Activities We Did in Akumal,Mexico

Akumal, Mexico was an amazing experience for us all. It was my first time being outside the US. We did many activities while we were in Akumal. The first day when we arrived at our hotel we were all really tired, but cooper really wanted to go check out the beach that we could see from our hotel room. We all walked to the beach and relaxed for hours. It was amazing! Mirjam, who brought a really nice camera took a great picture of the beach(Located Above). The next day we went to the America Car Rental Place in Akumal and rented a VW Jetta for $150.00 for three days. This was a lot easier than using a taxi.

Our first activity that we did was we drove about 15 minutes from our hotel to Jungle Jim's ATV's tours. We rented three ATV's which could fit two people on each ATV, and with us having five people we had to get another. On the trip we rode on old mayan paths. The paths were really intense and really tested our skills on an ATV. After about 45 minutes we arrived at pristine caves. They were really cool and I could not believe how beautiful the Jungle was in Mexico. After we got done looking at the caves we drove about another 30 minutes to a fresh-water sinkhole which is called "Cenotes". This was my favorite part of the tour and our last stop before going back. We all really like this water sinkhole, because we got the chance to cool off and relax in the Jungle of Akumal. (http://www.junglejimatvs.com/prices__faqs)

Day two we decided to go to Tulum Ruins which is located not too far out of Akumal. We when first arrived we all couldn't believe that the earliest date lifted from the site was in A.D. 564. We visited the City Square which was used for rituals and ceremonies. It is also the most famous building in Tulum. We checked out the Temple of the Descending God. You can still see the traces of the original pigments that were applied by the Maya inside the temple. We walked around and looked at many other really cool building that the Maya had built long ago. This was a really long and hot day, so after the Tulum Ruins trip we all just relaxed at the hotel. (http://www.locogringo.com/past_spotlights/aug2002.html)

Day three we went to visit the Aktun Chen Caves. It cost us $20 each and was well worth it. When we first arrived to the caves we were presented hardhats and were required to wear them during the tour. The tour guide started off by showing us local snakes and teaching us about each one. Once we got into the cave there for a lot of steps and that was a little annoying but we all hung in there. In the caves were many stalagmites. I found that really cool because I had only seem stalagmites on TV. As we made our way around the the cave we saw many docil bats and there were many hundreds living in the cave. We could not believe they still were there since so many people visit the cave each year. When we got out of the cave it entered into a zoo like feel. We say many deer, birds, and spider monkeys. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g499445-c107452/Akumal:Mexico:Aktun.Chen.Caves.html)

Day four and our final activity planned we went Snorkeling! This was by far the coolest thing we did while we were in Mexico! We went with the Akumal Dive Sop because I was told by locals that you got the most out of your money. It was only $25 per person for 1 hour and it included a Guide, Snorkeling equipment, showers, and lockers. It was a great deal so we had to do it. We went snorkeling in the beautiful calm bay of Akumal. In the bay we saw many colorful fish and a lot of turtles. We all enjoyed seeing how fish and other things live under water. Also towards the end of the hour we spotted several stingrays and that was really neat. After the tour we visited the gift shop and we all got a shirt for only $10! (http://www.akumaldiveshop.com/snorkeling/snorkeling-bay-tour/)