Laguna Bacalar - lake of the seven colors - the second largest sweet water lake in Mexico is approximately 35 miles long. Still unpolluted (hopefully it will receive the protection it needs to stay that way) and pristine, it is an amazingly beautiful lake.

The colors can change hourly depending on the wind, the clouds, the weather, the day and the time of day. From green, to white, to browns, to the Caribbean blues, you can often count all 7 colors. Sometimes, it seems, there are more. It is fed by underground streams and cenotes, has many different depths (from under a foot to uncharted depths of the cenotes) and multiple bottoms (sand, rock, mush, mussel beds, reeds, limestone formations.) Rich with mangroves, birds and wild-life, the shores also host small hotels and lakeside homes.

Although the Pueblo of Bacalar has been declared a Pueblo Magico and tourism is being encouraged, the town still has a small town, out of the way, feel to it. Considered part of the Costa Maya, close to Belize and the Rio Bec Ruins, Bacalar is a lovely spot to enjoy for its own beauty as well as a super jumping off place for day trips.

There is a lot of history here in Bacalar. Called Bak'halal (surrounded by reeds) by the Mayan, Salamanca de Bacalar was founded in 1544 by a group of 28 Spaniards. Bacalar failed to develop as a colonial town and was soon abandoned.

In the 1670s interest was revived because of the British pirate presence in Belize and the fort of Bacalar, Fuerte de San Felipe de Bacalar, was built. (This structure still remains and hosts a wonderful museum that is not to be missed.) 700 migrants from the Canary Islands were brought in to establish a colony.

This colony thrived until the Caste War when in 1857 the Cross ordered a mass attack and the town fell to the Maya. Most soldiers and citizens were killed and the town was not reoccupied until 1901.

Bacalar celebrates Earth Day

Kite boarding on Laguna Bacalar

Cabana in Bacalar

Sunrise over Laguna Bacalar