4-3-2011 Akumal Beach Resort Mexico

Had a leisurely day at the beach. We started off swimming a few laps in the pool before breakfast. It is a big pool. Wider than the normal hotel pools where you can swim across in about 13 stokes. I counted for a while twice and still was not at the end of the pool. I’m not much of a swimmer, but I know it moves the creaky joints around. I usually do the front crawl one lap and then backstroke on the next. I enjoyed looking up at the blue sky with wisps of white clouds slashed across the sky. Palm trees heavy laden with green coconuts larger than a softball draped palm fronds on either side of the pool. It was a sight to stop and enjoy. Stan and I were the only ones in the pool which made it even more pleasant. The water was warm and the gentle breeze cooled the humid air.


We are on the third floor of the hotel. The view is great. The walk up the stairs (no elevator) is tedious on my creaky knees and Stan’s lower back ache. This is the first time we actually plan and contain how many trips up and down the stairs. Instead of popping back up to change out of swim wear into street clothes, we used the near-by restroom. Oldth. It’s not for sissies.
Our room is cheerful. Opposite walls are painted the same bright colors: school bus yellow and red orange. A foot wide strip of wood is painted bright turquoise above the wall of drapes. Occasionally we see a little lizard an inch or so long scurrying by outside our doorway. I also saw some butterflies sleeping on the hallway walls this morning. They were more like moths, but big ones with pretty brown designs in their wings.


On the balcony we have a grass roof as we are on the top floor. I’m typing this note and watching the sun rise on a breezy morning. I better go get my camera.


Yesterday Stan was on the balcony listening to a bird sing his repertoire from the top of the opening to the grass roof. What an assortment of songs he had. The most delightful thing we noticed about this resort is the peace and quiet. No rowdy young adults playing loud music, drinking too much or splashing noisily in the pool. Just people quietly enjoying their day.

This resort is closed to Spring breakers and caters to mostly families of all shapes and sizes.
There are times when salsa lessons are offered by the pool with the accompanying large speakers. One evening at the bar we waited for a group of three musicians to start up. There was a drummer, keyboard and singer. No expectations on how this was going to sound. Pleasantly surprised to hear genres from the 80’s and 90’s some old time rock and roll and a bit of Latin cumbia and salsa. The dance floor was full the entire evening. Stan and I tried a few. We had just started dancing polkas, waltzes and two-steps five years ago in 2006 as an exercise after his heart attack in May of 2005. After weekly dancing for five years we can finally find the beat and have some fun.