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July 22-July 31, 2004

Come join us for an exciting adventure studying the lives of Hawksbill, Loggerhead, and Green Sea Turtles

The trip will be led by adventure tour guide, Heather Froeming and Ivan Caballero, Director of CEA's Sea Turtle Program

Our expedition concentrates on sea turtle conservation while enjoying the relaxing beauty of the amazing Quintana Roo coastline. Based in the small town of Akumal, known as "The Place of the Turtle" in the native Mayan language, our group will participate in CEA's exciting Turtle Program. We will take adventurous day trips to surrounding turtle "hot spots" and other natural attractions. Daily activities will be scheduled with regular discussions about turtle biology, current conservation methods, Yucatan peninsula natural history and nightly turtle monitoring walks. As a participant, you will become a member of Centro Ecológico Akumal for one year and help support the community turtle monitoring program. In addition, we will be exploring ancient Mayan ruins and the lush tropical jungles that line the coastline. The relaxing beach front accommodations at Vista Del Mar Hotel located on Half Moon Bay will allow you to truly appreciate the beauty of the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Our hopes are that you will return with a renewed spirit to help protect the natural wonders of our world.

July 22: The group will be welcomed at the Cancun airport and transferred an hour south to Akumal where we will have an introductory meeting and luncheon.

July 23: We will explore the beautiful waters surrounding Akumal where Green sea turtles feed on lush turtle grass beds and the more elusive Hawksbill swim among the colorful coral reefs. We will visit Yal Ku lagoon, which is a favorite spot for turtles, as well as parrotfish, seargent majors, barracuda, chromis, damselfish, jack, grouper, angelfish, and hogfish. There will be an opportunity to
	participate in scuba diving with Akumal Dive Adventures. We can offer resort courses for first time divers or for the
	more experienced, explorations of the depths of the second largest barrier reef in the world. Our divers frequently have the opportunity to swim near sea turtles in the open water! At night we will learn about CEA's turtle monitoring program and participate in their nightly walks monitoring nests in Half Moon Bay (North Akumal).

July 24: We will travel to surrounding nesting beach sites and learn about the different government agencies and organizations that are involved in the protection of turtles. We will visit the beaches of X'Cacel, recently protected from a large hotel development. At night we will participate in another monitoring walk at Turtle Beach (South Akumal).

July 25: We will travel to the majestic ruins of Coba hidden deep in the jungles of the Yucatan. We will climb its tallest ruin and view an amazing expanse of lush tropical jungle. We will also visit the monkey preserve located adjacent to the ruins.

July 26: We will visit the turtle program at Xel-Ha Eco-Park. There we will be introduced to their turtle monitoring and protection program. The day will then be spent exploring their river systems, cliff jumping, snorkeling and hammock lounging.

July 27: We will take a day trip to the reknowned Sian Ka'an Bioshere Reserve, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We will discover the intricacies of this amazing ecosystem and explore some of the most beautiful and pristine beaches in the world.

July 28: We will visit the famous ruins of Tulum, the only remnants of the ancient Mayan culture that settled on the cliffs of the Caribbean Coast. On our travels back to Akumal we will revisit the group's favorite beaches.

July 29: A trip to Cozumel to experience the island life of the Mexican Carribbean. This island is famous for its amazing wall and drift dives, as well as, spectacular snorkeling. There we will be introduced the the island's Turtle Monitoring Program. We will travel back to Akumal for a quiet evening and slide show.

July 30: The afternoon will be spent exploring several different cenotes, underground river systems, which consist of freshwater pools, caves, underwater tunnels, and a very unique ecology. For certified divers, there will be an opportunity to dive in these amazing underground and underwater worlds. We will enjoy a delicious beachfront lunch while visiting Casa Cenote. At night we will participate in another nightly walk.

July 31: The group will depart form Cancun taking home with them beautiful memories of the Mexican Caribbean and motivation to help save our world's sea turtles.

The total cost per person based on double occupancy is US $1,397.00.
An additional $300 for single occupancy
Deposit of $500 required

What is included: Land transportation in Mexico, accommodations, three meals a day, gratuities except for program leaders, entrance fees, and one year membership to CEA.

What is not Included: Airfare between your home city and Cancun, alcoholic drinks, gratuities for program leaders, optional dive packages, services at the local health spa or additional services not included in the itinerary, departure taxes, international health insurance.

We want to provide you with the opportunity to have a vacation of a lifetime. Therefore, we are willing to customize the schedule to fit the group's needs. The trip can be tailored as a dive expedition with an additional cost dependent upon the number of dives included. The guides will also facilitate and provide opportunities for individual research projects. If you have any questions concerning the tour, please contact Heather Froeming at tortugaakumal@yahoo.com.

Please visit our following websites and those of our supporters and friends:
www.akumaldiveadventures.com
www.ceakumal.org
www.akumalinfo.com
www.seaturtle.org
www.tortugamarina.org

We would like to thank Reef Check and photographers Steve Turek, Chuck Saval and Maryl.Frost for the use of their beautiful pictures. Please visit http:// tools.coralreef.org to view other fantastic pictures and to learn more about the organization.

Email
dive@akumaldiveadventures.com

Telephone
Call us toll free in the USA: 877-4akumal or 877-425-8625 or 505-992-3333
Call us in MEXICO: 52-984-875-9157