1900Km exploring the Yucatan and Quintana Roo, Part 2

Nothing like falling sleep to the hum of a ceiling fan, keeping you just cool enough to help you fall asleep and shoo the mosquitoes away.

Waking up is never hard to do when I'm on holidays, I just have to find a place to get some coffee, but that usually involves waiting patiently for everyone else to get up, so I just amuse myself by observing how the day starts out for everyone.

The drinks from the night before have taken their tole and we've managed to let a good part of the morning slip by.  So Cindy's out of the shower, I brought coffee up to the room, got the bags in the car and ready to hit the road.  As I was hauling the bags down the stairs I look down from our balcony and notice our neighbors cleaning chicken, lots of chickens, in their yard. From skinning the birds to cleaning and chopping them up on their plastic tables and then dumping them into a tub of water. I don't know what restaurant will  be recieving these, but we won't have to worry about that this time as were hitting the road.                                      

We take the road west, out of Puerto Morelos and turn north, taking a short cut to the toll highway to Merida. If you're not familiar with this highway, its pretty boring, but in excellent condition. About at the half way point, you can get gas, hit the washroom and of course pay the toll to use the road.  You will actually pay the toll twice if you take this road at the middle and the end.  After a quick stop to get rid of all the coffee we drank, we're back on the road. The highway just seems to go forever and ever, passing the odd Mexican drivng their tricycles along with wood which they have harvested from the dense forest. Who knows where they live, as it seems like there are no towns for a hundred miles.

As always when your nearing Merida, you have an army checkpoint, although these army guys are dressed in black. With huge ropes across the highway and the guys toting machine guns they mean business and you must stop.  This time, as we slow down to stop, the officer just waves us through. Note: Just in case you decided to try to fly through the check point there's a HumVee hiding in the bush with a 50 caliber machine gun manned and ready.

We're using the ring road around the outskirts of Merida heading southwest, looking for a particular road that will lead south. We find a place to get gas, snacks and water, then back on the road and about twenty minutes later we find our road to head south. From here, things are sketchy even though I printed off fifty maps, they really don't help us and we have to wing it, hitting a couple of different back roads we will manage to find our stop for the evening, Hacienda Yaxcopoil that I  booked online before we left Canada.

With the sun starting to go down, we finally arrive in Yaxcopol and drive around the Hacineda several times trying to find an entrance and a place that resembles where we should check in. There are a few houses in the village and the hacienda.  Thats it!  I'm not even sure this is a village?  We park and start wandering around looking at all the authentic furniture and wall decor at the same time looking for someone to help us. We find an older gentleman and in our limited spanish he is quick to welcome us and show us to our room for the next two nights.  There is only one guestroom in the Hacienda, we are quick to find out that we are the only guests.

We're lead down a long path and come upon our guest house, the ceiling is at least 15 feet high, authentic 17 century tiled floors & furniture. Two double beds, small fridge and a washroom and shower have been added to this room. Seeing that we have a fridge, I ask where I can buy some Cervesa's as I figured there must be a little store in the cluster of huts and houses that surround the Hacienda. He looks at me and says no, then he thinks for a moment and says ok.  I give him 50 pesos and he's gone. About 15 minutes later, with sweat on his brow and a big toothless smile, he presents us with 3 litres of cold beer.  Now thats service!  "Mucho Gracias",  I say and give him someting for his kindness.  Our host tells us where we are to park the car and asks us what time we want dinner and off he goes.

We get our bags unpacked, and wanting to wander the Hacienda before the sun is totally down we start to explore.  Hacienda Yaxcopoil is actually a museum.  Everthing is in its original condition and one only has to imagine how beautiful the gardens once were, how colorful the faded walls were and how luxurious this place had once been.  There is only one guest room and we had the place all to ourselves.

Back to the room to freshen up, as being an unrestored Hacienda, no hot water, no tv, no internet, just the sounds of the birds and an occasional dog barking and cold beer. (there was supposedly hot water, but it wasn't working)  Yea, this is roughing it.

It's dark now, and while we're wondering about dinner, we get a knock on our door. An elderly mexican woman walks in, smilling and explaining in spanish she will be serving us dinner. Cindy and I are starving by now and can't wait to eat. We do realize whatever we are going to eat has been made in her home.

What do we start with, but lime soup.  Delicious!   As we are having our soup,  our next course is being prepared outside. We get this huge pitcher of what looks like milk on ice. Since Cindy is not able to drink milk, I ask a few times if there is milk in the drink and out host says no. For the first time we are to have a drink called Horchata on ice.  It was so refreashing that we drank the whole pitcher not caring where the ice or water came from. With the main course being chicken tamales wrapped in banana leaves and regular tamales in corn husks, we're stuffed and satisfied.  We finish off with some sort of a rice pudding.  Wonderful!!   We thank our diiner host, she packs up her stuff and I follow her out to our little gate we have in the yard.  She disappears into the darkness.

Tired of the long day we climb into bed and fall asleep to the loud sounds of croaking frogs and chirping crickets..... What will our first day of exporing the region tomorrow bring us?