While I wish I could say that our concerns about our room were unnecessary and unfair...the truth is that as we bid farewell to our Nescafe scented room in Felipe we can hardly wait to get on the road again. In fact, this is the earliest we've been up in months! We were showered and out the door by 8:00 - about two hours earlier than what has become our standard norm. While my night was spent tossing and turning it doesn't compare to Lynda's at all. When she tried to roll over at about 5 this morning and found she couldn't as she was stuck to the bed...I'm thinking she would have had a moment of panic. The reason she was stuck to her bed was that she had tossed and turned so much that her bottom sheet had completely untucked (they hardly ever have fitted sheets here) and she was laying right on the plastic mattress cover. I guess it is good that there was a mattress cover but...once the lights were on you could see that there were more tears in the plastic than there was plastic left to cover the padding. It was really disgusting and she may have nightmares about it for years to come! I know I would! We figure that she must have been on a new mattress so that was why it had that cover on it. (at least that is what we're going to say so she feels a little bit better about what she was sleeping on. LOL!!
There was no exterior window in our room (which is part of the reason that it smelled so bad I'm sure) and so we just kept checking our watches all night long until it was late enough that we could get up and leave without it still being dark. So...at 8:00 we were off but to get outside the hotel we had to use Lynda's headlamp to find our way out of the hotel! We were down a hallway at the back of the building which was good in one way as it had been very quiet all night and in comparison to the roosters and ADO announcements we'd become used to in Valladolid..this was actually kind of a treat. But....to have to use a flashlight to find your way out of your hotel...now that's taking it a little too far. Once outside the hotel, we were welcomed by a bright sunny morning and the "welcome" went far beyond that too! Where we thought we could just make a quick get-away...we discovered that the police had the block we were parked in (in front of the hotel) all blocked off. It seems there was a celebration underway and so...given that we were "hostages" we walked to the end of the block where the police band was just finishing up and the chief was preparing to do an inspection of the ranks. The police were all lined up (except for the guy who was at the other end of the street blocking our escape route out of town!) and it appeared that everyone passed inspection as it wasn't too long before they broke ranks and traffic was allowed to move again. When we asked the reason for these formalities we learned it was in honour of the spring solstice...go figure!
Once we were "free to go" (ie: the roadblocks were removed) we headed south again with a plan to make our way to Bacalar (just north of Chetumal and the border to Belize) The drive south was uneventful and we enjoyed a breakfast of cookies that we'd purchased the night before while we were walking around Felipe. We arrived in Bacalar just after 10 a.m. and knew right away that this night would be better than the last one.
To that end...here I sit on our private balcony looking out over the Bacalar Lagoon, a fresh water lagoon (cenote or lake), that is absolutely GORGEOUS! It is a dozen shades of blue and the breeze is blowing in off the water so there will be no need for AC in the room tonight. There are louvered and screened windows that open so it will be like sleeping outside. Sigh....yep....this feels like the good thing that comes to those who wait (and last night we were waiting!)
Our room has a little fridge so we've stocked up with some cereal and milk, bananas, a few cookies and some chips..... and of course we have set up a little bar that is home to a bottle of tequila and some squirt too. We spent a couple of hours this afternoon laying by the pool that also affords a view of the magnificent lagoon (that we may go swim in tomorrow but the pool is just so darn handy as it is very close to our room). Tonight we are planning to join in the festivities at the other end of town (thank heavens we have a car!). They are celebrating the spring solstice and the event that is calling us starts at 11 pm tonight. It is a reggae/rock concert in a park and I'm thinking that although it may be a little blue with the smoke that will be hanging in the air...it's going to be a fun show to see!
Bacalar is just as we had hoped...there are very few tourists and those who are here are more local or more typical of 'off the beaten path' type places. We are booked in here for three nights and based on this afternoon...that might turn into 4 or maybe even 5. We also lucked out here as Lynda was able to negotiate a really good rate for us at the Hotel Laguna Bacalar. It was supposed to be $1040 pesos but in the end we got it for $850/night. That works out to be $70 CAD/night or $35/each folks! (insert smiley faces here!!)
We've already had one tequila and fresh pineapple juice (which we bought off a guy pedalling his bike with a barrel of aqua de pina on the front of it) and are just finishing off a tequila and squirt. We could afford to "splurge a little on our room here as we're saving so much on our beverages! Our bottle of tequila cost $150 pesos ($12.50 CAD) and no it's not rot gut...it is El Jimador Reposado so while it's not top of the line....you don't need top of the line when you're mixing it with squirt! LOL!
Better wrap this up as it will soon be time to go for dinner....hmmmmm.....I'm thinking camarones (shrimp) as we sit here on the edge of the mar (sea).
till next time,
L & L
p.s.
here is snap of our view taken from inside our room in Bacalar.
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