The Associated Press: Mexico shuts Cancun beach, alleges sand was stolen

MEXICO CITY — Surprised tourists found their little piece of Cancun beach paradise ringed by crime-scene tape and gun-toting sailors on Thursday.

Environmental enforcement officers backed by Mexican navy personnel closed off hundreds of feet (dozens of meters) of powder-white coastline in front of a hotel accused of illegally accumulating sand on its beach.

Mexico spent $19 million to replace Cancun beaches washed away by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. But much of the sand pumped from the sea floor has since washed away, leading some property owners to build breakwaters in a bid to retain sand. The practice often merely shifts sand loss to beaches below the breakwaters.

Cancun, Mexico: Beautiful Beaches and Wild Nights!

Renowned for its luxurious complexes and for its amazing white sandy beaches surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, Cancun is the ideal place to combine holidays on the beach and partying in clubs until the wee hours of the morning!

A little history
Believe it or not, it was only in the seventies that the Government decided to found the city of Cancun and make it an international resort. In fact, Cancun is divided into two parts:
- Isla Cancun, on the peninsula, a hotel zone in the form of a big 7, which is lined with exceptional beaches. Nightclubs, bars and restaurants abound to the delight of tourists wanting to party.
- Downtown Cancun, located on the coast, has few hotels and no beach. However, for a nice meal outside the hotel, you can go to the Mercado 28, a public market with several restaurants and terraces, which offers a typical meal at affordable prices.

Stunning beaches
The hotel zone in Cancun is surrounded by the most beautiful beaches and counts more than thirty thousand hotel rooms. The very warm temperatures, coral reefs and the beauty of turquoise waters attract many tourists each year. However, you must move away fromthe hotel zone if you want to engage in activities other than scuba diving. Several excursions are also offered for that matter.

Mexico vacations, no planning required

All-inclusive resorts with cattle-call buffets and indifferent service are still with us, but they're rapidly being replaced by architect-designed havens with vaunted international chefs and 3-to-1 employee-to-guest ratios. Golf, tennis, zip lines, climbing walls and even trapeze lessons have replaced conga lines and limbo dancing. And with deals to entice travelers back to Mexico multiplying like Tribbles, now is a great time to discover this new breed of all-inclusive.

Travel 101: What beers do the locals drink in Mexico?

It's always fun to drink local beers when you travel. Below is a list of the most common beers brewed in Mexico. Next time you're on the beach in Cancun or strolling the streets of Guadalajara, you'll be more prepared when you duck into a cantina for a break from the sun.

Bohemia. Served in a dark bottle with gold foil on the neck, Bohemia is a bit more expensive than other beers, but it has a robust taste and is a bit of a status symbol.

The Associated Press: Mexico wins praise for swine flu response

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — As swine flu runs rampant in the Southern Hemisphere winter, world health experts are concerned that some hard-hit countries have been reluctant to take forceful measures to protect public health.

Only Friday did Argentina's new health minister, Juan Manzur, raise the country's official death toll to 44. He now estimates that as many as 320,000 people have been stricken with influenza, including about 100,000 with swine flu — a huge jump in what the government acknowledged previously, and an indication that Argentina's hospitals will remain overwhelmed for months.

Cancun welcomes new Whale Shark Biosphere Reserve

Cancun is more than just a place to see various marine life, it is home to one of the 171 protected biospheres reserves in Mexico.

The recently named Reserva de la Biosfera Tiburón Ballena (Whale Shark Biosphere Reserve) is located in front of the north coast region of Quintana Roo, with a surface area of 145,988 acres. The marine surface of this Protected Area guarantees the protection of the region which contains waters rich with organic material. This concentration of nutrients allow for the exceptional presence of species such as mussels, crustaceans, birds and marine mammals, and above all, schools of fish of commercial and sport importance, as well as large groups of whale sharks, making it the perfect environment for spotting these gentle sea giants in their own environment.

AFP: Policy makers head to Mexico for swine flu meet

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Policy makers from 50 countries are to gather in Mexico on Thursday to discuss their response to this year's swine flu outbreak, as South America continues to be hit by new cases.

Experts and ministers will gather in the Caribbean beach resort of Cancun for a two-day meeting aimed at gleaning lessons from the crisis, according to Margaret Chan, Secretary General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Hate crowds? Travel to Mexico

The Mexican tourism industry has taken it in la boca this year thanks to the triple whammy of the H1N1 viral outbreak, warnings over drug violence and the down economy. So for those adventurous enough to vamanos, bargains await and crowds are few, according to reports.

An Associated Press dispatch in June details the serendipitous experience of a Seattle resident who, with his friends, decided to head to Mexico and came away delighted to have an entire resort almost to themselves.