Continuing our April 2011 tour of the Yucatan, we left Mérida in the 
NW corner of the peninsula and turned south and west toward Celestun, a beach town on the Yucatan's Gulf Coast. I wanted to gather seashells and see some flamingos that were reputed to hang out in a salt marsh south of the town.
Celestun is a typical seaside town in that prices for food and lodging are a bit higher than inland. But, beaches are popular so the accommodations follow what the market will bear. Due to the prices and because we see a lot of sea and beaches in our daily lives aboard, we stayed in Celestun only long enough for me to do my shelling and 
join a panga tour of the wildlife habitat up the salt marsh. It was fun and certainly worth a stop, especially if you're an avid birder. There are many species of shore birds who shelter here because the fishing is so good for them. But the marsh's main attraction is that it is one of only 2 places in the Yucatan (maybe in all Mexico?) where flamingos come to breed and feed. They're a skittish lot so pardon the distance from which this shot was taken.
We blasted out of Celestun toward our next destination, Hacienda Yaxcopoil ("yash-co-po-EEL"), about 35 miles down the road and further inland. It had been a thriving hacienda during the late 19th-early 20th Century at which time cattle were raised, a farm supporting about 500 workers and their families was in production, and henequén (a fibrous palm-like plant) was grown and manufactured into hats, fabric and rope. A hat made from henequén is the Yucatan's answer to the better-known Panama hat. GB owns one of each and when he scowls properly while wearing one he looks just like the typical Old White Guy Overseer. Too bad that in the 21st Century he has only me to order about.
The Hacienda's caretaker kindly gave us a tour of its old manufacturing 
complex, then cut us loose to explore further on our own. The Hacienda keeps some of the family's antique furnishings in place in some rooms of the main house (the ceilings were all at least 14 feet high, to beat the relentless heat). The guest rooms are comfortable and ours, at least, had all the original handmade tile floors. As a whole this establishment is kept not just as a boutique hotel but also as a sort of living museum. They display carvings and ceramic shards the family unearthed about 100 years ago from the small Mayan temple structures that are on the property. If you happen to be in the area and want to 
learn about life on a real hacienda during the Industrial Revolution, you may want to give Hacienda Yaxcopoil a go. We enjoyed it, but you can check Trip Advisor for reviews. It's less than 20 miles on nice highways directly south from Mérida, and it's on the way to the Puuc region of the Yucatan peninsula where many more temple ruins await you. In other words: handy.
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