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Cancun: Meet nature at the max in Mexico

By Judy Colbert

Talk to any frequent beach traveler and you’ll hear a lot of, “Oh, Cancun is just like any ocean resort in the United States.” Or, “Cancun’s okay, but Cozumel is so much more Mexican.”

“They” are right and wrong.

Yes, Cancun was established as a resort some 30 years ago with short flight times from the States in mind. Just about any stateside chain restaurant you’d want to frequent is probably there. Yes, some three million tourists (about ten times the local population) visit this 14-mile stretch of sandy beaches and lagoons with the tropical climate and aqua waters each year. And, yes, they’re having a drug problem and gang wars, but generally the drugs are on their way from Colombia into the States and don’t affect the tourists.

Don’t let the naysayers stop you. Go to Cancun, the Gateway to the Mexican Caribbean. Check into your luxurious oceanfront room with the spa downstairs and the bar humming with tasty libations and today’s music. Sigh and take a wee second to feel sorry for the rest of the world not enjoying this delight.

The tourist area is known at the hotel zone (Zona Hotelera) and kilometer markers are posted along the median strip of the main street, Blvd. Kukulcan. Just note which marker is closest to your hotel or ask for the marker number for anyplace you’ll be visiting.

Then, venture into Cancun’s burgeoning eco-tourism and you’ll find you’re in a place that no resort in the United States could offer you.

Isla Mujeres

Grab your ecologically safe sunscreen (so the oils don’t damage the fragile coral system) and catch a ferry or boat ride to Isla Mujeres (the Island of Women–oft said to be an island of fertility where women came and come to make sure they’ll be blessed with a baby.) (www.isla-mujeres.net).

It’s about eight miles and 25 minutes (depending on the sea conditions) across the Bahia de Mujeres (Bay of Women) off the Cancun coast. The choppier the water, the longer the ride.

Isla Mujeres is only five miles long and a half-mile wide, and white sandy beaches surround it. The downtown area is a mere four by six blocks. The generations-old fishing village combines a large dose of charm, touristas, and people “escaping” to build fine vacation homes.

The nature activities are at Garrafon National Park at the end of the island. (www.garrafon.com)

Once there, you have an incredible number of activity options from the sedentary to the near-dare-devilish. If you’re planning to do some of the organized activities, buy your tickets when you enter. Some options have a minimum age requirement (eight years or older) and some have physical limitations (pregnancy, bad back, etc.), so check before you buy the ticket.

While you’re waiting for your time slot, head for the paved trail that follows the bluffs connecting Garrafon Park with Punta Sur. You can visit the “coffee cave,” “the cave of silence” and see numerous plants (many are labeled) along the trail. You’ll end up at Punta Sur where 23 pieces from a 2001 International Sculpture Exhibition (Parque Escultorico Punta Sur) are on display. Sculptors from Mexico, Iceland, Cuba, Holland, Germany, Egypt, Finland, Bulgaria, Colombia, and the United States are represented.

At the southern point of Isla Mujeres are the Mayan ruins. Standing on a worn limestone escarpment is a plain structure with a solid roof. Because of its characteristics and location, it’s thought that the building was used as an observatory.

From here, it’s only a five-minute walk to a refreshment stand, a few boutiques, and then it’s time to head back to the fun.

Among the many water activities are snorkeling (aqua guides teach you the basics and take you on a tour–no swimming ability needed for they provide you with a life jacket), Snuba (combines SCUBA and snorkeling with air supplied by a flexible tube so you have the advantage of underwater breathing without carrying the heavy tanks) which includes 15 minutes of training and 30 minutes of guided dive time, and Seatrek which is an underwater stroll (compressed air is fed into a diving helmet so you can walk along the water bottom). You can also sit yourself in a kayak or enjoy the freshwater swimming pool.

When you’ve had enough water and culture and you still have energy to burn, you can try Tyrolean rappelling where you climb a 42' tower built on the highest part of the Park (in other words, you’re about 100' above sea level) and you’re strapped in a harness and off you go, over the water, heading to the next platform, 450' away. That one’s only 60' above the water and you’re switched to another cable pulley to another platform, 25' above sea level, to the third zip line that takes you the last 200 feet back to land. At times you’ll be soaring at 40 mph, squealing with delight saying, “One more time, just one more time!”

Or, you can just head for the garden of hammocks set among tall palm tress and surrounded by lush vegetation and watch the activities.

There are a number of ticket packages available with the least expensive starting at $15 for adults and $8 for children (up to $50 or more for adults). This minimum ticket includes the trails, swimming pool, inner tubes, kayaks, hammocks, and facilities, but not transportation to the island. In other words, if you’re already staying there, then you don’t have to pay for transportation.

The more expensive packages include transportation from Cancun, snorkel gear, buffet lunch at Tamarindo restaurant and other options. You may find a discount if you go to the Garrafon Web site, but, as choppy waters can make the boat trip over a little unpleasant and cancel some of the activities on the island, you might want to wait until you check the weather forecast and not reserve too far ahead.

Because the Cancun shoreline generally runs north to south, you’re in for some spectacular sunrises. The sunsets aren’t shabby, but they’re over the lagoon, not the open waters. However, you can see watery sunsets from Isla Mujeres. Just remember what time your ferry departs, or, plan to spend at least one night on the island.

Oh, there’s one other thing you can do from the ferry dock and on Isla Mujeres, and that’s take a tower ride in a large revolving cage that lets you enjoy a 360 degree panoramic view of the area .

Also on the Cancun side is the Mexican Popular Art Museum or the  Museo de Arte Popular Mexicano. It has an amazing number of items on display considering its small size. Rain sticks, trees of life, masks, crosses, children’s’ toys, craft work, traditional toys and artwork. There’s also a replica of a kitchen and a church, and life-sized figures of native peasants. Kukulcan Km. 4 (El Embarcadero) 849-4332.

Xcaret

If you head south of Cancun you enter country that looks the way Cancun used to look. You start seeing mangroves and you can imagine the world’s second largest barrier reef system just beyond the trees. Look closely and you may see heron, ibis, frigate birds, sea gulls, pelicans, and cormorants. Explore the mangroves and you may be foot to foot or nose to snout with alligators, blue crabs, raccoons, and river crocodiles. www.xcaret.net

An hour later and you’ve reached Xcaret, an ancient Mayan city. This was one of the largest trading ports on the east coast of the Maya World. It’s now an eco-archeological park with a museum (19 scale models of Mayan cities), restaurant, gallery, gift shop, and a lookout. Pick up a map and find where you want to go. Don’t worry if you get misplaced because even the most proficient map reader can zig when a zag is in order.

Head to one of the 25 attractions, the beach, the dolphin area, the lagoon, and Jaguar Island (seven jaguars have been born here) are good starting places. Try the underground rivers where you’re given a life jacket and a bag to store your personal items (they’ll hold them until you return). There are numerous exits and stopping points for a rest or exploration. The underground river flows through caverns illuminated by natural skylights so you can see fossilized coral formations while the Mayan Village River lets you glide under waterfalls and between a bamboo forest. There’s also a wild bird sanctuary, an aquarium, a sea turtle hatchery (a conservation program that helps as many as 220,000 baby turtles to the water’s edge each year), an orchid display (149 different species), and a butterfly garden (one of the largest in the world with 4,000 butterflies born each month).

Other, for fee, activities are available including a dolphin program for adults and children, snorkel and dive tours, Seatrek and snuba, horseback riding tours. At night you can see the Mexican version of dinner theater (or just buy a show ticket without the dinner) with a folkloric show depicting the history of Mexico.

Although you can drive to Xcaret, it is an all-day excursion (or even multi-day) and if you include the evening show, you’re bound to be exhausted. Ergo, take the bus from Cancun. Who knows what friends you’ll meet and keep for a lifetime?

Whether you go to Isla Mujeres or Xcaret, you might want to take a change of clothing in addition to your bathing suit.

Once you’ve returned, totally exhilarated with all of your day’s accomplishments, bronzed by the sun, and batteries recharged, eschew the chain restaurants and frequent a local bar or eatery. The food is fresh, the menu and preparation are “local,” and you’re helping the local economy much more directly.

Now that you’ve finished your eco-touring, take a few minutes or several days enjoying the Fiesta Americana Grand Aqua. It opened in December 2004, and it’s the third Fiesta Americana property in Cancun with each one outdoing the other. Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 12.5, (www.fiestaamericana.com.)

You’ll easily discover the aqua behind the Grand Aqua name as soon as you walk in the door and see the dark pool in the lobby. Huge window walls overlook the sea and the eight pools--infinity pools, cool pools, warm pools, warmer pools (one for adults only), and hot tubs--each mimicking the shades of the sea, and a pool concierge to book your water sport or tour as you think of it. It’s a feng shui heaven, with curving lines and modern furnishings. The white tunic-clad staff eagerly awaits being able to serve you and thanks your for being allowed to do so with a “your wish-my wish” follow-through.

Your room comes with seven choices of pillows, flat screen color TV, high-speed Internet access (guest computers are also available), and more.

It seems impossible, but the hotel has outdone everything else it does in their dining options. As you will no doubt have heard by the time you’ve spent a few minutes on Cancun, the resort is shaped like a 7 (connected by two bridges to the mainland), so, you’ll find the Siete restaurant overlooking the pools and the cabanas. There are seven mosaic murals adorning columns in the restaurant depicting such Mexican icons as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Patricia Quintana, a noted Mexican cookbook author, holds the pots and pans here. It’s open dinner, also.

Start your day with the humongous buffet (or menu) breakfast, at Siete, then after you’ve satiated yourself, head outdoors where you can take classes in tai chi, yoga, and chi kung.

Enjoy a relaxing outdoor massage and nestle yourself in one of the cabana double beds adorned with luxurious white linens and overlooking the pools and tropical waters. Hammocks are available if that’s your preference. Have beverages and food delivered to your canopied piece of seclusion or at one of the many lounge chairs or at the Azur where you can enjoy your favorite beverage or fresh and varied ceviches, seafood, pasta, and snacks. A deli is open for coffees and pastries from 9 am to 10 pm. The Lounge is located in the hotel lobby and has a modern, yet clubby feel. Juices and energizing drinks and snacks are available at Citric, open from 5 pm to 1 am.

Save room for dinner under the command of famed chef Michelle Bernstein in MB, prepared in a show kitchen. Although everything is touched by her culinary magic, try the consommé and the red snapper.

And, just in case you don’t want to leave the Aqua (and who could blame you?), there’s a full-service beauty parlor, gift shop, jewelry store, art gallery, concierge, a large fitness center overlooking the pool deck, and a children’s club for those 4 to 12 years of age. Of course there’s an indoor spa for massages, body treatments, facials and wraps. Two lit tennis courts face the lagoon and a pro is available to help you keep those balls going where they should be.

If you must leave the resort for shopping and a change of menu, you can walk across Kukulcan Blvd (do be careful – traffic is crazy!) to the new La Isla shopping village with boutiques, eateries, a river walk with small bridges (a la San Antonio), movie theaters (films usually are shown in English language with Spanish subtitles), and an interactive aquarium displaying the variety of fish found in the Caribbean.

Plaza Kukulcan has recently undergone a major renovation and has added a number of upscale boutiques.

When it’s time for souvenir shopping and you want some of the handicrafts created in Mexico, look for silver jewelry, embroidered materials, hammocks (remember your weight limit flying home), and hand painted pottery called talavera. There’s a huge outdoor mercado in downtown Cancun, north of the Hotel Zone, where you can have your hair braided for $5 and up, pick up local items, clothing, taste home-made foods, and the ubiquitous t-shirts with your favorite cartoon character or sports action hero.

Because Cancun is an international destination, you sure to find your favorite cuisine among the 400 plus restaurants, including Argentinean, Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese and more. Stop by a local bar or settle in for a white-table cloth experience.      

An exceptional restaurant, one that’s been around Cancun since the 1977s, is La Habichuela. This award-winning restaurant, owned by Armando Pezzotti, is in what was once his home. It caters to locals and visitors, so you know the food and service are top-notch. The decor is of a Yucatecan home in local hardwoods and lush aromatic greenery, with a romantic sculpture garden. The seafood, Mexican and Caribbean cuisine is a mixture of traditional and innovative. Save room for the Kukulcan pyramid (hard chocolate stuffed with cream of Amaretto and fruits). Margaritas ST. 25, downtown. 884-3158. www.lahabichuela.com.

A great place for incredible seafood prepared to perfection is Mocambo, on the beach near the Embarcadero. The spectacular view easily matches the selections on your plate.

Upon your return, find those nay-sayers and tell them how much Cancun has to offer in the way of luxurious hotels, a hopping night life, fine and local dining, and, of course, all those eco-tourism activities.

by Judy Colbert

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