| On the Road in Mexico The Yucatan Peninsula |
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| Monday, 17 May 2004 | ||
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International Living /Mexico On the Road in Mexico: the Yucatán Peninsula Mexico – for many North Americans, the word conjures up visions of sombreros, tequila and mariachis. Many North Americans also feel they know the United States’ closest neighbor to the south, even if they’ve never visited. It’s familiar somehow, and in a post-September 11 world Mexico is starting to feel nearer than other countries in Central and South America, or as the new Mexican Tourism Office slogan puts it, “Closer than Ever.” Yet Mexico is a huge country with geography as diverse as that in the US. We knew there was more to Mexico than the old Pancho Villa stereotypes, so we loaded the back of the pickup, had a last helping of Midwest comfort food, said goodbye to the chilly weather, and took off for a three-month exploratory trip on the roads of Mexico.
From Oaxaca it was a long, tough drive north and east to the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf Coast city of Campeché, a beautiful old Mexican sea port where a large part of the old wall that once surrounded the city has been beautifully preserved. This is where the Mayan Indians drew first blood in their battle against Spanish colonialism. Campeché is the western gateway to the extensive homeland of the Yucatan Mayan civilization, and from here east, impressive ruins are never far away. We chose a 4x4 Toyota Tacoma for our road trip. We wanted high clearance for the topes and potholes, and Toyotas are easy to get parts for in Mexico.
NOTE: Here is an excerpt of an article we wrote about that trip for International Living magazine. We were looking for the best places in Mexico for foreigners to live and invest. In previous articles we wrote about time spent in Monterrey, Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Lake Chapala, the Pacific Coast (including Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta), Morelia, Puebla and Oaxaca. This part of the trip focuses on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Campeche is clean, pretty…and the seafood is very tasty
One of the most impressive and justifiably famous Mayan sites is Chichén Itzá, just outside the colonial city of Valladolid. It’s a must-see, and so is Valladolid, a small but busy local trade center with some excellent restaurants and clean, inexpensive hotels. It makes a good base for exploring Chichén Itzá and the many ruin sites, national parks, cenotés and other attractions throughout the area.
Chichén Itzá shouldn’t be missed…
We spent two nights in Valladolid getting to know the area, and it was here that it occurred to us how difficult it would be to recommend any of the areas we’d visited up to this point over any of the others. Each place we’d seen on our trip had a feature or feeling that we know would appeal to someone. We were discovering that Mexico is just as varied and multi-faceted as the many people we’d talked to who might consider moving here. That’s when we decided that we couldn’t possibly find one town or village in Mexico that would be everyone’s cup of tea. If we wanted something with broad appeal, it would have to be an area small enough to explore in three or four days, possibly a week, but varied enough to offer real choices in lifestyle, geography, climate, etc. We’d seen a few places so far that fit that bill, and we decided that we’d look specifically for such locations on the rest of our trip. Cancún/Cozumel/Isla Mujeres From Valladolid we went straight across the Yucatán Peninsula to Cancún, the commercial heart of the new Riviera Maya. Not where we personally would want to live, but an obvious place to work from – and we wanted to see what kind of shape the nearby islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres were in. We’ve come to expect rampant commercial tourism at Cancún, but we were very pleasantly surprised when we stayed at the Royal Sands, one of Cancún’s five Royal Resorts. With a unique approach to sales and quality control, The Royal Resorts are so well-run and popular that many of its customers have been coming back for 20 years – ever since the first Royal Resort was established here. It is a fine base of operation for exploring the nearby islands, and the entire complex is designed to focus attention on Cancún’s admittedly first-class beach. Our trip to Isla Cozumel was a bit disheartening. The day we were there, no less than 11 cruise ships were docked at the two piers that now service the island. The cruise lines have built large shopping complexes directly at the end of the piers, and many passengers never leave them when the ships come to port. The result is that business is falling off in the downtown area, once one of the liveliest places on the island. It’s a shame, because the island itself is otherwise quite nice, and property in some areas on the south side of downtown is actually reasonably priced. Nancy Edwards at Cozumel Living Real Estate is an excellent resource. But the intense cruise ship traffic makes some areas of the island a circus and others a ghost town – the goose that laid Cozumel’s golden egg has become so fat that it may well crush the place out of recognition.
A great way to end an afternoon on Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres, on the other hand, perhaps wishes it had Cozumel’s problems. The small island north of Cozumel gets a lot of day traffic on the ferries from Cancún, but no cruise ships dock there, so you can still find lots of sand roads, palapa bars and little taco stands. What you won’t find is extensive new construction or a particularly well-stocked grocery store. This will keep the place small and charming for a while yet, and Ron Brown of Isla Realty knows where the ocean front lots are still available. Already, though, the local movers and shakers are playing the tourism card, and while that may mean overcrowding on little Isla Mujeres…it will also mean a directly uphill climbfor property values. After saying goodbye to the Cancún area, (and making a much-needed stop at the Cancún Wal-Mart…not all civilization is bad!), we headed south for Playa del Carmen, a little coastal town that has grown so much in the past few years that the locals are still shaking their heads at the change. Where was once just a dock for the Cozumel ferry, with a bar, a little restaurant and some of the most beautiful beaches on the Yucatán coast is now a bustling tourist town in its own right, with more restaurants than anyone could possibly eat at in a month of trying. Nothing will stop the continued growth of Playa – it’s the gateway to the booming Riviera Maya and Costa Maya to the south, where the Mexican government is putting millions of dollars in development and advertising. Tulum/Majahual/Xcalak We drove south, stopping at Tulum for breakfast, where we were shaken down for the first and only time by the local police. Coming off the main highway, the speed limit drops from 100 kilometers an hour to 60 and then to 40 on the road closest to the beach. We were clearly going over the speed limit as we reached the beach and were pulled over. One officer prominently displayed an impressive black submachine gun while his partner explained the seriousness of our traffic violation. It took a 15-minute song-and-dance and a 200 peso (less than $20 US) bribe to square things away. It reminded us once again what a fast and efficient thing the Latin brand of summary justice can be. The same infraction in the US would have costs us much more in time, money, and inconvenience. And for the rest of the day, we adhered strictly to the speed limits.
The sleepy beach at Majahual
Our ultimate destination was Xcalak, a little fishing village that used to be a thriving palm oil center until the 1950s when a hurricane destroyed the town. Now some of the best Caribbean beachfront property stretches between here and Tulum in the north, with the extremely sleepy village of Majahual in between. Beach front property prices here have gone through the roof, thanks to Majahual’s new cruise ship dock. It doesn’t do much business yet, and an entire village has been created next to it that is completely abandoned except for the days when ships do dock here, but everyone expects the place to explode, and real estate prices have been pre-igniting for some time now. The beaches here are beautiful – some of the prettiest anywhere –and the second largest reef system in the world runs just offshore, protecting much of the area from major erosion. One of the most beautiful stretches is just north of Xcalak, right in front of Tierra Maya, a classic little beach front boutique hotel run by Tom Biller. Much of the best beach front available has been snatched up and is being offered for exorbitant prices by local brokers. They get top dollar for their lots, but they’re some of the best left in the area, and it’s a turn-key buying proposition – you are assured of a clear title, and they take care of fideicomiso arrangements and generally make the buying experience painless – if you can take the price. We also saw excellent beach front lots for sale by owners at substantially lower prices, of course requiring the buyer to do all the bargaining and due diligence – and the importance of due diligence can’t be overstated (see sidebar). Bacalar/Chetumal We left the Caribbean paradise of the Xcalak area and headed south toward Chetumal, the capital of the state of Quintana Roo, located on Mexico’s border with Belize. On the way, we passed what looked like a large lagoon on the ocean side of the new road heading south. We decided to take a left and see what it was all about…and discovered Lake Bacalar.
Laguna Bacalar is a freshwater lake…but you’ll think you’re in the Caribbean or the South Pacific
This freshwater lake is 30 miles long and a few miles wide at its widest point, and it is beautiful. We spent the night at Rancho Encantado on the shores of the lake just to take everything in. The water is fresh and absolutely clear, fed by nearby cenotés. The town of Bacalar is small, quiet and friendly, and a number of expats live along the shore drive south of town. It was as though someone took a Minnesota fishing resort, took all the silt and murkiness out of it and transferred it to the tropical Caribbean. It struck us as the best of both worlds. Another mark in Bacalar’s favor is the proximity of Chetumal, just 40 minutes down the road. This port city has all the hardware stores, groceries, restaurants, bars and government offices anyone would need to do business and stay amused. All this, and Belize is just an hour away by boat. Add in the fact that some of the most significant new Mayan archeological finds have been discovered in the area, and Bacalar shapes up pretty well. What it lacks is a surplus of new, affordable living spaces – the place has been overlooked by developers so far, which in a way is a blessing, considering what will probably happen farther north at Majahual.
To make a long story a little less tedious, we continued ed our road trip with a drive through Chiapas, stopping for a few days in San Cristóbal de las Casas. From there we headed to the Pacific Coast towns of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido. We were so smitten with the latter town that we spent three weeks there. Our road trip had been a truly intriguing and eye-opening experience. Even given the vastness of Mexico, we felt that we’d gotten a pretty good overview of the country, up close and personal. Tired we were, but we also felt wiser. And we had an even greater appreciation for everything Mexico has to offer for anyone looking for a lifestyle change. It’s a change we’re ourselves are looking forward to with happy anticipation. We have now settled in Mexico’s colonial highlands but continue to spend time along the Caribbean coast.
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Campeché/Valladolid
Note: Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher write about living in Mexico – with a focus on real estate and investment opportunities – for International Living magazine and for their subscription-based web site, 
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