After an hour’s drive south of Merida, navigating on questionable dirt roads filled with topes (monstrous Mexican speed bumps), and swerving to avoid lethargic dogs sprawled out in the middle of the lane, we finally arrived at the town of Peon. It was a seemingly abandoned town that reminded me of an early Robert Rodriguez movie location, only 10 times smaller and dirtier. It certainly didn’t look like the advertised tourist trap of a working hacienda which promised welcome drinks and a fun-filled, mule-driven cart ride.
However, once we passed through the arched gates that separated Hacienda Sotuta de Peon from the rest of the town, we found ourselves in a large and splendorous estate with a volcanic-like fountain sprouting out of the middle of a lush garden. The buildings had been carefully restored to their original grandeur. Workers dressed in white and wearing panama hats were there to recreate a sisal-making plantation as it had existed in the 1800’s. Beyond the main house lay fields of prickly, cactus-like henequen plants that stretched for acres.
