MOUNTAIN BIKE TRIPS

[These trips will be available when Camp Toucan starts operating.]

The mountain bike trails around Bacalar aren’t in actual mountains, but instead are tropical trails that are hilly and bumpy in some places, while being flat (and sometimes muddy) in other places. In some places they are shaded by large trees, while in other places they go through open fields.

The mountain bike guide will outfit you with a bike for your size, making adjustments as needed, and will take along tools, drinks, snacks, lunch, and a first aid kit. 

For each mountain bike trip, we meet in the Bacalar plaza at 7:45, then make sure everyone is outfitted with a bike and ready for the day, then depart. (Please note the different departure times for different Camp Toucan activities, due to the different activities involved.) We meet in front of La Tartaleta Panaderia, a small bakery where you can get a quick breakfast before departure, which opens at 7:00. (In the middle of the block along the west side of the plaza, next to the Palacio Municipal city government building.)

After biking through the morning, we stop for an early outdoor lunch (included in the trip). After a short rest, we continue biking. Later in the afternoon, we get back to the plaza in Bacalar in time to meet up with your friends and family for Social Hour, with a drink and appetizer (included in the trip).

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

There’s a different mountain bike trip for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. The trips early in the week are shorter and easier, while the trips later in the week are longer and more advanced, as follows:

Monday: Mountain Bike trip 1, routes around Bacalar. 

(About 12 kilometers, a kilometer being 62 percent of a mile.) Monday is the best day to get acquainted, get outfitted, and start biking, on a trip that is shorter and easier than the other bike trips later in the week. We meet in the main plaza in Bacalar at 7:45 and make sure everyone is outfitted with a bike and ready to ride. Then we bike as a group to points of interest around town, and the guide shows you which streets in Bacalar are best for biking. We then proceed to trails near town, including a place where you can take a quick dip in the lake to cool off, then continue biking. (Wet clothes will help keep you cooler in the tropical sun and warm breezes.) We’ll stop for an early outdoor lunch (included in the trip). We’ll get back to the Bacalar plaza in time to compare our experiences with other explorers during Social Hour, over a drink and appetizer (included in the trip).

Tuesday: Mountain Bike trip 2, to the Mennonite community.

(About 18 kilometers.) We meet in the plaza in Bacalar at 7:45, and make sure everyone on the trip is outfitted with a bike and ready to ride. After biking out of town, we continue west on a dirt road to the Mennonite community of Salamanca. Once in Salamanca, we’ll make a circuit on dirt roads through the community, watching for the horse-drawn buggies that the Mennonites drive. From the roads you will see life on the farms, and the traditional clothes that the Mennonite families wear, reminiscent of the 1800s. We’ll stop for an early outdoor lunch (included in the trip). Since we’ll be riding bikes rather than riding in cars (which the Mennonites avoid), there’s a chance of being allowed to bike into one of the farms, to take a closer look at farm and family life, in the shade of a family porch. Later we’ll stop at the community store, where you can get ice cream or a drink, and see the traditional tools and implements that the Mennonites use for farming and to maintain their horses and buggies, and also the bolts of fabric that they use to sew their traditional clothes at home. Then we’ll bike back to Bacalar, arriving in time for Social Hour with fellow travelers and friends, with a drink and an appetizer (included in the trip).

Friday: Mountain Bike trip 5, to Ichkabal and remote Mayan cabins.

(About 70 kilometers.) We meet in the main plaza in Bacalar at 7:45, and make sure everyone on the trip is outfitted and ready to ride. Then we bike west from Bacalar into the countryside, connecting to a trail through the jungle that passes small rural settlements, including a place where melipona stingless bees are kept to produce honey. We have an early outdoor lunch (included in the trip). When we get to the ancient Mayan ruins of Ichkabal, we walk on paths among tall trees to ancient temples and pyramids. You can climb to the top of two tall pyramids for views of the surrounding countryside, and explore the ancient temples nearby. Later we bike back to Bacalar, arriving in time for Social Hour in the plaza with family and friends, with a drink and appetizer (included in the trip).