US Airways - December 2012 - (Page 42)

Explore Community tours, sian Ka’an This Mayan-run cooperative has permission to operate within the Sian Ka’an reserve. The group leads archaeological tours, cenote swims, a lagoon tour, and day trips to visit the chicleros as they harvest gum from the chicle trees in remote jungle villages. The funds support conservation and education initiatives among the Mayan people. siankaantours.org Clockwise from left: Palacio de Gobierno in mérida; swimming near Tulum; the rosewood mayakoba's Sense Spa; and el caracol observatory at chichén Itzá along six miles of shallow canals, through protected mangrove forests, alongside the PGA Tour golf course (which uses mild or harmless fertilizers), beside the massage rooms at the spa, the decks of the Carlos sosa, mérida gourmet restaurants, and up to and beyond The Mérida native and fluent the patio docks of rental villas. English speaker has been a This is manicured jungle guide in Mexico for decades. He has connections throughout at its best. A few crocodiles the peninsula and can coordiinhabit the mangrove islands nate a variety of tours, from amid the rivers (and within cenotes to haciendas and archaeological sites. view of $1,000-per-night villas), balambeh9@yahoo.com but the resort employs a biolomérida marKet gist, Hugo, to keep a close eye Open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., on all things wild. He occasionthe classic flea market of craft items and food vendors is ally catches a croc with his bare a must-shop in downtown hands and relocates the unwelMérida. Find anything from leather shoes and tiny statucome guest to its previous ettes to the ubiquitous and home in the jungle. locally made guayabera shirts The resort manages to — lightweight, short-sleeved button-ups that are worn sit lightly on the watery land untucked. Just look at the in spite of the luxuries of elderly hombres in the plaza to see what a guayabera is all Mayakoba’s three distinct about — cool, comfortable, hotels (our beachside villa stylin’. Near Calles 56–59 at the Fairmont Mayakoba includes a butler and a private infinity pool). Almost a half-mile of mangrove forest separates our villa from the pools and the main lobby of the Fairmont. No cars drive the golf cart–size paths that lace the resort. To get around, you walk, hop on one of the roaming electric carts, or grab one of the resort’s all-access bicycles. We prefer the bikes. They operate on a first-come, first-served “borrow” basis; if the rack nearest you has a bike, you can take it, ride to your destination, then leave it for the next person. So on our dark, mangrove-walled, insect-symphonied rides back to our villa from dinner each night, we get a taste of the real-world wild of coastal Yucatán. And echoes from Alberto’s Sian Ka’an photos (CloCKwise from top left) by Cuboimages srl/alamy, maCduff everton, david hanson and maCduff everton 42 december 2012 usairwaysmag.com http://www.siankaantours.org http://www.usairwaysmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - December 2012

Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots: New Year's Eve
Hub Crawl: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Wine & Dine: Holiday Spirits
Wine & Dine: Beaudevin Wine Bar, Charlotte, NC
Adventure: Creek Ranch, Florida
Adventure: Palm Springs Golf
Great Escapes: Universal Orlando® Resort
Gear Up: Gifts for Good
Travel Feature: Into the Yucatán
Mapping It Out: US Airways' Route Planning Department
University Spotlight: University of California, Berkeley
Great Tastes: College Eats
Celebrate Tucson, AZ
Must Read: The Socialstructed World
Special Section: Kentucky
Great Dates
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace®
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - December 2012