The Mayan Riviera is committed to conserving nature in Mexico

From an article on Travel Video News:

As a demonstration of its commitment to environmental conservation, Mexico’s Riviera Maya has launched the Mesoamerican Tourism Reef Initiative (MARTI) to help protect the beautiful and unique flora and fauna in the area surrounding the Northern Hemisphere’s largest coral reef.

The initiative unites tourism service providers such as hotels, tourism developers, tour companies and cruise lines with civil and governmental organizations to develop and implement initiatives in favor of the environment in general and the area surrounding the Mesoamerican Reef in particular.

Created by the Conservation International Coral Reef Alliance and the local environmental organization Amigos de Sian Ka’an in conjunction with the Riviera Maya Hotel Association, the initiative aims to promote environmental best practices, further the responsible use of natural resources and foster a culture of environmental sustainability among business owners, hotel operators and even guests. The alliance is the only one of its kind in the area surrounding the Mesoamerican Reef.

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Underwater museum to attract tourists, protect reefs

From an article by Verónica Díaz Favela of IPS/IFEJ on Tierramérica:

MEXICO CITY, Sep 28 (Tierramérica).- Four sculptures in human forms, made of concrete, will be submerged in November in the depths of the Mexican Caribbean. They are the first of 400 figures that will comprise the world's largest underwater museum.

The Subaquatic Sculpture Museum will be situated in the West Coast National Park in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán Peninsula. The park receives nearly 300,000 visitors each year. The museum's mission is to attract some of those tourists, reducing the pressures on important natural habitat.

The watery museum will become even more attractive when the sculpture area fills with thousands of colorful fish. The concrete of the sculptures is pH neutral, which allows rapid growth of algae and incrustation of marine invertebrates.

"With the underwater museum we ensure a diversion of tourists, which permits us to give a rest to the natural reefs. It's as if it were a restoration process," explained national park director Jaime González to this reporter.

"In becoming healthier, the coral reefs will be more resistant to hurricane damage," he added.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (PCC) has warned that extreme weather phenomena, like hurricanes, will become more intense and frequent as a result of global warming. The panel also predicts higher acidity of ocean waters and consequent bleaching of coral - which can kill it. . . .

In the West Coast National Park of Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún and Punta Nizuc, the challenge is to draw tourists away from natural habitats without losing the 36 million dollars they bring into the area each year.

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Mayan magic

From an article by Sandra Coulson on Canoe Travel:

MERIDA, MEXICO -- We stood on the balcony of the city hall, looking through its graceful arches.

To the right was the imposing home of the territory's conquistador, to the left the state governor's palace, opposite the oldest cathedral in the Americas, and below the Plaza Grande where residents enjoyed the warm spring evening.

And above us, in our mind's eye, the Mayan pyramid whose ruins were dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt into the centre of Merida, Mexico.

The vista encapsulates Mexico's Yucatan state. On the flat, jungle-covered peninsula of the same name, you will find colonial elegance, monumental ruins and remarkable natural features.

That was the gist of a recent tour arranged for travel writers by the Mexican Tourism Board, Mexicana airline and the Yucatan state tourism department. With drug wars, murders and H1N1 flu, many a traveller has hesitated about going to Mexico. But if and when you're ready, there is variety and charm to be found.

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Support ecotourism a bid on Tulum hot and spa stay

From the monthly auction of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES). All proceeds from the auction will go to support TIES' mission to promote responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people:

Three nights (double occupancy) at the Cabanas Copal Hotel, a tropical seaside eco-resort in Tulum, Mexico + 2 tickets for a share temazcal (indigenous sweat lodge) at the Maya Spa Wellness Center, Tulum's holistic spa specializing in Mayan therapy. The eco-rustic, candlelit Cabanas Copal is nestled in the tropical jungle by the Caribbean sea, and offers you an off-the-beaten-path alternative vacation experience. The seaside Caribbean cabanas are just 3 km from the Mayan Ruins of Tulum.

Bidding ends Sep. 29, 2009 8:20 PM EDT.

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Global warming may dent El Niño's protective shield from Atlantic hurricanes, increase droughts

From an article on Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2009) — El Niño, the periodic eastern Pacific phenomenon credited with shielding the United States and Caribbean from severe hurricane seasons, may be overshadowed by its brother in the central Pacific due to global warming, according to an article in the September 24 issue of the journal Nature.

"There are two El Niños, or flavors of El Niño," said Ben Kirtman, co-author of the study and professor of meteorology and physical oceanography at the University of Miami's Rosentstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. "In addition to the eastern Pacific El Niño which we know and love, a second El Niño in the central Pacific is on the increase."

El Niño is a recurring warm water current along the equator in the Pacific Ocean that affects weather circulation patterns in the tropics. The eastern El Niño increases wind sheer in the Atlantic that may hamper the development of major hurricanes there. The central Pacific El Niño, near the International Dateline, has been blamed for worsening drought conditions in Australia and India as well as minimizing the effects of its beneficial brother to the east.

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UN Foundation commends The Haciendas for leading the way in sustainable tourism

From an news release posted on Yahoo! News:

September 21, 2009 -- Erika Harms, Executive Director for Sustainable Development at the UN Foundation, released the following statement on September 21, 2009.

"I am delighted that two members of the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (WHA), an industry-leading initiative that works to support World Heritage conservation, sustainable tourism, and local economic development for communities in and around UNESCO World Heritage sites, have received two high-level awards recognizing their leadership in sustainable tourism.

I congratulate Marilu Hernandez, chair of the governing body of the WHA and co-founder of The Haciendas in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, for winning the 2009 Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Award. Chosen for its leadership in poverty alleviation, The Haciendas is a small hotel chain located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that worked with local community members to turn abandoned haciendas into contemporary resorts. In addition, Hernandez created a Mobile Library Project that has reached over 12,000 children in an area where books are scarce and illiteracy is the norm.

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From an article by Linda Geddes on New Scientist:

SIT on the steps of Mexico's El Castillo pyramid in Chichen Itza and you may hear a confusing sound. As other visitors climb the colossal staircase their footsteps begin to sound like raindrops falling into a bucket of water as they near the top. Were the Mayan temple builders trying to communicate with their gods?

The discovery of the raindrop "music" in another pyramid suggests that at least some of Mexico's pyramids were deliberately built for this purpose. Some of the structures consist of a combination of steps and platforms, while others, like El Castillo, resemble the more even-stepped Egyptian pyramids.

Researchers were familiar with the raindrop sounds made by footsteps on El Castillo - a hollow pyramid on the Yucatán Peninsula. But why the steps should sound like this and whether the effect was intentional remained unclear.

To investigate further, Jorge Cruz of the Professional School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Mexico City and Nico Declercq of the Georgia Institute of Technology compared the frequency of sounds made by people walking up El Castillo with those made at the solid, uneven-stepped Moon Pyramid at Teotihuacan in central Mexico.

At each pyramid, they measured the sounds they heard near the base of the pyramid when a student was climbing higher up. Remarkably similar raindrop noises, of similar frequency, were recorded at both pyramids, suggesting that rather than being caused by El Castillo being hollow, the noise is probably caused by sound waves travelling through the steps hitting a corrugated surface, and being diffracted, causing the particular raindrop sound waves to propagate down along the stairs.

El Castillo is widely believed to have been devoted to the feathered serpent god Kukulcan, but Cruz thinks it may also have been a temple to the rain god Chaac. Indeed, a mask of Chaac is found at the top of El Castillo and also in the Moon Pyramid. "The Mexican pyramids, with some imagination, can be considered musical instruments dating back to the Mayan civilisation," says Cruz, although he adds that there is no direct evidence that the Mayans actually played them.

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Tulum to change: Remember and take many photos

From an article on The News:

Quintana Roo - Quintana Roo's sleepy but growing Caribbean town, Tulum, is getting 38 million pesos to improve communication, transportation, health and tourist infrastructure, officials said last week.

Governor FAclix González Canto, along with Mayor Mariciano Dzul Camaal, said the young town will soon be home to an international airport and will begin growing rapidly, following in the footsteps of Playa del Carmen and Cancún.

González told those present at his working tour to "remember and take many photos" of the area, because it's going to change once the new airport is built. Bidding on the airport is to begin in November, and once it is finished, transportation to and from the town will be able to handle the boost in tourists. Currently, it receives an average of 1.5 million visitors per year.

Tulum's well-preserved Mayan ruins will soon be more easily accessible, as a 1.4-million peso project will pay to repave 7,033 square meters (75,702 sq ft) of pedestrian walkways and roads to the beachside fortress.

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Clean up a beach on the 19th!

Join in the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup, on September 19:

In partnership with organizations and individuals across the globe, Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup engages people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris, and change the behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place. Join us this September: Sign up for a Cleanup near you and get involved today!

Find a cleanup event along the Mexican Caribbean here and enter an address, like Akumal, Mexico.

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Mexico hit by lowest rainfall in 68 years

From an article by Noel Randewich, Reuters, posted on Mother Nature Network:

The El Nino weather phenomenon, a warming of the seas in the Pacific Ocean, has induced a dry spell in South America and is likely partly to blame for Mexico's lack of rain, experts say.

MEXICO CITY - Mexico is suffering from its driest year in 68 years, killing crops and cattle in the countryside and forcing the government to slow the flow of water to the crowded capital.

Below-average rainfall since last year has left about 80 of Mexico's 175 largest reservoirs less than half full, said Felipe Arreguin, a senior official at the Conagua commission, which manages the country's water supply.

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"We have zones where the reservoirs are totally full but others that don't have even a drop of water," he said in an interview late on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 cattle have been lost due to lack of rainfall, and up to 20 million tons of crops managed by 3.5 million small farmers are at risk of being lost, agriculture groups say.

The arid northwest region of Mexico has been hardest hit, along with the central part of the country surrounding Mexico City where 20 million people live.

Mexico typically has a rainy season from around June to October, topping up lakes and reservoirs that supply much of the country's water during the rest of the year.

The El Nino weather phenomenon, a warming of the seas in the Pacific Ocean, has induced a dry spell in South America and is likely partly to blame for Mexico's lack of rain, experts say.

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1st Cannon Riviera Maya underwater photo contest

From an annoucement on the Web site of the photo contest:

It is with great pleasure that the Riviera Maya Dive Alliance announces the first free entry Riviera Maya Underwater Photo Contest to be held the week of 5th - 12th of December 2009 in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

To celebrate the diversity of diving in the Riviera Maya the 1st Riviera Maya Underwater Photo Contest has been brought to you by local dive centers of the Riviera Maya Dive Alliance in Playa del Carmen.

The Riviera Maya Dive Alliance is a network of local dive centers dedicated to the promotion of quality diving in the Riviera Maya. Its mission is to organize events and other promotional activities in order to foster the diving community.

The Riviera Maya Underwater Photo Contest is an international annual event designed to encourage divers to expand their diving and underwater photography skills. Divers from around the world will come to Playa del Carmen to participate in a memorable week-long experience that includes diving, social events, workshops and culminates in the presentation of winning photos and awards ceremony.

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16th-century Chiapas convent "reappears" after 40 years

From a story on National Geographic News:

A 16th Century convent in Mexico has re-emerged as water levels in a dam reservoir have fallen to low levels.

Low water levels at the Malpaso hydroelectric dam in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas have uncovered part of the convent, which was submerged along with the community of Quechula 40 years ago when the dam was built.

Only older residents still remember the neoclassical Santiago Convent.

The lack of rain this season has resulted in such a dramatic drop in water levels that about 32 feet of the 49-foot high convent front walls are visible above the lake surface.

Mexicos President says climate change was to blame for the lack of water in the heavily populated area.

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What I ate on my summer vacation: street food in the Yucatán

From a post (with great photos) by Tim Carman on the Washington City Paper:

I am probably stretching the definition of street food here, since some of the comestibles I ate were actually purchased in open-air buildings that faced the street, not from free-standing carts that have to be pushed into place every morning. Regardless, the food from all of these places had three things in common: It could be bought right off the sidewalk, it had to be eaten somewhere else than the place where I bought it, and it was delicious (with one exception).

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