Photo Essays / Haciendas

Haciendas

No visit to the Yucatan is complete without exploring some of the haciendas and learning how they impacted the region's history.

Most haciendas in Yucatan eventually came to produce rope fibers (sisal) from the henequen cactus, which is related to the maguey, where we get tequila. <a href=></a> One of the first and most prosperous haciendas was essentially a sugar cane plantation, the stately Hacienda Tabi, located near the Loltun Caves. <a href=></a> Unlike tequila, where the heart of the cactus is taken, it is the spears of the henequen that yield the sisal fibers. It was a labor-intensive business, where Mayan men would work long hours in intense heat with a machete. <a href=></a> The pulp from the henequen spears fell through a trap door and into a trolley, where it was returned to the fields as irrigation and fertilizer. <a href=></a> Hacienda Temozon Sur is the flagship resort of the Starwood hotel chain, part of the Luxury Collection. <a href=></a> The newly-restored neoclassical capilla (chapel) at Hacienda Tekit de Regil. Most haciendas consist, at least, of a Casa Principal (Main House), Casa de Maquinas (Machine House, where the work gets done) and a capilla. <a href=></a> Many haciendas employ similar, proven architectural elements, but some are quite unique, reflecting their owner's imaginations. Hacienda Chenche de las Torres could be mistaken for Camelot. <a href=></a> One of the more graceful and haunting haciendas is Uayalceh (pronounced why-al-kay), now abandoned. The clock tower shown here crowns the casa de maquinas. <a href=></a> Many haciendas sport a grand entryway, usually some kind of arch. This arch at Hacienda San Jose Cholul is the tallest we've seen. <a href=></a> In the early years, nearly all hacienda machinery ran on steam, so nearly every one has a chiminea. While driving through the Yucatan, if you spot a chiminea above the trees, you've found a hacienda. <a href=></a> The henequen spears were taken to the casa de maquinas and fed into a 'desfiberadora', where the fibers are separated from the skin and pulp. <a href=></a> The henequen fibers were carted to the solarium, a field filled with a series of racks where they were dried. The fibers were then twisted into twine and shipped mostly to the United States to be made into final products. <a href=></a>

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