|
Xplor means just that. At Mexico’s newest adventure park, people have a chance to ford streams and ride into caves aboard an amphibious ATV, scan underground rivers aboard a raft built for two (or just one), swim in one of these streams and then get a bird’s-eye view of the jungle from more than a dozen zip lines.
“Mother Nature began sculpting Xplor 65 million years ago,” explains Miguel Quintana, Mexico’s premier developer of what he calls ecological parks. Xplor, his penultimate project—and his second largest—marked its first anniversary this past summer.
Quintana, 68, got into the business unexpectedly. A Mexico City architect, he had developed a successful high-end enterprise selling designer household articles under the brand name Pali— “My mother’s surname had a more appealing ring to it than Quintana,” he says. (Author’s note: Mexicans usually use both paternal and maternal surnames to identify themselves. The paternal surname comes first. Foreigners are told that a Mexican’s middle name is his last name.) As a reward for his hard work, in 1984 Quintana Pali bought for himself what he intended as a beachfront home property where the Xcaret park stands now.
Ways to Pay at Xplor
Prices at Xplor vary according to season and type of package purchased. Basic cost is about $100 per person, with a 10 percent discount available for those who purchase online. Transportation, with hotel pickup in Cancun or the Riviera Maya, runs somewhat more. Bargain hunters can purchase three other tours (Xcaret, Xel-Ha, and Chichen Itza) together for $399, saving $63. Xplor is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Customers often spend an entire day, even when arriving as the park opens.
At Xplor, meals and refreshments are included in the admission fee. Of course, there is a shop where more money can be spent. Biggest purchases are photos taken from cameras activated by computer chips attached to helmets. Customers get pictures of themselves having fun.
A quarter century ago, Mexico was just beginning to develop its Caribbean shoreline: The Riviera Maya had yet to be born; Cancun, an empty quarter-mile-wide sandbar some 17 miles long, had been discovered by a computer when government planners were looking for someplace to open a new resort area.
Quintana Pali got his beachfront spread at a good price. Only after he bought it did the architect discover that his property stood above underground rivers, caves, and sinkholes. Instead of a vacation home, Quintana Pali hit on the idea of building a Maya theme park, or, as he would phrase it, a Mayan ecological park.
“First came Xcaret, where each day we pay homage to the glories of Mexico,” Quintana Pali says. “Then came Xel-Ha, a true marvel, the largest natural aquarium in the world.” At Xel-Ha, freshwater from the underground rivers that lace the Yucatan Peninsula flow into the placid Caribbean. Snorkelers can swim among an infinite number of tropical aquatic creatures and then get to know dolphins, too.
“Now we have Xplor, a subterranean world where we follow the same philosophy of sustainability, social responsibility, and respect for the environment that has characterized everything we do,” says Quintana Pali. “Remember, it took millions of years to build.”
All About Xplor
Xplor appeals to those who want to get active and do something. The two amphibious ATV circuits are each slightly more than three miles long. Only those at least 18 years old can sit in front. A driver’s license is required for whoever takes the wheel. The cars can carry two adults along with two children in back. People drive along jungle pathways, cross hanging bridges, poke about eerie grottos, and may need to watch out for wildlife, although there are no crocodiles or jaguars on the premises.
While rafting, hands are paddles. The water is warm, about 72 degrees. Here people need to bring their own swimwear and towel, but helmet and lifejacket are provided—a helmet because those stalactites are real. The waterway extends about 1,800 feet. People can paddle alone or opt for a raft built for two.
Next comes an opportunity to swim in these waters. The trek is shorter, only about 1,311 feet. Swimming gives visitors moments to truly appreciate where they are. “The rock formations date back to the age of dinosaurs, some 65 million years ago,” Quintana Pali points out. “And all this is real, not fiberglass.” Food is included during visits to Xplor—very healthy food. Emphasis at the buffet is on salads and similar items, while fruit juice is available but no soda.
Enjoying the zip lines requires something like hard work. Hiking and tower climbing exhaust all but the hardiest. In total, there are 13 zip lines extending for more than two miles. The first zip ride alone covers nearly a mile, ranging from 130 feet above the tropical treetops to a plunge down to 30 feet through underground grottos. Next comes a mile-and-a-half circuit that includes crossing two hanging bridges. It ends with a splash into a cenote, a natural sinkhole dropping into an underground river. The ancient Maya regarded the cenotes as gateways into the nether world.
Adrenalin flows at Xplor, but unobtrusively the emphasis is on safety. Yes, you must wear a helmet, but the helmet contains a chip that sets cameras clicking as you pass. As the day ends, an album of photographs is available to buy.
The Path to Xplor
To start things moving, Quintana Pali joined with three brothers, local entrepreneurs Oscar, Carlos, and Marcos Constandse Madrazo, to invest in the project. All three remain active in the company. Their timing was good. Cancun has grown into the biggest resort area in the entire Caribbean.
Still, Cancun lies an hour away from Xcaret, and it takes another hour to reach Xel-Ha. From the outset packages included transportation, hotel pickups, and rides in faux jalopy buses of the sort that still bounce along remote, unpaved roads in parts of rural Mexico.
Today Xplor lies in the heart of the Riviera Maya, 70 miles of Caribbean shoreline south of Cancun. The Riviera boasts nearly 37,000 hotel rooms—even more than in Cancun— spread out mostly at all-inclusive resorts, few very close to one another.
Politically well connected, Oscar, Carlos, and Marcos Constandse all pride themselves on their ecological awareness. “Caring for the environment is everyone’s responsibility,” Carlos Constandse says. “Everyone can contribute to preventing the deterioration that has been inflicted upon nature itself.”
The brothers saw the parks as a good business venture, as well, of course. “Originally, the beaches here were the big attraction,” recalls Carlos Constandse. “The sand is like talcum powder. Then there were the archaeological sites and the nightlife. We were providing something different.”
Along with Xel-Ha, Quintana Pali and his partners also took over the management of El Garrafon, a popular snorkeling area on Cozumel Island, and a park at Sumidero Canyon in the state of Chiapas. These he no longer operates; they were, according to a company spokesperson, temporary projects.
There have been some setbacks. His dreams of building a cruise ship home port at Xcaret have been successfully opposed by area hoteliers who view cruise ships as unfair competition.
Quintana Pali and his partners now have formed a holding company, Experiencias Xcaret Group, and begun a new project, Xichen. This is a luxury tour to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, followed by a gourmet lunch at a splendid mansion in the viceregal city of Valladolid.
Tough Going Early On
Xplor, built at a cost of some $22 million on 59 hectares (about 145 acres), opened in June 2009, a disastrous year for Mexican tourism. In the spring, the swine flu scare devastated the hospitality industry; especially hard-hit were Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Occupancy levels at many hotels fell to 10 or 15 percent and many closed temporarily. The flu scare turned out to be more scary than real, but travel also was hit hard by the world economic slowdown. On top of this were the Mexican narcotics wars, which have taken nearly 30,000 lives as gangs battle to control illicit drug exports to the United States. Although no tourists have been caught up in the shootings, headlines about them frightened visitors.
Quintana Pali maintains he is not discouraged. He’s been working on the Xplor project for six years, so he’s not about to stop now. As it turns out, improvement already has begun. In December, 1,200 customers showed up, and this past summer saw that figure increase to 1,500 people. That was enough to require some expansion. More roadway was added for ATVs in the caverns.
“You have to sow before you harvest,” he says. “We were saying things would get better in 2010. Now we are saying in 2011.”
Jimm Budd, a former New Yorker living in Mexico City since 1958, is a columnist and editor for a variety of Mexican and English publications.
|
