Cancun now has an all-inclusive beachfront resort with a twist: an environmental program spanning water reclamation to wildlife preservation.
In April, the 996-room Sandos Caracol Eco Resort earned "Sustainable Hotel" certification from the Meso-American Reef Tourism Initiative for helping protect the Riviera Maya's fragile ecosystem. Being the region's most eco-responsible resort "is a dream for us," said assistant manager Alberto Selas. Green initiatives, started eight months ago, include composting, total water reclamation for landscaping, keycard-controlled room lighting, water systems that sustain mangroves and the coral reef, and habitat conservation.
The resort's villas, restaurants, disco and pools were planned around the 65-acre site's mangrove jungles, lagoons and cenotes -- natural cavelike wells connected by vast networks of underground rivers.
"The entire Yucatan Peninsula is hollow," said Moises Martinez Cerda, who guides hike-swim tours through submerged freshwater caves of Rio Secreto. Designated a nature reserve in 2007, this cenote network is a 20-minute shuttle from Sandos Caracol. After being outfitted in wetsuits, slippers and caving helmets with lamps, six tourists descend 40 feet underground to tramp and swim past surreal speleothems -- features formed of minerals deposited by dripping water -- and tiny darkness-adapted animals. Cerda covers geology and ancient Mayans' use of cenotes for sacred rites.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Swim underground and eco-tour on Mexico's Riviera Maya
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment