Living room and view into one bedroom
This brief jaunt was a fairly last-minute add-on to our planned trip in early March.
Part of the reason (we told ourselves) was to check on the progress in the area
from last year's hurricanes. While I can't say we were surprised at how well things
have been cleaned up, it's still very impressive to see so little evidence of damage
remaining. All is good in Akumal and southward. Of course, the rest of the reason
was to get some much-needed sunshine and warmth, and a chance to once again see
Akumal in the company of our wonderful friends, Dale and Jule.
We flew out of MSP about an hour and a half later than scheduled and the flight
was able to make up some of that time, but unfortunately we were not able to make
it to La Buena Vida before it closed, even with the super Avicar service at the
airport. Had to postpone the beach meals and refreshments for another day. The
condo at The Reef was open and all lit up for us, which made our arrival very nice.
Beautifully laid out and decorated, unit D was perfect for the four of us. After
unpacking and spending a little time on the balcony overlooking Half Moon Bay, we
ended our late travel day.
Super Bowl Sunday began and ended at Lol Ha; first at the main restaurant for
breakfast and at the Beach Bar for the game party and a nice dinner. In between
we managed to meet several Locogringos, snorkeled Half Moon Bay with some young
turtles, and Kathy, Dale, and Jule walked up to Yool Caanal where Jule and Dale
plan to spend their March trip. They talked for awhile with Sharon (Sharoon) and
Steve Wandler. The Super Bowl party was well-attended.
Monday morning after breakfast at Lol Ha we stepped out in front of the webcam
(after Jule wrote "Hi WI" in the sand there) and waved to the folks back home.
Turtle Bay was the choice for breakfast on Tuesday, then we checked out some
nearby shops. Highly recommend Richard Mazzola's second-level shop for anyone looking
for some good paintings or other works of art. We spent the rest of the morning
once more at Akumal Bay, relaxing and snorkeling.
Our farewell breakfast at Lol Ha was as good as always on Wednesday morning.
It was, as usual, traumatic driving out the arch on the way to the airport, but
the sadness in leaving was tempered by the promise of our return, less than a month
away. We stopped for a bit in Puerto Morelos to see the amazing recovery efforts
still underway there. Seems like everyone who is able to lift a broom or a hammer
is busy sprucing up the town. Work is also progressing on Pelicanos Restaurant,
which is open (next door to their original location) for now. Manuel (Speedy)
Gonzales from Avicar was waiting, as promised, at the airport and as usual returning
the car took only a couple of minutes. We'll be seeing him again in a few weeks!
