The Maya Riveria. It's Land. It's People

We woke up to a beautiful morning, clear blue skies, warm weather and the birds were singing. We had breakfast at Amelda's, which was delicious, as expected. Then we received a lecture about water quality in the area by a CEA member. It was very interesting to learn about the ecological effects of human life styles and development and how CEA is trying to address these issues. This seems especially important in combination with the continuously expanding growth that the area is experiencing. We learned that there are major plans in the works to heavily develop the area by the year 2025, with little environmental or local social consideration and planning. CEA also taught us about cenotes, which are underground river caves/channels. This is where most of the area's fresh water comes from and it can become easily contaminated with sewage. Because these cenotes are connected to the ocean, waste from the cenotes can also contaminate the ocean aquatic systems. Another CEA member David, then spoke to us about the Akumal bay reef system and proceeded to show us how to snorkel and point out the various wonderful things to see, such as coral, really cool fish, adult and baby sea turtles, rays, barracudas, and a sea cucumber. In the afternoon a van took us to Playa del Carmento go shopping and eat. After diner we got into our talking circle on the beach to share our individual experiences and feelings about the day. We were called weirdos for sitting on the walking path, but discovered that we are a very complementary group and have already formed very strong bonds and connections with each other. Finger socks!