In Mexico, worry that Maya Train will destroy jungle
A major rail project in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is intended to drive economic development to some of the country’s poorest areas, in part by bringing up to three million tourists each year
CALAKMUL BIOSPHERE RESERVE, Mexico (AP) — Miguel Ángel Díaz walks slowly so his footfall on dry leaves doesn’t drive away what he's trying to find in this dense forest of seeded breadnut and sapodilla trees. Coming to a small wetland, a sign warns: Beware of the crocodile.
Díaz, a tourist guide, shines a laser pointer at a woodpecker and a toucan, and then moves it over to the blue tail of a Yucatecan jay. He learned years ago to decipher the sounds of the Calakmul jungle in Mexico's southern Yucatan.
Although it's high season, this recent morning Díaz had a hard time finding tourists to guide. Last year, just over 50,000 visitors came to Calakmul, home to an ancient Mayan city that today is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Díaz knows many more people will soon come.
