|
| |
| |
|
PROGRESO |
| |
First impressions of PROGRESO - a working port with a vast concrete
pier - are unprepossessing, but the beach is long and broad with fine
white sand (though the water's not too clean) and it makes for a
pleasant day out from Mérida. The shorefront behind the beach is built
up all the way to Puerto Chicxulub , an unremarkable fishing village
some 5km away, and a walk between the two takes you past the mansions of
the old henequen exporters, interspersed with modern holiday villas and
condominiums.
Streets in Progreso are confusingly numbered using two overlapping
systems: one has numbers in the 70s and 80s, the other in the 20s and
30s. However, it's a small place, and not difficult to find your way
around. The tourist office (Mon-Fri 8am-2pm, Sat 8am-1pm; tel
9/935-0114), in the Casa de la Cultura on C 80, Progreso's main street,
is not terribly useful though you may be able to pick up copies of free
magazines, Playa Progreso and Puerto Progreso , which have good maps of
the town and coastline. There are a couple of banks both with ATMs and
an internet café on C 80. Progreso doesn't have any backpacker or luxury
accommodation though there are a few moderately priced places to stay on
Av Malecón, which runs along the seafront between the beach and the
hotels. The less-expensive hotels are a few roads back. Best bets
include Real del Mar , Av Malecón, near C 19 (tel 9/935-0798; US$15-25),
which has clean simple rooms with bathrooms; Tropical Suites , Av
Malecón 143 (tel 9/935-1263; US$15-25), which has some suites with
kitchens; and Hotel San Miguel , C 78 and C 28 (tel 9/935-1357; US$10-15),
which has basic but clean rooms.
For eating , try the seafood snacks served at Sol y Mar , Av Malecón at
C 80, Flamingos , also on the Malecón and for cheap comida corriente,
the town's small friendly market has several good comedors .
|
|
