Two faces of the Caribbean

by Alberto Gonzalez-Gallina (Mexico)

A leap into the unknown Mexico

The Mayan Riviera is Mexico´s top traveling destination with around 4.8 million tourists flowing this last year to destinations such as Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. The beauty of the Peninsula is undeniable, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What the common tourist usually sees are big, all including resorts, that expand all across the coast, some even inland, and with them, paradisiac beaches of white sand and turquoise waters. With these huge infrastructure compounds come the bars, the restaurants and all the amenities one can desire. Take a trip and do some snorkeling in coral reefs, scuba dive with sharks, go 4x4 across trails in the jungle, swim and dive in the magnificent cenotes (underwater caves) and so on, a lot of “eco-stuff” to do right? But what few people actually realize is the ecological costs these tourist industry has had over the years. My dad used to tell me how it was for him and my cousin to travel along the soon to be developed Riviera while doing some environmental studies. White dusty trails that ended abruptly, almost pristine beaches and jungle everywhere with just a few fishing towns such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Of all the wildlife they saw, I saw only a small fraction, a sample of some specimens they brought back home for identification and photographing and since then, I dreamed about going there, to that paradise, to see it with my own eyes. That was some twenty years ago. Nowadays it’s an almost nonstop parade of huge resorts all the way from Cancun to Tulum. The towns no longer small villages but thriving growing cities. The pristine idea of both beaches and jungle gone, to dwell in dreams and memories. It was in 2012 when I had the chance to finally explore that area on my own. First working there, living in a small town some kilometers away from Playa del Carmen, Valladolid Nuevo and had a taste of the local way of life. Then, as a tourist visiting one of the great resorts near Tulum. Both perspectives were eye opening, in very different ways. On one hand I experienced the “deep” Mayan Riviera, walking mile after mile in a sauna like heat and humidity, trying not to break a leg or something else in one of the many holes puncturing the sharp rocky ground, experiencing the storms during rainy season, the flooded areas, the swarms of mosquitos, or moving in dry season across sun scorched, thorny undergrowth were you can barely walk through. Physically exhausting, we managed to do our research. That was the hard part, alas, experiencing the true inhabitants of the jungle was simply fascinating. Flocks of oscellated turkeys, deer, tayras, ocelots, even jaguars. All those now endangered mainly due to tourism related urban growth. On the other hand, I stayed at one of the big resorts, I won´t mention its name, but I will only mention the amount of human and material resources such a thing requires to function on a daily basis is just mind blowing. I have to admit, it feels good to be out of the heat, far from the insect bites, and “dangers” of the jungle to just chill in the amenities and commodities of such havens. But the artificiality of such paradise has been built upon the ashes of what makes the Peninsula appealing and beautiful. Many visitors think they`ve lived the true soul of the Caribbean in their all including vacations, when in fact, is its very soul that most have missed. Which brings me to my final thoughts. There has to be a middle ground between the apparent hostility of nature and the type of tourism that has flourished and ravaged the Peninsula. Can’t we build our infrastructure in a more environmentally friendly manner so we can have the best of both types of experiences? As long as the tourist only wishes to step outside the AC into the pool and out of it into the ocean, from there to the bar and back to the freshness of his room, it seems utopic.