I am Caretta caretta, proud descendant of the loggerhead sea turtle who has been nesting here since prehistoric times. Like my ancestors, I have lumbered ashore onto the moonlit sand of this crescent-shaped beach to lay my eggs under the mid-summer's night sky. We sea turtles were once so abundant that the Mayan people who shared our shores named this spot Akumal: "Place of the Turtle."

These days, it is a rare treat to spot one of us among your kind. But our spirit is strong here, and lures many a swimmer, snorkeler and scuba diver such as you into my ancestral waters.