Progreso, Yucatán

21.285555555556 - 89.662222222222Koordinaten: 21 ° 17 ' N, 89 ° 40 ' W

Progreso de Castro, often short Progreso ( German: 'progress' ), is a port city in the Mexican state of Yucatán. The city got its nickname after Juan Miguel de Castro ( † 1884), the main political advocate of port construction in the second half of the 19th century.

Location and climate

Progreso is approximately 35 km (air line) north of Merida along the Gulf of Mexico in the hot and humid climate of the Caribbean. The place is less striped than once a decade of cyclones ( hurricanes ), so that so far kept the damage in moderation. In 1900, Progreso had about 5,000 inhabitants; today there are almost 40,000.

Economy

The city was built as a port of Mérida and served mainly the export of sisal fibers and fishing. As early as 1895 an approximately two-kilometer long jetty ( pier ) was built for the landing ships. This also can create great ships of the pier was extended in the late 1930s to the length of 6.5 kilometers, making it one of the longest in the world. It allows the creation of container ships as well as the cruise ships.

Progreso is in addition to its function as a port and a popular excursion destination of the inhabitants of Mérida. The beaches are popular, but the heat - despite the slight sea breeze - especially during lunch hours often unbearable.

Environment

The remarkable Mayan ruins of Dzibilchaltún and Xcambó are about 20- kilometers to the east in a south-easterly direction and 37 kilometers.

In the 19th century the whole area was densely populated. In many places there were extensive sisal plantations ( Misnebalam, XTUL, Santa Elena, and others) that were abandoned after the end of the Mexican sisal boom (1950 /60) and lying in ruins today.