Hacienda San Antonio Chalanté

Our little casa on the hacienda grounds.

We finally arrived at the hacienda Chalanté in the late afternoon.  The main hacienda is a large Spanish building from the 1700’s.  Chalanté is older than that.  On the grounds are a few ruins that are from the 1600’s.  In the past, the hacienda grounds were part of a Mayan ceremonial centre.  The best part of being there was the fact that it was in the country and it was quiet.

The owner of the hacienda is an American lady who is now married to a Mexican.  The picture on the left is one view of a little chapel that her husbandhad just finished for her.  When we got to there, we went to check out this little chapel which Roger had seen last year when it was still under construction.  Since it was also her birthday, we got to join in a Mayan feast.  The chapel is called the bottle chapel as most of it is made from wine bottles.

Archway into the grounds of the older hacienda mansion which dates from the 1600s.

As we walked on the grounds of the hacienda, we came across a number of other buildings including old work buildings and a horse barn.  Horses are still being raised at the hacienda.   A second mansion, older than the one being used for bed and breakfast visitors, was found when we passed through this gate on the right.

In the early morning hours of the next day, our third of our road trip, I wandered around with the camera while waiting for others to wake up and for the staff to make coffee.  The morning mist made the scenes mysterious, hinting at stories from the past when the hacienda was filled with Spanish lords and ladies and their Mayan staff.

The camera didn’t get much rest.  Roger’s camera was busy as well as Roger is also a morning person.  Before long, the mist started to lift and we were able to take some interesting bird photos.  However, I won’t be showing any bird pictures for a while as there are a few other things to share here first.  After our breakfast, we would be heading out to Izamal, a Spanish colonial city.  But first, a final photo from the morning, enjoying a morning cup of coffee on our casa’s little porch.