Added: 01/14/2006 |
El Rey: a Mayan king and a Cancun beachCancun is one of the most important tourist centres in Mexico and the whole world. Its optimum location in the form of a tropical island, its year-round soft climate and its staggering white beaches washed by the Caribbean Sea are ideal for water sports - surfing, sailing, underwater diving, swimming, and boat trips. Water activities abound with swimming pools connected by waterfalls, a giant waterslide, a children's pool, plus every water sport imaginable in the beautiful blue Caribbean Sea. For instance, sport-fishing services are provided by Aqua-Sports and Big Game Fishing, among others.
The waters that lap against the Caribbean coasts of Mexico are unarguably the richest in marine life species. This is why you are guaranteed pleasure when on sport-fishing trips in Cancun. The best places for fishing on the Mayan coast are Isla Mujeres, 'La Grieta' and 'La Corrientada'. The best season of the year to experience this sport on the Caribbean is from April to August. Coral reefs with rich marine vegetation and colorful tropical fish extend along the coast, and you can fish for marlin, dorado, tuna, sailfish, barracuda, chad, coronado, sea bass, and red fish by the seashore of Cancun.
But the attractions for numerous guests don't end at restaurants and beaches in Cancun. In fact, the location has got its own ancient ruins: the El Rey site, the accumulation of old Mayan buildings, is located in Kukulcan Boulevard in the jungle between the beach and the golf school. The famous site lies on the southern end of Cancun, in Cancun's Hotel Zone, and you can get to the ruins by taxi. Although, it is less amazing than the debris at Tulum or Coba, it is certainly worth visiting. Indeed, the El Rey Ruins (the King's Ruins) situated right in the heart of the Hotel Zone and surrounded by the best hotels stand as a strong argument for the eternal influence of this ancient civilization. Tours are available, or you may self-guide an interesting walk back into Indian history.
This Mayan town with one pyramid and two squares, occupied from 1200 AD to the Conquest, is believed to have been built by Mayan fishermen as a ritual centre and as an astronomy observatory. A few temple platforms are visible among papayas, bananas and wildflowers. Cancun Museum set in the Convention Centre in the Hotel Zone displays pieces from El Rey, along with other archaeological sites in the state. Unlike many other ruins, you can climb these to enjoy views and make photos.
The town of El Rey dated 1200 AD is not as old as other, more famous ruins, but no other remnants have better kept secrets. The civic-ritual area is marked by coliseum-type buildings and a twenty-foot tower. There was a temple with two altars at the top of the tower. Scientists have concluded that the tower was the place where the King - 'el Rey' in Spanish - surveyed his country. Nowadays a popular beach in Cancun is also named El Rey. Cancun faces the El Rey archaeological ruins and is situated on the Caribbean at the same time. That is, as ancient Mayan archaeological sites are scattered Cancun nearby, the world of the mysterious Maya has been accessible to visitors like never before.
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