G Adventures new line of tours offer adventure that’s as active or as laidback as you like. A stay at the Hacienda Sotuta de Peón in Mexico's southeastern Yucatan Peninsula includes a chance to sample the region's cuisine.Michael Heritage/G Adventures
The temperature hovers near 40 C, and I can feel the sweat escaping every pore of my body. But somehow, I’m more captivated by our guide, Ivan Ramirez, who is making the art of rope-making interesting.
I’m exploring slightly off the beaten path in Mexico’s southeastern Yucatan Peninsula, miles away from the white sandy beaches, blaring music and hordes of tourists. The Hacienda Sotuta de Peón, 45 minutes from the city of Merida, is one of the last few working ranches in this part of the country.
But it’s also a hotel, offering thatched cabins, with private porches where you can laze on hammocks or, in some cases, take a quick dip in a private plunge pool. Peacocks and sheep roam the grounds.
Ramirez grew up on a hacienda not far from here. Both his parents worked in this blazing sun to cultivate henequen, the long fibrous plant that is native to the region. The plant, often referred to as “green gold,” led to a period of prosperity at the end of the 19th century for this region – particularly for the plantation owners, not necessarily the Maya people who worked the land.
People swim in a cenote, a water-filled limestone sinkhole that Mayans believed were entrances to the underworld.Michael Heritage/G Adventures
He’s animated as he speaks about how the fibres are extracted from the henequen plant. We walk some of this expansive and neatly manicured 300-hectare hacienda, as he explains the extraction process on the restored antique machinery. Rows upon rows of the extracted fibres are draped along lines on the field to dry in the hot sun.
“It’s my duty to show this,” Ramirez says later, expressing his pride in leading the group through the hacienda. “I want people to learn.”
This type of off-the-beaten path experience is what tourism company G Adventures’ new collection of Geluxe tours is all about – local moments that are also packaged with comfort, moments of luxury and adventure. I joined this new tour because travellers can choose just how adventurous they’d like to be – sometimes, after all, you just want to laze about in a hammock.
Although this part of the world seems almost untouched by foreign visitors, change is upon it. Locals are attempting to capitalize on the tourist dollars that are often spent in the resort cities of Playa del Carmen, Cancun, and, more recently, Tulum.
The change has put this area at a crossroads: How can the natural ecosystem be preserved while positioning the area’s economy to thrive? Ramirez doesn’t mince words about how change is necessary: “We don’t live from the production. We live for you – the tourist.”
To cool off after the tour, we ride on mule-drawn carts through the henequen fields to the hacienda’s private cenote. There, we climb down wooden stairs to a water-filled limestone sinkhole that Mayans believed were entrances to the underworld. The turquoise water in the cave is cooling and the atmosphere is serene.
Our stay at Hacienda Sotuta de Peón immerses us in the culture. We are taught the process of making cochinita pibil, a traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish. Large slabs of meat are marinated in achiote paste, sour oranges and spices, and then wrapped in banana leaves. The meat is cooked for eight hours in a sealed pit.
In the same makeshift kitchen, a woman shapes dough into balls, flattens them and places the fresh tortillas on the grill for us to taste. I can already sense that Mexican food I prepare at home will never compare.
Gabrielle Biscaye, our guide, later explains how these parts of the Yucatan are more visited by Mexican or Hispanic tourists rather than those who prefer the beachy resorts. Mexico’s Tren Maya, sometimes referred to as the Mayan Train, is expected to alter the tourism industry in the southeast of the country, she says.
Staff at the hacienda prepare cochinita pibil, a traditional Yucatec Mayan pork dish. Large slabs of meat are marinated in achiote paste, sour oranges and spices, and then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked for eight hours in a sealed pit.Michael Heritage/G Adventures
The railway system, a centrepiece of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s agenda, covers approximately 1,500 kilometres of tracks and will link the main cities and tourist areas of five states, including the Yucatan. Tourists will have access to the harder-to-reach areas that now require buses or taxis, such as the Maya ruins in Uxmal or colonial cities such as Merida.
After the inauguration of the train’s first sections, a press release in December by the government boasted that the train would not only help boost tourism but also generate “economic opportunities for communities that have until now been marginalized from the benefits of mass tourism.”
It comes at a cost. As our tour bus takes us to the hacienda, we can see the railway lines through the jungle. A group of concerned citizens have criticized the project because they believe that the deforestation is destroying cenotes, along with endangering animals and birds that live in the jungle.
Our Geluxe tour is mindful of this delicate balance of boosting the local economy while protecting the ecosystem and Indigenous culture. During our trip we ride bikes and cenote-hop outside Merida, and float down a natural lazy river through the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, one of the country’s largest protected areas outside Tulum.
At one point during our week-long adventure, we explore one of the seven wonders of the modern-day world: The ancient city of Chichén Itzá. As we approach the massive step pyramid, known as El Castillo, I realize that no Google image can properly capture its grandeur.
The shadow cast by the angle of the afternoon sun on the edges of one corner reveals a stone serpent descending the structure. Clap your hands in certain spots around the pyramid, and it creates a sound similar to the call of the sacred quetzal bird.
When it’s time for lunch, our group will not be eating at the touristy restaurants that circle this famous Mayan site. Instead, we drive down a narrow street in Piste to the home of a local, Claudine Noh Balam, who has turned her living room into a restaurant.
People go for a float down a natural lazy river through the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, one of the country’s largest protected areas outside Tulum.Michael Heritage/G Adventures
On her kitchen counter sits an array of Mexican cuisine, from cochinita pibil and pumpkin cooked in onions and tomatoes to Mexican cucumber with lime and salt, steamed chayote squash, creamy guacamole and chips, and fresh tortillas. Her children play in the back.
Biscaye says that a colleague discovered Noh Balam’s home restaurant and spread the word among leaders of the tour company. The family is hoping to expand their dining space, capitalizing on the tourist market visiting nearby Chichén Itzá while showcasing what the local economy has to offer.
Our group gathers around a long table in her living room to cool off with a hibiscus drink and eat some of the best food served on this trip. It’s an excellent reminder why supporting local people and cultures is so important – and so tasty.
If you go
G Adventures Geluxe Collection features trips that are moderately physically active with a focus on comfort, community and culture. Each trip allows travellers in the small-group tour to personal one of their days by picking between two different travel experiences in their destination. For example, in Porto, Portugal, guests can choose between an e-bike tour through coastal neighbourhoods or a river cruise to a port-wine tasting experience.
The next departure for the Geluxe eight-day Mexico Yucatan Peninsula tour is scheduled for Oct. 19. Pack a bathing suit and light clothing, and be prepared for multiple hotel stays and exploring some of the historical parts of the country. Pricing is $3,849 for a trip that is bookended with stays in Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
The writer was a guest of G Adventures. It did not review or approve the story.