Page 64 - quebec
P. 64

Welcome to Punta Allen


                       exico’s Caribbean coast   knew its backpacker era was over.   One night at Serenidad Shardon in a ca-
                       from Cancun to Tulum                                      bana on the beach brought back the good
                       was nearly deserted when   I’ve grown to accept the changes and have   and bad of earlier journeys. The good—
                       I started traveling there   enjoyed many nights in luxurious resorts   fresh, tangy ceviche, empty beaches,
            Min the 1980s, researching        and many meals in gourmet restaurants   hammocks under palms and the entire
           Fodor’s first guide to the Yucatán Pen-  as the area becomes ever more sophis-  populace at the main plaza celebrating
           insula. Tires and Coke bottles perched   ticated. But I always miss the good old   Día de los Niños (Children’s Day).
           on sticks marked sandy roads to simple   days. So there I went, slipping away to
           campgrounds and tiny hotels.       yesterday.                         The bad—vicious mosquitos and un-
                                                                                 bearable heat sans A/C. Neither keeps
           A friend and I camped at the foot of the   Protecting the Past        fly fisherman from arriving by the hun-
           Tulum ruins, slept in hammocks be-                                    dreds from during prime fishing sea-
           neath shaggy umbrella-style palapas and  A limestone arch marks the road to Punta   son  in  March through  June to  catch
           steered our  Volkswagen bug  down the  Allen and the entrance to Sian Ka’an Bio-  trophy-sized when permit, tarpon and
           main highway alongside men whacking   sphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Her-  snook.
           vines with machetes to widen the lanes.  itage Site covering 1.3 million acres of
           Today, Highway 307 has four lanes, sev-  mangroves, lagoons, sand, sea and coral   Local lobstermen serve as guides for the
           eral swooping overpasses, and a constant   reefs along the Punta Allen Peninsula.   fishing trips, supplementing their mea-
           stream of trucks, buses, cars and speed-                              ger earnings with cash and tips. With only
           ing cabs.                          More iguanas than potholes appeared,  600 residents and a few small restaurants
                                              along with one tiny yapping dog that   and shops along sandy streets, Punta Al-
           Nearly 400 hotels from ultra-exclusive   came out of nowhere and raced back and   len truly is a small fishing village--the last
           hideaways to 1,000-room all-inclusive re-  forth in front of my car -- guess he was   of its kind in the Riviera Maya.
           sorts have gobbled up 80 miles of white   lonely. Even at my pokey crawl I caught
           sand beaches from Cancun to Tulum.  sight of the town’s welcome sign in just   Next night, sea breezes beat the heat as
           The moment the region gained the mar-  over two hours.                I slept soundly in a tent atop a rickety
           keting moniker Riviera Maya in 1999, I                                platform at Cesiak, a small eco-tour-






            64    Wine Dine & Travel  Summer 2014
   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69