Cancún

Giant Mexican flag in the Hotel Zone

Cancún (pronounced can-koon) is a coastal city in Mexico's easternmost state, Quintana Roo. It is the municipal seat of Benito Juárez municipality and a world renowned tourist resort with modern beachfront hotels surrounded by the Bahía de Mujeres (Bay of Women), the Caribbean Sea, and the Nichupte and Bojorquez lagoons. The mainland downtown commercial section (Cancún City), connected to the island by two bridges, has broad avenues lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels.

The older section of the city, which follows the original master plan, consists of neighborhoods called supermanzanas (superblocks) that are formed by the intersections of the boulevards. They are characterized by winding streets with cul de sacs that tend to keep out the main flow of traffic, and usually have one or more parks and other green spaces.

In order to save on the cost of installing sewage systems and other public services, the design of much of the rest of the city reverted to the grid plan after Hurricane Gilbert (1988). The newest upper-middle-class residential areas reflect the original plan, but are much less initimate. Less expensive developments are comprised almost entirely of identical one- or two-story small row houses, sometimes built around interior plazas. Almost all buildings on the mainland are under four stories high.

History

In the early 1950s, Cancún was a small island just off the Caribbean Sea coast of the Yucatán peninsula, home to three caretakers of a coconut plantation and small Pre-Columbian ruins of the Maya civilization. The government of Mexico decided to develop a tourist resort on Cancún, which was originally financed by a USD $27 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank. A causeway was built to link Cancún to the mainland, and Cancun International Airport was built, along with what was at first a model city for workers, complete with housing, schools and medical facilities. The city was built after the project developed by architects Agustin Landa Verdugo and Enrique Landa Verdugo, who also designed the city's airport and its first hotel.

Development of Cancún started in 1970, and was established as a city in 1972. and grew rapidly in the 1980s. According to American journalist Jules Siegel, who has lived in Cancun since 1983, the original master plan was repeatedly modified and, on the mainland, often ignored. He reports that despite initial skepticism that forced the Mexican government to finance the first eight hotels, Cancún soon attracted investors from all over the world. Approximately 70% of the Hotel Zone properties are owned by Mexicans -- many of them local residents -- but the figure is close to 100% for the mainland, he says. Hotel operating companies are international companies that supply administration and marketing services and these companies do not usually own the hotels themselves, Siegel explains. Even outlets of restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Domino's Pizza are Mexican-owned, he says.

The city has grown rapidly over the past thirty years to become a city of approximately 600,000 residents, covering the former island and the nearby mainland. Most 'cancunenses' here are from Yucatán and other Mexican states. A growing number are from the rest of America and Europe, according to Siegel, who was the translator of Fernando Martí's "Cancun, Fantasy of Bankers." He says that municipal authorities have struggled to provide public services for the constant influx of people, as well as to control squatters and irregular developments, which now occupy an estimated ten to fifteen percent of the mainland area on the fringes of the city. Siegel goes into more detail about common misconceptions concerning Cancun in a three-part article Cancun Bashing Is in Season, a brief portion of which was published in The Nation on October 20, 2003 as a letter in response to what he considered an inaccurate report by journalist Marc Cooper.

The city Cancún and its flourishing tourism industry were heavily damaged by Hurricane Wilma, which hit the area on October 22, 2005. As of January 31, 2007, the resort is almost completely repaired and operating normally, although minor pockets of damage still remain.

Tourism in Cancún

There are about 140 hotels in Cancún with 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily. The Hotel Zone offers a broad range of accommodations, ranging from relatively inexpensive motel-style facilities in the older section closest to the mainland, to high-priced luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton in the later sections. Many of the hotels are time-share condominiums with kitchen facilities. Some all inclusive hotels monopolize their guests' spending, consequently decreasing the income of independent service providers. There are also upscale private residences and lavish condominiums for rent that cater to the rich and famous. Restaurants, bars and shops in the hotel zone tend to be rather expensive compared with the downtown area and other Mexican resorts. Although the Hotel Zone is frequently described as "posh" or "exclusive" the main Cancún tourism market is middle- and upper-middle-class, according to government statistics, which also report that more than 30% of Cancún visitors are Mexican.

On the opposite side of the island from the Caribbean Sea is the Nichupte Lagoon, which is used for boating excursions and jet-ski jungle tours.

Downtown is home to less expensive places to shop, including supermarkets such as Walmart, Comercial Mexicana and Soriana, not to mention several flea markets like the one in the Hotel Zone.

Nightlife

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The City night club, Mexican Independence Day 2006

Downtown Cancún offers a more cultural aspect, there are cuban/salsa type bars/restaurants. There are also many clubs for all types of people, including gay clubs like Karamba or Glow, but the hotels are more accessible to all types of travellers, including some with lower rates. International brands in Downtown area include Radisson Hacienda Cancún, Best Western Plaza Caribe, Oasis America.

Some of the most popular bars/clubs to go to are: Coco Bongo, Senor Frogs, The City, Bulldog Cafe, Dady O and Dady Rock. Each one of these bars has something different to offer whether it be live music, a dj, or different themes or special events each night. To get more information on the specifics of each one of these bars check out this website.

Marine life

There are many opportunities and organised trips for speed boating, scuba diving etc. Cancun hosts many geological parks with lush marine life. Cancún's hotel zone also has an interactive aquarium where visitors can see the marine diversity of the area. There are also a variety of locations where visitors can "swim with dolphins" and feed sharks.

Weather

The temperature of the city is warm, moderated by the marine breeze which circulates through its avenues. The temperatures are typically between 26°C and 36°C (78.8°F and 96.8°F) all year round. All hotel rooms in the Hotel Zone and most on the mainland are air conditioned. Weather is highly variable. During winter nortes (northerly storms) temperature drops sharply. In the course of a single day, the weather can turn from bright sunshine to dark and stormy and back again. It's not uncommon to look out one window and see sunshine, while rain is falling on the opposite side. Sun showers and rainbows are frequent throughout the year, but especially during the summer rainy season.

Ancient Mayan ruins

There are some (relatively) small ruins of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Cancún. Ruinas del Rey is located in the Hotel Zone. El Meco, a more substantial site, is found on the mainland just outside the city limits on the road to Punta Sam.

Hurricane Wilma

On October 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, with strong winds in excess of 150 mph. The hurricane's eye first passed over the island of Cozumel, and then made an official landfall near Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo at around midnight on October 22 EDT with winds near 140 mph. Portions of the island of Cozumel experienced the calm eye of Wilma for several hours with some blue skies and sunshine visible at times. The eye slowly drifted northward, with the center passing just to the west of Cancún, Quintana Roo. Some portions of the Yucatán Peninsula experienced hurricane force winds for well over 24 hours. The hurricane began accelerating in the early morning hours of October 23, exiting the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and entering the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 storm.

Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula, particularly in Cancún. At least three deaths have been reported, numerous people have disappeared, and the insured damage is estimated at between US$5 and US$8 billion. The devastation was almost total with many of the principal roadways from the Hotel Zone completely flooded and damaged. It has been estimated that 95% of the tourism infrastructure was seriously damaged. Once the storm left the peninsula, some of the beautiful beaches of Cancún had been washed away. Thousands of local and foreign tourists were hosted in improvised refuges. All airport and harbor operations were cancelled between October 21 to the 25 due to the worst weather conditions.

It is estimated that after Wilma left Cancún, the local tourism industry lost over US $15 million daily. Many houses were devastated, and many jobs were lost. However, thanks to the aid and support of local and state governments, the federal government, the Red Cross, and civic associations, reconstruction has been possible. There was an exhaustive campaign by the media that featured public figures, including Mexico's President Vicente Fox, actors and musicians to aid people who suffered.

Recovery from Hurricane Wilma

When Hurricane Wilma finally passed, an 8-mile stretch of Cancun's beach was almost washed away, exposing a line of ragged rocks. Cancun's recovery from the storm, however, has been noteworthy, so much so that the United Nations World Tourism Organization has declared it a model to emulate in future disasters.

The Mexican government paid US$24-million to the Belgian firm Jan de Nul to vacuum up offshore sand roughly 20 miles off the coast of Cancun and pump it back to resort-front beaches. The result of the completed beach restoration is that Cancun's beach front is now roughly twice as wide as it was before the storm (going from roughly 70 feet wide to the present-day 140 feet). Beach erosion remains a serious problem despite the restoration. Some stretches have lost approximately 30 feet of sand. A few very problematical areas are now back to about 30 feet or less. The new sand is much coarser and somewhat darker than the powdery white original Cancun beaches.

Roughly $2.3-billion in insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of Wilma, but many hotel and resort owners took the opportunity to upgrade the quality of their rebuilt properties and add more condos to the mix of accommodations. As of early 2006, about 10 percent of Cancun's hotels were still having work done, with the last scheduled to be finished by the end of 2007.

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