Thursday, March 10, 2022

Today I found the best place of my trip so far. Cocalito’s cenotes. This place is beautiful. It’s a little south of town and requires 50 pesos for entry. But it has bathrooms, a restaurant, and most importantly and incredible view and entry into the lagoon. It’s impossible not to be relaxed here. I took a short nap, then made my way out into the water. I probably got about 60 yards off the beach and the water was only to my waist. There are sections roped off for the stromatolites, one of the oldest living organisms on the earth. Everything is utterly beautiful.

Cocalitas built a swing set and hammocks in the shallow areas of the water. These are incredibly popular for photos however the 1 minute I spent in the hammock nearly made me seasick. No wonder it isn’t difficult to get a hammock!

Taxi

I’m pretty proud of myself for getting here on my own. After being able to rely on Deb and Jess in Merida and Nina here in Bacalar, I’ve been able to tag along without having to rely on my inept Spanish. Cocolitas is about 4 km from where I’m staying and Uber and Didi do not operate here. So I knew I had to bite the bullet. I went down to the popular area in town and waited until I saw a taxi without a passenger. I flagged him down, said, “cocolitas” and “cuanta?” (how much). He replied with a number that I correctly guessed was 60. It may not sound like a lot but that little interaction was a big relief and a small confidence booster. I’m going to have to get comfortable being bad at Spanish because there’s no alternative for me right now. It even has me motivated to learn more Spanish after this trip.

After a full afternoon sunbathing, I overheard a couple speaking English while they packed up to leave. I asked if I could share a taxi with them and they obliged. I’m grateful they did because we were out in the boonies and I would have had to call a taxi company to pick me up – which would have been a disaster since I can’t communicate more than 10 words. The couple was from Toronto. She called for a taxi with passable Spanish, we split the 80 peso fare, and headed our separate ways.

First Day

This morning was my first day as Project Manager at my contract job. I slept terribly because I had anxiety about my new role. But day one went well and I’m trying not to get too excited about the prospects of becoming a legit digital nomad. It’s too soon to start counting any chickens. But I can’t help but get excited about the thought of being able to travel while working. Just another facet that has me so happy with the way my life is going. We really are our own limiting factors.

Red

When I got to my Airbnb I noticed my eyelids were red. I thought maybe it was because I was hot. I took a cold shower, then popped my head out and they were still red. I didn’t know you could burn your eyelids. All day at the lagoon I slathered on 50 SPF sunscreen to keep from burning. The sun is incredibly intense here. But I have never put sunscreen on my eyelids before. I guess I’ll have to do that while I’m here. And the other spots I missed are equally obvious. When I caught up with my parents via Google Meet later that night, my mom could see they were burnt even though she was on her phone. Guess I won’t be able to hide it.

Daily Expenses

Amounts in Mexican Pesos