Yes, you should at least give her a sporting chance to kick you in the shins.

 

yes, of course.

 

Well I promised I would have a few pics by today so Here are some, I wanted to do a good write up, but my Nursing duties have been taking up a lot of my time today.
You asked for it, I hope these aren't too many.

Karen and I returned to the Gran Bahia Principe Resort on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico for the third year in a row. We stayed at Gran Bahia Coba the previous two years and this year we stayed in Gran Bahia Principe Akumal. Our stay was 2 weeks again.

We love the place, I think we only missed two days not swimming or snorkelling in the Caribbean out of 14 days.

Here are a few shots of our specific Resort.

Akumal Main lobby approach


Akumal Piano Lounge Outside


Entrance to Akumal Main Lobby


Akumal Main Lobby


Pools by our Room




Beach on the Caribbean near our Room


Palapas by Beach


Karen and I used to love walking back to our room on the serene, peaceful walkways after watching an evening of live entertainment


We made a lot of friends on the forum from the Loco Gringo site: http://www.locogringo.com/forums/default.asp . Here we are waving at the web cam (this was actually captured by the webcam on the locogringo site), then later we had a party at an outside bar called Lol Ha at Akumal Beach




Our favourite spot to snorkel was at Akumal Beach. We would see huge sea turtles, scary looming barracudas, tarpon, sting ray, schools of squid, parrot fish, angel fish and many others. Next year we will have an underwater camera so we can take pics of what we see.
Here is a shot of that beach. It is a bay that is protected by a coral reef across the entrance. You can see the whitewater out a ways which is the reef, that is where Karen and I would swim out to to snorkel. It was awesome.


There are many Mayan Ruins throughout the Yucatan, many have not yet been discovered since they are overgrown by the jungle. Other years we went to Tulum Ruins and Chichen Itza Ruins. This year we went to the Coba Ruins which is still being uncovered. It is surrounded by jungle and it is common to see monkeys snakes, freshwater crocodiles, besides the pyramids etc.
Here are some pics from the Coba Ruins.










The Nohoch Mul Pyramid


Me coming down the Pyramid(I didn't go to the top)


Zoomed in on the Top


The kids coming home from school would tease the crocodiles in Coba Lake (there are two crocs in this pic)


There are many Cenotes located throughout the Yucatan They are part of the underground rivers that flow through the limestone and the surface caves in to expose a cenote. The water is crystal clear and some cenotes are over 100 feet deep. This is where a lot of their drinking water comes from.






Tulum Beaches have some of the nicest beaches around (many are clothing optional)






Karen and I learned much more about the Mayan people and culture this trip.
Here are a few pics of some Mayan children at their house at the edge of the jungle, they were adorable and so polite (we never saw any people begging in all of our trips down there.)






Of course I had to take a pic of their puppy (which didn't look real healthy, as most dogs down there looked)


We ran across one fascinating thing. When some Mayan fellows want to become engaged to a girl, they will give them a live beetle. They glue decorations on it and the beetle will live for 3-12 months usually, then swhen it dies the girl will coat it with a form of preservative and put it in a case.You can actually see the beetle walking on the girl wear it is pinned by a light chain. (I guess it's cheaper than an engagement ring )
Here is a pic of a live decorated beetle


I better stop, I have dozens more pics, I hope these weren't too boring.
Wayne

 

Hi Wayne!

Those are amazing pics! I read each and every word of your descriptions - I'm fascinated. I've never been to Mexico or anywhere that tropical, so I really appreciate the time you took to post them and share em all with us. I've never seen this part of the world before.

Tell Karen I hope she feels better!

Btw - you look red as a lobster in that pic of the group at the table drinking beers! Did you bring sun tan lotion? haha

 

^^^Thanks for the well wishes for Karen Brian, I will tell her you wished her well.
Brian, we love it there, I have the travel agent checking our options for a months stay in that general area for next year.
The pic of me like a red lobster is the day Karen and I walked over 5 kms of beach around Tulum. It was as if we were in Paradise. The day temps were always around 85 or better.
Wayne

 

Wayne,

Nice pics, looks like a great place for a vacation. I wish I had more time to go on vacations like that, looks like you had a ton of fun!.

The pic of that puppy makes me .

-Tom

 

Great pics. The Coba shots looked very familiar - we were there just last year. We were at Chichen Itza, too - it was interesting how different they were. Both sites were fascinating in their own way. We also watched the Coba kids teasing the same crocs - different kid though (hmmm...).

Best wishes to your better half for a speedy recovery.

I couldn't help noticing in the pic of her hardware that the screws were left-hand thread.
I saw the same thing in the x-rays of similar hardware I have in my neck - left-hand thread. I wonder what's up with that?

 

Great pics, Wayne......Looks like you had a terrific time....
My brother just spent some time there and had an equally great time.
C.

 

Great pics Wayne....
Sure does bring back some good memories from last year.

...& makes me wish we were headed down there about now. (more snow on the way)

 

Thanks Wayne. Great quality of photos. Looks like a splendid trip and destination.

I love the pics and in particular the brief descriptions/story that goes along with them. I'm looking forward to the day when we get away more regularly in the winter to enjoy some warmth too.

 

Awesome pictures Wayne, thanks for taking to the time to post them as well as a write up. I actually LMAO when I saw that picture from the webcam on LocoGringo. I actually visited the website a few times while you were gone like I told you I would but never saw you. Great picture.

The Coba Ruins look awesome. I've been to Tulum and Chichen Itza, but never made it to the Coba Ruins. They look very interesting.......how do they compare to Chichen Izta and Tulum?

These pics really get me excited for my trip coming up, thanks again for posting them.

 

Thanks .

I had to check those stainless screws and they are definitely right hand thread.
Wayne

 

Thanks Colin, Deane, Tom and Ian.

Ian, we did miss having yourself and Pat as vacationing buds this year. Discovered some real neat spots.

Wayne

 

Thanks Shane.

As to the differences between all of the Ruins.

Tulum Ruins
-very close, easy to get too.
-extremely hot because of no shelter, so best to go early morning.
-beautiful beach below the cliffs, fantastic swimming at the site.
-I'm guessing it is the smallest and the grounds are well manicured. Very picturesque.
-because of it's closest proximity, we have been there three times, worth the visit.
-cannot climb ruins

Chichen Itza
-furthest away, requires a full day to go and return.
-since it is inland it can get very hot.
-most famous since it became another Wonder of the World.
-vast site and a lot has been restored.
-we also love this site and went twice.
-cannot climb pyramids for the last 3 years because some persons were fatally injured by falls.

Coba Ruins
-It is the most unrestored of the three ruins.
-closer than Chichen Itza.
-it has the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan and you can still climb it.
-more shade than the others, since it is right in the jungle, more wildlife around.
- I found this site very fascinating and it is a newer find than the others and they are still uncovering more ruins on this site.
-next year we are returning here to spend more time

Wayne

 

Those pictures are amazing....thanks for letting me know you posted them! I am looking forward to taking a similar vacation myself

Looks like you guys had a wonderful time....and I'm sure you'll have an equally good time when you go back next year!