Monday, August 30, 2010

Akumal Beach Webcam

For a winning combination of Caribbean sun, white sand beaches and clear blue turquoise waters, you can't go far wrong with Mexico's Riviera Maya, and thousands of tourists every year continue to agree.

This fabulous web cam feed is live right on the beach:

Akumal webcam

Akumal is a small beach-front tourist resort community 100 km (62 miles) south of CancĂșn, between the towns of Playa del Carmen and Tulum. It is the municipal seat of Tulum municipality in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The 2005 census showed a population of 1,198 inhabitants.

Akumal means "place of the turtles" in the Mayan language. The town was officially founded in 1958 as a community for scuba divers by Pablo Bush Romero--a Mexican businessman, diver, writer, historian, and archaeologist. Pablo Bush's family (the Bush/Wolfe family) still owns a large portion of Akumal, including the largest resort/hotel Hotel Club Akumal Caribe. Local bartender and DJ Ryan Wolfe is a direct descendant.

The fine white sandy beaches at Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay are ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Sea turtles can be found in Akumal laying eggs on the beaches at night throughout the nesting season (end of April to October) or swimming in the main bay during the day. Hatching season runs from June to November, coinciding with hurricane season. This translates to big losses in the turtle population when major storms hit the area. However, Green Turtle populations seem to be steady.