Akumal, it's a tourist town but with remnants of funky that appeals to some people and not others. It was started by divers because there was a spanish galleon wreck off the coast that attracted them. The reef and the bay of Akumal are postcard perfect and the diving is pretty good on the reefs nearby as well.

This is the arch that it is famous for now, it's the landmark you use to direct people to anything. Left at the arch, right at the arch, just before the arch....

The history of the town isn't pretty, there was a small pueblo here when the development of this coast as a major tourist destination came down from the govt. They wanted them moved out, no chickens and children running around in dirt yards in front of stick and mud houses allowed. The govt built a town for them down the road and on the inland side of what would become the highway. It was a grid of concrete block houses, two rooms each, dirt streets and small lots, a long ways from anything. Some people took the govt up on the offer and moved, others didn't. Eventually the others moved across the highway on a small hill, closer to jobs and the road. The center of what had been the pueblo was concreted and is all that is here that remotely resembles a real Mexican or Mayan town. It's got basketball hoops on it and everyone calls it the cancha which means court, as in a basketball court.

To be really honest, no one lived here before the gringos came. Mayans don't like living on the coast, they live inland so they don't get blown away as often in hurricanes and so the salt air doesn't kill their corn. The people that lived here were here to work for the few gringos and divers that started settling here. So, it's not really surprising that there is no church and no bandstand and nothing else that most Mexican towns have. Just small concrete houses where the stick nahs used to be and the rarely used cancha.

Recently they built some semi-authentic looking thatch and concrete shops on it. They sell trinkets and twice a week there is a vegetable and fruit market. The other small buildings are occupied by students here to volunteer for CEA, an environmental group, a doctor, an ice cream stand, a gym and some boutiques. There are two small stores in front of the arch, one we call "why pay less" has imported food from the US and lots of t-shirts and junk, the other is more like a small tienda in any town in Mexico.

Next to 'why pay less' is an economico, with quick good meals and little ambience. That's Mimi getting ready to sit down on one of the stools, we eat breakfast/lunch there a lot.

In spite of the relaxed, almost funky air of the place, this is a big money tourist spot. Homes along the next bay, Half Moon Bay, sell in the millions and that's US dollars folks. All real estate transactions along here are in dollars not pesos. Condos rent for $200 a night from December to April except Christmas and New Years when it is more. One house rents for $10,000 US dollars a WEEK! With that kind of money at stake, it's not surprising that the casual air of the place hides some down and dirty business deals. It's the wild west on the eastern coast of Mexico. Pancho Villa would be proud, everyone else should be wary.

What's the attraction? Manicured beaches with few people on them, views out to sea that no one believes when you take a picture of them, relatively safe in this dangerous world we all live in, you and your kids can walk the streets late at night without worry. You can even stagger home roaring drunk from the beach bar where you sit on swings and the floor is sand and no one will rob you. Perhaps more important these days, you can let your kids run free and as long as they don't drown themselves they will be safe. Pancho Villa never messes with the tourists.