I first stumbled into what I later learned was Akumal in the spring of 1996. Two girlfriends and I had escaped our “Working Girl” lives in Washington, DC to rest and relax on the beaches of Cancun for a week. We were pretty adventurous (for a trio of gringas) and one day we rented a VW bug – they made me drive; neither of them knew how to drive a stick-shift! – and we headed south for a day of snorkeling at Xel Ha. On the way home we verged off the beaten path to explore a little village on the water. Lo and behold, we found heaven! We spent the afternoon sipping beers and enjoying the swings and hammocks at a little hole-in-the-wall beach bar. I never knew the name of the bar or the town.
Fast forward 11 years and I find myself in the same little bar in the same little town on the same beautiful beach. I’d wanted to return to Mexico and had done a lot of research online and happened upon the Loco Gringo website. I fell in love with Akumal from everyone’s posts and photos and soon planned a trip. We rented a condo, booked a car and headed south for a week. We spent several afternoons at La Buena Vida, enjoying the atmosphere and views. I had a weird sense of déjà vu throughout our week in Akumal and especially as we traveled along Half Moon Bay, but it wasn’t until I got home and scrounged up my old pictures from the 1996 trip that I realized that I had indeed been there before! It takes a special place to draw me in and Akumal did it twice.
We’ve been back again since rediscovering Akumal and we will continue to visit this most wonderful of places!
- Claudia Harris
Landgrove, Vermont
P.S. Here are a couple of pictures from 1996. As well as one of me and my sweetie John Wiley during our 2007 visit.
P.P.S. Thanks for this project - I can’t want for the book!
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