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For me, there are two different Mexicos. The first is the country friends have visited on their honeymoons and Caribbean cruises. This Mexico is a colorful, neon-lit, round-the-clock beach party, full of laughter and margaritas. Then there is my father’s Mexico, the one he would visit when leading college biology students on six-week study trips through a rough, green and brown landscape thick with mosquitoes, humidity, blossoming banana trees and tropical birds.
I went looking for a third Mexico—my own. When I began planning the trip, it was easy to pick my dad as a traveling companion, and it was even easier to pick Rancho Encantado as our headquarters for the week. I could instantly picture myself in one of their thatched-roof casitas, just steps from the shore of Laguna Bacalar. On our arrival, I wade out into this beautiful body of water—it’s crystal-clear, with a sandy bottom, and warm as a bath.
The Rancho is in a spot Dad dubs “Off-Broadway.” Amid small villages and expanses of farmland, the lake lacks noisy speedboats and buzzing Jet Skis. Instead, the waves lapping the shore of the lake create a soothing, 24-hour-a-day soundtrack. In the evening, we listen to the repetitive hooting of a pygmy owl in the palm trees and the clicking call of geckos in the thatched palm roof.
The flashiest amenities at this U.S. expatriate–owned resort are the lakeside hot tub and spa treatments. Simplicity pervades everything else: soft cotton bedspreads, Guatemalan curtains and terra-cotta tiling in the cabanas; local plants like bromeliads and hibiscus landscaping the grounds; a dining room pavilion open to the lake breezes; and a thatched shelter on the end of the pier, where I learn the art of rocking in a Yucatecan hammock.
The Yucatán Peninsula was part of the kingdom of the ancient Maya, and tour guide Luis Tellez drives us from the Rancho to Kohunlich—one of many archaeological sites in the area, and one famous for a temple decorated with huge stone masks, each about 8 feet tall. Luis is also a naturalist, so he mixes ornithology with anthropology, giving Dad the chance to spot birds with his binoculars.
A picture of my Mexico is coming into focus, but I tell Dad it won’t be complete without some shopping. I discover that downtown Chetumal has more shoe stores—zapaterias—than an American megamall, as well as a large fabric emporium, some tempting clothing boutiques and an engaging bookstore. Dad searches hard for postcards—a rare commodity in this “Off-Broadway”town.
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But before long, we want to leave the city heat for the cool breezes at the Rancho. The lake has quietly become the center of my Mexico, a country where tropical heat slows the pace of the days, compels me to relax and gives me time to notice details. It’s not flashy and neon-lit, but it’s not rough and rugged, either. It’s somewhere in between. Which, I think as I’m swimming in the lake and watching two snail kites fly over head, is just right.
LOCATION South of the “Riviera Maya,”Rancho Encantado is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Cancún International Airport.
WEATHER You’re in the tropics, so it’s warm and humid. Highs are in the 80s F (27–32 C) by day, high 60–70s F (16–26 C) by night. Rain showers are quite possible.
ACCOMMODATIONS The resort has a dozen lakeside or garden casitas that sleep two to six people. They’re cooled the old-fashioned way—with blinds to keep out the bright daytime sun and fans to circulate the nighttime air.
WHAT TO DO The resort offers guided archaeological and nature tours. On site, you can rent a kayak, have a spa treatment, or take a day trip into Chetumal or other surrounding towns.
GEAR Bring swim and snorkel equipment for the water, casual clothes for dining.
MONEY Off-season rates apply through November 14: US$105–US$220 per night for two. Winter season rates apply November 15–April 30: US$150– US$245 per night for two. Breakfast and dinner are included.
INFO Rancho Encantado, Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico; 800-505-6292 or 505-894-7074 (from the United States); www.encantado.com.—B.W.
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