Puerto Morelos is a typical Mexican fishing town, located between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Today it is one of the three cities that make up the county of Benito Juarez in the state of Quintana Roo. It is considered the main port of Quintana Roo and is also known worldwide for its coral reef that is categorized as the second most extense on the planet.

The origins of Quintana Roo (the state in which this port is found), go back to the period of Mayan culture, when the itzaes occupied these tropical lands, being obligated to develop a better culture, necessary to adapt to such a beautiful yet unfriendly territory. This is why today we can observe along this area such great archeological sites such as Tulum, the city of Coba and Kohunlich, among others, which are proof of the great development reached by its first settlers.

In Quintana Roo, Ekab was one of the tour regions in the Mayan period that formed part of it. During the Spanish Conquista, in 1542, this whole region was rapidly conquered and submitted under Francisco de Montejo ¨The Nephew¨. It is said that the province of Ekab quickly swore obedience to Francisco de Montejo (in representation of the Spanish crown), this is why this area was not a scenario for bloody battles.

Specifically in the area of Puerto Morelos, there is evidence that human activity existed, such as sanctuaries (not very important) and resting areas where Mayans, which were passing through in search of commercial interchange with Central America, could rest.

The real and modern story of this port began in 1898 when the company ¨Compañía Colonizadora de la Costa Oriental de Yucatan¨ (colonizing company of the oriental coast of Yucatan) began its operation to exploit and extract the agricultural products such as dye wood, cedar gum, tobacco, vanilla, and others. This accelerated the growth of the city thanks to the demand of gum in that period (1929), it was affected in 1934 due to the world recession and the post-war. In the following years, after lack and slow growth of its productive sector, Puerto Morelos found its way basing its development on tourism like Cancun (in the 70´s) and Playa del Carmen.

On the other hand Puerto Morelos is known worldwide for its great coral reef, which has been declared a National Park and is considered the second largest in the world. It is only 500m from the beach, which makes it perfect for scuba diving, windsurfing and snorkeling. This single wonder of nature is one of the main attractions of the area, which attracts thousands of tourists.

Today Puerto Morelos has nearly 5,000 inhabitants and it is believed that more than half depend economically on its coral reef; whether in a direct manner, such as those that give underwater services to tourists and fisherman, or those in an indirect manner, such as employees from hotels, restaurants, stores, taxi drivers and their families. .

It has harbor for height load with international traffic, and a terminal for transporting what is the main line of supply to Cozumel, including a ferry for automobiles. Its fishing activity is also important and it has installations for the industrialization of fishing products, an industrial park, and there are tourist places currently underway, for tourism is one of the most important activities. Because of its characteristics, Puerto Morelos has been an ancient point of marine contact with the Cozumel Island, where food products are shipped along with construction materials, combustibles and other merchandise that arrive by land from diverse regions of the state.

Lastly, it is important to mention that this colorful port has been characterized since the 70´s because of the presence of institutions, organizations and people dedicated to activities, investigations, and conservation of nature, as well as the promotion of the use of natural resources.