Darin and Nathan.

Raul dived under and took really awesome pictures of the turtle for us.

He was like a foot away from this turtle.

Bye-Bye Turtles.

My family!  We were totally impressed again with how well the girls do.  Rose doesn't really want anyone to touch her while she is in the ocean, not even hold her hand.  Ginger clinged to Ken after she lost her flipper clip at the inlet.  But once she got into seeing the turtles she took off.  Raul offered lots of times to take the kids around with buoy but it wasn't until we swam to the coral that they actually did.  That was super nice because Ken and I could hang back a little further away and hold hands and snorkel.

Cute little girly feet.

At the coral one of the first things we saw was a sting ray.  Raul dived under and teased it with his snorkel tube so the kids could see it swim.

We saw bigger versions of fish that we saw in the inlet.

There was some pretty cool coral.

And a ton of fish.  This one reminds me of the kids book Rainbow Fish.

Parrot fish

I don't know what these are but the one on the left is crazy looking.

Nathan thought it was awesome to see a Trumpet Fish, since he plays the trumpet.

When Ken and I were off on our own this school of blue fish swam by us.  They could have been escaping from our children:)  It was pretty cool to see them swim.

Another Sting Ray

This was such a fantastic tour.  Well worth the $40 per person.  I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area.  This Dive shop is very nice, there is parking right in front, lockers, showers, and lots of equipment.

We thought the water in Cancun was warm, but this is really like bathwater.  Nathan was Ginger's sea horse:)

While we were sitting on the beach we saw these guys walk back from fishing.  Look at that big fish hung over his shoulder.

While the kids swam, Ken and I sat on the beach and cuddled.  It was seriously the best Friday night Date Night!  Of course as soon as we started our picnic we were inundated by the kids.  But they ate pretty quickly and we had another 40 minutes or so to ourselves!

The kids making sandballs in the ocean.

Close to the shore we saw these fishes.  I think they are angel fishes???  Not quite sure.

We went out and rinsed off in the ocean.  Made a family train hanging onto each others feet.

Next time we come to Mexico we want to spend a few days more in Akumal.  It's such a different environment then Cancun.  Our kids probably like Cancun more for long term because of the fun that the waves provide for boogie boarding.  But the calm bay was a fun change.