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Small boats ferry guests to the beach at Mayakobá.  Below: Sleeping in a hammock beats the heat at Cesiak.

              ism center in the heart of                                                    floated with the current in
              Sian Ka’an. The morning’s                                                     cool  freshwater  beneath
              glorious sunrise  confirmed                                                   dense mangroves. Wishing I
              the reserve’s Mayan name,                                                     had at least one more night,
              “Where the Sky was Born.”                                                     I headed back to civilization
              The  coast’s  finest  natural
              attributes are on constant                                                    Pockets of Serenity
              display here. Glassy green
              lagoons reflect white clouds                                                  While I was backpacking
              billowing in blue skies and                                                   around Mexico in the 1980s,
              small Maya ruins buried                                                       wealthier  folks  enamored
              in mangroves mark canals                                                      with the Caribbean coast’s
              used by traveling salesmen                                                    beauty and seclusion enjoyed
              2,000 years past.                                                             far more luxurious vacations.
                                                                                            The  Duchess  of  Ferrari,  for
              Nature guides lead boat                                                       example, built a vacation vil-
              tours from Cesiak through                                                     la on a 50-acre estate beside
              the lagoons, pointing out          as they examined every vine and flower     a pristine Xpu-Ha beach in
              a few of the 336 species of birds and   edging the water.            1988  (Pablo  Escobar  supposedly  had
              103 species of mammals finding refuge                                a home near Tulum around the same
              here. The two British botanists on my  Their fascination continued as we left   time).
              morning tour barely noticed the sky or   the boat to check out a small Mayan
              the frog snake devouring its breakfast   temple, then jumped into a canal and  After entertaining a cadre of stylish



            66    Wine Dine & Travel  Summer 2014
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