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Villahermosa
, often overlooked by visitors heading to the nearby
ruins of Palenque, deserves at least a day's worth of
exploration. When massive oil deposits were discovered
in the late 1970's, the city awoke from decades of slumber
and underwent a major transformation. No longer a backwater
town with a few colonial era buildings, the city is
today a burgeoning boom town and center for Mexico's
vast oil industry. The city (population 500,000) dates
to the early 16th century, and is surrounded by three
rivers. Its pedestrians only downtown area (actually
an island surrounded by lakes and rivers) is pleasant
for strolling, as is the riverfront malecón and
Benito Juárez Park. Villahermosa is home to some
fine museums. And thanks to its commercial importance,
the city has a couple of deluxe hotels, a modern shopping
mall (Tabasco 2000) and some fair restaurants.
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