After the busyness of Tulum, a few slow days on the lagoon at Bacalar were nice and relaxing. Most of the tourists there are Mexican families, so there is a far more authentic vibe to the town than further up the coast.

We initially stayed in a tent in an awful hostel. The tent was actually too short for us which meant we couldn’t zip it up, which meant getting annihilated by mosquitos. It was hot and stuffy and there was only one shower for everyone. After one sleepless night we left and went to a private room at a small hostel that was more like a B&B. It was heaven.

The only redeeming features of the first hostel were the excellent book I picked up at the book exchange and finished in one day and lagoon front access. Check it out:

In the centre of town the Fortress de San Felipe Bacalar cuts an imposing shape.

Friendly

It was completed in 1729.

The other great thing about Bacalar is the ice cream shop. They have a flavour called chongos which is a Mexican dessert made from milk, cinnamon and sugar. We had it three times it was just that delicious.

Chongos and blackberry

Probably my third cup of chongos

On our fist night in Bacalar we ate at Barril Grill and had some of the most amazing burgers I’ve ever consumed in my life. No exaggeration. They burger patties were stuffed with blue cheese. And the fries were mind blowing. The meal was especially great after eating at the same taco place 3 nights in a row in Tulum.

On our second night we were on the hunt for fish tacos and ended up at a place on the waterfront, I really can’t remember what it was called! The ambience was lovely but the food seemed really inauthentic, which was odd.

It was the only time in Mexico when I had guacamole and a frozen margarita!

Sorry Andrew! (he was mid chew)

On our last day we headed out to Cenote Azul. It was so bitterly disappointing. Turns out it was just a crappy restaurant next to a completely unremarkable cenote. Nothing compared to the ones we saw in Tulum. We didn’t even bother to go swimming.

Slightly disheartened we headed back to the hostel, grabbed our bags and decided to head to the Belize border and see if we could make it to Belize City that night.