Chelem

Chelem is a fishing village on Yucatán's north coast, part of Progreso municipality, about 9 kilometers west of the port of Progreso and roughly 45 kilometers north of Mérida. It sits on the narrow strip of land between the Gulf of Mexico and the ría, the shallow lagoon and mangrove swamp that runs behind this stretch of coast, right next to the Yucalpetén harbour. The name is Maya and is usually translated as 'place of the urraca', from the Maya word ch'eel. The town was founded in 1890.

Chelem has grown steadily: INEGI counted 3,509 people in 2010 and 4,862 in 2020. It began as a fishing port, and fishermen still go out at dawn from the sheltered harbour next door, but today it lives mostly from tourism. The pace is slow and the beach is wide, with fine white sand and water that shades from emerald green to clear blue; there is no entry fee. The beach has needed help: in 2014 the state moved sand from Playón Poniente to rebuild the beach and added breakwaters, and private breakwaters and beachfront construction have caused disputes between neighbours and the authorities since then.

In the village there is a main square with the comisaría building, a church and a small market. Along the shore, family-run restaurants serve fish brought in that morning, including tikin xic, fish marinated in red achiote paste and sour orange and cooked in banana leaf. On the lagoon side, boatmen take visitors out on the ría to see flamingos and other water birds. Chelem is also the gateway west along the coast road to Chuburná Puerto and the boats for Isla Columpios. Local celebrations include one devoted to the Virgen de la Medalla Milagrosa.