For our family vacation this summer we traveled to Akumal, Mexico and were part of a Teens4Oceans Turtle Tagging and Research trip. We had 10 glorious, humid, salty, sandy, amazing fun-filled days. We were joined by 14 teenagers (along with my three kids and my lovely mother-in-law Annie!), several chaperones, turtle researchers, and many great people from Centro Ecologico Akumal along the way. Our condo backed up to the Lagoon where we could snorkel every day, and we were a bumpy mile long ride in a golf cart away from the bay, where numerous green turtles (and a few loggerhead and an occasional hawksbill), sting rays, squid…just to name a few, hang out. We visited Coba, to see Mayan Ruins (and lots of iguanas!), and as part of the T4O trip, we tagged eight green turtles and installed acoustic telemetry and camera systems. And my kids got to stay up till midnight to watch a 300 lb female lay eggs. Oh, did I mention there was also a pool at our place…on the roof? Yup, my kids were in heaven!
Kellie Mendelow Photography 