Historical Hacienda Tour 3/19/07

[jap114]

Posted this in another thread but thought I'd start a new one for future cruisers looking for something to do while in Progreso.

 

We were there last week on the NCL Dream and didn't have anything planned prior to arrival. The evening before arrival we went down to the excursion desk and asked for excursions with the fewest people signed up. After reviewing our options we selected the historic hacienda tour.

 

We only had 9 in our group which made for a very personal tour led by a hilarious tour guide. The hacienda is a now working museum where "sisal" rope/twine once was mass produced. We learned that it's actually made from the heniken (sp) plant and were shown the various stages of production starting with the cutting of the plants all the way to the final product.

 

They then took us on a horse drawn tour of the fields where the plants are grown and harvested. In the middle of this field was Mayan home and we stopped to visit with an older Mayan gentleman who explained, or tried to explain anyway, the history. True Mayan is a language different than Spanish and it was funny to see the Mayan to Spanish to English translations happen!

 

From there, we ventured on to a Cenote (cave to most of us) where we could swim for a while. Everyone enjoyed this. After swimming we returned to the hacienda and were fed lunch. After lunch we were back in the van for the approx. 1 hour trip back to the pier which left us some time to visit the various shops.

 

We didn't actually stop or visit anything in Progresso or Merida but it was a fun tour and well worth the NCL excursion price of $63~$69 each.

 

Jerry

[Warmer Climes]

Jerry,

 

This sounds like a good excursion to keep in mind for our next visit to the Yucatan. Thanks fr the info!

 

Barb