Alacranes Reef

N 22° 24' W 89° 42'
The magazine cover from one of our issues is a watercolor painting of the lighthouse keeper's office and house on Scorpion Reef, painted by our publisher, Juan Manuel Mier y Terán. Located 65 miles due north of Progreso, Scorpion Reef (in Spanish, Arrecife Alacranes or just simply, Alacranes) is a group of five small coralline islands and atolls.

In 1994 the United Nations decreed this circular reef to be part of the Reserve of the Biosphere. This is the third such naming in the state of Yucatán. The other two biospheres are in Rio Lagartos and Celestún where large flocks of birds, especially flamingos, inhabit the mangroves and rías. Mexico now has 34 protected areas nationwide.

The lighthouse keeper's house on Isla Perez dates back to the late 1800s and was constructed from wood by the English. Built on pilings approximately three feet off the ground, nowadays this historical building is falling upon very hard times. Having gone through several hurricanes and received no maintenance, the house is falling apart. This painting is part of a project presented to the state government to show how the house will look once it is rescued and possibly turned it into a museum before it is too late.

The reef complex is 27 km (17 miles) long and 20 km (13 miles) wide with an area of some 245 square km (153 square miles) and is made up of the five islands named Isla Perez, (the largest and only inhabited island where the lighthouse keeper's house is located along with a small Navy base), Isla Desertora (also known as Isla Muertos - dead -or Oeste - west), Isla Pájaros (birds or Larga - long), Isla Chica (small or Blanca - white) and Isla Desterrada.

There are no ferries or regular transportation out to the reef. If you are not the owner of your own boat, there is a company, Ecotours, that does trips from June to the end of August from Wednesday night to Sunday mid-day for a minimum of eight passengers. They oversee all the details, permits, food, water, etc. You can also contact Pedro Pablo at Marina Silcer.

To visit Alacranes, you must comply with the requirements of the Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP ), in order to enter the park. Permission must be obtained 30 days in advance. There are restricted areas where you cannot visit. 

The trip to Alacranes is not for the weak of heart as there are no installations for receiving people so you MUST take your own water, food, tents, etc. And once there, you have to be careful to not get hurt, cut or whatever, as there are no doctors, hospitals, etc. and it takes hours to get back to the coast. Alacranes is the spot for snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing and just plain relaxing.

How to get there: we recommend you hire the service at Marina Silcer.

Marina Silcer
Tel. (969) 934 0491
Email: silcer@prodigy.net.mx
Website: www.marinasilcer.com