Sarteneja

Sarteneja

Understand Sarteneja is at the mouth of the bay of Chetumal; the quiet little village lives mainly from fishing. Here you can enjoy nature away from the main tourist crowds. There were likely Maya settlements here as early as the first millennium, and numerous structures still bear witness to this. The original Maya name for the town was Tza Ten-A-Ha, which means "water from the rock" and refers to the many wells found throughout the area. This Maya settlement lasted until the 18th century before it was abandoned. In the mid-19th century, refugees from the Caste War resettled the area, and Tza Ten-A-Ha quickly became Sarteneja. In 1956, it was destroyed by a hurricane; only the church was spared, as the previous lightweight huts were no easy match for the storm. The village was subsequently rebuilt with sturdier, permanent buildings. Running water and electricity have been available here since the 1970s, and Sarteneja received telephone service in 1990.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.