Have you ever heard of Bacalar?

by Steff Conrath (Germany)

Making a local connection Mexico

After spending a wild week in Tulum, we longed for a little more peace, less insta influencern and nature. It was a spontaneous decision. Bacalar was not on our list, but after a nice chat over breakfast with a coffee de olla and a generous portion of chilaquiles, we decided to follow the well-meaning tips of the Canadians. You will love it. We also fell in love. Not just in each other. Even in bacalar. Sweet. They started kissing intimately. The perfect moment for us to snap our backpacks and walk to the ado bus. Bacalar. A lagoon, but what else does the dreamy little hippi village have to offer? After a few sleepy hours on the bus and a small gastrointestinal attack from my friend, we had arrived safely and had to search for our airbnb. The houses looked a bit battered. We were accompanied by a couple of street dogs and the smell of freshly roasted meat. tacos al pastor. Maybe later. We had booked a colorful little artist's apartment for ourselves to recharge our energy batteries after the sleepless party nights in the hostel in tulum. The owner, a sweet mid-20s, cheeky and very into yoga, gave us a little introduction to what you can experience in bacalar and invited us to visit her in her gallery and her stembar. Bacalar. Tourism has not yet fully arrived here, but the mexicans are already gradually upgrading, because the small town will not remain an insider tip for long. The lagoon is beautiful, I was really overwhelmed to admire the colors in all their glory. It is said that you can see 7 different shades of blue in the lagoon. I got 5 and my friend, still a bit battered, got 4. Every day we spent on one of the long jetties that reached into the lagoon. We tried our hand at paddle boarding at sunrise and tested one or the other bar. Fantastic. We did not expect this versatility. We quickly met backpackers, whom we had already met in Tulum, and had one or two nights spent at the lagoon in the moonlight with a few beers and guitar music. Contrast program to fancy tulum. No glam and cool clubs. Back to the roots. After a few days you knew your people. The nice old lady from the supermarket, where we bought avocados and mangos for lunch and beer and chips in the evening, the somewhat crazy and always cheerful paco loco, which had the best fish tacos in town and maria, who served us good coffee in the afternoon. Bacalar i also felt in love with you. In love with a small village Close to the border of Belize, with the turtles that had accompanied us on paddle boarding under water, with the lovingly designed events in the evening at the zocalo, with the people who gave us the feeling of being part of the community in such a short time, with the art scene, with the great Mexican food and the magic that cannot be described in words. You only get to feel it once you've been to bacalar yourself.