Private Visit to a Real Hacienda
Private Visit to a Real Hacienda
Your private tour of a real Mexican hacienda is a trip back in time to the era of "Green Gold."
After meeting your guide on the pier, you will board your air-conditioned transportation for the approximately 90-minute drive to the hacienda. The hacienda was a working farm where henequen, a fiber from the agave plant, was harvested and made into twine and rope. At its heyday, it was referred to as the "Green Gold." The current family has slowly resurrected the hacienda over the last 25 years. Upon arrival, you will be met with a welcome drink.
For the next two and one-half hours, you will learn of this time gone by, starting with an introduction to the elegance and tradition of the hacienda during a tour of part of the main house. Here, you will see the architecture and style reflected in the long and shining corridors of tiles shipped from France and the high-elevated ceilings designed to keep guests cool from the heat of the days. The house features elegant antique furniture, which will provide you with an idea of the wealth that was generated through the process of cultivation, industrialization, and finally exportation of henequen products to waiting countries around the world.
You will then tour the out-buildings where the fibers were separated (scraped), dried, and then pressed into bales ready to be shipped. Some of the dry fiber is set aside for yarn, ropes, sacks, handbags, and rugs that are made in an adjacent building.
Next is an authentic experience as you tour the hacienda aboard one of the platforms, also called "trucks," which are pulled by mules just like in the days of the haciendas over 100 years ago. These "trucks" were used for the movement of people, materials, and, above all, for the movement of the entire production, from planting to the processed bales.
For an insight into the Mayan culture, you will meet the senior member of the local Mayan community, who will answer questions about his Mayan house, simple in design yet offering a cool environment, and immense functionality. The entire structure is held together by the resourceful use of reeds, without nails or wires.
You will then have approximately 30 minutes of free time to stroll the area, swim in the crystal-clear natural swimming pool known as a cenote (swimming vests, life jackets, and snorkels are provided) or sample some of the local Yucatan-created dishes and recipes in the hacienda's restaurant for those wishing to purchase lunch. You will then begin the 90-minute drive back to the cruise pier in Progreso.