TULUM 2011 – 4th Annual Green Expo and Art Fair

Green Ideas – to save Tulum and our planet.
Three action packed days of conferences, featuring twenty timely lectures of one hour each plus representatives of cutting edge technological innovations for a sustainable balance of nature. Sensible recycling with art and everyday living in a harmonious balance coexisting with nature is the theme of the numerous artists participating.

 Functional and beautiful, totally recycled materials are creatively finished into dazzling art forms by local artist Flor Norma Grisel Mena Mena.  To view more of Flor's work, click here.

 Ruben Darro has fifteen years experience in Tulum’s evolving world of natural native art.  He  also creates works in silver plus painted fabrics.

Mexican materials coupled with artistic ingenuity make Tulum a natural oasis for creativity.

 Solar powered applications find their place in today’s ecologically oriented green group.

Natural materials from the Sian Ka’an ecological biosphere reserve are crafted into gems of art.
FIDE, the ecological arm of CFE, the federal electric company, is seriously planning for future sustainable demand. www.fide.org.mx

The registration office and promotional T-shirt sales center. The director of Green Expo Mexico is Gilda Sigie. Email: gilda_yumana@hotmail.com   She will have information on next year’s expo.

Jovial Xavier Fux is director general of Permacultulum®™ – green solutions and sells bio- digesters, solar panels, solar hot water heaters, eco cleaning supplies and even electric bicycles.

Four hours on a charge doing 30 kilometers is clean, quiet and quick. Check for details;
xavier@ permacultulum.com or visit his web site: www.permacultulum.com
Note; these silent eco-friendly bikes were not designed to replace bicycles…they were brought out to get people out of Hummers and other gas-hogs. So, park those hydrocarbon combusting monsters and do the planet and yourself a healthy favor, ride with the happy green people.

Smiling Xavier Fux, after his speech on sustainable tourism receiving an award.

The Green Expo is an annual event in Tulum with an ever expanding collection of talented and dedicated contributors all helping to make this planet a better place to live.



Little Tulum, the jewel of the Riviera Maya has become more than just another Caribbean Sea coastal town, it is a one of a kind heaven for life loving people seeking a slice or paradise.
Like my wife Jane says about Tulum, "Tulum is a hard place to leave."

Link to some of the other Green Expo exhibitors.
SOLARPLAST®™, has cutting edge technology for solar powered water purification, heating and believe it or not air conditioning. This equipment is designed in a number of sizes that will handle requirements from homes to hotels. Contact the director general and ingenious engineer, Rogelio Velasco who also was one of the speakers at this expo: rogelio@solarplast.com.mx or visit the web site: www.solarplast.com.mx

Imagenia®™ Has found an innovative solution for all those discarded plastic products that have been plaguing our planet; They manufacture plastic planks, poles and sheeting from recycled plastics for the fabrication of rust free outdoor furniture and even building structures. Click this link to learn more; www.imagenia.com.mx or their sales address: ventas@imagenia.com.mx

Guided ecologically friendly tours by AHAL Tours - Email: ahaldespertar@gmail.com
Jade Heart of the Future includes:
Muyil-Sian Ka'an and lagoons
Interpretation of Muyil ceremonial center and the "end of the long cycle".
Interpretative guide bioshere trail
Boat trip floating though ancient Mayan channels.

The End and the Beginning includes:
Coba-monkeys-Mayan communities.
Interpretation of the biggest ceremonial center, Coba, and "the end of the long cycle".
Observation of spider and howler monkeys in their habitat.
In-depth jungle trek and meeting the Mayan families.
Purification Mayan ceremony.
Swim and canoe in Punta Laguna.
Mayan Museum.

FOR MORE ABOUT TULUM, VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.bicycleyucatan.com/tulum

Muyil, Mayan Ruins and Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve – a side trip from Tulum

Twenty-five kilometers south of Tulum is located a remarkable link to Mayan ingenuity. Located in a dense jungle setting and connected to the Caribbean Sea by two manmade canals, Muyil also known as Chunyaxché still stands as a noteworthy testimonial to this remarkable Mayan stand alone civilization.
Muyil is a wonderful place to take a nature hike, mingle with tropical nature and witness some of the most unusual examples of the Mayan advanced infrastructure that is still functional to this very day. This is a big place so plan to do a lot of walking. To enjoy Muyil to its fullest a half day of leisurely poking along will enhance your pleasurable experience immensely.

After a short ride from the bus station in Tulum, the Mayab bus will let you off near the entrance. It is only a short walk to visit El Castillo, one of the tallest Mayan ruins on the east coast of the Caribbean.

The seventeen meter or nearly sixty foot tall partially restored Mayan temple had the significance of being an observation platform and signaling station. On its pinnacle is a platform that allows a view of the distant Caribbean Sea and all waterways linking it to Muyil. There is evidence that signal fires were built on its peak that may have been used to guide in seafaring merchant vessels. Muyil began to populate by 300 B.C. This was centuries before such ancient Maya cities as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Tulum.

Built with a purpose, El Castillo is but one of nearly a hundred structures erected on these premises. Muyil was on one of many Mayan trading routes. Though some distance from the sea, the Maya excavated straight canals, one of five kilometers in length and the other one kilometer cutting down into bedrock to accomplish their goal. This is a seaport in the jungle.
Seagoing sailing freight canoes of the Chontal Maya from Tabasco plied these waters ranging from distant Vera Cruz, Cuba, Florida and Central America. The cumbersome sea salt from northern Yucatan could have only been transported by boat.
Other cargo items included; cotton, cocoa, copper, dyes, fish, honey, jade and salt.
In this area the seagoing Maya with their trading canoes utilized natural inlets and beaches along this coast, such as; Tulum ruins, Tankah, Akumal, Xaac, Paamul, Chakalal, Xel-Ha and Xcaret. all of these landing ports had Maya temple ruins.

Leaving the Castillo area your next jaunt is through a real canopy jungle on a board walk. This segment of your visit will take you a minimum of forty minutes. To get the very most pleasure out of the board walk take your time to sniff the flowers and admire the exotic jungle trees.  Midpoint on your boardwalk trip is an observation tower.

The observation tower offers a splendid view of the expansive surrounding jungle, lakes, lagoons, mangrove swamps and the distant Caribbean, but climb at your own risk. The steps are steep and are for the young and adventurous.




Muyil is under the jurisdiction of the federal agency INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia), but is partially within the Sian Ka`an Biosphere reserve.

Emerging from your jungle boardwalk you will find yourself at a lovely beach on Muyil Lagoon where guided tours are available. Several different excursions are available including traversing the ancient Mayan canal system. There is nothing like this anywhere. If nature is what you came to see, this is your place. Don’t miss your opportunity.

Strolling back from the lake you will find yourself on an ancient Mayan sacbe road that has ruminants of pre-Columbian ornate stone carving.
The jungle diversity here is positively amazing. Your path around the Muyil Mayan ruins site gives you a look at the multiplicity of the areas range in topography.

The jungle is literally full of temples in varying stages of restoration and degradation. A good example is the size of the trees that have embedded themselves in the ancient structures. If unchecked, the trees with their invasive root systems will pull them all down. It has been over five hundred years that the jungle has had free rein to do its destruction here and yet these structures stubbornly stand.

Jane and I are happy survivors of a lovely half day jungle jaunt with historical significance.
Recommended to all those who truly want more than just another tourist trap.
For the return trip to Tulum, walk out to the main road, walk to the bus stop a short distance south of the entrance to Muyil ruins and wave down a bus or van for the short trip back to Tulum.
FOR MORE ON TULUM VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.bicycleyucatan.com/tulum