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PUNTA ALLEN |
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Right at the tip of the peninsula, with a lighthouse guarding the
northern entrance to the Bahía de la Ascensión , the Maya lobster-fishing
village of PUNTA ALLEN is not a place you'd stumble across by accident.
Some tourists from Cancún do get down this far in rented cars, but if
you've only got one day virtually all you can do is turn around and head
back.
Despite having a population of just four hundred, Punta Allen is the
largest village within the reserve and is a focus of initiatives by both
government departments and nongovernmental organizations promoting
sustainable development. During the summer, Earthwatch volunteers come
here to assist scientists gathering data.
Entering the village, past the tiny naval station on the right and
beached fishing boats on the left, you come to the first of the
accommodation options: the Curzan Guest House (tel 9/834-0358, fax
834-0383; US$25-40), with tall conical cabañas and tepees, some with hot
water. There's a bar and restaurant with information about the reserve,
though you'll need to book meals if you're not staying there. On the
beach, the Let It Be Inn ( www.letitbeinn.com ; US$60-80) has three
cabañas with private bath and a separate large thatched cabaña with a
self-catering kitchen and dining room. Chen Chomac Resort (tel
9/877-8678; US$60-80), a few kilometres north of the village, has some
comfortable, modern thatched cabañas on the beach.
There's a long-distance phone (tel 9/871-2424) in the village shop which
also serves the community - if you need to contact someone in Punta
Allen this is the number to call. A couple of small restaurants , the
Punta Allen and the Candy , serve food. A mobile shop travels the length
of the peninsula on Thursdays and Saturdays, selling meat, bread, fruit
and vegetables, reaching Punta Allen about 2pm; useful if you're
camping. Although there's no dive shop, the hotels generally have some
form of water-sports equipment for their guests and may let nonresidents
rent it. Fishermen can be persuaded to take you out into the reserve for
a fee; they also go across the bay to the even tinier village of Vigia
Chico , on the mainland. Victor Barrera is a recommended local guide who
takes people flat fishing and organizes ecotours (tel 9/871-2424,
www.siankaanflats.com ).
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