Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (Mexico) - In Another Minute (263)
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The
Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (
Reserva de la Biósfera), a
UNESCO World Heritage site just south of
Tulum, in Quitana Roo,
Mexico, could be described as paradise.
Recently (during week
261),
Scott and I got to spend several days there while staying at the wonderful Xamach Dos, a collection of unique cabanas on the beach.
White beaches, turquoise water, palm trees, jungle, mangroves, iguanas, pelicans, ospreys, vultures, crocodiles, manatees, some fish,
Maya ruins, snorkeling and, last but not least, amazing sunrises out of the
Caribbean Sea... what more could you wish for during a spring vacation?
We only explored a small area of the 5,280 km² bioreserve: the strip of land with the open sea to the east and the mellower inlet to the west that leads all the way down to
Punta Allen. I suspect monkeys are only to be found on the mainland part of the reserve or I just didn't see them.
There are so many highlights from those few days, but the two I'd like to
point out specifically and recommend to others are: staying at Xamach Dos and taking a boat ride on the inlet and then floating down the
Maya trade canal (wearing a life vest like underwear in combination with the current is the best mode of transportation ever).
Xamach Dos, which is owned by
Coloradan expat Dan and his daughter
Michelle and managed by
Canadian expat Jo-Lise was the perfect place from where to start all our excursions and return to for outstanding meals (thank you,
Fernando!) and socializing with the staff, Jo-Lise's daughter (future singing sensation) and other guests into the night. The individual and hand-built cabins with their bathrooms made out of rocks and seashells must be experienced; some on the beach, some in the jungle, one is in a tree, one is basically just a big bed with screened walls and a roof, giving you the experience of sleeping outside.
Have I mentioned the sunrises you can see from there?
Wow! The sunrise time-lapse shown in the video, I shot on
April 25th, my friend
Tobias' birthday, to whom I sent lots of well-wishes with the sun all the way to
Portland.
The boat tour we took with
Diamante Maya. Booking a boat with the very kind captain for just the two of us was a bit pricier than we had hoped - but turned out to be totally worth it. And if you book the canal tour for just two people, they add in some additional time and a trip to the Maya ruin peaking out of the water.
In the future, I may release a longer and more inclusive version of this video; I may also put a video together just of floating down the Maya canal. But for now, if you want to see more and can't get away for a trip to the
Yucatan Peninsula, you can check out these other videos from Mexico:
Tulum (Mexico) - In
Another Minute (
Week 261)
Chichén Itzá –
World Wonder (Mexico) - In Another Minute (262)
Cabo (Mexico) – In Another Minute (Week 209)
The song in this video is called “12 Mornings” and was written and performed by
Jason Shaw, who made this song available via the CC BY
3.0 license: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/jason_shaw
Thank you,
Jason, for all your great and free songs!
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