The secret of
PUNTA ALLEN
The secret is the beauty: a vantage
Point in the Sian Ka'an biosphere preserve whose
Vistas reward those who perservere to get there.
It takes more than four hours to get to Punta Allen from Cancún, half of it spent driving along the edge of the Caribbean sea on a rocky, pitted, rural dirt road.
But lousy roads and mosquitoes are practically forgotten at the end of the hard journey when one views the panorama; beach on one side and on the other, lagoons fronting the dense, emerald jungle of the Sian Ka'an (Maya for 'where the earth meets the sky') biosphere reserve.
Punta Allen is a tiny fishing village on the shores of Bahía de la Ascención
(Assention Bay), the second largest bay in the south of the state of Quintana
Roo.
Along with adjacent Bahía del Espíritu Santo (Saint's Spirit Bay), this is Mexico's largest and most prolific lobster reserve, covering a total of 120 thousand hectares (296 thousand acres).
Punta Allen's population is variable. Fishermen from all over the state come here and set up camp for the lobster season.
The
government varies the season every year in order to give lobsters larvae enough time to mature to the regulated size for the international market.
In the clear, shallow waters of the bay, visitors can watch fishermen diving to catch lobster bare handed, then have a couple grilled for dinner.
Though the water is shallow and pretty, the beaches are not as wide and sandy as those just one kilometer north. Here there is abundant sea grass and-the currents are slow.
It's common for visitors to hire local fisherman as tour guides: they'll take you to the bays, cenotes (fresh water sinkholes) and lagoons that surround Punta Allen. Tourism is the primary income for the local population when lobster season is over.
The lagoon's habitats are share by -crocodiles and manatees, and taking a tour to look for the shy, endangered manatee is one of this region's
rare treats.
Punta Allen's biodiversity includes tropical forests, savannahs, mangrove coastal areas and a variety of wildlife, including countless species of waterfowl.
At dusk, large colonies of herons return to their nests in the lagoon's mangroves. They are very noisy, specially during winter when several thousand of then migrate to the region to mate.
Unlike in many of the destinations in Quintana
Roo, camping is permitted in Punta Allen.
Other housing options include various small cabins that locals have built next to their homes. Aside from the fishermen, the only inhabitants are a group of local marines stationed nearby who regularly tour the beach.
There is only one shop in town where visitors can get supplies like
repellent; purified water, cannot food, toilet paper and the like.
To get to Punta Allen from Cancun take a Highway 307 to
Tulum, when take the south coast road.
