A four hour drive takes us from the beach town of Playa del Carmen to the beach town of Bacalar, right along the Beliz border. The drive was very uneventful. We weren’t driven off the road, we weren’t navigating crazy traffic patterns, and we didn’t have to figure out which lane we should be in. There wasn’t even a kidnapping attempt. All those movies get it really wrong. Seriously though, the highway was impeccable, freshly laid asphalt, clean and lined with extremely lush greenery.

We arrived in Bacalar just before the rain did. We managed to find cover in a restaurant to eat lunch while it poured down for a full hour. The streets were flooded, the planters were overflowing, and we were able to feel the spray of the rain as we ate our guacamole and drank our margaritas. Welcome to Mexico, indeed!

Jason found us a Catamaran tour that takes us through the lagoon here. It is the thing to do – boats are everywhere following the same path. Except on Wednesdays when all companies have agreed to not do any business. Through the Covid months the lagoon was able to revitalize itself because there was no traffic. The owners came together and and agreed to do the responsible thing to help the lagoon stay beautiful. It is not a law, it is not regulated and it is not enforceable at all. Yet still, it happens every week. Amazing.

The Catamaran brought us to three different cenotes; one that has a surprisingly sharp drop-off from 2m right down to 70m, one that is a neat colour and one where we were able to swim. FYI – the water was incredibly warm. No wetsuit needed. We sped by Bird Island where birders and photographers flock (see what I did there?) to see a ton of species in one spot. Ironically, most of the birds are actually in Canada right now. LOL. Finally we wound up at Pirate’s Canal. I’m not sure it is as nefarious as it sounds anymore, although there were armed coast guards patrolling the area.

I think we are going to enjoy the water sports here in Mexico…