My sister was here for a visit, and since she's only seen a small part of our beautiful state, I thought it'd be nice to visit some other places, and a little off the beaten track. During her last few days here in March/April, we decided to visit Bacalar.
We only had one full day there, so we had to make the best of it. And we did!
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Bacalar - Little Hippie Town, but so much to Offer
Bacalar is located all the way in the South of the state of Quintana Roo, very close to the capital city Chetumal, and the border with Belize. It's a little more than 4 hours by bus from Playa del Carmen, which is doable, especially since the ADO busses are quite comfortable.
The trip in itself isn't cheap (around 400 pesos for a one-way ticket, less if there's a discount), but staying in Bacalar can be quite cheap, and food is also a little cheaper than what we're used to here, so it's definitely worth a visit.
A cool little restaurant with a roof made of (mainly) VW Beetle parts
We weren't sure if we'd make it to Bacalar, but decided to go last minute.
Of course, we didn't do enough research before the trip, so after a lovely late afternoon at the lagoon upon arrival, we tried to plan the next day. We had one night in a lovely B&B, and the owner let us leave our bags there the next day after we checked out, so we didn't have to drag them along for the day.
My sister suggested a boat trip, which would have taken us for a 3-hour trip across "Laguna de los Siete Colores", or the lagoon of 7 colors. However, what we didn't know, was that none of the tour companies have tours on a Wednesday, which was of course the day we decided to go...
Now we had to come up with a different plan. I didn't feel much for going to yet another cenote, since we have many of them where we live, and going somewhere new would be nice for a change.
I remembered something 
Sister agreed, so after asking the B&B owner what the best way to get there was, off we went.
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The Bacalar Rapids (Los Rapidos)
The rapids are located about 12 km, or a 15 minute taxi ride from Bacalar. The cost for the taxi always seems to be the same (200 pesos), rather than whatever the taxi driver decides he wants to charge, which was a breath of fresh air, after spending more than three years in Playa and having to haggle for a better price nearly every time you hail a taxi...
The taxi driver dropped us at the very first restaurant type thing at the rapids. I am sure there are several along the same road, but this one was perfectly fine.
The entrance fee was another 200 pesos p.p., which, in retrospect was absolutely worth it.
You're not allowed to bring your own food or drink to the place, but I'm sure if you have a water bottle in your bag, they won't make a big deal about it.
Spot the vulture!
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The Experience
Well, what can I tell you? It's something you have to experience once in your life, at least.
Basically, you get a lifejacket (or not...I got rid of mine withing 30 minutes), you walk across the wooden walkway as far as you can, then drop yourself into the water at the stairs, and let yourself float back to where you started. It sounds simple, and it is, but it'll be one of the most fun things you'll ever do!
Los Rapidos from the restaurant
On this trip, it was just my sister and my youngest son (
We did this about 8-10 times, and I really didn't want to leave the place!
Like a kid, I kept saying: 'One more', about 3 times haha.
The view from the start point
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So what is so Special about it?
OK, it's hard to explain. First of all: the place is beautiful. The water is crystal clear and it's just very nice and cool on a hot day. Also, there are fossils formed by organisms that are supposedly the oldest on earth. It looks like regular rock when you see it, but it's not what it seems. The name: stromatolites. Explanation from Google: Geological structures of sedimentary rocks, mainly limestone, formed by the activity of microorganisms, mainly cyanobacteria.
There are apparently only a few of these in the world: the largest is in Australia, and this one in Bacalar. The ones in Bacalar are approximately 3.5 billion years old. So, as you can see: it's quite special.
The stromatolites on the left
So the knowledge that fossils this old exist there, definitely gives the place a different dimension.
One negative: although there are signs literally everywhere telling you not to touch or step on the stromatolites, there are people who do...They stand on them for their stupid selfies, or some people in kayaks will push off on them. It's annoying. These things are old. But yeah, there's always those types everywhere...
Either way, it's absolutely worth a visit. I prefer Bacalar and the rapids over any other place we've been to. I love Holbox, but Bacalar is something special. It doesn't have the huge tourist resorts just yet, and there isn't even a large grocery store like Walmart yet.
I think it might be due to that, that there are hardly any tourists. Of course they're there, but what you'll see are mostly backpackers or day-trippers. Not the resort people. And let's face it. Although they bring a lot of money to the area, they also kind of ruin some things for everyone else. Prices being one of them.
The back-to-basic character of Bacalar gives it a very laid-back feeling. I hope it stays that way for a long time.
Tip: If you ever go here, go early. I mean 9 - 10 am. I think they open at 9 am. After noon, it gets really crowded and not as much fun when you're dodging kayaks and people.
And I have to say: I feel very tempted!
We'll definitely be back here. It's too much fun not to.
I'm just going to dump the rest here. I hope you enjoy the views as much as we did!
Sister and me
Stromatolites under water
A Pretty Water Lily
Et moi!
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