This is the second part of Tony's Mayan Drive Trip series.

     It is late afternoon as I again head west down 180 towards Hacienda San Jose. Off the main highway I travel through the village of Kimbila, home of the guayaberra shirt and huipil(wee-peel), the traditional embroidered blouse typically worn by Mexican women. Seamstresses can be seen on their sewing machines working in open shops next to their homes, finished products hanging behind them.  The villages of Citilcum and Cacalcha are busy with the traffic of 3 wheeled cargo bikes (trikes) with festive and innovative awnings (think plastic tablecloths over PVC frames) and the entire population of children (or so it seemed) on bikes along the narrow street.

The Hacienda San Jose is down a two-mile single lane driveway culminating with a traditional Spanish arched gate. It feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere. Haciendas were originally built as cattle or horse ranches by the Spaniards beginning in the 1600’s. They were converted to sisal (or henequen) producing estates in the late 19th century and most were abandoned when the bottom fell out of the sisal industry in the late 1940’s with the introduction of stronger, cheaper synthetic fibers. Hacienda San Jose was established in1688 as a mixed hacienda for raising livestock and corn before becoming a sisal factory in 1865. The dilapidated property underwent a two-year renovation and opened as a hotel in 1998.     

Despite the size of the hotel grounds, there is an intimate feel to this property of only eleven guest rooms and four Mayan casitas (small houses). There is a real sense of history as many of the original factory components are still in existence, having been put to innovative uses after the renovation. The original hacienda owner’s quarters make up the Presidential Suite and the main cistern for storing water has been converted to a distinctive swimming pool complete with hammocks hanging over the water.

  I enjoy dinner on the long, ground level veranda with the original French tile floors and 20 foot beamed ceilings that looks out over the gardens and fountain. On cool evenings such as this night a small bonfire takes the chill off and layers the romance on. The restaurant serves traditional Yucatan dishes including my favorite - panuchos, refried bean stuffed tacos topped with shredded chicken or cochinita pibil, pork meat marinated in achiote and baked wrapped in banana leaves. T

here is a crescent moon tonight which offers little light to navigate the grounds with but Venus and Jupiter shine particularly bright. In the thatched roof Mayan casita I’m staying in there is absolute silence except the wind in the trees. The casita sits on the edge of the property and the jungle stretches on for miles just beyond the terrace. The land close to the casita has been cleared but beyond that one really gets the sense of the true Yucatan jungle and what it must have felt like for the ancient Mayans.
  
The next morning outside of my casita overlooking the Mayan Jungle, I enjoy a local Mexican breakfast called Eggs Motulenos and begin my second day of my Mayan Drive Trip.