I continue to talk about my own.

For the second time, it turns out that I come to a small Mexican city in the middle of nowhere without expecting anything special, and here there are so many surprises at once.

The first time was when I got to the festival and danced with boots in national costumes.

Now I will tell you about Bachelor Is a town near the Belize border. Few people get here, because a 5-hour bus ride from the beach party is too long for today's young people who are prone to drinking and partying. But I like places like this, where foreign tourists do not step foot so often.

The bachelor is famous for being here Lagoon Bacalar(Laguna Bacalar) or Laguna of 7 colors.

It is actually a lake with bright blue water. It is believed that seven different shades of blue can be distinguished in the water. I saw 4, and that's good. In fact, the water in the Lagoon looks like sea water.

Impressive. We were there during the Easter holidays, so the coastal restaurants were crowded with Mexican families and were generally crowded. Highly.

The shores of the lake are slightly dusted with garbage, or the grass grows dirty, so you can't jump right in

But if you walk a little along such bridges, located in several places along the perimeter of the lake, you can feel all the charm of warm blue water, white sand under your feet and children splashing around

The town of Bacalar itself is quite small, rather even a village. It reminded me very much of the Filipino one. The same roosters are singing, the same dogs are resting on the roads.

In the center of Zocalo, as usual.

But from the unusual fort here, which in ancient times the Spaniards used as a defense against numerous pirate attacks. Everyone remembers the pirates Caribbean, Yes?

But in the evening it was just ATAS! A festival dedicated to the 100th anniversary of some kind of protest. At first there were songs about Bacalar, about 10 of them, but in a big way, which is heard in every corner of the city. And then a Mayan costume show.

Scenes of making fire, sacrificing a girl, saving a child from predators, domination of a man over a woman. Generally fly away! Well done guys! Mexico well, e-mine!

All this was accompanied by frightening music, drums, rattles, hisses, squeals and other screams. Really space !!!

I've never seen anything like it. It was especially unexpected to find such a show in a tiny town, and even free. Eh, Mexicans know how to arrange holidays, whatever you say.

And then there were dances to the groovy Latin live music. The guys played just beyond the brink of fantasy, and there I already went into a rage and showed everyone how to twist the booty.

In the morning of the next day, we again went to the Bacalar Lagoon for a swim, until the cheerful vacationers came running.

There are several places that will relieve you of boredom if you suddenly get tired of lying on the beach and don't want to go too far. As an example, we will take two exciting boat trips at once.

Island of Women (Isla Mujeres).

First we will go to Isla Mujeres ("The Island of Women"), which is only half an hour by ferry from the city. It is a small island with an area of ​​1,100 km² with a population of just over 16,000. On the map, it resembles a dried fish.

I came here on a tourist boat as part of a snorkeling tour. Snorkeling, however, was boring, but I enjoyed myself a lot boat trip and managed to see the island during our two-hour stop. You can easily get here on your own.

How to get to the Island of Women: by ferry Ultramar. There are several departure terminals in Cancun; prices are for one way / round trip (for 2017).

From Puerto Juarez Port

• Departure address: López Portillo SM-84 M-5 L-6 Puerto Juárez
• there: every half hour 5: 00-21: 30, 22:30, 23:30
• back: every half hour 5: 30-21: 30, 22:00, 23:00, 00:00
• cost: adults - 100/200 pesos, children - 80/150 pesos.

From Playa Tortugas Beach in the Hotel Zone

• Departure address: Playa Tortugas, Blvd.Kukulcán km 6.5, Zona Hotelera
• there: every hour 9: 00-14: 00, 16: 00-18: 00, 19:15, 20:30
• back: every hour 9: 30-13: 30, 15: 30-17: 30, 18:45, 20:00, 21:15

From El Embarcadero Port in the Hotel Zone

• Departure address: El Embarcadero, Blvd.Kukulcán km 4, Zona Hotelera
• there: 9:15, 10:30, 11:45, 13:00, 14:15, 16:30, 18:15, 19:30, 20:45
• back: 9:45, 11:00, 12:15, 13:30, 16:00, 17:15, 18:45, 20:00, 21:15
• cost: adults $ 14/19, children $ 8/12.

From Playa Caracol Beach in the Hotel Zone

• Departure address: Playa Caracol, Blvd.Kukulcán km 9.5, Zona Hotelera
• there: 9:00, 10:15, 11:30, 12:45, 14:00, 16:45
• back: 9:45, 11:00, 12:15, 13:30, 16:00, 17:15
• cost: adults $ 14/19, children $ 8/12.

Pier at Isla Mujeres.

The Island of Women is quite small, it consists of a central street and several public beaches. There are also hotels for guests here. We immediately went for a walk around the neighborhood, so as not to waste time. Welcome to main street islands!

As expected, it is crammed with a string of cafes, bars, gift shops and stalls with all sorts of personal belongings.

Cheerful bar on the main street. Try Mexican Viagra!

Isle of Women got this title due to the fact that when it was discovered by the Spaniards, many female figures from the Mayan times were found here, depicting the goddess of fertility and medicine. The theme of Maya and Aztecs is well revealed on the souvenir stalls of Isla Mujeres. As you have already noticed, various figurines and dishes are sold here in the form of skulls beloved by these cultures. And here is the bench with the Lady Turtle.

And one more, this time with a brutal Mexican.

Most of the houses on the island are blue-white and blue-white, which looks very organic and makes you think of the sea.

To get around Isla Mujeres, you can rent a golf cart or a moped. We met both those and others at almost every step.

We also saw many tourists walking around with coconuts, from which they drink juice through a straw. We didn't have enough time to find a magic tent with this heavenly delight, but we did find a shop selling delicious coconut ice cream. Then, turning into another street, we came across a local school.

What else to see on the Island of Women:

• Several lighthouses.
• Mexican cemetery. It sounds gloomy for a vacation, but if we knew in advance, we would definitely look here: his photos on the Internet give out the unusual shapes of the multi-colored tombstones typical for Mexico.
• One of the parts is located not far from the island. It was here that we swam with masks and snorkels. And the reason why I was not enthusiastic about snorkeling is the always urging guide and poor visibility of the underwater statues from the surface. Better to scuba dive.
• You can dive with whale sharks, swim with dolphins, go downhill cable car or visit a turtle farm.
• Museum of Captain Dulce, dedicated to the sea and navigation.
• One and several beaches. Many advise North beach(Playa Norte).
• Ice Bar on the beach of Tiburon (Playa Tiburon). Its interior is completely made of ice, which is rather strange in hot Mexico. I visited a similar place in Amsterdam, it was fun.

Here are some shots from Tiburon Beach, where our group stopped for lunch. The water here is dirty, I would not swim in it, but the sand is white and white. I made a couple of shots from the "heavenly delight" series. Since I had not found a coconut with juice, I photographed real coconuts.

Laguna Nichupté.

One of the features of Mexican nature is its mangrove trees, which grow right next to the water, creating enchanting views along the shores of quiet lagoons and bodies of water. The nearest mangroves can be seen on the Island of Women in the beach areas, and in Cancun along the Hotel Zone. But I saw the real beauty in the spacious Nichupte lagoon, which this Zone goes around in the form of the number "7".

My second snorkeling trip began with it, when we went to the open sea through Nichupte. The water in the lagoon is fresh. As the guides say, it is warmer here than in the sea due to underwater sources that heat the lagoon from below. On its banks there are restaurants and small docks for boats.

I fell in love at first sight.

Light breeze, serene view, mysterious mangroves, beauty!

In Nichupta Lagoon you can do aquatic species sports - windsurfing, kayaking, and others.

Photo reports and reviews about the trip and visiting the sights of Laguna Nichupte. Photo report of Nichupte Lagoon, history, where is

Laguna Nichupte: detailed information

Among the Mexican natural attractions, the Nichupte Lagoon is often mentioned. it beautiful place located in Cancun. Picturesque mangroves grow here, large fish and crocodiles are found in warm waters, which are warned about by signs. There are cafes and restaurants along the coast, as well as rental equipment for outdoor activities.

The most popular activities in the waters of Nichupte are diving and snorkeling, water skiing and fishing. Spend romantic evening on the beach to admire the incredibly beautiful Caribbean sunset. There are numerous excursion tours from local residents, for example:

The Jungle Tour, a guided boat tour of the jungle, is highly sought after by first-time travelers. You will see beautiful landscapes and also learn a lot about the local flora and fauna.

The glass bottom boat trip is especially suitable for families with children. You will go to a coral reef and admire the underwater inhabitants without getting your feet wet.

A thematic ride on an 18th century Spanish galleon - an entertainment cruise with full immersion in the era of piracy.

Fishing - the waters of the lagoon are a natural nursery for fish, there are quite large specimens (10-12 kg). Try the way to catch locals - with your bare hands.

Book a hotel in Cancun, Kancun

• Review for Cancun We rested with my wife for 11 days in Mexico. Picked up a hotel in Biblio-Globus. I liked TANKAH HOTEL 3 * both outside and inside. Registration was quick. We were placed in a room that had even more than necessary. In particular - air conditioning, safe, TV, bathroom. The hotel also has wi-fi. My wife and I really liked it, because the room is really very comfortable and cozy. The staff also played an important role in this. It must be admitted that cleanliness is monitored here. An important role ... 18 February 2014
• Review to I have long wanted to visit Mexico, drive through several cities ... But it turned out spontaneously and mostly beach vacation, but I did not regret it at all, because I was a good company :) The Caribbean Sea is simply magical, turquoise and clean, the sand is fine, white and does not heat up. There were waves in our part of Cancun's tourist spit, but we enjoyed jumping on them. I hunted for iguanas, pelicans and crocodiles the whole trip. Crocodiles are found in the Nichupta lagoon, the exit to which was just at our hotel. V... March 30, 2014
• Review of Gran Melia Cancun Beach & Spa April 7, 2012
• Review to Offensive The Gran Melia Cancun 5 * hotel in Mexico is a claim to be very steep !!! He is beautiful and even pretentious. BUT!!! We lived in pyramid number 5 (vip), in a standard room. The rooms are gorgeous, very comfortably furnished. They have everything: a large bed, a sofa with a coffee table, two chairs with a table, a large plasma screen, a gorgeous balcony with two sun loungers and a table, an ironing board with an iron. The view from the balcony to the Caribbean Sea is something unimaginable that can only be understood by seeing. A bit difficult ... April 14, 2012
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Looking at Cancun, it's hard to believe that 40 years ago it was all forgotten island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, washed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea, on which only coconut trees grew.

Until the then government of Mexico waved its hand and proclaimed: "There will be a resort garden city, but more abruptly Acapulco." (You can see what the city of Acapulco was like in the 1963 movie "Fun in Acapulco" starring Elvis himself). They took $ 27 million from American bourgeois bankers and decided to conquer nature. And excavators howled, and trucks with sand went to build a road that connected the island with the mainland. Then they added an airport, hotels ... And they brought in large numbers of labor and tourists. Oh, no, the labor force was brought in before the tourists, but how would it be built.

By the beginning of construction on January 23, 1970, at Isla Cancun only three people lived who looked after Don José's coconut plantation (Don José de Jesús Lima Gutiérrez). Another 117 people lived in the fishing village of Puerto Juarez. Besides them and military base, there was only forest and sea. Cancun became the first "Turnkey Cities" project. For the arriving workers, houses, kindergartens, schools and other infrastructure were immediately built on the site of the former jungle. And now the population of Cancun has exceeded half a million people, not counting the three million annual tourists.

Despite the fact that we have been living in the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula for a long time, and have already visited all the surrounding taverns of the island, cities, towns, villages, climbed the jungle and swam the sea, there was never a particular desire to go to Cancun. Because for me Cancun was, first of all, a big city with a big airport(I have a small one behind the house in Playa del Carmen) and very large houses on the beach. I saw them from afar and was already afraid, because it was known for sure that there was not at all like in Rio de Janeiro. If I had my own car, perhaps everything would have been easier. But the rarest trips to Cancun "on business" - to pay for tickets to Havana or to look for the mysterious Russian consulate - were limited to a couple of hours.

And this time, business brought us to Cancun again... As many as three.

1. The Monster High doll, which I generously agreed to buy begged for Ramona, was sold out in all the shops of Playa del Carmen. And we decided to go to look for her in the big city of Cancun, "in which she is definitely there, because everything is there - this is Cancun."
2. Meet Baba Zoya at the Cancun airport,.
3. And between these two most important things - after all, take a look at what kind of beaches there are so as not to look completely wild in the eyes of people who rent housing "on the first line with a view."

And we got on the ADO bus, which in 1 hour and 45 pesos brought us from Playa del Carmen to Big city. Cancun is divided into two parts - Downtown and Zona Hotelera, which are as different as heaven and earth.

Both parts of Cancun are linked bus routes R1 and R2, priced at 8.5 pesos. Well, that's why 8.5 and not 8 or not 9 ?! The most interesting thing is that in order not to pay for children (which I never do in Playa), it turns out that you have to carry them into the transport on your hands, holding them high above your head, in order to avoid being counted by the secret passenger counter, which is bolted at the entrance.

Everything is much cheaper in Downtown (El centro), there are giant supermarkets, bus station, inexpensive hotels and cafes, in a word - almost real Mexico.

The Cancun hotel zone is home to giant all-inclusive hotels, bars, discos, and sky-high price tags, often quoted in US dollars. And so that tourists do not forget where they are, sombreros are hung everywhere.

The hotel area itself has the shape of a sausage (it seems, it was already somewhere), sausages in the form of a number 7, 23 km long, which is kindly separated from the mainland by a huge (3000 hectares) Laguna Nichupté. The Nichupte lagoon is connected to the sea by two canals (Siegfried and Nizuc) and consists of seven other lagoons. It was Nichupte who was the biggest secret prepared for us by Cancun... The beach turned out to be good there, despite the terribly overhanging buildings built for tourists to sleep and eat. But when we crossed to the other side of the highway ... We were simply nailed to the spot by the sight of mangroves, shining like glass of transparent water and sunset in the whole sky. I can't understand why no one has ever told us what a miracle this lagoon in Cancun is, what sunsets there are. How great it must be to ride a boat there, stroking the crocodiles.

Having hardly pulled away from the contemplation of such beauty, we rushed back. More precisely, not back, but to the airport, where my grandmother with dryers and buckwheat, but without a phone number and an address, was sadly waiting for us for 20 minutes, coming up with a backup plan. Taking her, we went to our darling, undersized, and because.

The Yucatan Peninsula is home to the largest population of crocodiles and alligators in Mexico. The main 3 types: Sharp-pointed,Crocodile caiman and Central American crocodile... All of the above are found in the Nichupta lagoon, which lies on one side of the Cancun hotel zone. On the road passing around the lagoon, there are many signs warning unwary tourists about the danger:

From time to time, bloody articles are published in local newspapers, screaming about the torn bodies of local residents, about the bitten limbs of tourists who have lost their guard while feeding a reptile. Accidents happen most often on Fridays or Saturdays, when ordinary Mexicans, after a hard working week, decide to relax and drink some beer, after which they often fall asleep by the lagoon in the mangroves until the morning. As you already understood, not everyone wakes up ...

In August 2014, 3 torn up corpses were found in the hotel area near the Cancun lagoon. Two Mexicans and a Canadian. According to rumors, Russian tourists themselves catch crocodiles at night.

Our crocodiles are mainly activated at sunset and stay awake until the morning. If you decide to walk in the evening and watch the sunset on the lagoon, be careful near the water. And of course, you should only swim if the light is no longer pleasant to you.

For those wishing to see these amazing reptiles in the area, I would recommend a few good places:

• Rio Lagartos nature reserve
• Biosphere Celestun
• CrocoCun Zoo
• Punta Sur Nature Reserve on Cozumel Island:

In the Punta Sur nature reserve, on the island of Cozumel, after 4 pm there is a daily evacuation of tourists. At sunset, the caimans run from the cooling swamps into the ocean via the main road that runs along the beaches to spend the night at sea. The fact is that local alligators can live in both fresh and salt water. At dawn, the caimans flee from the sea back across the road to their sun-warming swamps.

An extreme option to see the caimans for thrill-seekers

About an hour after sunset, crocodiles reach their peak of activity. At this time, they are interested in everything that moves or makes interesting (not sharp) sounds. You need a powerful lantern and a place to walk to the edge of salty swamps such as those surrounding Nipchute Lagoon in Cancun or near Puerto Morelos.

The place where we usually see crocodiles at night in Puerto Morelos:

Process

• You need to quietly walk to the edge of the water and illuminate the surface of the water at a distance of about 70 meters
• If you see two burning dots above the surface of the water, these are most likely the eyes of crocodiles.
• You need to make the following sound:

• After that, just wait, after about 10 minutes you will see how two burning dots begin to approach you
• You just need to calmly wait until the crocodile gets close to you at a distance of 5 and / 3 meters. At this time, crocodiles usually go under the water in order to quietly swim closer to you and then grab you by jumping out from under the water. I advise you not to wait for this moment and calmly move away from the shore.

The places listed above

Types of our crocodiles

Sea cows from the Belize and Banco Chinchorro regions of Mexico.