CANCUN'S SCENERY, MAYAN HISTORY WOO TOURISTS.

Byline: Gerry Volgeneau Detroit Free Press 

In some ways, leaving Cancun may seem like leaving paradise.

For a winter escape, Cancun seems near perfect. The waters are warm and pure aqua. The hotels can be first class. The beaches are like sugar and, because of their limestone composition, never heat up and scorch your feet.

Swim, sun, snorkel, scuba - Cancun has it all.

And everywhere you'll find the familiar comforts and fun of home - TCBY, Pizza Hut, Ralph Lauren, Cartier, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, bikini contests and even a bowling alley. If you start shaking from mall deprivation, Cancun has several.

But the city is also a gateway for visitors who yearn for more exotic stuff - the fascinations of the Yucatan Penisula await. Depending on time and interests, you might want to take forays into Mexico in steps.

First, you could visit Cancun City, where the workers live. Then move on to the famous Mayan ruins of Tulum or Chichen Itza.

Finally, when Mexico starts to feel comfortable, you might stay a day or two in the colonial city of Merida and perhaps strike out to Celestun, rent a skiff and see where the waters turn pink with the hundreds of flamingos glowing like neon in the evening light.

Cancun City

Your first look at Cancun City is likely to be the tourist strip on Tulum Avenue - restaurants that serve huge margaritas and burgers, a small market selling souvenir blankets and silver jewelry, and, on every corner, young men and women trying to lure you into one of the restaurants.

Face it, you're still in hucksterville. But a good pick for a restaurant is El Pescadero (the Fisherman), just off Tulum on Tulipanes. The seafood is fine. Also try the lime soup, typical of the Yucatan.

If you want a truly Mexican experience, tell a taxi driver that you want to go to Mercado 28 (Mare-CAH-doh VANE-tee-OH-choh). The ride costs seven pesos. This is where the town folks shop - and eat.

Inside the extremely clean market area, you'll find El Cejas. It's a modest outdoor place with plastic patio-type tables and chairs beneath a broad blue awning - and some of Mexico's best, freshest and cheapest seafood. Imagine paying just $4 U.S. for a plate of spicy shrimp to die for.

Best of all, you start to get a feel for Mexico.

After eating, walk around the market. Among the household wares and cassette music, you'll find a terrific pottery and furniture shop and even a psychic who reads tarot cards, but only in Spanish.

The Mayans

Many visitors go to these ancient Mayan ruins, but it's also worth remembering that the Mayans survive to this day. In the Yucatan, they're everywhere. Most of those short, dark, broad-cheeked people you meet pumping gas or serving pescado (fish) are Mayans. And they will tell you that with pride. After all, they are direct descendants of the people who built Mexico's world-famous pyramids.

Unfortunately, today's Mayans are as poor as they were 800 years ago, with many still living in the jungles. Look along the roadsides for a bottle or a piece of cloth hanging from a branch. Then look carefully and you'll see it marks a footpath back into the jungle. At the path's end is a home with a palm roof, no electricity and a pounded-earth floor. The residents may make their living by raising bees for honey.

Daily bus tours run to the Mayan ruins. The disadvantage is that you arrive at midday, when it's hottest and most crowded. You might want to rent a car and arrive in early morning or late afternoon.

The original Mayans, a distinct group from the Nahua, Mexico's most ancient people, had one of the world's most highly developed civilizations in the ninth century. They not only built more pyramids than the Egyptians, they had a sophisticated numbering system that included the concept of zero, developed astronomy that could predict eclipses, based their lives on an 18-month calendar, performed brain surgery (although the survival rate is unclear) and even had a form of penicillin.

Tulum

OK, these aren't the most significant Mayan ruins. But they're in the most beautiful setting. About 80 miles south of Cancun, they sit atop a cliff above the Caribbean. Built in the 1400s, it was the only inhabited Mayan site when the Spanish arrived in 1518 and labeled the tallest structure El Castillo, the castle. Only male Mayan priests actually lived at Tulum.

Perhaps the most interesting structure is the Temple of Frescoes with its brilliantly painted paintings. It also demonstrates the Mayan genius for measuring the time of day using rays of the sun and moon.

Chichen Itza

Founded in A.D. 495, this elaborately restored ruin may take a day or more to fully explore. The most dramatic structure is the Pyramid of Kukulcan or El Castillo. You'll gasp for breath climbing the 70 feet to the top, then be struck with terror at the thought of inching your way back down the perilously steep steps.

Also check out the Sacred Cenote (limestone sinkhole). Legend has it the Mayans used to sacrifice virgins in the huge, mucky pool. Unlikely, say researchers. Divers have found only skeletons of children who they suspect were not listening when their mothers said, ``Now don't go near the edge.'' They also have found jewels and other precious items.

Check out the Ball Court. Much bigger than a football field, it hosted a Mayan game that may have been like a cross between football and basketball. To score, the ball needed to be tossed through a stone hoop high on a wall. Losers not only did not get a championship ring, they got their heads lopped off.

If you bring a flashlight, you can explore some of the labyrinthine tunnels in a huge building called the Nunnery.

More Mexican delights

For a better sense of nontourist Mexico, head for Merida (with a stop on the way at the Cenote Dzitnup, a wondrous limestone grotto with a nearly round freshwater pool, perfect for swimming.

This colonial city with both French and Spanish influence is a great place to hang out. Wander through the main plaza and get your shoes shined. Visit the municipal market - a daily show of people selling exotic fruits, spices, freshly slaughtered meat, and housewares. Check out the wonderful baronial homes on Paseo de Montejo, a grand boulevard on the order of the Champs-Elysees.

Celestun, two hours west of Merida, offers one of the most memorable sights in the Yucatan. You can rent a boat with driver to take you out to see hundreds of pink flamingoes standing and preening in groups that stretch almost as far as the eye can see. In the early morning, you can see them fly. At evening, the low sun makes them glow as if they're lit from within.

Guaranteed, you'll never think of Mexico in the same way again.

On Location

For more information about Cancun and tips on traveling in Mexico, contact the Mexican Government Tourism Office, [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: Tourists climb the perilously steep steps of the 70-foot Pyramid of Kukulcan, or El Castillo, at the restored ruin Chichen Itza.

Gerry Volgeneau/Detroit Free Press

Box: On Location (See Text)