Xcalak
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you fly to? Cancun, Mexico. Xcalak is about 4.5 hours south along the Coast. Paved all the way except the last 2 miles.
How do you get to the lodge once we are in Cancun? You have 2 choices which should be arranged ahead of time: The first and usually least expensive choice is to rent a small car and drive down, the other option is to hire the van service to drive you down. It is usually more expensive this way unless you get a group of 6 to share it.
Do the guides speak English? The guides speak excellent "fishing" English like "50 feet - 10 o'clock, no further", oops,, spook!!" and it is not an issue while fishing. However if the conversation turns toward anything else in life you will struggle if you don't speak Spanish. All of the guides are of Mayan decent and have been guiding fly fishers for over 10 years. Their English is OK. Belize or Christmas Island are English speaking countries if you want fluent English from the back of the boat!
Are there lots of fisherman there? Chetumal Bay is tens of thousands of acres of flats, lagoons, creeks, inland lakes and there are only a few guides. This area is under fished when compared to Belize to the south or Ascension Bay to the north. I usually don't ever see another boat out there. It is a vast area.
What about money? The lodge can accept US dollars or Mexican Pesos for any bar tab or tip you have at the end of the trip. They give a good exchange rate. There is really no where to spend money once you are down in Xcalak. On the way from Cancun you can. Remember no one takes credit cards in the area and the nearest cash machine is a few hours away in Carillo Puerto.
Is the road as bad as I read? The road was paved years ago but there are still some stories floating around about a long unpaved road. It is all paved from Cancun to Xcalak. The lodge is 2 miles up the unpaved beach road from Xcalak
Is it safe? There is no crime in Xcalak . Zero. There is nothing there, the locals are very proud of their town. In Cancun and elsewhere in the country you may indeed find criminal activity as you would in any developing city, even in the US.
What about drinking water and is the food safe? The lodge is owned by an American couple so everything at the lodge is fine. Drink only purified water throughout your trip. They have purified water in bulk that you will be available to you at all times. If you request individual bottled water there is an extra charge . You are wise to beware of eating out in Mexico, most places do not have the food safety knowledge we have here in the states. Rest assured though the food at Tierra May is safe.
What about military check points ?Although these young soldiers wear imposing uniforms and carry guns, there is no reason to get upset, unless you have drugs or weapons with you, which would be an extremely stupid thing to do. They are working hard to keep their country safe so treat them kindly and they will do the same. I once had a stern young man ask me to pop the hood, he rummaged around a bit ( to make me sweat no doubt) and then brought me the dipstick and showed me that the oil level was fine !
Xcalak
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