About Huatulco

History
Until the area was tagged for development in the 1980s, this stretch of coast 300 mi/480 km southeast of Acapulco was cut off from the interior of Mexico by steep mountains. As a result, the original settlers—members of several indigenous Indian tribes, including the Zapotecs, Mixtecs and Aztecs—traded goods by sea, traveling between the bays in small boats. Not much is known about the early days, but the origin of the area's name is a colorful part of its past. Huatulco is derived from a Nahuatl (Indian) word that means "place where people worship the cross." Legend has it that a white, bearded man brought a cross to Santa Cruz many years before the Spanish conquest. (Some believe he was one of the apostles.) The story goes that he converted the Indians to Christianity and then disappeared. When the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they established a trading post there, and for a time, it was more important than Acapulco. But British pirates attacked in the late 1500s, and Thomas Cavendish burned the port. The cross, however, remained undamaged by axe or fire. Numerous miracles have since been attributed to the relic.

After Mexican independence, Huatulco was largely ignored. Until the 1980s, only about 1,000 farmers and fishermen resided in the small village of Santa Cruz Huatulco. The only visitors were die-hard surfers who wandered over from Puerto Escondido.

Spurred by the success of Cancun, however, government officials recognized great potential for tourism in Huatulco's nine pristine bays. A road linking the coast to the interior was built in 1984, and water, sewage, electric and phone lines were installed. The influx of construction workers and service employees swelled the local population to about 8,000.

Development has been slower than anticipated because of Mexico's economic problems, but the resort is expected to eventually rival Ixtapa and maybe even Cancun in size and number of visitors. (The master plan calls for 300,000 residents, 18,000 hotel rooms and 1.2 million visitors per year by 2020.)

Geography
Huatulco is not modeled completely after Cancun. Instead, 40,000 acres/16,200 hectares have been designated an ecological preserve. Rather than develop a single strip of high-rise hotels along the area's 22-mi-/35-km-long coast, the government picked several sites, separated by stretches of unspoiled shoreline, to be developed with hotels, restaurants and shopping complexes. So far three of the area's nine bays have been developed: Santa Cruz, the original fishing village and the port where cruise ships dock; Tangolunda, the deluxe-hotel district; and Chahue, where you'll find La Crucecita—Huatulco's "downtown." More than a dozen resorts with some 2,300 hotel rooms are open in the three villages. Development is now under way in a fourth area, the Bay of Conejo.

Climate
Huatulco enjoys a year-round average temperature of 82 F/28 C. Winter lows don't dip much below 60 F/14 C, but summer highs can reach 100 F/38 C. Rain is scarce January-May, as the rainy season is June-October. At that time, the ocean can be rough, and some roads, especially in the mountains, get washed out.

Dosdonts
Do take care when driving on Highway 200 to other coastal cities. Pedestrians and other vehicles are hard to see until the last minute because of the sharp curves. Be especially cautious at night—it's when most robberies occur.
Do ask for pesos in small bills when you exchange money. Change is difficult to come by.
Don't be surprised to find seafood served Continental style. If eyes and antennae affect your appetite, request that they be removed when ordering fish or shrimp.
Do take extra care in packing the distinctive but fragile black pottery you'll see around town. It's produced locally near the city of Oaxaca.

Potpourri
One of Huatulco's famous landmarks is El Bufadero in Santa Cruz Bay. It's a rock formation that forms a blowhole. In Organo Bay there is another rock formation that resembles an old man's face.
Area coffee plantations produce the gourmet pluma bean.
La Crucecita, the "downtown" area of Huatulco, was designed to look like a typical Mexican village, with restaurants and shops lining three sides of a small park, and a church anchoring the fourth.

Geostats
Official Name: Bahias de Huatulco.
Passport/Visa Requirements: Australian and U.K. citizens need passports. U.S. and Canadian citizens need passports or need to show proof of citizenship (and photo IDs). Reconfirm travel document requirements with your carrier before departure.
Population: 8,000.
Languages: Spanish, but English is spoken in tourist areas.
Predominant Religions: Christian (Roman Catholic).
Time Zone: 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-6 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the first Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October.
Voltage Requirements: 110 volts.
Telephone Codes: 52, country code for Mexico; 9, area code for Huatulco.