Attempt at a timely trip report...

[Bren]

Your pictures of your family are amazing,we did something like that when our eldest son was married in Hawaii.

[jewels3081]

Originally Posted by Bren

Your pictures of your family are amazing,we did something like that when our eldest son was married in Hawaii.

Thanks, I am obviously very proud of them! We are a very tight knit family, and I think of those kids like my own. There's no better background than the beach for pictures.
We love Hawaii too! I wish we could afford to go there more. But PDC is hard to beat! I bet that was a gorgeous place for a wedding!

[jewels3081]

Originally Posted by debk

Just saw this report! It's wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, I am novice at the trip reporting! I hope there's been something helpful in there. Wish we were back in PDC already!

[jewels3081]

Ok, as the last chapter of my trip report, I am posting a few more pics of Akumal and Xel-ha. Enjoy!
One of the sea turtles at Akumal:



View of the beach at Akumal from the water:



And some pics from Xel-ha:
All the many, many fish that my little nephews decided not to see!




And one of the dozen's of iguanas around Xel-ha that my nephews loved finding and getting right up next to, even though they do bite when they are scared, I have heard. Overprotective aunt, I know....


There were stingrays everywhere this year!




And the little ones who loved the river at Xel-ha:



And this one is too funny. Although the picture is out of focus, if you look closely, there you can see my brother, with his 4 year old little girl, wearing a life jacket, and a small ring shaped floaty she carried everywhere, asleep in his lap! Kids are too funny!


I didn't actually get to take any of the underwater pics, so they are my hub, bro and SIL's work. I did float the river with the little ones however, as mentioned before, and that's where the day ended for me.
I would recommend Xel-ha to anyone who loves the water and is interested in seeing sea life. Thinking back, if towards the end of the day I had felt up to pushing the boys to swimming around and snorkeling close to the stairs in and out of the water and close to the bridges, they would've realized how cool the snorkeling was. Oh well. You learn something everyday. We'll know better for next time.
Thanks for reading my trip report!

[queencityfan]

Great report, looks like you'all had a wonderful trip and made a lot of memories.

[roxie]

Originally Posted by jewels3081

We found the photog here, of course! I have his name and contact info, but I will have to search by through my e-mails to find it. I will PM the info to you later, if that's OK. I would definitely recommend him again. We didn't get really good shots of just the kids together, but then again, even the most experienced photographer in the world can't always do that with kids. But for two hours, pretty much at our convenience, and a CD loaded with pictures, I think he was well worth it.
I will PM you the info later. If I happen to forget, as it does happen sometimes! Remind me here, OK?

It seems like a lot of people want this guys info. I am one as well. We are going down in 3 wks w/ our 7mo old and my parents. It would be great to get some pictures on the beach.

[jewels3081]

Originally Posted by roxie

It seems like a lot of people want this guys info. I am one as well. We are going down in 3 wks w/ our 7mo old and my parents. It would be great to get some pictures on the beach.

I did tell him I would recommend him, I guess there's no better recommendation or word of mouth advertising than this:
His # is 044-984-745-6990, and his e-mail address is: nikotheruso at hotmail dot com.
He is really nice, and really casual. He won't pose you a lot, he just takes pics as your are doing stuff and you can kind of pose yourselves. I loved that even though the beach was busy, he was able to take some of the people out of the background and just generally manage to make us look better!
I hope you guys think he's great too!

[curlgirl]

GREAT trip report! We are looking into the GCB for December. I love that end of the beach versus the Playacar area. We have been debating staying at the Akumal Beach Resort instead. You mentioned you were near there...how is the beach there versus the GCB? Also, LOVED the photos! They're great!

[jewels3081]

Originally Posted by curlgirl

GREAT trip report! We are looking into the GCB for December. I love that end of the beach versus the Playacar area. We have been debating staying at the Akumal Beach Resort instead. You mentioned you were near there...how is the beach there versus the GCB? Also, LOVED the photos! They're great!

You know, we only spent part of a Sunday near the ABR, and I never really saw the hotel that much. The beach was SO crowded with locals and probably some weekend cruise ship excursions. But, that's just a weekend thing I am sure. I wish I could tell you more. The beach was very pretty. There were boats there too, and sea grass underneath pretty quickly into the water, but that's what attracts the sea turtles I think. Other than that, I don't really know much about the place. I have heard to definitely try to book the newer rooms. I think there's nothing wrong with the older ones, but the new one's are just much nicer.
I am sorry I can't help more! Please post a trip report when you go. I would love to read a trip report from someone at ABR. I would definitely recommend GCB. For the price and location, it's awesome.