From Sacred Stones to the Seven Colour Lagoon
The remains of the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul
After crossing 15 borders in the last ten months, we felt pretty relaxed heading from Belize into Mexico.
It started pretty well, taking the boat from Caye Caulker to Belize City. We knew the last public bus to the border left before we could make it to the mainland, so we booked a tourist bus to take us the 3 hours over the border and on to the town of Chetumal, where we would switch to a public bus for another hour, to the little-known town of Xpujil (pronounced Oosh-poo-hill).
And that’s where it went downhill. It was 16 hours and £100 in border exit/entry fees later that we finally made it to our destination. Oh Mexico, we know you’ll be worth it, but that was not a nice welcome!
So, why were we in Xpujil? The small town is located in the jungle of Campeche state and is the nearest settlement to Calakmul, an ancient Mayan archeological site.
Calakmul means, in Mayan, "Two Adjacent Mounds," a name that refers to the two largest structures that dominate the jungle. The area was ‘discovered’ at the beginning of the 1930s, but it was not until the 1980s that research allowed archeologists to uncover the essence of this city as one of the most important of the Classic Maya.
From the sixth century AD, Calakmul was one of the most powerful Mayan centers, along with Tikal (a site we visited previously, in Guatemala). The two cities were often attacking each other, with dominance over the Mayan lowlands shifting between the two over hundreds of years.
Whilst Tikal is relatively easy to access, Calakmul is not. I’ve already explained the mammoth journey to get here, well off the path that most travellers take from the Belize border through Quintana Roo and Yucatan. But even from Xpujil, we were two of only seven people on the bus that turned off the highway and down a dusty road to Calakmul Biosphere Reserve.
As the border crossing had sucked our expenses, we decided to explore Calakmul without a guide - we still learnt a lot thanks to signage that was translated into English, which we were grateful for as it’s not something we’ve found to be common in Central America!
As we made our way through the dense trees the grandeur of Calakmul began to emerge, with towering pyramids and crumbling temples peeking out above the canopy. The largest structure rises over 45 meters into the sky. A very, very, very sweaty climb to the top gave us panoramic views of the surrounding jungle. Green in every direction, as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful.
We were so glad we made the effort to visit Calakmul, despite the long journey to get there. Walking around was a very different feeling to Tikal. Graeme and I were the only people around as we wound through the jungle - it was only when we climbed structures that we met others at the top, panting for breath and dripping with sweat. It was kind of eerie but also exhilarating, knowing there were jaguars and pumas somewhere between the trees, maybe watching us as we explored this once-thriving but now empty city.
Back in Xpujil, there was just enough time for a culinary delight, and it’s probably not what you’re expecting. We had one of the best pizzas we’ve had in Latin America at the side of the dusty highway whilst mega trucks bombed past. Weird! Not even I would have bet on pizza being our first meal in Mexico - I’ve been banging on about eating all of the Mexican food for months! - but lack of other options took us there and I’m so glad. Our first full day in Mexico had certainly delivered.
The next morning we took a bus back into the state of Quintana Roo to the pueblo mágico of Bacalar. This magic town is famous for being on the shore or the enchanting lagoon of seven colours - a stunning lake renowned for its multi-hued blue waters.
We had been a little worried about travelling through the Yucatan peninsular. Our two weeks here will coincide with American ‘Spring Break’ and Easter celebrations - a hugely popular time for Americans, Europeans and Mexicans to getaway. It’s meant we’ve had to plan and book in advance to secure good deals on accommodation, and be a bit strategic in terms of where we visit to make sure we don’t accidentally end up in a ‘beach party spring break woo free shots on the party bus’ kind of place… you know what I mean? No judgement at all, that kind of holiday is a lot of fun when it’s what you want, but it’s kind of hellish to be around when it’s not what you are looking for. Our experience in Bacalar has heartened us!
We heard that the best way to experience the lake is on a boat tour, so we went out for a closer look at the water and to count those shades of blue for ourselves! Maybe we woke up feeling particularly lavish that day, but we decided to spend an extra £5 each on a pontoon rather than a small speedboat… my god we felt like we were living in luxury!
The boat took us around to some of the famous natural features of Bacalar lagoon, including several cenotes. A cenote (pronounced say-no-tay) is a natural sinkhole formed by the collapse of limestone rock, revealing crystal clear pools in the earth's surface. Several have formed in the lake, their varying depths accounting for some of those aforementioned shades of blue.
We saw the Pirates Canal - a waterway used by pirates to plunder the riches of the Yucatan peninsula - and had time for a swim in the water. It was actually a little colder than we expected, but still lovely!
We spent the rest of our time in the town relaxing on the edge of those tranquil and iridescent waters, walking the cobblestone streets and - finally! - eating tacos from friendly street vendors. This is the Mexico our stomachs were hoping for!
Being on the road hasn’t been all play, though. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks starting to reach out to companies in the hopes of having jobs to come home to.
And some good news: whilst staying in Bacalar, Graeme had an interview and was offered the role! It’s such a relief to know we will be able to get back on our feet quickly at home. Of course, we had to go out and celebrate with a mezcal or two. After a wallet-crunching start, it was nice to say ‘cheers’ to a memorable first week in Mexico.
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