From Tulum to Bacalar

After months of suenos of Bacalar, Mexico, Lisa and I were finally on our way. We had flown into Cancun and traveled to Tulum to visit the town, pyramids and our friends Karen and Skip. I think I held my breath all the way from Tulum to Bacalar. What if it wasn’t what we wanted? What then? The highway was smooth which made travel rapido y comoda. It was two lanes with wide shoulders (perfect for cycling), with an occasional exit for somewhere else, a few casitas and mostly long stretches of thick jungle. What I found out later was that the highway passed through Sian Ka’an,  a million acres of a biosphere reserve, i.e. protected wetlands, tropical forests, mangroves, and home to over 300 species of birds and wild monkeys. It borders on the Caribbean and has only five entradas. Sian Ka’an is Mayan for ‘Origin of the Sky’. This amazing ecological wonder is within dos horas de Bacalar and literally in our back yard and is available for camping, kayaking, birding and many other activities.

As our bus chugged along, I kept watching for a glimpse of the lake. I knew we had to be getting close and I wanted badly to see if it was as beautiful as I hoped. FINALLY, off in the trees, aqua azul! I was confused when the bus driver announced almost immediately, “Bacalar”. I thought I’d misunderstood. The lake is 55 km long; surely we couldn’t be there already! But we were. The lake is not visible from the highway, and one could miss it if they didn’t glance to their left as you pass through town.

We gathered our luggage and found a taxi to our destination, Casita Carolina. This was one of the first times we’d made reservations while traveling, usually we lean toward spontaneity. As we got off the bus, Lisa and I looked at each other and grinned from ear to ear. This felt like our new home. Bienvenidos a Bacalar.

Casita Carolina – the website is filled with information about Bacalar.

The lawn slopping down to the laguna.