Copacabana Beach Resort - January 2006

The year 2006, the month January, the people us.

This is the story of a journey to the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Four people, one goal... a good time.

Okay, enough of the corny stuff. Cathy and I, along with my mom and dad took a trip to the Copacabana Beach Resort on Xpu-Ha beach in the Riviera Maya section of Mexico on the Caribbean coast. We were about an hour south of Cancun, 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen. The resort was very comfortable, and as with every time we've been to Mexico, the people were nothing but friendly. The food was good, the drinks were flowing (Cathy enjoyed the open taps of XX at lunch and dinner). The beach was probably the best I've seen, soft powder in and out of the water. The pool was very nice, but the water was extremely cold (there had been some cloudy days). I took a number of pictures around the resort and dad took some as well.

One of the day trips we took was to Xcaret, an Eco-Archeological park just north of where we were staying. This is the second time Cathy and I have been to the park. We went there on a cruise about five years back. The place is an excellent day trip. It has everything from Mayan Ruins, wildlife, caves, and an underground river (which we braved).

Of course, a trip to the warmer parts of the world wouldn't be complete without some scuba diving. I dove with Dive Aventuras for the second time. The first was four years ago when we were last in Riviera Maya. I did two ocean dives. Viz wasn't great and the coral is still a bit worn from the hurricanes, but I saw four turtles, a stingray, a puffer fish and a good number of green Morays. I did not have the camera in the ocean. I did however, take it while diving the Cenotes. All of the rivers on the Yucatan are underground and were drained during the last ice age. During that time, stalactites and stalagmites formed in them. When the ice age ended, the water refilled the caves. Where the surface has collapse, the pools of water (from small to large) are called Cenotes. The first was a small break in the ground and the second much bigger, with people snorkeling and a group learning to dive. Once you slipped under water, you found the crack in the stones and ventured into the caverns. It was thrilling, definitely something I'll try again.

Well, that is it for pictures this time. Hope to have another vacation and more pictures to share with the world soon.