At the edge of the Ruta
Puuc 45 minutes from Merida
sits Hacienda Yunku. This is a private estate that has
been lovingly restored over the past 10 years. The
owner is a anthropologist whose work keeps him most of
the year in at the University. It has recently been
redecorated and upgraded to be included in our Best of
Yucatan group. The attraction to Hacienda
Yunku has
always been the privacy, the gardens and the cenotes.
That has not changed but now the hacienda features the
Casa Principal and the newly renovated Taller Guest
House.
The 17 century Casa Principal sits on the top of the
hill with a slopping lawn in front overlooking the
Casa des Machinas and the Hacienda's old office and
store. The Main House includes the Kitchen, Dining
Hall, Game Room - Den and 2 Master Bedrooms with king
size beds and 2 bathrooms. A north facing portico
separates the two bedrooms. The Dining Room can easily
seat 12. The Game Room is equipped with movies and
games and comfortable seating. The most dramatic
feature of the Hacienda is the Portico that runs the
length of the backside of the Main House. It overlooks
the sunken corrals and the water garden.
The huge pool is refurnished with fresh spring water
every 2 days and chemicals are never added. The
crystal water is pumped up from the cenote which has
an entrance just 10 feet below the pool in the bamboo
garden. You can swim in the pool or the cenote. We
love to swim in the cenote at night when it is lit.
You feel like you are floating above the earth in the
sky looking back to down to the ground. This fantasy
is only broken by the bats who fly in and out of the
cenote and consume most of the insects on the
property. Occasionally you will be visited by the owl
who has recently taken up residence. If you dont mind
a hike and not touching bottom you can swim in the
Sabakah cenote whose depth has yet to be determined. A
diving trip of the cenotes in the region can be
arranged from Yunku. Every other day the pool is
drained into the aqueduct. This fascinating process is
the ideal time to walk the top of the aquaduct around
the 6 acre citrus orchard. Take your binoculars as the
bird watching is optimal at this time when the water
cascades out of the walls the gardens ending in the
fountain in the center of the garden. The frogs you
heard serenading you last night can often be seen here
in the shallow pools. If you pass under the back
arches of the aqueduct you can pick your own papaya
from the plantation for breakfast. Fill a basket from
the orchard with fresh oranges, mandarins, grapefruit
or limes for breakfast or afternoon aguas frescas. On the
way back up to the house try the fruit from the anona tree.
If you are a serious birdwatcher you'll want to hike a
mile down the road to the lake, a rare
find in the Yucatan.
If you need more than 2 bedrooms rent the Guest house
on the west side of the garden. It sits above the
citrus orchard with a sunset view of the entire
aqueduct system. This house features a master bedroom
and bath with a queen size bed next door to a huge
room with 2 queen beds and sitting area and several
hammocks. All of the beds are new and feature 400
thread count sheets and natural fiber covers. This is
the room where the cowboys slept in hammocks when the
hacienda was a working cattle ranch and it was the
workshop (Taller) when the hacienda was a hennequen
plantation.
This is the ideal vacation rental for a family or
group of friends. Uxmal is 30 minutes away to the
southwest. Mani the convent town has the best regional
restaurant in the Yucatan and it is 30 minutes to the
south east. 15 minutes north is Hacienda Temozon where
you can have a gourmet meal. 15 minutes to the west is
Ochil the parrador where you can have a great lunch
and browse in the Bananmex supported craft shops.
There is a museum of the history of hennequen here
too.
Before you come to Yunku we will send you
a shopping list and when you arrive at the airport we will
meet you with your provisions and instructions explaining
the hacienda and the maps you will need for the area. At the
hacienda you will meet the caretaker and you might see the
gardener around early in the morning till around 1pm. The
maid comes daily from the village daily.
|
