Sailing on Bacalar Lagoon
We didn't sleep really well, there was a big storm during the night and the electricity went on and off. It meant no aircon and no fan for most of the night and it was too hot to sleep.
It's no surprise that we wake up tired and decide to hang around our accommodation until it's time for the tour of the lagoon that I booked for 11am.
We get our bicycle and start the 15minutes ride to the pier. Along the way we have to pass some big pools of rain water that have flooded the streets.
We arrive right on time. And we are only 4 in our sailboat made for 6 people. It's very nice. We will sail around the lagoon for 3 hours stopping at 3 major points, the cenote negro, the pirate passage and the bird’s island.
The color of the lagoon is stunning. It's that perfect holiday turquoise blue. Along the shore you can see the small piers, hotels and beach clubs but they blend fairly well in the landscape.
Our skipper explains that the lagoon has that color because the bottom is made of calcium deposit and it contains a lot of minerals that are not good for life. There are almost no algae and hardly any fish in the lagoon.
Our stop is the cenote negro. We don’t' really stop, we sail through it. It's been named this way because of the sheer drop you can see under water. It's a big whole that goes from 35m, to 150m deep. Because the water is so transparent, the edge is very clear to see.
Then we cross the lagoon to the opposite side. The pirate channel is a narrow and very shallow passage that links the lagoon to the bay behind ( and then the ocean ). As it's famously named, until the fort was built, the small canoe of the pirate would come through here to ransack Bacalar town. At the time, it was famous and a major port for export of Campeche wood. The Mayas were already using this passage, but on foot. The water is mid-thigh there.
What is surprising is that you expect sand at the bottom but it feels more like mud and river bottom under your feet.
We enjoy this beautiful place and swim around. I am still amazed at the colors I see.
A benefit of the sailboat vs the cheaper motorized pontoon that I see, is silence. We cruise through to the bird island enjoying the landscape. Anytime we pass by another group, they are blasting music and feel more like party boats.
There are about 6/7 boats out there at the same time, and our skipper says that in high season it can go up to 70 boats. With an average of 8 people per boats, that's about 550+ in the water swimming in these shallow spots. Honestly horrible, Bacalar is not equipped to deal with this kind of crowd and the lagoon must not be that nice and peaceful with the masses. I am extremely happy to have seen los rapidos and the lagoon at low season. It's really enjoyable.
After our last stop next to the bird island, which only had birds when the migratory ones are in residence, we share a nice fruit platter and make our way back to the pier.
To protect the lagoon, you are not allowed to wear sunscreen. We covered ourselves well, but my face has turned a deep shade of red. And Alexis’s nose isn't much better.
The heat is unbearable in the afternoon, and we decide to eat lunch at our accommodation, enjoy the AC and we will go out again at night.
I think we slept a little, because the evening comes very soon. We cycle downtown to find diner and see what life looks like on Saturday. Alexis has marked a restaurant serving a local specialty called pozole. It's a soup with beans, meat, corn and some spices. There is a red and white version depending on how spicy you like it. We took the red one and found this to be very tasty.
Then we walked around the central park, where small touristic stalls and some street foods have set up shops. There isn't much more to do in Bacalar, it's a small and simple village. We head back shortly after that.