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News
& Reviews
Here
is where we post local news and possible points of interests, if you
are planning to visit the the Riviera Maya and Cancun area. We will
also have occassional reviews of restaurants, beach clubs, nightclubs,
beaches, cafes, musical events, shops, stores and just about whatever
grabs our interests here in the Land of the Maya. Some of the news
or reviews will be posted as a window link from the related places
of interest. We will at all times try to keep a sense of humor.
Zubul
Reef Beach Bar (Chun
Zubul)
A
large part of my life has been a search for the perfect place
to have a peaceful moment with my thoughts, a cold drink and the
sea. I am sure that many people who own sailboats love the moment
when they are not repairing, scrubbing or even sailing the vessel,
but simply sitting on the boat at the end of the day with that
cold drink and gazing out at the sea. They have more chances of
finding that sweet moment of peace than most of us.
Well, maybe you don't own a sailboat
or a beach house, or live near an ocean or you have limited options
in finding that peaceful time with the sea. That may be one of
the reasons you go on vacations to seaside places; the hope of
finding that moment of peace. Certainly it is one of my reasons
for a vacation to a place near the sea. I even have a place overlooking
the sea that I visit ocassionally that is so peaceful it is almost
a spiritual experience. But, that is another place and another
country and another story...
So, when you go on vacation to
a warm place near an ocean and you want a peaceful moment with
a cold drink the best place to go is a "Beach Bar".
Not a "Beach Club" where the main activity is getting
a tan or a "Beach Restaurant and Bar" where the main
activity is eating, but a genuine "Beach Bar" where
the main activity is drinking and gazing at the sea. Surprisingly,
in Playa del Carmen, you will find only a few pure beach bars.
That used to not be the case, but for various reasons (mostly
economic) the pure beach bar is becoming a dinosaur in Playa del
Carmen.
A few years ago, one of the best
beach bars in Playa was on the main beach. It always had a very
friendly bunch of drinkers, both tourists and locals, and plenty
of good vibes. But, unfortunately, it has moved on to that great
beach sunset in the sky. Things fall apart and good beach bars
disappear. I hate to let this cat out of the bag, but there is
another beach bar in Playa that is not for the all inclusive crowd
(if you know what I mean--and, if you don't, you would not like
this beach bar anyway). It is Zubul Reef Beach Bar.
Zubul Reef is next to the Coco Beach
Club. There are not many signs along the road showing where it
is and that is what adds to the flavor of Zubul. It is not a place
that a lot of people know about. You may even walk right by it
on your way to Coco Beach Club and not realize that you had. From
Zubul bar you have a sweeping view of Cozumel and the ferries
and cruise liners as they pass. You can see the sailboats and
parasailors in front of the Playacar all inclusives. You can see
small squalls develop and burst rain over the sea and then change
into a bright blue sky that is only challenged by the glimmering
sea. You can see fishermen bring in catch of the day that will
be on someone's plate in a few hours. You can see the "beautiful
people" strolling by, taking a swim or working on that tan/burn.
Or, on weekends you can see local families with mom's, dad's and
children with a pup or pooch taking a break for the cause. Or,
as on most days, you only see the warm, clear and inviting Caribbean
and very few people. Because it is too far for many folks to walk
and many taxi drivers don't know how to get there or want to drive
that extra mile without a return fare. At
Zubul, a moment of peace, a cold drink and the warm sea await.
Charlie (Carlos)
the owner/bartender at Zubul is a true gentleman. He is friendly,
attentive and generous. For most patrons who are sitting down
for a session you can expect snacks and often a lunch of very
flavorful tacos or soup du jour on the house. More times than
not I have left Zubul as satisfied on food as on drink. If you
would like a more serious meal there is a restaurant next door
that will bring a meal to the bar. But drinks is what Zubul is
about. The mixed tropical drinks are made with fresh squeezed
fruit juices. I guess the alcoholic drinks are healthier that
way, but who cares? They taste exquisite. They pour a good amount
of alcohol of the standard named brands. There is not a lot of
top shelf stuff, but, it is not a top shelf kind of drink place.
It is, what it is: a large palapa covered beach bar surrounded
by "one size fits all" wide bottom wooden swings with
one of the best views on the Mexican Caribbean and one of the
best beaches.
As with most beach establishments
there is a music box. Zubul has a wide selection of music and
it is played at an unobstrusive volume. If you don't like the
music just ask and Charlie will be glad to change the tunes.
I have spent many hours at Zubul
Reef Beach Bar and I have found my favorite time of day to be
there. When you come to Playa del Carmen, check out one of the
top beach bars on the Mexican Caribbean for finding your moment
of peace, a cold drink and the warm sea.
To locate Zubul Reef Beach Bar look at
the top photo on this page and find the second to the last palapa
roof at the far end of the beach. There is Zubul. Enjoy!!!
(1-29-02)
Zubul
Reef's Grades
Atmosphere: A+ | Food:n/a | Service:A+ | Music:B
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Mexico Unveils A Change in
Agrarian Land Policy
by Mark Stevens--Associated Press (1-30-02)
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MEXICO CITY
- President
Vicente Fox has unveiled new
policies that mark the most ex-
plicit admission to date that an
80-year-old land reform - a pro-
gram that came to symbolize the
1910-1917 Revolution, and one
that caused endless headaches
for people trying to buy land in
Mexico - was finished.
Fox announced a six-year
farm policy Monday aimed at
clearing up problems in land
titles, and his administration de-
clared an end to an agrarian re-
form program that handed out
millions of acres since 1917.
"The time came, as it had
to,
to declare an end to the handing
out of land," Agricultural Re-
form Secretary Maria Herrera
Tello said. With most arable land
already doled out - and peasant
farmers increasingly slashing in-
to protected forests - she said it
was time to recognize that "the
land does not expand by presi-
dential decree."
After landless peons rose up
in arms in the Revolution, the
new government rewarded them
with small, often communal
farms scattered like a patchwork
over much of Mexico. Many of
the farms were barely viable, and
the same land was often handed
out twice, creating community
conflicts that persist to this day.
"History and experience sho-
wed us that land reform, by itself,
did not solve rural problems or
lead to development," Herrera
Tello said. "The shadow of po-
verty fell over rural Mexico, as
the mark of an era that had to
end."
Some here say that Fox never
much liked the agrarian reform.
Fox's grandfather, an Irish-
American immigrant who bought
a ranch in northern Mexico,
apparently had to maneuver hard
to keep his property from being |
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doled out to landless
peasants
at the height of the program in the
1930s.
But Fox said the new policy -
which aims to clear up land title
problems, rather than hand out
parcels - was driven by reality.
"As all of us who have wor-
ked the land know, the starting
point is to achieve legal assuran-
ces for land titles ," Fox told a
ceremony at the presidential
residence in Mexico City.
Fox said that only about half
of Mexico's approximately 250
million acres of rural properties
had clear titles, a situation that
has led to land disputes and diffi-
culties for farmers in getting pro-
duction loans.
"This will allow us certainty
and confidence in planning our
production, and allow us to give
our children a secure future
when they legally inherit the land,"
Fox said.
The confusion over rural pro-
perty - much of which is commu-
nally owned, unclearly marked
and the subject of dispute - has
caused headaches for both Mexi-
cans and Americans.
In the most recent case, do-
zens of U.S. homeowners were
ev icted from their beachside
community ill Punta Banda, Baja
California, 100 miles south of
the U .S .- Mexico border. The
communal farm that purportedly
owned the property gave long-
term leases to the foreigners to
build homes there - but it turned
out the farmers didn't have title
to the land, and a court decided it
belonged to a Mexican company.
The new owners offered to
negotiate new lease terms with
some of the residents, at a higher
price.
In 1991, former president
Carlos Salinas announced he
was ending the land handouts,
and enacted reforms to allow |
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individuals farmers title
to pieces
of the communal farms. There
has been talk ever since of dis-
banding the Agrarian Reform
Secretariat, which spends its time
now sorting out land dispu-
tes.
Briefly, in 1994, the govern-
ment returned to its old ways,
promising to dole out land again,
after landless Indians joined the
leftist Zapatista uprising in Chia-
pas and began taking over thou-
sands of acres of private ranches
and plantations there.
Those promises proved lar-
gely empty. But farmers conti-
nue to stage protests in front of
government offices in Mexico
City - the most recent in Decem-
ber demanding they be given a
piece of the decades-old dream:
free land. |
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