Mexico 2022

The last week of July and the first week of August 2022, the Dahl family gathered in Yucatan, Mexico, to celebrate Arthur Dahl's eightieth birthday (with a slight advance before 13 August). The generations represented were Martine Caillard Dahl (73) and Arthur Lyon Dahl (almost 80), their children Agnès Dahl Farhoumand (46) and Alexander Dahl (43) with Agnès' husband Amir Bahador Farhoumand, the children of Agnès and Alex: Jérémie Gagnon (27), Benjamin Gagnon-Dahl (17), Alie Gagnon-Dahl (14), Lia Farhoumand (10), Nalah Gagnon-Dahl (8), Laleh Farhoumand (7), Luca Farhoumand (5), and Jérémie's son Kovu (4). This photo album tries to capture the wonderful time we had together after several years of separation between Quebec, Switzerland and France, creating strong family ties. Our deepest thanks go to Alex who had the idea and made it all possible.

The first week was spent on Cozumel learning to scuba dive and diving on the coral reefs, and the second week at the resort at Akumal Bay Beach south of Cancun. Arthur could only join the second week, as he was teaching at a Baha'i Summer School in Denmark.

On Tuesday we went to a Monkey Sanctuary with animals and a cenote (underground cavern in the limestone with water for swimming. Wednesday we stayed at the resort to enjoy the pool and beach. Thursday we visited the Aktun Chen Nature Park with a zipline and a cenote. Friday some of us went to the Mayan sacred site at Tulum before a birthday dinner celebration. Saturday and Sunday were already time to depart.

Cozumel July 2022

The last week of July the family gathered on Cozumel Island to discover tropical beaches and coral reefs. Only Arthur was not able to join them.

Cozumel was already a chance for the grandchildren to get to know each other and their aunts and uncles in beautiful surroundings.

The first place to swim was the pool. There were also family meals and handicrafts.

One day was spent snorkling over the corals and an old boat wreck.

The sunsets from the hotel during dinner were spectacular.

The older family members learned scuba diving and went diving on some beautiful coral reefs.

The last day was a chance for some family portraits before celebrating Agnès' birthday and taking the ferry back to Cancun and going south to the Akumal Beach Resort.

Akumal 1-2 August 2022

The first step for Kovu, the youngest, was getting to know the resort and its wildlife, including iguanas and giant crickets.

The hotel on the beach was a good place for family exchanges, and exercising in the pool.

Monkey Sanctuary 2 August

The Monkey Sanctuary holds not only monkeys but other animals, often seized after being traded or held illegally, that have become too used to humans to be returned to the wild. It allows visitors to interact directly with the animals, such as holding parrots or a boa constrictor, or allowing a trained monkey to climb over them. The first encounter was with goats, deer, flamingos and other domestic animals.

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Jérémie, Kovu, Arthur, Benji

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Holding parrots

We were asked to stand while a trainer place a parrot in each of our hands, individually or together with smaller children.

Holding a boa constrictor

The same exercise allowed everyone to hold a snake in their hands.

The monkey

We sat in a row while a trained monkey climbed on our shoulders and head, receiving sunflower seeds as a reward, and passing down the line and back again.

Swimming in the cenote

There was also an underground limestone cave (cenote) where swimming was possible.

Akumal Pool 3 August 2022

After a busy day at the Monkey Sanctuary, it seemed best to stay at the resort and enjoy the pool and beach.

Jérémie thrilled Kovu by throwing him into the air and catching him again and again.

Meals were another chance for us all to get together

In the evening there were turtle nests on the beach to watch in case any hatched.

Later in the evening, Arthur shared some stories, including when he was an aquanaut living in an undersea habitat at the bottom of a coral reef

Sargassum seaweed washing up on the beach in large quantities was a big problem, so the resort had to clean the beach every morning

Aktun Chen Nature Park 4 August 2022

In the Aktun Chen Nature Park, there were extensive cenotes with both swimming access and cave exploration on foot. The best access to the cenotes was by a zipline, a long sloping cable through the forest accessible from a tower, from which one could hang on a pulley for an exciting ride down to the cenote entrance. Helmets and harnesses were necessary.

Climbing the tower to the zipline

Getting off the zipline

The cenote

There were also caves to explore

After the cenote

For the older generation for whom ziplining and cave exploration were more than they felt capable to undertake, the alternative was relaxing in hammocks in the forest shade.

Tulum Mayan Sacred Site 5 August 2022

A visit to Yucatan would not be complete without visiting some ruins of the great Mayan civilization. Some of us went to Tulum, which was an important walled sacred site with temples on the cliff side above the sea. It dated from the last period of the Mayan empire in the 14th-15th centuries before the Spanish conquest.

Birthday Dinner 5 August

The justification for the family reunion was to celebrate Arthur's eightieth birthday with a slight advance because of issues of scheduling. The last night when we were all present, we all joined in a special birthday dinner.

Departures 6-7 August 2022

We got together for a family group picture before we all separated, with our departures over two days. Arthur was the last to go home.