Xcalak is a village of 375 inhabitants in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Xcalak is one of the last "unspoiled" stretches of Mexican Caribbean located on the Southern end of the Costa Maya. The world's second largest barrier reef passes just off-shore from Xcalak and it is also a departure point for dive trips to the Chinchorro Banks (Banco Chinchorro) atoll reef system. It is designated a Mexican national reef park (Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Xcalak) and is an excellent site for snorkeling, scuba diving and fly fishing. It is 60 kilometers (37 mi) South of Mahahual, the site of a new large cruise ship pier, and just north of the border with Belize. The Mahahual pier was destroyed by hurricane Dean in 2007. This section of coast is now being developed by the tourism industry and has a growing number of Americans and other expatriates investing in beach front property north of town. However, development is nowhere close to the degree of development of its Northern cities Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
Like mighty ships that sail the Atlantic foam
The Skellig Isles parade the Kerry Coast
It's a strange place with the needle's eye
Where shipwrecks lie
Where the king of the world rested for a while
And a place for the pilgrim, a sanctuary of time
Fourteen steps to nowhere, out of solid stone
Don't lead us to the Heavens or lead us to the sea
The Vikings came to plunder and destroy
But to this day the holy relics stand
In a blind mans cove, where the wailing woman sigh
And the seagulls cry
Where the king of the world rested for a while
And a place for the pilgrim, a sanctuary of time
Fourteen steps to nowhere, out of solid stone
Don't lead us to the Heavens or lead us to the sea
A journey to these islands, so rare
The sound of screaming souls that fill the air
A thousand wings, against the sky
And gray seals disguised
Where the king of the world rested for a while
And a place for the pilgrim, a sanctuary of time
Fourteen steps to nowhere, out of solid stone