We made our way from Playa del Carmen to the ranch in the little Yucatan community of Sudzal yesterday. 40 minutes from Playa to Tulum and turn inland towards Coba. 40 minutes from Tulum to Coba, stopped on that road to buy a couple of pieces of pottery - there is a roadside shop with an impressive inventory of glazed ceramics, you just can't miss it, and whenever I visit the area I make sure to stop there. Then another 40 minutes from Coba to Valladolid, a beautiful colonial town and it was nice to see their Christmas decorations. From Valladolid to Sudzal was about one hour, going through some great little pueblos with beautiful old colonial churches. Each turn we had to make was onto a smaller road, in the beautiful Yucatan countryside - farm land and cattle country. Once again we were pressed by the looming sunset, wanting to get to destination before dark. When we finally found the dirt road to the ranch - the gate was locked! Luckyly, the ranchero across the road has a key and kindly opened it for us, and locked it after we passed... Did I say we were in the middle of nowhere in Xcalak? Well, I take it back. 2km on that little dirt road with the gate locked behind us... hoping it was leading to where we wanted to go and... yes! There was the house. Phew, and a half!!! (Tim had lost his glimpse of adventurous spirit by then...). Samuel and Daniela greated us, and we came in to see the permises. It's soooo BIG... our giggles of awe echoed through the house, which made me giggle even more!
Shortly after we unloaded the car the owners came to welcome us. There was Carlos - whom I was in touch with via email to rent the house, and both his parents. They seem to be a very respectable family, they carry themselves with the typical grace and formality of Mexican upper class - with the warmth of Yucatan folks. They live in Merida, and based on the old photos on the walls here at the ranch house, they are probably one of the Yucatan families that have enjoyed the golden age of this Mexican state.
Yucatan was once one the wealthiest state on the planet, with a booming economy based on the heniquen (also called sisal) plantations. This is a plant that resembles a giant aloe vera, and yields a strong fibre similar to cotton - but much stronger. In the 30's, the striving Yucatan economy was killed by the raising popularity of a new fibre : nylon. The beautiful haciendas that we see throughout the Yucatan countryside are mostly abandoned, and the land is used to grow other crops and raise cattle. Some haciendas have been restored and turned into exclusive little hotels. One of these is the Hacienda San Antonio (google it!), which is next door to the ranch house we are renting.
We had a great night of sleep, despite the big dead scorpion we found in our bedroom... and woke up with the sound of the roosters, the birds, and Samuel the cowboy taking the herd out. I got up and Dylan was right behind me. He looked at me and said 'hey, did you hear that horse?' So we look out the kitchen window and there was Indio, one of the horses, running on the little road in front of our house - looking beautiful and happy, saddle free. We had a moment of perfect happiness - high fived each other and hugged. Later today on that same road, Samuel brought back the herd of cows, and another farmer took out is herd of goats.
The kids jumped in the pool, which is bigger than I thought, and to Tim's delight we will be able to swim lenghts in there. The boys already played a few games of billiard too - in the huge dining room. And Tim discovered the beautiful reverb with the violin and the guitar, and he already wrote a new piece this morning. This place is... beyond words!
We are now in Merida with a wireless connection - More catching-up coming soon...
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