A Two Part Series on Xcaret and the Spectacular Dinner Show

Part1:
Okay, I know I have lived here for almost 4 years, but I have never been to the Xcaret Dinner Show. The only other time I have been to Xcaret was about 3 years ago when I was teaching here in Playa del Carmen. Part of the programs that Xcaret and Xel-Ha offer are free entrance to local area schools so when I went 3 years ago I brought 21 children between the ages of 3 and 11. Yes, I know I am crazy, and although I had fun with the kids I certainly didn’t get to enjoy the park, let alone the dinner show. So just a few weeks ago I arranged for a group of 35 people, who were a company visiting Playa del Carmen from Sweden, to go to Xcaret and the dinner show. I decided this would be a perfect time to go and check out the park so I joined the group for the afternoon.

Travel author, Joshua Hinsdale, has put his years of travel experience into a guide book for the Riviera Maya. So whether you are a visitor or a resident of the area you can find out some interesting information that you might not have known about.....check it out!

 By Joshua Hinsdale

My parents first traveled to the Riviera Maya in 1980, when it was known only as the not-so-catchy “area south of Cancún.” They went to Xcaret when it cost 25 cents and the road was yet to be paved. They went to Xel-Ha and Garrafon, in Isla Mujeres, and marveled at the tropical fish and the deserted beaches. They ate lobster on the beach in Cancún and snorkeled the virgin reefs of Cozumel. When they came home, they showed me their pictures and talked of their adventures, and I knew I’d go there one day.

Sacred Blue; a must do when visiting The Riviera Maya.

Sacred Blue Tour Company is the brain child of Javier de Prado Gonzalez (aka Pato). Pato, a self proclaimed “citizen of the world” was born in Spain, and moved to Mexico City when he was four years old, and he arrived in the Riviera Maya 12 years ago. Upon arriving in the area he was hired as a guide for a horseback riding tour, and soon after started working for a small tour company based out of Puerto Aventuras. While working in Puerto Aventuras he caught the diving bug, and he then became a certified dive instructor for a company based out of Playa del Carmen called Seafari Divers. 

PGA TOUR to conduct official-money event in Mexico

The 2007 PGA TOUR schedule announced contains one new event and it is one of historic significance as the TOUR will conduct an official-money event for the first time in Mexico. The Mayakoba Classic will be held on the Riviera Maya in the State of Quintana Roo in the resort of Playa del Carmen the week of Feb. 19-25, 2007.

10GATES supports the Riviera Maya following Hurricane Wilma.

Playa del Carmen, Mexico - (November 16, 2005) - In the days leading up to the worst Hurricane on record for the Yucatan Peninsula, 10GATES International was working quietly behind the scenes with Ing. Dario Flota, Executive Director of the Riviera Maya Tourist Board, to establish a CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Center for the organization.  According to Michael Halle, Chairman and CEO 10GATES International Services Corp, of Miami Florida, the exclusive reservations and information partner of the Riviera Maya Tourist Board, said, "Once it was clear that Wilma could be a serious threat to the region, we moved quickly to establish all staff and technology to support Ing. Dario Flota and the Riviera Maya.....

By Kristin Hahn

The Tourist Police of Playa del Carmen pride themselves on their values and principles of: leadership, order, discipline, honesty, efficiency, and professionalism. They are in the process of getting ISO certified, and they are bringing a new image to their force.

 I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down for an interview with Comandante Urbano Garcia Santiago, the Commander and Chief of the Tourist Police, here in Playa del Carmen. I wanted to get an insiders point of view on the incredible growth and expansion of Playa del Carmen, as well as the Riviera Maya.

By: Claire Hendrie  

Good news! The Riviera Maya has one more hotel that has achieved a benchmark certification from Green Globe - BARCELO MAYA BEACH RESORT

Yes, Barceló Maya Beach Resort has achieved the prestigious GREEN GLOBE 21 Benchmarked certificate under the new GREEN GLOBE 21 Certification  Program, which recognizes the operation’s commitment to operating at the world’s highest environmental standard .........

by Kristin Hahn

Although we all agree that we live in paradise, it is always a good thing when we are able to get away from our daily schedules and commitments and have an adventure!
Enter Bacalar, the most beautiful place I have ever seen! Just a hop, skip, and a jump from Playa del Carmen, (about a 3 hour drive directly south) lays Lake Bacalar, a true natural wonder. Fed by a series of cenotes and underground currents, this long (50 km), fresh water lake has the most incredible colors you have ever seen.........

By: Sam Meacham

Most residents of the Riviera Maya are familiar with cenotes; the enigmatic crystal clear pools of water that dot the Yucatan Peninsula’s landscape.

As their beauty is admired many questions are often asked about them:

How were they formed? .........How are they explored?

What can be found in the hidden depths of a Cenote? ...........What treasures can be found?

Is pollution affecting them? ......... The answers are very interesting ............

By: Suzanne Bandick

Have you been thinking lately about what a beautiful area we live in? It would be nice to keep it that way wouldn’t it? In fact it is probably essential to the Riviera Maya’s survival right?

Fortunately the Riviera Maya Hotel Association feels the same way and is right on it! In fact Bianca Orvananos who is head of special projects for the hotel association is actually the one right on it.

They have a special program in the works that benefits us all ............