You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RUSSELL GORDON/AURORA PHOTOS<br />
IN BRIEF<br />
TEQUILA VS. XTABENTUN<br />
WHAT IT IS: Mexican spirit made from<br />
the blue agave plant<br />
HOW TO DRINK IT: served straight in<br />
a snifter (no shots with lime and salt!)<br />
which allows the flavors to breathe<br />
WHERE TO EXPERIENCE IT: The Ritz-<br />
Carlton Cancun (www.ritzcarlton.com;<br />
+52 998-881-0808), which offers tequila<br />
tasting classes Fridays at 6:30pm.<br />
WHAT IT IS: Yucatecan drink made from<br />
anise seed and fermented honey from the<br />
nectar of xtabentún flowers<br />
HOW YOU DRINK IT: on the rocks or<br />
in Mayan coffee<br />
WHERE TO EXPERIENCE IT: Labná<br />
Restaurant (www.labna.com; +52 998-<br />
892-3056) in downtown Cancun serves<br />
top-notch Mayan coffee.<br />
BY THE<br />
NUMBERS 1,800 capacity of CocoBongo, one of the top party spots in Cancun, which<br />
offers dancing, acrobatic shows and live bands 1.3 MILLION size (in acres)<br />
of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, the largest protected area in the Mexican<br />
Caribbean and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can kayak, go fishing and<br />
take ecological tours. 700 length (in miles) of the Great Mesoamerican Reef, the<br />
second largest coral reef in the world. It extends from the tip of Cancun’s Hotel Zone<br />
to the Bay Islands in Honduras.<br />
Sian Ka’an<br />
Biosphere Reserve<br />
ON THE TOWN: CANCUN<br />
TIMELINE<br />
1200s: Mayans settle<br />
around the area that is<br />
now Cancun. Based on<br />
excavations of the El Rey<br />
ruins (what is now the<br />
Hotel Zone), they used the<br />
uninhabitable deserted<br />
island as a burial site.<br />
EARLY 1540s:<br />
Spanish conquistadores<br />
arrive,<br />
founding nearby<br />
Merida and<br />
focusing on inland<br />
areas for the next<br />
300 years.<br />
1821: Mexico wins independence<br />
from Spain.<br />
1971: Mexican president<br />
Luis Echeverria Alvarez<br />
authorizes the Ministry of<br />
Foreign Relations to buy<br />
the island and surrounding<br />
region. With a $22 million<br />
loan from the World Bank<br />
and the Inter-American<br />
Development Bank, the<br />
building of Cancun begins.<br />
1974: The first hotels open<br />
in Cancun.<br />
2005: Hurricanes Wilma<br />
and Emily devastate the<br />
area, but after an almost<br />
$200 million clean-up<br />
effort, Cancun is up and<br />
running once again.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong> GO MAGAZINE<br />
033
Change language