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Xcaret cruises toward environmental disaster ...
Do any of you have information regarding plans to build a cruise ship pier at Xcaret? When I was in Playa last month, there was something of an anti-pier movement among divers and other locals, but efforts don't seem to be terribly well-coordinated at this point. (Forgive me, activists, if I just didn't look in the right places.) And I don't have enough details to suggest what actions our PlayaInfo community might take to help prevent what could be an environmental disaster-in-the-making.
Here's my understanding of the situation: As most of you know, there's already a pier and plaza (only a couple of years old) at Calica, the limestone quarry that's between Playa and Xcaret -- maybe 3 km in each direction. But ... by building a pier at Xcaret, the cruise lines and Xcaret will have a captive audience dumped directly into the "ecopark," which will effectively cut out opportunities for the taxi drivers and local businesses to divert paying customers elsewhere. Worse, another huge hole will be ripped through the reef.
(I believe local divers and fishermen are fined if they should accidentally hit the reef with their boats; I'd sure like to know what happened to Carnival as a result of the latest grounding debacle. But I digress.)
I think this forum could be a real force for pressuring Xcaret, in particular, to reconsider its involvement in what looks like nothing more than a huge greed-fest ... but we'll need to have the facts. If you've got 'em, please share ....
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