To the south of the state of Quintana Roo, facing a sea of unique beauty, keeping incalculable natural riches, stories of pirates and sailors, looking out over Belize as the southern border of Mexico, Chetumal shines as another attraction of this thriving state.
Chetumal is an area of bright colors: the intense green jungle , the turquoise of the Caribbean Sea and the blue of its sky, which make it seem like a watercolor painting.
To know this city and its surroundings is to enter a place full of charm that invites you to discover and enjoy the most unexpected.
A legend says that in this place the first miscegenation of the continent took place, when the Spanish shipwreck survivor Gonzalo Guerrero married the Maya princess Zazil Ha and the first Mexicans were born.
That is why it is called the “Cradle of miscegenation” (Cuna del Mestizaje). Also its history is united to the War of Castes, carried out by the Maya in 1847.
In 1898, Lieutenant Othon Pompeyo Blanco founded the village of Payo Obispo, where the city of Chetumal is located today. That first hamlet grew rapidly and in 1936 it received the name of Chetumal, in a tribute to a Maya village in that area called Chac-Temal.
In 1945 the city was devastated by hurricane Janet and on October 8, 1974, Quintana Roo was officially declared a Mexican state, and Chetumal its capital.
Chetumal (Photo: Capital Plaza Hotel)
The Chetumal Bay
Nowadays, the most importan tourism activities take place in the bay of Chetumal.
To admire its environment, visitors can visit part of the north of the Bay, such as Punta Estrella and Catalán, Calderitas Bay, Tamalcab Island, several canals and the Guerrero Lake, almost 2 hours from the capital.
Heading on the Chetumal boulevard, you can go to Calderitas, a fishermen’s cove where you can taste exquisite cuisine based on the fruits of the sea.
In its center, of a peculiar Buenosairean style, tourists can visit sites such as the Cultural Museum, the Botanical Zoo and the Palace of Government with its murals.
Source: revistabuenviaje.com
