A small quiet lake town sitting beside some of the most vibrant blue water I’ve ever seen, that’s what Bacalar is. It’s not a place filled with action, delicious street food, or anything else that’s gotten me excited while traveling thus far. It simply is a nice place to be.
Minus a few bouts of heavy rain, the weather was pretty amazing; warm, sunny, not too windy. I spent most of my days here hanging out on the docks, reading, swimming, and tanning (not actively, it just happened). I met a few people through my hostel and additionally through a friend I had met in Puerto Escondido who was passing through at the same time.
As I mentioned, my activities were generally standard but there were a few highlights that I’ll touch on briefly.
Adventure Day
With Flor and her friend Madrid, both french, we went to Casa China, a hostel, to rent some kayaks. On the walk there, we checked out Cenote Negro, which is just a big hole (you can read more about the cenote tunnel system here). We swam a bit. It’s odd here because you can feel the depth and emptiness beneath you, and watch as the ground disappears beneath you as the water changes from a bright blue to an almost black color, hence the name.
After that, we got the kayaks and went out to see the shipwreck. On the way, we admired the blues drifting beneath us until we reached an island where we could hug the coast and enjoy the shallows. Once you pass the island, we arrived at the shipwreck where a lot of other boats are moored, so their patrons can swim and play. However, rainclouds were drifting in and it was getting a bit cold. We turned to head back but the deluge began. We were a tad cold but we didn’t get rained on much since we were outrunning the storm.
We made it back to Casa China as the storm hit us. So we sat under a tarp and got some delicious pizza until the rain stopped and revealed a nice sunset.
Concert
This is a small entry since nothing special happened there, but there was a cool bar down away from town a bit that had some live music. Checking it out gave me a nice view into the people who live and are visiting Bacalar, I think it was a good mix. The music wasn’t anything to write about, but it was a good vibe with a few beers, which generally makes for a good night.