mexico rocks

another beautiful day on the island.  i roll out of bed, into some yoga clothes and head over to the bar.  the regularly scheduled time for the yoga class comes and goes without anyone commenting on it.  we can see the yoga retreat is using the dock platform and there's no Kirsten and no one seems to know what is going on.  a few deep breaths later, or however many breaths you take in 30 minutes, a guy named Scott shows up and says he'll be leading the class.  it's immediately evident that he has a very different style.  his mechanics are good but there is no flow into or out of postures and it makes for an awkward class.  

we'd signed up for an afternoon snorkel to Mexico Rocks and that too was running late.  so late that i was reluctant to go, soon it would be dusk and the water would be too flat to see much, but i went.  the highlight on that short trip was seeing spotted eagle rays and a lionfish.  it reaffirms for me that i'm just not the guided tour type of person.  i hope tomorrow to find someone who would like to kayak out to the reef and snorkel freestyle.

back at our room i chat up another neighbor who i ask for some dining recommendations.  she sends us down the beach to Aji which ends up being our favorite dining spot on the island.  the tables are on sand and scattered over the property providing an intimate dining experience. twinkling lights are wound through the trees and tables are placed in natural looking nooks created by the trees. the food, the wine selection and the staff are the best we found on the island. also, we aren't consumed by flies that covered the bar and table at Akbol. sometimes it's just the little things.....  

there are also casitas on the property which are small one bedroom houses but have kitchen, bath, a/c and rates similar to Akbol.  this is where i would recommend staying for the best value on Ambergis Caye.

we walk back along the beach and pop over to the Palapa Bar which is a bar at the end of a dock just a few properties down from where we are staying.  it's impossible to miss the Palapa Bar as it has a large, garish sign on the roof.  the bar itself seemed skanky but it was here i saw my first shark of the trip.  it was circling the end of the dock in quick circles and it was big.  at least six feet.  i watched for five minutes until it moved away from the dock.