| This city was created
to attract the growing market of sun-seekers. Cancún
is a made-to-order resort, built specifically for tourism at
the northeastern tip of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.
Cancún boasts terrific infrastructure for receiving
and transporting environmental travelers to less congested areas,
such as the Sian
Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and Celestún.
The city currently receives 3 million visitors a year. The
resort is one of the most popular in the world and it is in
the process of recovering from the impact of Hurricane Wilma.
Public and private investment for the rebuilding totaled $1.5
billion.
DIVING AND SNORKELING
The most popular area for snorkeling and diving is Punta Nizuc,
a national marine park. It became a protected area in July 1996
along with the west coast of Isla Mujeres and Punta Cancún.
A portion of every tourist dollar supports park monitoring and
conservation efforts.
Biologists call this a 'sacrificial reef,' because it is visited
by thousands each year. Although snorkelers are given instructions
on exploring the reef in a way that does not harm them, they
often disregard them. On my trip here a tourist wanted 'just
a souvenir. Just a little piece of coral?' The boat guide managed
to discourage him, but imagine this happening not once but tens
of thousands of times. It's amazing the reef is in as good a
condition as it is.
WHEN TO GO
High season begins in mid-December and lasts until about May,
which is the dry season. During the summer and fall rates are
less expensive, but travelers also risk hurricanes and tropical
storms.
SPORTS
Baseball fans, check out the Tigres
with the sport's best mascot, Chacho. The season runs March-July.
Soccer team Atlante
moved from Mexico City to Cancún to improve its fan support.
ISLA MUJERES
One of the natural highlights of the Cancún area is
Isla Mujeres (Island of Women). The island is about 500 meters
wide and 7.5 kilometers long.
ISLA CONTOY
In 1961 Isla Contoy was established as a special biosphere
reserve, is one of the most important bird refugees in the Mexican
Caribbean. The lack of freshwater supplies have kept the island
free of human settlements and have encouraged the survival of
the wilderness.
The island has extensive coastline, interior lagoons, and mangrove
swamps that are home to 70 species of birds including frigate
birds, brown pelicans, and double-crested cormorants. Visitors
are charged an entry fee that supports the management of the
reserve. The island is just an hour's boat ride from Cancún.
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