Bacalar and Tulum

With a blocked credit card due to data theft after paying at the wrong shop in Guatemala we ran out of money and decided to chill out on Mexico’s fine Caribbean beaches in our hammocks. Naively, I thought Mexico would still be the rough yet affordable place it had been back in 2002. Well, the world changes and Mexico’s Riviera Maya changes even faster and it is a far cry from the cheap backpacker destination it had been back then. With resorts popping up almost everywhere there are few spots that still contain the vibe. Bacalar is one of these places.

We managed to hitch a ride with two cool kitesurfing dudes from Flores to Bacalar through Belize. Crammed in between their equipment in a VW Gol it was nevertheless a very pleasant ride that we wanted to end with a couple of beers but ultimately were too tired to do since the border crossings took a good deal of time.

In Bacalar we found a basic but nice spot to camp in our hammocks at El Magico. With the market not far away we were able to cook our own food (which consisted mostly of Guacamole) and met some nice people in similar circumstances. With two Argentinians, an Ecuadoriana and a French we grilled up from scratch a nice BBQ of steaks, veggies, salads and even grilled bread for just under $2 each at the azure blue waters of the Laguna de Bacalar. I must say, Argentinians are real masters at their parilla.

Bacalar is not only blessed with a picture-perfect-all-shades-of-blue fresh water (!) lagoon, there are also a couple of cenotes (fresh water wells fed by underground rivers) around that make for an amazing and refreshing swim.

After a couple of days of lazing, swimming and Guacamole we hitched north to the white sand beaches of Tulum. The people you meet when hitchhiking are really interesting. This time we met a Spanish guy who was not on holidays but tried to get his brother out of jail who was sitting for alleged smuggling of parrots. He seemed a bit frustrated at corrupt Mexican officials and was happy to vent this and after chatting away for three hours he brought us directly to Tulum beach where we found a hammock space right by the sea. The sand was so white that it illuminated at night and might have been mistaken for snow if it were not for all the people in surf shorts and bikinis. And it was as fine as powder which seems nice until you realize that it penetrates everything when blown up by the steady winds at the coast. One morning Frieda woke me up and there were like sand lakes in my eye sockets. There will-probably still be Caribbean sand in our backpacks by the time we return to Germany.

In Tulum we of course visited the ruins that engulf two picturesque bays but are now complete with tourists shops and a small theme park. It is, however, possible to just swim or climb in without paying the entrance fee provided you have some climbing and or swimming skills.

Forced by circumstance we went really low-budget on this leg but we discovered that it does not mean that you have less fun. Maybe we should have hitchhiked before, especially in Latin America and sleeping in a hammock is actually quite comfortable if the temperatures are right.