Where: Xel-Ha/ Quintana Roo / Mexico
When: February/2015
Water temperature: warm
Visibility: Good (about 10 meters)
Main attractions: Caribbean fishes
Duration: approximately 2 hours
This Aquatic Theme Park is situated between Akumal and Tulum, 120 kilometers south from Cancun. You can reach it easily by day trips from Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
There is a natural cove that receives water from the ocean, and some freshwater channels drain to this place. It has a very pleasing view: turquoise-blue water, green mangrove trees, wooden bridges…
The park main attractions are the opportunity to interact with the natural habitat (snorkeling, swimming, zip-lining…), plus the all-inclusive food and drinks. We spent about 2 hours snorkeling in the natural inlet. There are some rocks with algae, mangrove roots and sandy botoms. The map below shows the places we snorkeled:
They ask you to use biodegradable and chemical-free sunscreen (it can be purchased at the shops over there). I am never tired of saying that this atitude is very noble, since we have to care of what we like, and we like the fragile aquatic ecosystem a lot!
About the snorkeling:
Sergeant Major _ Abudefduf saxatilis
This fish is an oval shaped damsel, with 5 black vertical bars and a yellow uper body color when it is in the light phase. It is very interesting that when they go to caves or hides on shades, start to change its colors to grey-dark blue (that is the dark phase). It is very common when the males are protecting the eggs.
Grey Snapper or Mangrove Snapper _ Lutjanus griseus
This fish is mostly gray in color, very common on coastal corals and mangrove roots, there were some roots there giving sheltes to a little grey snapper group:
Bermuda/ Yellow Chub _ Kyphosus sectatrix/incisor
These fishes can assume 2 pattern of colors: dark grey with light grey spots (like the one on the picture above) or grey with thin yellow horizontal stripes (like the big school on the picture below). They like to inhabit rocky reefs. Found lots of them on that day:
Blue Tang / Surgeonfish _ Acanthurus coeruleus
A beautiful Caribbean fish, this one is mostly found on coral reefs and rocky areas. This is an oval-shaped fish with a thin thickness. The juvenile is yellow, then the adult become blue with a yellow caudal spine. The fins are of a brighter blue color, very flashy.
Rainbow Parrotfish _ Scarus guacamaia
It is not a common fish in the Caribbean sea, but was a common finding in the day I snorkeled (not that rare in the gulf of Mexico), saw about 15 there. The adult have a beautiful neon-green color, with a brown front body and black and green mouth. Inhabits coral reef and mangrove areas.
Bluestriped Grunt _ Haemulon sciurus
These almond shaped fishes have a yellow with thin blue horizontal stripes body colors. The caudal fins are black and yellow, very pretty. They inhabit mostly seagrass beds and mangrove (the last one was where I found them). They tend to emit sounds grinding its theet, I did not hear it.
Sheepshead_ Archosargus probatocephalus
These fishes resemble somehow the sergeant damselfishes, since they are oval shaped and with vertical black and white bars. But they are bigger and more elongated, with bigger anal and pectoral fins . They stay at brackish water, near mangrove, jetties and piers. I found like 4 of them at a mangrove area of the park.
Mutton Snapper _ Lutjanus analis
The mutton snapper is a fish of the western Atlantic coast. They are found in offshore reefs, rocky areas… They have a back spot on the upper flank, a green-olive color on the upper body and light grey on the bottom. The caudal fins are big and with beautiful yellow and red colors.
Striped Parrotfish _ Scarus iseri
Saw only a few of these cool looking fishes. They are found on the Gulf of Mexico, most on rocky and coral areas. I found one eating around some big rocks. Another parrotfish with very vivid colors.
Caribbean Whiptail Stingray _ Styracura schmardae
This one I saw on the moment I entered the water, on a shallow sandy bottom. It is more round than the southern stingray, and it is said to like brakish waters. Saw them in 2 more occasions.
Porkfish _ Anisotremus virginicus
Inhabit reef and rocky bottoms, most time hiding in shady places by day, eating at night. Just saw this one there. It has two black bars on its head and yellow horizontal stripes on the body.
French Grunt _ Haemulon flavolineatum
It is an almond shaped fish with a silver body color with some horizontal and diagonal yellow stripes. They inhabit shalow and coral areas. This one was the only I saw.
Great barracuda _ Sphyraena barracuda
This is a tubular silvery fish with a mouth full of sharp teeth (it has 2 rows of teeth). It feeds from other fishes, and can be seen both on nearshore areas or the open sea. I saw only this, in the middle of the inlet, near the sandy bottom. It was really a big adult one.
The park is really very nice, with good food, many interesting things to do, very clean (they have trash bins everywhere)… They really explore the nature without destroying it. There were lots of fishes, and one thing that i disliked was the fact that they feed the fishes at one place.
Overall: I had a great time there, suggest it to everyone that want a fun day with opportunity to do a snorkeling session.
My first snorkeling video:
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