Cancun Things to Do

Few would argue that Tulum is a magical place. It’s been an enchanting Caribbean escape for Mayans since at least 564 AD (the date inscribed on the oldest known stone stele), and is the oldest resort town in the Americas for many reasons. The area’s sapphire blue water, glittering white beaches and cenotes hidden in the Yucatan jungle combine to cast the very best sort of spell over all who choose to visit.

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Mexico is home to what has to be the hardest working, and most impressively optimistic, ministry of tourism in the world. Their latest coup, transforming the Mayan 2012 “doomsday prophecy” into the most successful advertising campaign in the history of the Yucatan, doesn’t have them resting on their laurels.

Welcome to 2012, the Year of the Mayan Apocalypse! Of course, it isn’t, and there’s not one shred of evidence that the ancient Mayans or any other honest expert ever believed for one tonalli that the world would end in 2012.

The fastest-growing class in windsurfing, Formula Experience, will be holding the World Windsurf Championship this December 20 through December 31, 2011, just off the gorgeous white beaches of luxurious Playa Mujeres, Cancun.

It’s that time of year again, when every travel publisher worth their glossy four-color photos and pithy descriptions of fabulous destinations releases various “Top Ten” trip lists into the blogosphere. With 2012 on the horizon, replete with modern prophecies attributed to Mayan astronomers concerning the end of the world, it’s no wonder that several major players in the travel industry are inviting their friends and fans to the Yucatan Peninsula, heart of the old Mayan empire.

Cancun has been taking advantage of the low season (May to mid-December) to clean up its act, initiating several programs designed to transform the resort town into a more livable place. The most obvious effort is a recent program that has removed thousands of the city’s billboards, which will hopefully have a soothing effect on area residents who would rather enjoy the region’s natural vistas.

As Hurricane Rina churns toward the Yucatán Coast, with Cancún in its sites for a Thursday afternoon touchdown, a familiar drama is playing out up and down the glittering Caribbean coastline. Alerts are out to some 45,000 tourists estimated to be staying in Cancún, Cozumel, and along the Riviera Maya, based on careful analysis of the storm, recommending evacuation for most resort areas, and requiring it in places deemed high-risk, in this case Isla Holbox.

Once known as Ichcaanzihó, or “City of Five Hills,” the capital of Yucatán State is thought to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the hemisphere. The “five hills” were actually Mayan pyramids, though their stone extravagance was subsequently dismantled by Spanish settlers, and used to build the modern metropolis christened Mérida.