| MEXICO
-- Poised with little fanfare between showboaty Cancún
and trendy Playa
del Carmen is the quiet pueblo of Puerto
Morelos.
Without even the dignity of a road sign to announce its existence,
this village is a throwback to Mexican towns of old. In fact,
it has been a working fishing village for probably a millennium
-- first with native Mayans and later with the invading Spaniards.
Today's locals are a mix of the two, and fishing, for the time
being, still feeds a number of families here.
With a fast emerging tourist culture on all other fronts,
many wonder at the tranquility and essence of time standing
still that is the trademark of Puerto Morelos. During the dog
days of summer, locals refer to it as Muerto Morelos.
Hot and muggy it may be from June through early September,
but most other months bring welcome Caribbean breezes, and at
times, winds, that have come to characterize the place.
With natural beaches and a fair share of turtle grass at certain
times of the year, it is clear why Playa del Carmen "won out"
for the tourist dollar. Playa's gorgeous, wide beaches -- with
no reef to allow the turtle grass to grow -- are killer. Post
card perfection. But Playa's lack of mangroves like those surrounding
Puerto Morelos, has also made it the poster child for uncontrolled
growth.
In Puerto Morelos, the mangroves form the barrier of the town's
limits as they are protected by national law and cannot be filled.
In Playa del Carmen, with no mangroves and flat, open terrain,
the sprawl continues to the North, South and West. Tourists
who had fallen in love with romantic Playa del Carmen ten years
ago are slowing moving on and discovering the one town on the
Maya Riviera that has not sold out to development and irresponsible
growth.
It may seem mere providence that has kept this pueblo intact
while the rest of the Yucatán's beaches experience exponential
growth. It is hardly that. The peacefulness of Puerto Morelos
has been preserved solely through the directed and hard-earned
efforts of a serious group of Puerto Morelos citizens and environmentalists
who have been actively campaigning against the powers that be
to turn this town into yet another emerging market for tourism.
The town currently has no bank, no ATM machine, no post office,
no bus station, no internet provider -- and no plans for any
of the above. Of course at sometime in the future these things
will no doubt find their way to Puerto Morelos, but to the consensus
of those who live here, it's "no problema."
But living on the edge of the 21st century creates problems
for a modern day utopia, especially when most emerging market
dollars are based on tourism, which now appears to be the new
global economy.
One large hotel chain which had purchased hectares and hectares
of pristine beachfront just south of Puerto Morelos promptly
began filling in the mangroves (protected or not) as Phase One
of its 2400 room hotel complex, which included marinas and a
golf course. The infrastructure to provide services to the hotel
would have required 5000 people, more than twice the present
size of the town today. Through a series of confrontations by
a local action group with the hotel's corporate offices and
its owner, it was proved that the hotel had ignored the environmental
edicts placed on the mangroves. The project has now been put
on hold until 60 environmental referendums are completed.
Last February Puerto Morelos was declared a national reef
park by presidential decree to preserve the beauty of the Palancar
Reef which lies less than one-half mile off the coast. The irony
of this move is that now many more tourist snorkeling boats
from Cancún come down to this beautiful reef to enjoy the clear
blue waters.
Puerto Morelos dive masters tend to be sensitive to this natural
wonder and have a more environmental style with their clients
explaining how fragile the reef is and that even a mere touch
can destroy what took thousands of years to create. A local
agency is now in place that monitors activity within the confines
of the reef park, which will help to better preserve it.
With the combination of luck and action, hopefully Puerto
Morelos will manage to retain its low profile in the tourism
marketplace. The laid back feel to the town is its attraction.
Rather than jet skis and parasailing, there are jungle tours
and yoga centers. In a changing environment rife with all-inclusive
resorts and mega hotels, it is refreshing to come into a town
where you are hard pressed to use your Master Card because only
one shop accepts plastic.
Who knows what the future will bring? For now, there appears
to be controlled growth and a desire to keep the town as it
is. For the most part, the townspeople want to have input into
any larger plans that may affect life as they know it. And life
is good.
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