¡Que viva Yucatan! – Part 4

Bacalar

Chetumal itself has some tourist attractions, but there are quite a few natural and historical sights in the immediate vicinity, among which it’s necessary to mention Bacalar. No, I'm not talking about dried cod, but about the city and the lake of the same name or lagoon, which is also called the Lagoon of seven colours because of the blue and turquoise water. Due to the porous limestone, the Yucatan Peninsula has almost no lakes, and Bacalar is by far the largest with a length of 42 and a width of up to 2 km. It’s fed by a 450 km long underground river, parallel to the coast, which is part of the largest system of underground caves in the world.

In addition to refreshment in the lake, the city is also worth a visit, especially the centre around the fortress of San Felipe Bacalar from the 18th century, where there are many lovely restaurants with excellent Mexican food, but unfortunately you won’t find any cod.

A short visit to Belize

After refreshing in Bacalar and looking for new challenges, the idea of jumping into the neighbouring Belize offers itself. It should be noted that entering Belize requires special insurance, which is arranged free of charge by most car rental agencies. But in our case, this wasn’t an issue, as during the pandemic the entry into Belize was quite complicated. Anyhow, without all the certificates and even without a passport, we can cross the border by car with a temporary registration plate, as long as we don’t leave the free duty-free shopping zone. Although located in Belize, the main means of payment is still the Mexican peso, but you can also pay US dollars and, of course, Belize dollars.

Despite the large number of stores, the offer is quite similar. Clothing, footwear, consumer electronics and, above all, tax-free alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. Given that the main motive was to step into the neighbouring country and “get a taste of it” at least a little, it was necessary to find a suitable restaurant that also has local food on the menu, which was a bit more difficult, as there aren’t many restaurants in the duty-free zone, especially those with Belizean food. But luckily there was at least one such restaurant that was quite hidden and was probably for employees in the area, but that’s why it’s all the more authentic. Even more authentic was the traditional chicken goulash with rice as a side dish which, after a week of corn tortillas, beans in all forms and hot spices, fit very well.

Riviera Maya – synonymous with mass tourism

After a great lunch, we returned to Mexico and again the information from the tourist police that we didn’t need passports or registration plates to visit the customs-free zone located in the neighbouring country proved to be credible. The customs officer at the border was only interested in what was bought in the customs-free zone, and the confirmation on the rear window that the car has not yet been issued registration plates is clearly an established practice.

Farewell from Belize also meant farewell from Chetumal and the way to the last “base camp” in one of the centres of mass tourism, Playa del Carmen, a little more than 300 km away. There are some interesting places along this route and also a Mayan pyramid, but the main stop was for the city of Tulum, which, like Playa del Carmen, is located on the Mayan Riviera. The main reason for visiting Tulum was the former residence of the most infamous drug dealer Pablo Escobar – “Casa Malca”. The property has been transformed into a luxury boutique hotel, where overnight prices are mostly expressed in four-digit numbers (in euros or dollars, of course), and to visit the restaurant you have to spend at least 100 euros, which is probably barely enough for lunch and a drink. But, fortunately, it was possible to see the most infamous building in Tulum, which was literally built as a fortress, at least from the beach, which is otherwise a public good, although it’s practically impossible to get there other than through one of the neighbouring hotels. In an escape from mass tourism, also connected by an opaque convoy of cars on the only narrow public road between the hotels, we didn’t even stop at the archaeological complex, but merely continued our way to the last stop before returning.

From the average beach to one of the most beautiful cenotes in the Yucatan

Playa del Carmen is a distinct tourist town but, unlike Tulum, it has at least one accessible beach, which cannot be compared to that in the less touristy west, specifically in Celestún. Otherwise, Playa del Carmen is a very lively tourist town, with no shortage of restaurants, souvenir shops, discos or clubs and, of course, has a rich tourist offer, which includes many day trips to the near and far surroundings. Among all the excursions, they also offer a visit to the Blue cenote, where we also went and which turned out to be a great choice. Only about half an hour's drive from the city is one of the most beautiful cenotes on the Yucatan “Cenote azul” or Blue cenote, which was also the last refreshment before returning to Slovenia.

At the end the masks always fall off

Before returning to Slovenia, at the request of the airline, there was a mandatory test for the coronavirus, followed by the last real Mexican dinner and a walk along the lively promenade as well as a brief panoramic tour of Cancun, another centre of mass tourism with all the splendour and problems that come with it.

If wearing masks in public areas was considered very differently in different places in Mexico, everyone, without exceptions, wore masks at the airport. I’m aware that I cannot compare this travelogue with Sergei Eisenstein’s film ¡Que viva México! But, nevertheless, I wish that these masks we’re wearing because of the pandemic would soon fall off as well. In the epilogue of the movie ¡Que viva México!, the participants of the carnival finally take off their masks, under which both skeletons and smiling faces are hiding. With the thought of how many smiling and bitter faces we will see when the epidemiological masks fall, I warmly advise you to watch the film ¡Que viva México! and, of course, visit Yucatan as it’s an exceptional combination of unspoiled nature, history, architecture, cuisine, sports activities and entertainment.