Family Sightseeing Trip

One of my favorite Mayan ruins to take people to is Ek Balam. It's only about 2 hours away and it was the girls favorite thing we did.
Cenote Xcanche near the ruins...Bonnie walking on foot bridge behind the roots that are reaching to the water from the trees above.

All my daughters in Puerto

I was so blessed to have all 3 of my daughters visit me at the same time!! Annie flew in from Santa Fe, New Mexico and Laura and Bonnie from Austin,Texas. Here we are eating out at La Terraza Restuarant on the square in Puerto Morelos. I am happy!

Stingless bees

We stopped at a small roadside restaurant near Tulum and there in the midst of all the condiments was a log nest of stingless bees. These tiny dark creatures resemble flies at first glance, but upon closer inspection, I noticed they were going into a carefully sculpted entrance (circled in red and zoomed in below).
For thousands of years Mayans kept STINGLESS bees (Melipona beecheii) before the Spanish arrived, but these have gradually been replaced by European races of honeybees (Apis mellifera), which I understand to be somewhat more honey-producing than the stingless ones. Mayan bee keepers harvested honey from the log nests of stingless bees to use as a sweetener, as an antibiotic and as an ingredient in the Mayan version of mead. Stingless bee keeping in the Yucatan has declined drastically due to cultural change and habitat loss. Most of these beekeepers are old men living in rural areas where no one inherits their knowledge of the fine art of how to propogate bees by dividing nests. There seems to be a renewed interest amongst a select few and so it’s really nice to see these honey producers in a populated area. Bees are probably the MOST important insect in the world as their role of pollination is critical to plants and then probably a myriad of other roles that we have yet to discover!

Squid a plenty

The sea has been plentiful this week. I saw a big old sea turtle...or at least one that has been around long enough to have several barnacles on its back. But one of the most fascinating things to watch now are the reef squid. You may know them as Calamari and find them quite tasty to eat.....I see these cephalopods just about everytime I swim. Usually there are 3 or more but sometimes only a pair.
They are not the giant squid that you see in the movies that attack the boats...but instead they are small, about 12 inches or less. They can change colors and shapes in an instant and do so when they feel threatened and can jet away in a blink. I have read that the pattern of dots is unique on each one and is a way to identify them. They do allow me to hover above them for quite some time before one of us gets bored and moves on. The way they look at you with those big eyes just makes you wonder what the heck they are thinking!
The population of squid is on the rise as their predators (larger fish like Tuna, Grouper, etc) are removed from the oceans. I just love these little guys. And they have 3 HEARTS!

Skeleton Discoveries in a Cenote

Today our expedition/film team documented a recent find of skeletons deep within a local cenote. I can't disclose which one or any details.... The divers entered the underwater cave through a cenote. Here you can see the bubbles as they are about to ascend after an 88 minute dive. And remember it's COLD down there!

Sand Sculpture Building

Today there was a Sand Sculpture Contest at the Beach Bar....several entries with prizes- Thank you Sarah! I was one of 6 judges who all did a shot of Tequila before judging HA!.....here are Catriona (Australia), Cindy (Austin, Texas), and Annette (Louisiana)with their guitar creation. The octopus created by a team of women won 2nd place.
The Mermaid with her natural parts came in 1st.