Friday, November 20, 2015
Crystal clear lakes in Bacalar
Friday, November 20, 2015So I arrived in Bacalar yesterday afternoon and fell in love with the place pretty fast. They had so many cosy and relaxing corners and 2 do...
So I arrived in Bacalar yesterday afternoon and fell in love with the place pretty fast. They had so many cosy and relaxing corners and 2 dogs! <3
But I woke up in the morning disappointed to realise that the hostel only provided a bowl of fruits and coffee for breakfast. That was definitely not enough - and why do all hostels only provided coffee, when that is the only thing I don't drink?! Thankfully I packed an extra packet of oats which I cooked and added with cranberries, honey and a muesli bar. I finished breakfast by the water and immediately headed out to the lake on the kayak.
Before going on this mini expeditions, I had some doubts.
> How do I get back into my kayak alone, should I capsize? - I watched a short youtube video on re-entry while I was having breakfast.
> What if there are crocodiles or dangerous animals in the water? - The girl running the hostel told me there isn't any at this side of the lake. Further down yes.
> What is the direction of the current? - She didn't know. She has never kayaked before. Omg, seriously?!
Nonetheless, she reassured me that everything is fine, and with that I headed out. First stop was the cenote. It wasn't that far away and, and by the time I arrived, there was already a boat with some people swimming and snorkelling. I headed over to ask them how's the view under the water and they said it wasn't much, just a black hole. So I decided to save myself the effort and risk, and decided to skip snorkelling in the cenote.
Next stop was the small island about 15mins paddle from the shore. Crossing the lake felt scarier than I thought. Along the shore, the water was still relatively shallow and one can still see the bottom and all. But as I paddled further from shore, it got deeper and I had to remember to keep calm and paddle on. And as I approached the island, the water suddenly got alot shallower and oh. my. god. Clearest and most beautiful part of the lake ever.
I was tempted to paddle around the island, but I saw some sign in Spanish and sudden parts of the water was rocky, which reminded me of the possibility of crocodiles resting and camouflaging at the bottom of the lake. I decided the view alone is enough for me and I didn't need to swim or paddle out further. So I took out my Nutella, biscuits and my book, and decided to let the currents carry me down the lake and nearer to the shore.
I went back to the hostel just a little before 2 hours was up. Paid $100pesos for the kayak rental, packed my stuff, checked out and walked out to highway. There, I took the collectivo to Chetumal for $35 pesos, had lunch, and then bought tickets from the ADO station for Xpujil ($86). There were collectivos that went Xpujil, but they weren't that frequent, and apparently I have missed the last one for the day already. So, I waited for my bus at the ADO station. Closer to the time of departure, some buses came and I checked with the lady at the counter if any of them was my bus. She said none, but 20 mins past, and apparently she was wrong.
Seriously?!
She then told me to take a taxi to the next station where the bus would wait for me. But I thought, what if the bus didn't? I would be stranded at some station at god knows where. Thankfully, there was another lady who missed the bus as well. And after some arrangements and calls, another bus appeared to take us directly to Xpujil.
2 hrs later, I checked in, into my "cabaña" at Hotel Gran Garra de Jaguar. It's just beside the bus station and less than $10 SGD a night, so I really can't complain much about the conditions of the room. But tonight is definitely gonna be an experience ahahah. At 5pm, with a little more than hour of sunlight left, I decided to check out the ruins site just 700m away. When I arrived, the gate says last entry at 4.30pm. But the guy at the counter still let me in anyways, and my student pass at UDLAP got me a free entry. The walk in was mildly scary because there was no one around and the path disappeared into a trail after awhile.
But when I emerged from the clearing (never thought I would every use this phrase on myself) and saw the ruins, there was the tiny sense of "Hurrah!", that I think the explorers felt when they first found this ruins. The fact that I have been reading "The Riddle and Redicovery of a Lost Civilisation - Maya" contributed to the sense of awe as well. I didn't stay long though, and quickly exited before the security decides to close the gate on me.
And that pretty much concludes my day. Tomorrow is going to be the Calakmul tour from 7.40am to 4pm. I've booked it online through Ka'an Expeditions, and it costs me $1400pesos. And when I checked in, there were posters selling tours for $500. Cry my a river. This is the biggest spending yet on this trip. Even my plane tickets each way costs less than this. So tomorrow better be good! Though the greater challenge really, is getting to the hostel in Tulum after the Calakmul tour.
The lake is literally at the backyard of the hostel
He's such a sweetie! The 2 dogs and cat spent the whole day playing
A movie corner! Unfortunately they weren't showing anything last night. And there were too many mosquitos anyways
Supposedly breakfast corner. But they never utilised it, nor did the vegetable bagel stated on the breakfast menu materialise
Hammocks hammocks everywhere
And this is their coffee table! It's so cosy and pretty <3
I wished I woke up earlier to catch the sunrise
The water is so clear omg
Hanging around before breakfast, enjoying the morning stillness
> How do I get back into my kayak alone, should I capsize? - I watched a short youtube video on re-entry while I was having breakfast.
> What if there are crocodiles or dangerous animals in the water? - The girl running the hostel told me there isn't any at this side of the lake. Further down yes.
> What is the direction of the current? - She didn't know. She has never kayaked before. Omg, seriously?!
Nonetheless, she reassured me that everything is fine, and with that I headed out. First stop was the cenote. It wasn't that far away and, and by the time I arrived, there was already a boat with some people swimming and snorkelling. I headed over to ask them how's the view under the water and they said it wasn't much, just a black hole. So I decided to save myself the effort and risk, and decided to skip snorkelling in the cenote.
That's the pier. It's funny cos one can easily enter the house next door by kayaking over ahaha
The bottom of the lake is just sand and sand, no plants or anything <3
I was tempted to paddle around the island, but I saw some sign in Spanish and sudden parts of the water was rocky, which reminded me of the possibility of crocodiles resting and camouflaging at the bottom of the lake. I decided the view alone is enough for me and I didn't need to swim or paddle out further. So I took out my Nutella, biscuits and my book, and decided to let the currents carry me down the lake and nearer to the shore.
I went back to the hostel just a little before 2 hours was up. Paid $100pesos for the kayak rental, packed my stuff, checked out and walked out to highway. There, I took the collectivo to Chetumal for $35 pesos, had lunch, and then bought tickets from the ADO station for Xpujil ($86). There were collectivos that went Xpujil, but they weren't that frequent, and apparently I have missed the last one for the day already. So, I waited for my bus at the ADO station. Closer to the time of departure, some buses came and I checked with the lady at the counter if any of them was my bus. She said none, but 20 mins past, and apparently she was wrong.
Seriously?!
She then told me to take a taxi to the next station where the bus would wait for me. But I thought, what if the bus didn't? I would be stranded at some station at god knows where. Thankfully, there was another lady who missed the bus as well. And after some arrangements and calls, another bus appeared to take us directly to Xpujil.
Xpujil is really like a kampong, so many farm animals around
Why did the chicken cross the road?
2 hrs later, I checked in, into my "cabaña" at Hotel Gran Garra de Jaguar. It's just beside the bus station and less than $10 SGD a night, so I really can't complain much about the conditions of the room. But tonight is definitely gonna be an experience ahahah. At 5pm, with a little more than hour of sunlight left, I decided to check out the ruins site just 700m away. When I arrived, the gate says last entry at 4.30pm. But the guy at the counter still let me in anyways, and my student pass at UDLAP got me a free entry. The walk in was mildly scary because there was no one around and the path disappeared into a trail after awhile.
The bed is fairly clean and there's towel (i realised after it has a giant hole in it though) and soap provided
Yeap, no door. Just a curtain, which is fine, since i'm staying here alone.
The wall doesn't really matter to me, cos the floor and everything else is clean. But where is the basin!??! Idk how I am going to brush my teeth tomorrow morning ._.
But when I emerged from the clearing (never thought I would every use this phrase on myself) and saw the ruins, there was the tiny sense of "Hurrah!", that I think the explorers felt when they first found this ruins. The fact that I have been reading "The Riddle and Redicovery of a Lost Civilisation - Maya" contributed to the sense of awe as well. I didn't stay long though, and quickly exited before the security decides to close the gate on me.
Isn't the path through the woods pretty? <3
Honestly, this site ain't much compared to the other places like Palenque and Teotihuacan, but it's free, and only 10 mins from the hotel, so I can't complain
