Happy new year, my dear readers! Can you believe 2017 is over already? It's been an incredible year! I got my bachelor degree, started a new job, moved from Germany to Spain and spent a month in Mexico. I hope 2018 will be an equally fabulous year!
Today you get to see some pics of Bacalar, also referred to as the 'Pueblo Mágico', a beautiful town in the Quintana Roo state where time seems to stand still.
Where to Stay and what to Do
We spent only one and a half days in Bacalar, however this was one of the most relaxing trips of our three-week vacation. We arrived late at night, had some dinner and went straight to our hotel called Hotel Jireh. The room we had was simple but the bed comfortable, plus the hotel was close to the bus station and they had a really nice outdoor area with a pool so all in all we were pretty satisfied with the hotel.
The next morning we got up early and went for a stroll through the little town. We went to see the lagoon of Bacalar and also went shopping at the local market where we got fresh fruit for our breakfast. We headed back to the hotel to eat a little something and then started our day trip.
We wanted to see the Cenote Azul, which is a deep well that connects to the lake of Bacalar through underground rivers. There are cenotes all over the Yucatán peninsula, a must see when you travel to Mexico. We started walking towards the Cenote Azul, however it was crazy hot that day and it was farther away than we thought so in the middle of the way we took a cab there. Once we arrived at the cenote we were a little disappointed because it's a really touristy place where you have to enter a big restaurant to get to the water. I guess we expected something more tranquil and secluded. The cenote is beautiful though, it looks like a big blue lagoon in the middle of the forest. The water is crystal clear, however the cenote is 90 meters deep so you can't really see much when swimming. We went snorkeling for a while and I was a little scared to be honest because that cenote is damn dark and you don't really know what's swimming down there.
It was fun but we didn't want to stay too long because we also wanted to see the famous Laguna de los Siete Colores in Bacalar, a huge lake with amazingly clear water in different shades of blue. So we walked to what the locals call a 'beach club', a public spot where you can go swim in the lagoon. This place truly deserves to be called paradise, it is such a peaceful natural wonder. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the warm freshwater and on the swings that were placed in the lagoon. After having some snacks and changing we took a cab back to the town of Bacalar where we found a romantic spot to watch the sun set over the lagoon.
Later that day we went for dinner at a beach restaurant called La Playita. Miguel had a tasty curry and I went for a delicious salad with goat cheese and tuna tartare with watermelon, a wonderful treat after having only Mexican food for a week, haha! I loved the romance of this restaurant. We were surrounded by trees and candles and enjoyed our meals listening to a relaxing mix of reggae and jazz music, the perfect ending of an adventurous day.
