Here is a wonderful look back... A travel article published in 1987!
(In contrast here is a look at today's remaining public beaches
https://www.locogringo.com/mexico/ways-to-play/riviera-maya-beaches/)
1987:
In The Sunny Yucatan, Off Mexico's Beaten Track In Hammock, Rv Or Tent, A Camper's Dream Coast
By chicki mallan
A full moon spattered light across the white beach, and tiny ripples of water reflected silver as they rushed to shore. Five captivated campers sat silently in front of their RV at the edge of the beach, not moon-gazing, but intently observing one part of a life cycle - turtle hatchlings escaping from their buried eggs and fleeing to the sea.
This scene is repeated each year along the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Campers, in tents, RVs or camper-trailers, are among the few that have the opportunity to witness this fascinating sight.
Not too much is heard about camping on the Mexican Caribbean. But anyone who reveled in Robinson Crusoe, or skin-divers, or sun-worshippers, or isolationists should visit the Quintana Roo coast while there are still long stretches of isolated, pristine beach, edged by the most seductive sea in the world.
Along with beaches for simple camping, the Caribbean coast offers dense groves of coconuts, waterways lined with mangrove trees, archaeological remains of the Maya, scattered villages, small cafes, simple beach resorts as well as a couple of deluxe hostelries with dive shops, and a few campsites with full hookups.
Exotic wildlife is rampant, especially tropical birds. The sharp-eyed early riser will see bright-colored parrots, toucans or the kitelike frigate bird gliding silently overhead.
The easiest way to search out desirable camping beaches is by car. The main coastal highway (Route 307) in Quintana Roo runs parallel to the coastline
from Cancun to Chetumal but often veers away from the sea.
Between the two cities there is a plethora of wonderful beaches. Most are vacant, and a self-contained RV or tent-camper is free to use them. Narrow, hard-packed limestone roads branch off the highway toward the sea. Some are marked, indicating beaches; others are treasure hunts.
For instance, exploring a road about six miles south of Pamul brings you to a scenic beach called Xpuha. Here is a group of huts in the midst of a coconut grove where people make their living harvesting and curing coconuts for copra, weaving hammocks and fishing. There are no tourists, just friendly villagers, and the small cafe on the corner where you turn off serves terrific fresh fish.
The Caribbean coast is renowned for diving and snorkeling off the Belizean reef, fifth-largest reef in the world; it parallels the coast for 175 miles south to Chetumal. If you're a scuba diver with your own compressor and equipment, the Quintana Roo coast offers miles and miles of rich dive spots where you'll see fish in Day-Glo colors, corals reaching out in exotic shapes and sponges in myriad forms.
If you are in need of dive equipment, several small resorts along the coast have dive shops where you can rent what you need, with the presentation of a certified dive-card.
About an hour's drive south from Cancun, Pamul offers good beach camping with 15 trailer pads, including electricity, water and sewage - plus use of showers and toilets in the small hotel on the grounds. The daily fee is about $4, depending on the number of people in the party.
Tent camping is permitted for $2 per two persons, including use of toilets and showers. A small cafe next to the hotel usually offers fresh-caught seafood in addition to other typical dishes at reasonable prices.
Beachcombing is productive along the northern rocky shore of Pamul, where you'll spot unique shells, coral and all variety of interesting flotsam brought in on the current from places far from the Yucatan Peninsula's shores. The water is crystal clear, and fascinating sea life abounds in the shallow tidal pools surrounded by rock and limestone.
Snorkeling is ideal on the reef, 40 yards offshore.
Large, lumbering sea turtles return to Pamul's beach each year and lay thousands of eggs in the sand. Several weeks later the tiny hatchlings (about three inches in diameter) break out of leathery shells and make their way down the beach to begin life in the sea.
Sadly, turtles are multiplying in smaller quantities each season because of the intrusion of man on land and sea. At sea, they're harvested - illegally - in large numbers. On land, nests are raided by local thieves that take the eggs to public market in Merida and sell them for high prices to men who believe the eggs have special qualities that enhance virility.
Man is only one predator of the giant turtle. More than half the eggs are scratched up from the sand and eaten by a variety of small animals that live in the surrounding jungle.
For some, camping on the Peninsula means flying to Cancun, renting a car or hiring a taxi and heading south on Route 307 until coming to a sign that says ''Capitan Lafitte." A left turn on a dirt road leads to the shore and another sign that points to Kailuum Camptel - a lazy-man's camp-out.
In safari tradition, it's camping with a touch of class. Roomy, modern tents on a 2 1/2-mile beach are furnished with large, comfortable double beds; communal hot-and-cold showers and clean toilets are close by. Each tent is shaded by a shaggy palapa - a thatched-roof structure - strung with hammocks facing the sea for lazy afternoon siestas. Expect daily maid service and gourmet dining, but no electricity.
Along with sand and sea, the restaurant is one of the great attractions at Kailuum; the food is outstanding. The dining room is a large palapa hut on the beach, and dinner is served by the twinkling light of hundreds of candles.
A bar occupies one end of the dining room. Each guest makes his own drinks and, using a numbered pegboard, keeps track of his tab - to be paid at the end of his stay. The whole feeling of the resort is much like the honor system of the bar - relaxed, intimate, friendly.
The daily price for a tent, including breakfast and dinner (November through April), is $33 per person, double occupancy. Kailuum closes September and October (rainy season). Reservations are needed, through Camptel Ventures, Box 2664, Evergreen, Colo. 80439; phone 800-538-6802.
If, as a camper or RVer, you yearn for bright lights, go to Cancun. There are modern high-rise hotels, many restaurants, discos, cinema, classy shops and lots of tourists.
While there are no "official" campgrounds in Cancun, RVers will find several places to park along "the strip" and even in some hotel parking lots (check with the manager first). At Playa Linda, a beach right off Paseo Kukulcan, RVs can park in the parking lot; no hookups available.
About six miles north on the road to Punta Sam, two campgrounds offer all hookups for RVs and are close enough to the "big city" for campers to enjoy its many attractions.
One of the big draws to the Mexican Carribean coast is its Maya history. The most spectacular Maya ruin along the Quintana Roo coast is Tulum, perched on a steep cliff overlooking the sea about 80 miles south of Cancun.
A half-hour visit is enough time to wander the grounds, inspect the old structures, and climb to the top of El Castillo, a pyramid and temple, for a bird's-eye view of the ocean and the entire walled ceremonial center that was in its glory 500 years ago.
After visiting Tulum, continue past the parking lot on a road that parallels the sea. Don't let the route fool you - it's only paved for a short distance and then it becomes a potholed, washboard rural dirt road. But it will lead you to some excellent, untouched camping beaches, some with facilities, some without. If you are tent-camping, you'll find several sites that offer toilets and showers.
Continuing on the road will bring you over a rickety-looking bridge (it's safe) and into Punta Allen. This lush, tropical locale is an artist's setting for a lobstering village. Here you can either park on the beach with an RV or pitch a tent at no charge, or stay at Cuzan Guest House where an American woman, Sonia Lillvik, and her Yucatecan partner, Armando, operate a laid-back, hammocks-only cabana resort.
But if you stay at the guest house, you better like lobster - during the season you eat it three times a day. There is no electricity, and no entertainment is provided, but it's a fabulous place for star-gazers, sun- worshippers, birdwatchers, fishing enthusiasts and jungle explorers.
A bungalow for two persons, with two meals and a snack, is about $35 daily. Reservations are suggested. Write to Sonia Lillvik at Box 703, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico 77500, and allow a month or more for round-trip mail.
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