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Saturday, May 28
It’s a short 90-minute drive to Bacalar, the lake of seven colors. It’s just a bit north of Chetumal, near the coastline. We found a deal on a private room at a hostel called “The Yak House”. We were greeted by a cute little bug of a hostess that cleared us for our early check-in. Our room was very clean and came complete with its own set of oddities. It was like a unique IKEA bedroom setup. (I realize that is an oxymoron but it’s a bit difficult to describe.) The view made it all quite nice.
Part of the view is the clientele. It’s a hostel and we are definitely the oldest folks here, like by a good 30 – 40 years. Lots of cute little young things that don’t know how to handle their liquor. The evenings were filled with beer pong and various other drinking games all played to a soundtrack of heavy bass electronica.
They weren’t so cute the next morning.
Sunday, May 29
Everything here at Bacalar is centered around lake stuff; paddle board, kayak, sailing and every other form of flotation. It’s not a fishing lake and there’s a strong effort towards keeping the lake alive and protected from the effects of humans. We didn’t get much lake action as the heavy rains moved in in the morning. Sharon spent the day napping while I sat downstairs doing, you know, this web thingy and occasionally looking up to snicker at the evening’s casualties.
We did manage to get some great food just down the street when the rains calmed. “El Dedo” reappeared for a wide-eyed little boy from some European country.
Monday, May 30
The rain was back and heavier than before and it followed us all the way into Playa del Carmen. We took it really easy as there was plenty of evidence of faster cars hydroplaning off the side of the road. Or were those the taillights of an ancient Mayan civilization peeking out from the jungle? Once in the city we started shopping for supplies for our days on the island of Cozumel. We’re just going under the assumption it will be cheaper here.
We stopped in for a visit with Raquel and Giancarlo. Raquel is my buddy Cecilio’s youngest daughter. She immediately sequestered herself in the kitchen and produced a yummy surprise of a meal. We’ll get back together with them when we start heading home.
Tuesday, May 31
We got a very early start in order to get in line for the car ferry. Actually, it was a little too early. I pulled out of the short line and went out of the compound for coffee. We even brought a couple of coffees back for the guards out by the entrance. They seemed genuinely thankful. I got back into the line that hadn’t changed. There we waited patiently for the signal to start loading.
How a double decker mass of steel turns into a motorized floating parking lot is pretty impressive. Us regular folks parked primarily down a ramp in the belly of the boat. Then the double-trailer diesel trucks take up the center of the main deck. Once everything is tied down, this gigantic metal placoderm lumbers out to sea. It is not graceful.
The house we rented, Casa Tranquila, is conveniently located near shopping and the main square but any of that will have to wait. The rains have returned.
So good to read about your adventures. I can enjoy vicariously.