Travel Tuesday – The Pure Magic of Bacalar

Bacalar is one of the most magnificent places that one can ever experience!  If you talk to anyone that has been to Bacalar they will tell you, it’s purely magical!  And that is as true as it gets!  It is not just a beautiful place to see but it leaves every visitor with a special feeling; sort of unexplained and mysterious!

Bacalar lagoon is the second largest lagoon in Latin America.  It is known as the lagoon of 7 colors and has been announced to be one of the most magical sites in Mexico!

 

The Charm of Bacalar Town Center!

When you enter Bacalar you head into a small, but quaint, Mexican village!  Although this is a tourist destination, the town remains pure with a small center, a local church and a couple of local restaurants and cafes that have been operating for years.  This magic town is little but it is big with charm!
One of the biggest landmarks in the town center is the Fortress de San Felipe Bacalar which was built after the town had been attacked by pirates in the 17th century.  This fortress is a staple in the town and can be visited as a museum during the day light hours!

 

Finding a place to stay!
If you intend to stay the, or for an overnight stay in Bacalar, you will need accommodations.  I will highlight the fact that there are no resorts or high end hotels in Bacalar.  Your options will be more like bed and breakfast type concepts.  Instead of typical hotels, you will find houses that rent out rooms and will likely provide you the use of their back yards and docks. Most of these houses are located directly on the lagoon!  Vacationing in Bacalar is more like going to a lake for calmness and pure relaxation rather than a beach which might hold lots of attraction.

 

The Magic of the Lagoon!

But now for the best part!  The Lagoon!  The Bacalar Lagoon is one of the most special and intriguing sites to see!  If you look out you will notice colors ranging from crystal, deep blue, to turquois!  What makes the colors shine is the pure white sand at the bottom!  It is incredible how one body of water can take your breath away so deeply!
Swimming in the lagoon is incredible!  Everything is crystal clear and you can see everything!  One of my most favorite things to do is to swim downwards and then rise up to the surface looking up towards the sun. The water is so crystal clear that you can’t even tell when you will reach the surface; again leaving you with another magical feeling and experience.

 

The Green Lagoon

The lagoon is about 34 miles long and is connected to a deeper lagoon heading to the jungle called the Green Lagoon!  The Green Lagoon is much deeper and can be visited simply by taking a boat tour through the lagoon.  The Green Lagoon can give you somewhat of a creepier feeling as you are surrounded by nothing but jungle.

 

Deep underwater world in the Centotes
The Bacalar Lagoon is also connected to seven different cenotes (deep natural sinkholes).  Cenotes are a very popular location for swimming all around Mexico and Latin America.   One of the most popular cenotes connected to the Lagoon is called “Cenote Azul”.  What makes this cenote so wondrous is that nobody actually really knows how deep it goes.  It is estimated to be 90 meters (295 feet) deep. Many flock to this area to swim every day!

 

Getting around the lagoon!

It is a great idea to take a boat tour through the lagoon if at all possible!  One of the interesting attractions that your tour guide will take you too is where you can take a natural mud bath and experience the weird sensation of walking through quicksand!

 

Sunrise Sundown!
After the sun goes down you can look out into the quiet calm Bacalar lagoon and find peace and quietness.  It is a place to be completely in tune with nature and your surroundings.  In the morning when you wake up you will have the chance to see the sunrise over the Bacalar Lagoon which is sure to be one of the most amazing sunrises that your eyes will ever have the honor to witness.

 

The Feeling of Bacalar

There are so many mysteries and wonders about the Bacalar lagoon which is why it can leave you with such an interesting and amazing feeling.  The whole town and lagoon itself is filled with history and mysteries!  Where else do you get to swim in crystal clear waters, seemingly eternally deep cenotes, walk through quick sand and be surrounded by miles and miles of jungle and nature?

For more adventures and quick trip ideas through Mexico, click here!

-By Bea Lozano
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Mexico’s Hidden Gems: Michoacan and Morelia Are Central Mexico’s Finest

Mexico has many wonderful places that almost everyone knows about – like Cancun, the Riviera Maya and Puerto Vallarta. Yet, there are also dozens upon dozens of “hidden gems” and “best kept secrets” that if you were to visit, you would swear that some mistake had been made in the international travel agencies.

 

Morelia, the beautiful colonial city, and the state of Michoacan of which it is the capital in central Mexico, are two examples that we’ve written about before.  But to give you a glimpse of how people react to their first vist, I just found this great blog post called “The Best Place You Have Never Heard Of;” this place is – you guessed it – Michoacan.

 

He starts of:

“I don’t know why the state of Michoacan in Mexico isn’t more popular – well yeah, I guess I do know. American’s get 5 vacation days a year and want to spend them blitzed on a beach, while the Euros are busy dancing to terrible electronic music mixed by some greasy hipster wearing skinny jeans in Ibiza, but regardless – the Michoacan is way underrated. And by underrated, I mean it isn’t rated at all.”

Now, if that rings a bell with you already, you can guess that Morelia and Michoacan are probably your kind of place.  He then continues:

The Michoacan state really has it all, from untapped colonials cities to ancient P’urhépechan Ruins (kind of like the Aztecas) resting on hilltops revealing panoramic views of lakes. Most of the Monarch Butterflies migrate to the reserves throughout the state because it is obviously the perfect place to make love for days on end. And when the hunger sets in from that marathon, Michocan’s city of Uruapan happens to be the capital of California’s most ubiquitous beloved vegetable – the Avocado. Lastly, and most notably, the Michoacan is missing the tourist attraction I hate the most: other white tourists. I spent over 10 days in the state and didn’t see a single other white person, which for me, is like a warm bubble bath while listening to Kenny G- because traveling these days requires wading through a swath of tourist-villes. But there is plenty of love to go around in the state of Michoacan – not only from the butterfly mating but all of these happenings are spread across mountains, beaches, lakes, and most importantly, areas that harvest Mezcal

 

So, you can tell that Turner (the writer) isn’t a big fan of finding other tourists! I certainly have nothing against being with other tourists, and I love talking to and learning the stories of my fellow expats, the point is this; Michoacan is off the radar, despite being a very beautiful and interesting part of Mexico.

 

Read the entire honest and entertaining account here.

 

-by Thomas Lloyd

 

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