Yucatan - Chetumal, Merida & Campeche

By Vivien Lougheed

The border town of Chetumal is the capital of Quintana Roo State and at the most southern section of the Yucatán Peninsula. The mouth of the Rio Hondo is also here. Those coming and going to Belize can change buses or stop for one night, while others may

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Jul 15, 2009
• ISBN: 9781588437341

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Travel Adventures

Yucatan - Chetumal, Merida, Campeche

Vivien Lougheed

Hunter Publishing, Inc.

www.hunterpublishing.com

[e-mail]

IN CANADA

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis

Montreal, Québec H2W 2M5 Canada

tel. [phone], Ext. 2232 / Fax [phone]

IN THE UK & EUROPE

Roundhouse Group

Loma House, Loma Road

Hove BN3 3EL, England

tel. [phone], fax [phone]

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© 2009 Hunter Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability or any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Chetumal

History

Getting Here & Around

What to See & Do

Fiestas

The Ruins & Other Attractions

Excursions in Nature

Nightlife

Shopping

Hotels

Restaurants

Laguna de Bacalar

Getting Here & Around

What to See & Do

Tour Operators

Nightlife

Hotels

Restaurant

Xcalak

Adventures in Water

Diving

Where to Stay

Mérida

History

Getting Here & Around

Car Rentals

Orientation

Useful Telephone Numbers

Medical

Consulates

Festivals

What to See & Do

The Zocalo

Parks

Art

Adventures on Foot

Adventures in Nature

The Ruins

The Church of Umán

Bike Trips

Learning the Language

Tour Operators

Nightlife

Shopping

Hotels

Restaurants

Progreso

History

Getting Here & Around

What to See & Do

In Town

Adventures In Nature

Beaches

Tour Operators

Nightlife

Hotels

Restaurants

South of Mérida

The Puuc Route

Loltún Caves

Uxmal

Tikul

Santa Elena

The Convent Route

Acanceh

Tecoh

Grutas de Tzabnah

Tekit

Mama

Chumayel

Teabo

Tipikal

Mani

Oxkutzcab

The Hacienda Route

Hacienda Xcanatun

Hacienda Temozon

Hacienda San José Cholul

Hacienda Santa Rosa

Hacienda Katanchel

Hacienda Yaxcopoil

Celestún

Getting Here & Away

What to See & Do

Flamingo Tour

Celestún Biosphere Reserve

Hotels

Places to Eat

From Mérida East to Valladolid

Izamal

Getting Here & Around

Festivals

What to See & Do

Shopping

Hotels

Restaurants

Piste

Cenotes

Hotels

Valladolid

Getting Here & Away

What to See & Do

Nightlife

Shopping

Hotels

Restaurants

Campeche

History

Campeche City

Getting Here & Around

What to See & Do

Exploring the Wall & Forts

Beyond the City Walls

Tour Operators

Nightlife

Hotels

Restaurants

North of Campeche

Jaina

East of Campeche

Hopelchén

South of Campeche

Hotels

Ciudad del Carmen

Hotels

Restaurants

East of Compotón

Xpujil

Orientation

Getting Here & Away

Ruins

Hotels & Restaurants

Chetumal

The border town of Chetumal is the capital of Quintana Roo State and at the most southern section of the Yucatán Peninsula. The mouth of the Rio Hondo is also here.

Those coming and going to Belize can change buses or stop for one night, while others may come to shop. It's a pity so few stay longer because there are numerous interesting ruins within a day's journey, the local museum and botanical gardens are good and the Lagoon of Seven Colors is just 20 miles (37 km) from the town center. Bacalar Lagoon, the second-largest in Mexico, is about the same distance away. Just offshore are the Chinchorro reefs, known for their rusting shipwrecks. If you're interested in some of these things, away from the party scene of Cancún and adjacent communities, then I encourage you to stay longer.

Chetumal is the only city I've ever been to where a taxi driver refused to take me because the distance I wanted to go was too short. He then proceeded to give me directions for the quickest way to walk there.

History

Chetumal in Mayan means a place with lots of red cedar and the Maya populated the Chetumal and Balcalar Lagoon area for a few hundred years. The first non-Maya to live here was the shipwrecked Spaniard, Gonzolo Guerrero, who married the chief's daughter. He later became interpreter for the Spanish.

Chetumal became an official city in 1898 to house the military that was fighting the illegal trade of arms and illegal transportation of logwood lumber during and after the Caste War. In 1898 General Orthon Blanco arrived and established the border with Belize. In 1915 Bishop Payo arrived from Guatemala and the town was named Payo Obispo after him. Following this, the village remained a sleepy little place, its architecture influenced by the British, who occupied Belize, just a few miles to the south. Finally in 1936, the town's name changed back to its original Maya one, Chetumal.

During the 1940s two hurricanes demolished the town but the locals rebuilt. In 1955, Hurricane Janet leveled Chetumal and killed 800 people. Hurricane Dean blew through in 2007, causing extensive damage to Majahual and flooding to Chetumal. As it crossed land, Dean weakened but then picked up force again once it went over the Gulf of Mexico.

Corozal, on the Belize border, was designated a Duty Free Zone and catered to businesses seeking bargains. It became a bustling port, but only for foreigners. Those carrying Belizean passports weren't allowed to shop at the duty-free stores unless they had a visa to go farther north than Chetumal. Thus, visitors often shopped in Corozal, spent a night or two in Chetumal and then returned home with their bargains. Chetumal quickly made itself into the perfect destination for overnight Belizeans.

Getting Here & Around

The city, with a population of about 140,000 people, is on the western side of the Bay of Chetumal, a huge Caribbean inlet that also holds the island of Tamalcab. To the east and inland, the city is surrounded by Lagunas Guerrero, Agual Salada, and Bacalar. Cenote Azul is also close.

ADO buses leave from Chetumal for Cancún at 5 and 8:30 am or 2:30 and 8 pm daily. They stop first in Majajual, in Limones, at the car ferry, in Tulum and in Playa. There are 2nd- and 3rd-class buses and some vans that go more frequently. The cost for an ADO is $16 from Chetumal to Cancún.

Premier is a new bus company offering 1st-class service between Belize City and Chetumal. They leave Chetumal at 10:45 am or 3 and 4:45 pm. It takes three hours to reach Belize City. Check these schedules as they can and do change often.

Mexican cars are not permitted to enter Belize without special insurance. However, if you choose to take a Mexican car into Belize, you will find the cost about the same as renting in Belize.

A  shuttle to the Belize border leaves from the bus station. You must walk across the border. Every time you leave Belize you must pay a $30 per person Conservation Fee and the border personnel are not too friendly with those passing their gates to leave the country.

The main road, Insurgentes, interjects the main highway. Follow Insurgentes to the city center and the town plaza. From there, follow Av Niños Heroes east to the municipal pier. The Malecón follows the bay around the town.

What to See & Do

Museo de la Cultura Maya, Av Heroes, tel. [phone], open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 7 pm, entry fee $5 for adults, $2 for children. It is partly an interactive museum featuring Mexican, Belizean, Guatamalan and Honduran Maya culture. The museum explains mostly the simplest aspects of the culture such as the idea of beauty through deformation of the head and through body scarring. There are numerous models of Maya ruins found in the region, examples of wall paintings and some intricate wood carvings. The modern sculpture outside the museum is of Guerrero and his Maya princess wife.

The Malecón runs along the bay and is graced with children's parks, palapa huts, palm trees, and gentle breezes that are enjoyed in typical Spanish style each night by those living and visiting Chetumal. Near the Palacio Legislativo, on Av Othon Blanco and the Malecón, is a house containing Maqueta Payo Olbispo, a handcarved rendition of Chetumal as it looked almost 100 years ago. Created by Luis Reinhard Mcliberty, a local who was good at miniature carving, the shoebox-sized houses, painted and decorated with curtained windows, lining streets complete with signs and sand, are exact replicas of Chetumal back in the 1920s and 1930s.

Bellas Artes, Av Niños Heroes #68, tel. [phone], open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 7 pm, entry $2, is a 1936-styled building that houses the city museum and offers live performances in the evenings. There are six rooms, one showing the history of Payo Obispo depicted in full English colonial style. It moves through WWII, and then progresses to Chetumal's struggle after the destruction of Hurricane Janet in 1955.

Zoological Museum, Km 2 on the Bacalar-Chetumal road, tel. [phone], $3 entry fee, displays over 75,000 specimens of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, butterflies, and insects. The museum is the first of its kind in Quintana Roo.

Fiestas

Besides the usual religious festivals such as Christmas, Easter and Day of the Dead, on the day after Shrove Tuesday in February Carnival begins. When this high-spirited all-out party ends, the 40 days of fasting for Lent begins. I'd guess that it's more a recuperation period.

October sees the International Border Fair and November has the Festival of Caribbean Culture.

The Ruins & Other Attractions

The Rio Bec Route west of Chetumal starts off along Highway 186 (turn west off Highway 307 just north of Chetumal to reach 186). Sites are open from 8 am to 5 pm daily