Chabihau

Chabihau is a small fishing port on the north coast of Yucatán, home to about 330 people (329 in the 2020 census) and part of the municipality of Yobaín. It sits on the narrow strip of sand between the Gulf of Mexico and the coastal mangroves, about 58 km east of the port of Progreso and about 68 km north-northeast of Mérida in a straight line. Its neighbours along the shore are San Crisanto, in the municipality of Sinanché, to the west and Santa Clara, in Dzidzantún, to the east; a paved road runs straight south to Yobaín, the municipal seat, about 13 km inland. The Maya name is explained as "where the anteater opens the way", from chab (anteater) and haw.

There are no records of when the present village was founded, but the area was occupied by the Maya before the conquest and belonged to the chiefdom of Ah Kin Chel. Around 1825 it was part of the Partido de la Costa, governed from Izamal; it later came under Dzilam González, and since 1921 it has belonged to Yobaín. A small pre-Hispanic Maya archaeological site, also called Chabihau, lies near the village.

Chabihau is a working fishing village rather than a resort. The beach is long and plain, with seawalls and wooden groynes in front of the houses, and behind the village the coast turns to mangrove, coconut palms and chit palms, with gulls and pelicans along the shore. Like the rest of this stretch of coast, it draws local families and visitors looking for an uncrowded beach, and ecotourism has become one of the main activities in the area. In the village itself there is a small modern church with a triangular bell frame, a green comisaría building with a clock and a little main square.