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South America 2024
  • Gavin Wilson

South America 2024

Avoiding extortionate electricity charges in the UK by travelling through South America during the winter of 2024-25. Read more
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  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    3rd Dec. 2024, Last full day in Minca

    December 3, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Oh dear oh dear. I made a schoolboy error last night. I went into Minca town to grab a bite to eat and actually had an okay meal. Sadly, the drink had ice in it and I should've fished it out and didn't. For a lot of last night, I had stomach ache, and that was the main suspect. No better this morning and into the afternoon, but I managed to finish the day off with a pistachio ice cream (just to settle my stomach of course). It seems to have done the trick.
    Next job is to pack up, ready to leave in the morning for Santa Marta.
    I only need to settle my bill for the meals clocked up on my electronic wrist band thingy, and walk down for the bus.
    Minca has been pretty good. The place I stayed was the best so far - food, pool, room okay. It was just the upset tummy last night and the bleeding' dogs barking at the moon every 30 mins or so. I'm fairly tired now and it's not even 5pm. I reckon a shower is in order.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Minca to Palomino, 4th Dec. '24

    December 4, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I don't know why I set the alarm anymore. I always wake up before it's meant to go off.
    So, a quick snap of the 'bungalow' I stayed in last night - by the stream which wasn't soothing and restful but a bloody torrent.
    A single coffee and down for the bus. Me and a few early risers had to wait for the 9am one to fill up. With a change of buses in Santa Marta, we eventually got to Palomino.
    It's looking quite promising.
    I had my usual wander around to get / lose my bearings, and had lunch. Blimey O'Reilly, it was about £6 ! I nearly spluttered and had a feinting fit.
    Managed to find the beach after taking a slightly long way around to get there. It's pretty much as described - almost undeveloped on the beach itself, grey sand and very big waves. I weakened and had a couple of Mojitos on the beach ( 15000 COP for two - can't grumble).
    The bit of online 'research' I did about Palomino was just about spot on. If you can imagine Bali a few decades ago: before the mass package holiday crowds (Oz, you know I'm talking about you.) helped turn it into Benidorm with palm trees, then you get a fair idea of how 'on the cusp of being being discovered and therefore spoiled' this place is.
    The two people who manage the hostel I've moved into for the next few days are really pleasant and helpful.
    I think it's going to be alright.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    2
    Had lunch here.I ordered fish in coconut, but this came. I think it's flying fish (my 1st!)

    Palomino, 5th Dec. '24.

    December 5, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    This is my first full day in Palomino, and I still can't get my head around which way leads to the Main Street and which to the beach. I've been to both and kept getting lost. The grid system with no road/street signs has got me beat
    me.
    Talking to Omar, the owner, I reckon I could walk to visit one of the indigenous tribes in their village up in the hills above town. I'll have a more restful day today and leave it until tomorrow.
    There are plenty of obviously tribal people around town - they come in for provisions, buy/sell stuff etc. However, I even't felt confident about pointing my iPhone's camera at them yet.
    The beach is only a short walk away, so I had a stroll there and had some lunch.
    You get the picture? The pace of life here is pretty much on the slow side, and there's not much to do really.
    After finishing my book a while ago in Santa Marta ('Something Wicked This Way Comes' by Ray Bradbury - absolutely excellent, seeing as you ask) so I was glad to find a copy of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera someone left in the digs. I'm half-way through and it's very good indeed: philosophical, erotic, instructive - a heady combination.
    An early night I think - I want to start my hike early tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Part 2, Visit to Kogi village, 6th Dec.

    December 6, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Here's part 2 of my trek up to the Kogi (sometimes spelt 'Kogui') village in the hills above Palomino.
    It was a fascinating experience; tough going on the hike through steep paths and undergrowth, but very worth the effort.
    Clearly, the Kogi sometimes make their way into Palomino town. I presume this is to buy goods, trade their craft wares and so on. Strange, on my hike both there and back I was passed in each direction by barefoot Kogi children and adults (some wearing Wellies or Crocs), leaving me way behind as they tramped ahead at a swift pace.
    The Kogi's physical appearance is of a quite short stature. We might assume this is due to the somewhat restricted gene pool among their tribe, having a typically low-protein diet, and other lifestyle issues. Whatever the correct anthropological explanation, they make me feel fairly tall.
    Strangely, they don't seem to smile very readily. This might be due to the blasted Gringo tourists pointing cameras at them all the damned time, or they just don't feel the need to express signs of false happiness.
    The children appear contented, or perhaps even happy with their lot. What they must feel when they come into town on their occasional visits is an interesting question to ponder
    contact
    They're not an unusual sight, therefore, but to experience them in their natural surroundings was special and to see them wrestling with 'tentative integration' was fascinating to see.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    1

    Palomino, 6th Dec. '24.

    December 6, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    As usual, I didn't need the alarm. Got up in time to set off on the hike to the 'nearest' indigenous tribal village. It wasn't near at all.
    Blimey, what a hike!
    Into the town centre, past the football field and the cemetery, and onward - much, much further. The owner of the pace I'm staying in, Omar (a very interesting man in his own right), told me that the hike was 3 hours there. That means 3 hours back :(
    He was almost exactly right.
    The photos today are just the lead up to my eventual arrival at the village. They cover the walk and some of the scenery on the way. It's obviously a fairly quiet hike, but I bumped into an old chap and a young woman who were going to the village too. He was a guide that she'd hired for her trip.
    Also, there were a few lads on motorbikes, ferrying punters to and from town for the 'rubber ring floating down stream to the sea' experience. (I wasn't all that interested.)
    Because I took so many shots, I've held back most of those from when I got to the village.
    I know; what a tease.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Palomino, 7th Dec. '24.

    December 7, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    After yesterday's long hike, a lazy day was needed, so I explored a new street/ginnel/alley, and found a woman selling food in makeshift cafe (a common thing here). It was pretty good too. I must go back.
    The beach was calling but I didn't go for a swim. Tomorrow maybe.
    Instead I read for a while and watched the surfing students being harangued by their instructor from the safety of a plastic chair on the beach.
    On the way back to the digs, I managed not to buy a shirt from one of the roadside shops dotted along the way. Why can't they put prices on anything? Is is just to confuse us, get us into a single-ended conversation, is the price negotiable, or was the price based on what they think you can afford and indeterminate anyway. I did't take the bait.
    Yes, a quiet day.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Palomino, 8th Dec. '24.

    December 8, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today was another of those 'lazy but not guilty' days.
    I was determined to do very little except go to the beach for a swim, and eat.
    The area of beach I chose was where the Rio Palomino river meets the sea. I'd noticed that there was a sandy spit of land jutting out where the calmly flowing water of the river (complete with floating rubber ring tourists) came up against the much more animated waves of the sea.
    Almost as soon as I'd swam in the river water (not at all salty), then the men I took to be the local lifeguards were replanting their red flags further down the beach. Determined to have a dip in the sea, I moved down to the yellow flag spot.
    Before I arrived in Palomino I'd read online that it was definitely not safe to swim off Palomino beach - at all. That's a bit of online hyperbole, but it was damned rough in amongst the waves and 'current' moving down the beach. Not a bad experience though: blue sky, hot sun, not many people to spoil the view.
    Call it a highlight, but this was as exciting as it got today. Bought a bowl of mango to nibble, got 'tapped' by a Kogi man & two kids for some money, went for a stroll, had some lunch, read my book.
    A thoroughly blameless day was had.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Surfing for Jesus, 9th Dec. '24

    December 9, 2024 in Colombia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    I didn’t have to search far for breakfast. A couple of empanadas and a coffee did the trick.
    Being my last full day before I head off south, to Bogota and onwards to Guatemala, it’s time to try and summarize what my thoughts are about Palomino, the place, people, culture and the surrounding area.
    It’s fascinating area for several reasons: the people are mostly welcoming, kind and cheerful to travelers/tourists like me. Perhaps it’s because there appear to be a few who’ve got ‘lost’ along the way and didn’t find their way back to their country of birth – they’ve ‘gone native’ and stayed. It’s a hippy dream, but no less seductive for being around fifty years late in grabbing hold and luring people in.
    The early part of the photos uploaded today show. Something curious and possibly unique: relatively poor people have chosen to celebrate (If that’s the right word) Christmas by making their version of another cliché: the European Christmas tree. I know this is true because their efforts are conical, comical, and kitch in their effort to recreate what’s becoming a significant component of the global image of Christmas.
    Fascinatingly, they decorate their ‘trees’ with anything glittering but, importantly, use plastic rubbish to add a bit of ‘twinkle’. It works – and it’s a small effort towards recycling.
    The later photos were gathered as I chill-axed by the beach.
    I’d had a really good lunch (vegetarian – won’t get caught out again) and finished reading T.U.L.of.B. – when the restaurant owner/manager reminded me that they had an offer on to exchange ‘books for alcohol’. Well, it would have been impolite not to comply.
    The waitress must’ve put a double measure of (rum?) into my glass, because I quickly got that lovely, cosy, eversoslightly tipsy feeling that all was well with the world.
    A few minutes later, sitting by the beach and watching the surfers work the waves in the just-right sea under the achingly gorgeous sky, I actually began to get what this surfing Zen thing might be all about. The waves come and go. There is never a ‘perfect’ wave, or a ‘perfect’ moment to speed up to try and catch it. It’s almost always missed, and yet, there’ll be a hundred more waves to follow it, and to try to meet with it in time and space.
    I turned to a (very laid-back hippy) guy sitting in the seat next to me patting his dog and said, “Life is good”.
    It just seemed like the most fitting thing to say.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    2

    Palomino to Guatemala 10th-12th Dec. '24

    Dec 12–14, 2024 in Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    This travelling overnight is going to need a rethink :(
    At least I've been able to escape the mosquitos in Palomino (argh!) at the expense of the sunshine and beaches.
    The journey went a bit like this:
    Bus from Palomino to Santa Marta, hike to then find the main bus terminal for the bus from Santa Marta to Bogota - not too bad. Then another hike to the airport. Flight to Guatemala City, change planes to Flores, Guatemala.
    It's a tiny airport. Reminds me of Tivat in Montenegro :)
    Therefore, please excuse me for not bringing light to dark lives and joy to the world, I wasn't able to get the MacBook going whilst on the road.
    Flores looks interesting - an island town in the middle of a lake, off-shore from the main town. The place I'm staying is very near the island end of the bridge.
    I had a quick wander around the island streets, then went into the main town to get some cash, have lunch, check out the old market area (a bit of a 'souk' feel to it.
    I'm tired now.
    I just had energy left to pop into a tour operator just up the road, to book a trip to 'Tikal'. It's an ancient Mayan site that looks not-to-be-missed. I also booked my onward bus to Belize, so it'll be two early mornings in a row for this tired but happy boy.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Tikal Mayan site, Flores Fri 13th Dec 24

    December 13, 2024 in Guatemala ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    I can't work out what time it is where you are, but 4:30am in Flores, Guatemala feels early. I've bought a ticket to visit the Mayan civilisation site at Tikal, so I have to be up and off to meet the bus for the 2 hour journey to get there.
    There's the inevitable glitch when a random man near a minibus claimed to be helping me find the right one - he did nothing of the sort and nearly got me on the wrong bus - then asked brazenly for a tip!
    I snoozed on the bus. It wasn't too bad.
    Hopefully, the photos will give a fair impression of what the place was like. At thew risk of sounding a bit of a name dropper (?) it came across to me like a much smaller Angkor Wat; maybe 6 or 8 times smaller and covering much less geographical space. However, I could do Tikal in a half-day and not kill myself.
    It actually was really good, recommended, money well-spent.
    People were a lot more chatty on the ride back, so the journey didn't drag at all.
    Back in Flores, it was time for food, a chocolate milkshake, a few snaps around the town ... and book my next accommodation for Belize (tomorrow) and Chetumal in Mexico for the days leading up to and over Christmas.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    The tide's in. Well, it is an island surrounded by water.

    Flores to Belize, 14th Dec. '24.

    December 14, 2024 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Are there two 6 o'clocks in the day?
    Up n early for the 7am bus from Flores to Belize. It began normally enough, then we had to change buses - to a smaller, more economical on diesel.
    Hang on though... is that a bullet hole in the windscreen?
    Oh well, onward.
    It's a 3-4 hour journey through un-interesting landscape (so no photos). The border crossing was the 'interesting' part: Queuing, passport stamping, more queuing before walking across no man's land to the civilisation and C.21st of Belize. Actually, things did noticeably pick up: the rain stopped and the roads improved.
    The outskirts of Belize city are fairly undeveloped but still relatively comfortable-looking. When we finally arrived at the bus terminus, very close to the water taxi/boat ferries port, the next task was to find my new digs. Excellent pre-planning (?) meant it was only a short-ish walk to find it.
    It's really good. The woman who runs it, Kira, is lovely. The rooms are clean and tidy, the facilities are good.
    Kira has invited all the guests who are interested to go with her to Belize's Annual Love FM Christmas Parade, starting in Albert Street in the city centre.
    In a while I have to plan what to do during the later days.
    I think things are going to be okay :)    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Belize City, 15th Dec. ' 24

    December 15, 2024 in Belize ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    It's Sunday today and blimey is it quiet - just the occasional sound of singing coming out of a door to one of the gazillion churches everywhere in Belize. Yes, all the good, god-fearing, pious and righteous souls are inside big and small buildings of all denominations, and not out shopping - because all the shops are closed. It's deathly quiet today.
    After conquering the task of finding breakfast with a couple of the lads staying here, I felt no energy or enthusiasm for joining two American guys on a road trip to a nearby archaeological site. ( I guessed it would have been a slight anti-climax after Tikal, and so I passed on the idea. It seems from their photos later that I was probably right.)
    After getting some lunch (tacos) with Kira the owner's help, I spent an hour reading the latest novel I picked up in Guatemala ('Beloved' by Toni Morrison). It's shaping up really well, and I like her writing style in this one.
    However, this just made me really and get a bit sleepy, so I went for a walk around Belize city (as distinct from the rest of the country or the Cayes). I'm going to leave visiting Caye Caulker until tomorrow.
    A quiet day, and that's alright.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Caye Caulker trip, 16th Dec. '24

    December 16, 2024 in Belize ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The early bird catches the worm, and the first 'water taxi' boat from Belize City to the Cayes leaves at 8 am. I made it and headed for Caye Caulker. It's smaller than San Pedro, closer, and the reviews are great so I'm off to swim (sleep?) with the fishes (The Godfather reference).
    Couldn't help but take a shot of the man's t-shirt urging us to "relax". Was the boat trip going to be a tad on the dangerous side?
    We were okay - a bit boring actually - stopping briefly at Caye Chapel before Caye Caulker. It looked absolutely gorgeous.
    Aah, I was meant for this kinda thing.
    After a short stroll around the tiny streets to get my bearings, I chose a 'tour vendor' more or less at random and booked on a snorkelling trip for 10:30 to 1pm. I checked on a scuba diving option - they wanted $170 for a 2 tank dive. Yikes! That's three times what I paid in Colombia. I'll snorkel thank you.
    Caye Caulker is small, narrow and easy to walk around in an hour or so. At some points, you can look each way down a street and see both beaches, East and West, with much the best ones on the West side.
    The men organising the snorkelling were actually okay. Not like yer usual 'scally' running the dodgems at the fair. We were in safe hands.
    What they called the 'half day tour' included four stops for snorkelling etc.
    The first was over really good coral (plenty of fish eg. Red Headed Rainbow Fish and lots I didn't recognise).
    The second was swimming with Nurse Sharks (big 'uns! maybe 6ft) and huge Manta Rays (over 6ft including tails).
    Third stop was at another coral outcrop where we could walk on the sea floor - about 20 miles from the mainland / 2 miles off Caye Caulker.
    Lastly was an odd experience: we pulled nearer shore and the guides gave us sardines to hold between our fingers over the side of the boat. Then these huge 'Tarpon' fish would actually jump out of the water and either grab the sardine from your fingers, or head-but your hand so hard that you dropped the fish anyway. Amazing! And they were whoppers.
    Back on dry land was a bit of a come down - lunch, a bit more exploring the island and then back on the water taxi to Belize.
    A cracking day.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Gav. Risks life n limb for the camera.

    December 16, 2024 in Belize ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Some additional video evidence of my shenanigans off the coast of Caye Caulker, Belize. (borrowed footage)
    Enjoy 😀

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Belize, 18th Dec. '24. Last Full Day

    December 18, 2024 in Belize ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    I was going to do lots of things today.
    I was going to take the water taxi to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, and get my bus ticket to Bacalar, Mexico, and WhatsApp loads of people, and finish reading Beloved.
    All I got done was buying my bus ticket, and that got me a soaking when the drizzle turned to proper rain. I didn't have the will to go to San Pedro, only to get soaked again in what should've been a tropical paradise.
    So, a walk to find lunch and a bit of messing around online and editing video footage was all I could manage for most of the day.
    Still, I am supposed to be on holiday.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Goodbye Belize, Welcome to Bacalar

    December 19, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Whilst the weather's been, at best, patchy for my stay in Belize, it's been pleasant enough.
    Some thoughts about the past few days:
    Belize City is pretty much forgettable - apart from the lovely hostel run by Keira. In the city, there's a sense that you're in/near the Caribbean. The patois that you hear in the streets and shops can be impenetrable. It might have a root in English, but I can't make it out. For a relatively wealthy part of Central America, there's certainly a lot of 'down and out' people begging in the streets. Moreover, I've noticed a few times that there's a 'calculated cynicism' at large, certainly in the city. It seems that the city has got used to milking the American dollar. As the passengers disembark from the boats ferrying them from their cruise ships to the water taxis and onward, they're pounced on by anyone trying to make a few tips. The slightest bit of conversation or question about a destination is really only leading up to a hand being extended for 'just a dollar'.
    On the Cayes however, the pace is slower, and the people seem friendlier by and large.
    The grabbiness of Belize City isn't as photogenic or even 'exotic' as some places in South East Asia for example. The damp weather didn't help but the atmosphere picked up a great deal when the Christmas parade went through the town.
    Caye Caulker was the highlight for me - sun, sand and snorkelling.
    But oh, what a palaver of a ride to Bacalar over the border in Mexico. We left Belize over an hour late because the bus was late arriving from its earlier trip. The faffing about at both borders with passports, form-filling and fees to pay for all manner of things. This was a rubbish journey with several stops and a change of bus.
    Bacalar could be a nice rest and change of pace. The town centre is welcoming: they've made a great effort with the Christmas decorations, and the restaurants, bars etc in the main square have a pleasant look about them. It's a sham my digs are a 30 minute walk from the town centre and the lagoon, but I think it's going to be okay.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Bacalar, Mexico 20th Dec. '24

    December 20, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Christmas is looming, there's festivities in the air.
    The main square next to the Fuerte de San Felipe (fort) in the centre of the town is where the decorations are being readied.
    Bacalar in the daylight is a really pleasant town; not so large that you'd easily label it a city. There's a grid system of 'calles' crossed with a few major avenues. Getting lost should be difficult, but I'm giving it my best.
    My major problem here is getting hold of Mexican Pesos: The ATM has restricted my withdrawals for some reason, and the bank will only change US dollars and not the Belize currency I still have.
    Otherwise, it's getting hot towards midday, the lagoon looks very inviting, so I might book a short boat trip soon.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Bacalar, 21st Dec. '24

    December 21, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Yes, Bacalar's a really nice town. It has a relaxed, friendly feel to it. The people seem cheerful and welcoming, and the sun comes out when the morning clouds have lifted.
    In the morning I conquered the task of buying my onward bus ticket to Tulum, up the coast of the Yukatan. Then I booked a boat trip around the lagoon and surrounding area for tomorrow. Not only this, but I managed to squeeze some cash out of one of the ATMs.
    Hoorah! Result.
    I'm fed and watered and ready for anything.
    Ice cream flavour of the day? Passion Fruit. Mmmm, shame about the seeds though.
    It's Saturday today, but you wouldn't know it. The streets are almost empty of people, the shops are quiet - bar the souvenir shops/stalls that seem to stay open all the time. Around 6pm the town comes alive though. The Christmas lights come on, pop-up stalls selling food and trinkets emerge around the main square, and the town looks pretty again
    I bought some kind of yoghurt and fruit and absentmindedly left them in the supermarket. Doh!    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Bacalar Lagoon Boat Trip, 22nd Dec.

    December 22, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Bacalar is a very 'comfortable' town. It fits just nicely. It's walkable and easy to find your way around. The mornings are a bit grey, until that is the sun pokes its head out. Then even in December it's toasty warm.
    Today I had a boat trip around the lagoon planned. After a nice leisurely morning I made my way to the arranged meeting place on a jetty. The people running the trip were again really pleasant, including the boat skipper, Augustin; a lot like just about everyone in Bacalar.
    Besides me there's a Japanese/Canadian mother and her two sons, and an American family. The lagoon is quite narrow but very long. I'd say it was swimmable, because the water is shallow, warm and as blue as anything I've ever seen. It's stunning at eye-level and the shots I've seen from drones are gorgeous.
    We had stops at four locations around the lagoon: one more or less in the middle, which was strange in itself because we could stand up in waist-deep (brackish) water.The next stop was a little hard to make out at the water level - the entrance to 'Canal de los Pirates', where there was a semi-derelict building part submerged in the middle. The next I think was 'Cenote (hole) Negro', which is where a shelf in the lagoon's floor drops suddenly from a metre depth to 63 metres. (We weren't allowed to swim.)
    The last stop was (I think) at 'Cenote Conchalitos' where we could see the underground river water bubbling out of the shoreline into the lagoon: odd but interesting-ish.
    Today could well be the highlight of my stay in Bacalar.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    I bought boat. It's dooerupper but they threw in the trailer. Literally threw it in.There are definitely Mennonites in town.Its these fellas and the dogs that wake me up every morning.

    Bacalar, Monday 23rd Dec. '24

    December 23, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The dogs, the bloody dogs. If it isn't them barking at each other when their mood shifts, it's the cockerels trying to out-cockadoodle-doo each other. No wonder there's so many eggs in the shops.
    Once I get up and out for the day, I know it's going to be a quiet one. The sky is a bit grey and it's slightly cool. By 10am though, the sun has poked its head out and the temperature has risen. The town is quiet, there's not much happening in the restaurants around the main square, and it feels like a continuation of Sunday.
    According to the helpful young lady on the 'tourist information' stand, there are the boat trips and not much else to do in Bacalar. I might have to rent a kayak and pootle around the lagoon tomorrow. Apparently there's an 'ecological park' opened up just recently, which I had a quick look at whilst passing, so I might have to have a closer look over the next few days.
    Christmas is almost here and it looks like the main square will be where it's all happening. We'll see.
    A quiet day of eating and reading, so few photos to show for it.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    More Mennonites.Dogs, bloody dogs everywhere.

    Christmas Eve 2024, Bacalar, Mexico

    December 24, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Here I am; Christmas Eve in a foreign country. The weather is strange and doesn't feel like December at all. It's late afternoon and the clouds have covered the sun so that it's now muggy and warm. Earlier this afternoon it was genuinely hot and gloriously sunny.
    I spent the morning and midday down at what's called the 'muelle ecologico', (trans. ecological dock), which is a kind of a wooded area with a boardwalk through the various trees and mangroves leading down to the lagoon. It's really pretty good so I'll have to come back for a swim before I leave.
    The horsey lady who runs the place I'm staying in has invited the guests to go down into town this evening. The instructions sound odd but possibly fun: bring some food and wear an 'ugly' jumper. How dare she? That's dangerously close to a comment on my fashion sense. I find a hideous t-shirt which'll have to do.
    In the heat of midday, I find a park bench and finish reading Toni Morrison's novel 'Beloved'. It's magnificent and I want to read more by her.
    Sorry, but the photos are a bit thin today. Maybe I'm getting to the point of having shot everything I think might be of interest, or I'm having too much fun, or it's time to leave. A bit of each I suppose.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler

    Bacaler, Mexico, Christmas

    Dec 25–26, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    The morning after the night before. The woman who runs the place I'm staying in made a surprise invitation to a Christmas Eve party. Well, art was the best one on offer, so I went. The instructions were 'wear an ugly jumper (easily done) and bring some food (not so easy).
    About a mile away, the party was good though: food and drink, games, a little bit of dancing, and chat until about 1:45am when I had to head back for some kip.
    Amazingly, there are still a few cafe's, restaurants and 'tours' businesses open on Christmas Day, but understandably few people about. Everything feels 'sluggish' but 'calm'.
    I reckon it must be the New Year celebrations that are being geared up for in the town centre.    Read more

  • Gavin WilsonSouth America 2024Traveler
    Restaurant built out of old trucks.

    Last Full Day in Bacalar, 26th Dec. '24

    December 26, 2024 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    It's almost time to leave Bacalar, and about time to reflect on my time here.
    Bacalar's a pleasant town, quite pretty in parts. For a few blocks around the main square next to 'Fuerte de San Filipe (the fort) it's a nice place to wander around. Unfortunately, some days this is just about all there is to do in Balcalar.
    The lagoon is the primary reason people visit Bacalar. It's the main tourist draw and it's a sensational thing in itself; unique in my experience and very beautiful. I did one of the recommended,ended boat trips and it was interesting and really good fun. Lately, I very nearly booked on another to fill a day. Someone also recommended visiting a place south of the town called Los Rapidos - a part of the lagoon system where the current feeding it is a little stronger - so I looked into it. I would have had to walk to the main bus terminus, get a 'colectivo' (public bus) to the area, then walk the rest of the way to the entrance to Los Rapidos. Unfortunately, there would have then been an admission charge (often double for tourists) for everything whilst there: snorkelling, sunbathing and food/drinks of course. It would probably entail a taxi back. I decided not to bother going.
    My point is partly that Bacalar feeds off tourism, so that almost everything entails a charge: toilets, getting near the lagoon, the ecological garden, the few stone walls of the fuerte, and so on.
    This is disappointing if understandable. Anyone on a budget (me) is caught either doing similar things repeatedly or shelling out lots of pesos for 'distractions'.
    On the positive side of things, the town is relaxed, the people are friendly and the weather is mostly warm and dry.
    You might notice that my photos are drying up a bit. I seem to have got to a point where I feel that experiencing Bacalar via a lens is unsatisfactory. I know the saying goes "take only photographs, leave only footprints" or some such, but the memories will have to suffice.
    It's been a lovely few days, and now it's almost time to head north to Tulum.    Read more

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