View of Laguna Bacalar from Fuerte (Fort) San Felipe in the town of Bacalar. Laguna Bacalar is freshwater and is one of the larger lakes in Mexico with an elongated shape 36 miles long. The clear water comes from the Yucatan aquifer. Bacalar is in the far south of the Yucatan Peninsula (Quintana Roo state) close to the Belize border. The fort was built in the mid-1700's to protect against piracy of the Campeche wood trade. Campeche wood was used to make an expensive textile dye that was exported to Europe. The fort has been restored and contains an excellent museum about the history of the Yucatan Peninsula.