Lake Bacalar - The Lake of 7 Colors

It's funny how I keep running into the same people everywhere I go. 

I met a German boy named Micha at my hostel back in Tulum. I had just arrived however it was his last day. He was a couple years older than me and had quit his job to do the same. We chatted briefly, exchanged some suggestions and he was off to Isle Holbox.

Lake Bacalar Mexico

My second day in Lake Bacalar I walked back into my room and there he was in the bunk below me. "Hey Colleen, how are you? How was the rest of your time in Tulum?"

Walking off the bus through Bacalar to find my hostel I passed a guy on the street that I had met in Isle Holbox "Hey Colleen, welcome to Bacalar!"

Here I am in a foreign country, by myself, passing people on the streets who call me by name. Its strange really, yet comforting to see a familiar face, although really no familiar at all as I know basically nothing about these people. Never the less, it makes you feel some sense of home. Like your welcome here, like someone knows you exist.

Lake Bacalar aka the Lake of 7 colors - An absolutely stunning lake located in a Mexican town called Bacalar, not to far from the Belize border.

So many shades of blue, it's hue is almost fluorescent. 

The town itself is TINY, has a couple restaurants and fruit stands. There is nothing to do there. It's really all about the lake. It's a place you go to relax and do nothing.

Brilliant - I'm in

The hostel was great, at only 4 months old and set right on the lake it was the nicest hostel I had been at yet. Everyone congregated on the back deck, allowing you to make friends easier than ever. Germans, Irish, Russian, Kiwi, Austrian, Israelis and more. I learned I know nothing about rugby, guess I should brush up on that...

All I did in Lake Bacalar was hang out on the deck chatting to whomever happened to be sitting next to me.

The highlight was a 4 hour sail trip around the lake. There were 4 of us: Katya, Tom, myself and Sven. We had a BLAST.

Captain Jaime first sailed us to a sand bank were you could lather yourself in clay, apparently it's good for your skin, who knows but we were in!

Second we went to Cenote Negro, a spot in the lake were it suddenly drops from shallow waters to 180 meters deep, causing the water to go from looking bright blue to completely black.

The final stop was a tiny island, surrounded by so many shades of blue water. Certainly justifying the nick name Lake of 7 colors.

The four of us waded in the waters and attempted a few under water shots on my go pro...

The final night at the hostel they had a BBQ on the back deck. It was delicious. I sat next to the German boy Micha. Over a couple hours and a few beers we swapped stories, thoughts, ideas and life back home.

He too is a couple weeks in to a year or so solo trip around the world.

Hearing him explain his thought process behind leaving his life, what he wanted out of his time on the road, and how he has felt since he has been out here rang a familiar tune. I think it was just nice to talk to someone who is so like-minded. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone, and there are people out here my age with the same goals, ideas and view on the world.

He's the first person I have met out here that I just feel like.. he gets it.

Plus I got to hear all about his Oktoberfest stories which only solidified the fact that I need to go!

I'm looking forward to all the others I meet along the way.

Now I am off to Caye Caulker, Belize. With a crew of 6 new friends from my hostel here in Bacalar that are headed the same way.

Check out Tom.. what a ladies man..

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