A very beautiful stop


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North America » Mexico » Quintana Roo » Bacalar
November 8th 2016
Published: November 8th 2016
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A lot of people we have met in Mexico, both tourists and locals, have recommended Bacalar. On this basis we had to make it a stop on our journey, and I'm very glad we did.
Bacalar is home to a lake that is said to contain 7 shades of Blue. I didn't count, but it certainly is very beautiful. We found a hostel which has its own jetty over the lake, so we had unlimited access to the lagoon. It's largely fairly shallow, so great for swimming. Luckily the water is fairly warm too, unlike the cenotes.
On our second day we headed out to the grand cenote which is only 5km away, as some others in the hostel had been recommended it. It was nice there, but to me it seemed more like a deep reservoir and less like the picturesque cenotes we've been to recently. It also doesn't stand up to the beauty of the lagoon in any way.
We hired a kayak on the lagoon for a couple of hours and went over to pirate cove, where there's a concrete pirate boat you can jump off. After this we headed further in to the lagoon where we were the only people, and it was extremely peaceful watching the herons and other bird life going about their lives.
We were lucky that whilst we were in Bacalar we saw families setting up memorials for the day of the dead in the main square. These were small hut type structures made of palm leaves, around 4ft cubes. They looked fairly elaborate so we were intrigued. We headed back later that evening and were treated to crowds of people providing offerings to their memorials. These memorials were adorned with flowers and incense, pictures of the loved one, food offerings, and one even had a caged parrot hanging from it! Unfortunately we could not understand what was being said, as it was all Spanish, but it was very interesting to watch.
This is our final Mexican destination before Belize, and what a beautiful end to a country full of great surprises.


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