On the 7th Sacred Mayan Journey the 300 oarsmen in 30 canoes will embark at Xel-Há (May 24 at 5:30am) and arrive at Chankannaab, in Cozumel (1:00pm); the next morning (9:00am) they’ll depart once again to end their journey in Xcaret (May 25 at 1:00pm), taking with them the message of the goddess Ixchel.

Wear white and join the festivities, May 23 through 25th, with your ticket to Xcaret or Chankannaab Park.
Link to more information about Sacred Mayan Journey.

We knew it. Now the everyone will know that Akumal is one of the best beaches in the world.

TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice 2013 has named Akumal Beach among the “Top 25 Beaches in the World.” Akumal was featured in the 2012 selection for Top Mexico Beaches, but has move up to join the big guys for 2013. Playa del Norte on Isla Mujeres was also included in this distinguished list of beaches. Recent guests to Condo Half Moon Bay were from Denmark and China.

For more information visit TripAdvisor.

And talk about multi-cultural, the Thai influenced Mexican cuisine of Akumal chef, Gynna of GynnAk on Half Moon Bay, has been featured in the past.

“The cuisine offered reflected the wonderful array of restaurants in the area. It was a fabulous social event for everyone. It was exciting to see that tourists planned their vacation around the event so they could participate. Lets hope the caliber of the event, and the popularity continues to grow.” – Kay Walten, locogringo.com

The event is scheduled for November 18, 2012 in the Parque Fundadores from 3 pm to 9 pm. Local businesses and sponsors will support the operations of this food focused event, leaving chefs free to concentrate on the execution of their creations. Government and media support will promote this festival to local residents and tourists alike, inviting everyone to sample creations that normally they may not have the means or opportunity to enjoy.

Make your holiday plans to stay at Condo Half Moon Bay in Akumal and join in the fun at Taste of Playa.

Taste of Playa VIP Passes – $40 USD each. General admission “Playa Pesos” – begin at $15US.

I credit some of the text and tasty image from the Taste of Playa website. For more information and to purchase tickets online link to Taste of Playa website.

So far, we have 148 loggerhead nests and 153 green turtle nests. We’ve also released 1,302 baby loggerheads. We are hoping to break our record this year with 500 nests. You can help with sea turtle protection by:

1. Staying quiet if you are on the beach at night.
2. Avoiding wearing perfume, cologne or mosquito repellant.
3. If you use a flashlight, make sure it has a red light.
4. Making sure you do not use flash on your camera while taking photos.
5. Keeping dogs off the beach at night.

More information, link to CEA.

Link to Gynna’s facebook site.

Joe and I discovered Akumal on our honeymoon 28 years ago. After snorkeling the Palancar reef on Cozumel I decided to get SCUBA certified. I did part of my open water training at the Akumal Dive Shop. Later going on for my Cavern Certification.

Back in the old days the shop was owned by Dick Blanchard and Gonzalo Arcila. I would often bring a bottle of Wild Turkey down for Dick. (Anyone heading home to the states was required to carry the US bound mail.) I was always in awe of Gonzalo’s underwater photography. What fun the old group was. Helmi was a teenager working behind the counter — hard to believe he has kids now. Steve was the diver guru. My regular dive master was David. Got into all kinds of fun with Jim, Joanna and Richard. Will always remember our trip to the circus in Tulum…

Best wishes to Gonzalo. And, everyone at my favorite dive shop.

Link for more information at the Akumal Dive Shop website.