A TASTE OF HISTORY IN MERIDA
"Merida? Would you like to visit Hacienda Petac in Merida?” I was asked on a bleak winter’s day in Chicago. One might assume that a self-proclaimed latinophile, who has traveled on and off the beaten path in Latin America, may have visited or at least been acquainted with the twice named ‘American Capital of Culture’ by the organization bearing its name, but shamefully, I resorted to Google.
Merida can be summed up in three words: Architecture, Luxury and Culture. The capital of the Yucatan, just a few hours away from Cancun is the peninsula’s center of commerce. When the Spaniards conquered Merida in 1542, they discovered a Mayan settlement made of lime-mortared stone, reminding them of the Roman architecture in Merida, Spain. I digress.
I’m really here to share with you my experience of Hacienda Petac, the luxury villa on the outskirts of Merida, whose website says it all, “This is Heaven but with Better Service.” We had no idea how true those words were until we arrived.
Our personal driver and future tour guide, Fausto, met Josh and me at the airport and 30 minutes later we drove through the gates of the hacienda and stepped onto the grounds of the lush courtyard entrance. Unbeknownst to us at that time, this is the spot where we would later playfully mutter to each other, “Welcome back to Fantasy Island!”
Bashful Mexican girls donned in traditional white Yucatecan embroidered dresses offered us refreshing orange-banana smoothies and
