Simply The Best

I wrote this post at the beginning of Saturday, before DW and I did any snorkelling on what was supposed to be our last full day on the Mayan Riviera.

Because we have not yet received the results of our COVID-19 PCR tests, we don't know if we'll be free to depart tomorrow morning or if the results show positive, which will mean another 10 days here (wouldn't that be nice!). DW and I have been as careful as we can be, wearing our N95 masks when indoors and trying to keep as much distance as we can from other guests, particularly those guests who don't wear any mask and seem to go about life as though there's no global pandemic.

I'm not keen that our resort does not enforce any sort of restrictions other than making sure all the staff wear masks. But that's my only beef about this resort. It truly has been paradise.

DW chose the Akumal Bay Beach and Wellness Resort because it has received stellar reviews and is an independently owned resort. She also picked this spot because it was right on Akumal Bay, where giant sea turtles come, year-round, to graze on the grassy sea bed. In 2019, we visited this bay and took a guided tour of the zone where many turtles congregate, and since then, DW has been dreaming of returning and seeing the majestic creatures once again.

There actually is no guarantee that you will see turtles outside the protected zone, which is prohibited except with a guide. But the turtles aren't prevented from leaving that zone and many can be occasionally seen if your patient or lucky enough.

DW has been following a Facebook group who share there experiences and insights into our resort, including the best a-la-carte restaurants, which cocktails to try, and where the best spots are for snorkelling, among other topics. Just before we arrived, someone had posted a photo of a manatee that had been spotted in the bay, while others said that they had seen no sea turtles.

The turtles have their own agenda and there are no guarantees you'll see any.

Last Monday, on our first full day at the resort, DW and I had a busy morning. We arose before sunrise and attended a meditation class, which helped us shed the stress from what was happening back home and to simply reset ourselves for the vacation ahead. I needed another reset mid-week.

After clearing our heads, we had a hearty breakfast at the buffet, where we could sit outside and look out onto the bay. It was magnificent.

Watching sunrise at breakfast (this morning).

From there, we attended a paddleboard class and made our way around the bay. We were too focused on staying aboard our board to see if we could see any marine life through the crystal-clear water. I fell over three times: once, taken out by a surprise wave, which also took my new sunglasses; the second time, I tried to shift my weight and overcompensated; the third time, my arthritic foot told me, under no uncertain terms, that it was done. I paddled to shore while on my knees.

Just before I lost my sunglasses.

Immediately after our session, DW and I headed to our room to get our snorkel equipment. Our intent was to scope out the layout of the sea bed and the coral reefs to get familiar with it. Akumal Bay has some of the nicest reefs anywhere and I captured a lot with my 360-degree video camera.

We saw so many varieties of tropical fish amongst the coral, and as we made our way toward a grassy bed, we spied a stingray (we had observed one, in 2019). But just beyond the stingray, after having been in the water for less than a half an hour, we came upon a juvenile sea turtle.

Simply the best!

There were two other snorkelers who came upon it at the same time, and we all hovered above, so as not to disturb it. Luckily, I could extend my camera about a metre below me, and it didn't seem to bother the turtle at all. I captured some stunning video, of which I created the following still image.

But as it's said of Akumal Bay, there's no guarantee that you'll always be able to see a sea turtle. Since that encounter, DW and I have been snorkelling every day, at least twice a day. We've covered a lot of space in the bay. We've seen myriad fish and two more stingrays. DW spied what she thought was a shark but by the time she got my attention, it was gone.

In writing this post, the last full day at our resort is upon us, and we'll be heading back under the waves. It would be nice if we could end our trip with another sighting, but there are no guarantees.

By the time you're reading this post, if you're reading this post on the day that it is published, we'll either be back at home or we'll be in isolation at the resort. In a way, I'm hoping for the latter: we could stand to be stuck here. We wouldn't be allowed to leave our room but we have a spectacular view and would be able to get room service. We have a jacuzzi tub on our balcony and excellent WiFi service.

In a way, we'd be better off than we would be, at home.

Morning, day, and night, you can't beat this view.

Find out tomorrow if we stayed or left.