What you can see on the Bacalar cams
The cams are all on the western shore, in and just south of the town, so they look east across the lagoon. The views go from high above the town, over rooftops and trees to the long sheet of blue water, down to the water's edge at hotels and houses along the lakeside road, with wooden docks, palms, a swing in the shallows, a mangrove edge and the odd sailboat.
Bacalar from the town hall
From high on the town hall, this camera looks over the center of Bacalar toward the lagoon. Below lie the trees of the main square, a street with parked cars and colorful buildings, and strings of red, white and green papel picado in the corner; beyond the treetops the lagoon stretches across the picture in bands of pale turquoise and blue, with the far shore low on the horizon. Thin cables cross the image.
It is the only Bacalar cam that shows the town itself, and a good one for the weather over the lagoon. Webcams de México streams it.
Bacalar Lagoon from Hotel Laguna
From the curving white terraces of a lakeside hotel south of town, this camera looks out over a wide expanse of the lagoon. A palm and a few treetops edge the bottom of the picture; beyond them the water reaches the far shore, pale over the shallows close in and darker further out, with small green islands and the low line of the far shore at the top.
The picture can have a soft, pinkish tint, but it shows the sheer size of the lagoon better than the other cams. Webcams de México streams it, with the hotel's name in the corner.
Bacalar Lagoon from Amainah
Looking down from the roof of a lakeside hotel, this camera takes in a long reach of the lagoon. Directly below is the hotel's dock, with a thatched palapa at its end, a few boats and a floating platform; beyond, the water turns from bright turquoise over the white bottom to deep blue in the channel, and forested shores curve away on both sides.
Of all the Bacalar cams, it shows the famous bands of color most clearly, especially in the late morning sun. The stream comes from Webcams de México; the hotel's name appears in the corner.
The lakeside swing in Bacalar Lagoon
This camera is set low by the water at a lakeside property, and the lagoon fills almost the whole picture. In the shallows stands a wooden swing frame with a sign on top, and beside it a jetty with a small palapa and a moored sailboat; the water is so clear and still that the clouds are mirrored in it, and the bottom shows through near the shore.
It is the cam that comes closest to the water, and on calm mornings the reflections make it the most photogenic of the five. Webcams de México streams it.
Bacalar Lagoon from Casa China
From above the trees of a house on the lakeside road, this camera looks across a broad stretch of the lagoon. Trees fill the right and the bottom of the picture, with a palm in front; on the left a couple of sailboats are moored near the shore, and the calm water reaches out to a distant, low shore, crossed by a pale band where the bottom is shallow.
It is a quiet view, best for the color of the water and the reflections of the sky on calm days. Webcams de México streams it, with the logo of a local boat-tour company in the corner.
Why the lagoon has seven colors
The lagoon is more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) long and only about 2 kilometers (just over a mile) wide at its widest. Its floor is white carbonate sand, and its depth changes sharply, from shelves you can stand on to cenotes, deep sinkholes inside the lagoon itself. The color depends on the depth and the sunlight, so every step down shows another shade of blue. After very heavy rains, runoff can turn the water greenish brown for a while.
The stromatolites, the oldest kind of life
Bacalar holds the largest freshwater microbialite reef in the world: rock-like mounds built in layers by communities of microbes, also called stromatolites. According to researchers at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM), they grow about a millimeter a year, and some have been growing for more than 9,000 years. Pollution and careless tourism are damaging them, and a single step can break centuries of growth.
When to watch Bacalar
The sun rises over the lagoon, straight in front of the cams. The colors look best when the sun is high and the surface is still, often from mid-morning, before the afternoon breeze ruffles the water. After a spell of heavy rain, look at the cams before making the trip: if the runoff has clouded the lagoon, the bands of blue may be dull for a few days.
Nearby
The Fort of San Felipe, built in the 18th century to defend the town from pirates, overlooks the lagoon and now houses a museum of piracy. The Spanish founded Salamanca de Bacalar here in 1545, on a Maya settlement, and Maya rebels held it for decades during the Caste War. It was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2006. Just south of town, the Cenote Azul is a round, very deep sinkhole beside the lagoon.
Getting there
Bacalar has a Tren Maya station, and Chetumal's airport is the closest. Go into the water without sunscreen, never stand, sit or step on the stromatolites, and keep your distance from them when you swim or paddle.
