The Hacienda La Calera now sits surrounded by industrial parks and suburbs near the Guadalajara airport. It once was a very rich rural hacienda supplying nearby Guadalajara. Now the current owner ( he was a popular singer but died last year) allows visitors to see this wonderful example of a past world.
It is not a museum. It is not a boutique hotel.It is not a ruin. It lies in between these possibilities. Indeed it looks as if the inhabitants just got up and walked away some hundred years ago. A curiosity that could be the stage set for an Edgar Allen Poe novel.
It was originally called Hacienda San Diego but changed it’s name in the late 1890’s to La Calera due to the mining of lime deposits here. It passed hands many times. and survived intact the Revolutionary War of 1910 and the Cristeros War of the nineteen twenties (though the owners had to flee). The two times President of Mexico General Alvaro Obregon owned it at one time after that. Porfiro Diaz the earlier President was also a visitor. The family eventually gave much of the surrounding land in about 1950 to the workers who lived around the hacienda.
(Above)-St Michael the Archangel greets the visitor as one passes through the massive gate.
(Below) The entry patio.
(Above) The entry to the side chapel. Many times the chapel becomes the principal church for the town and is all that is left of the haciendas which formed the town in the first place.
Above a painting of the last supper in a side room to the chapel that was virtually invisible in the darkness. Only a flash brought it to life.
(Above) Some of the rooms. The painting of La Senora I am guessing is the President Obregon’s daughter.
(Above and below) – The Presidential seal painted on the Sala wall.
Below-The kitchen
Above a marble grotto bathing room adjacent to a dilapidated swimming pool.
Above– a painting of horses hangs in what could be called a bar.
Above- The old stables now where the caretakers Ruben and Tonieta and their son live.
Below Left– Nice guy Saint Francis looks out for the birds.
Below Right-on this stone carving of a conquistador that he stands on the heads of his foes. Not Mr Nice Guy.
In contrast on this hunt we also went to two more haciendas.
Hacienda La Canita was very rustic and VERY old and very simple. Basically a small farm that has been here for hundreds of years.
The family knew nothing of our arrival but as usual they immediately dropped what they were doing and invited us in to look around. The first to greet us was the young daughter who was on her way to school with her pet kitten.
EVERYTHING in this place was made by hand from natural materials. Animal skins on the floors and beds. Furniture made from trees. Pots and cups of clay. This was not in any way a museum The family just kept everything.
La Moreda which was once a Finca (a farm) and was recently converted into a hacienda for events and weddings etc.
Very tastefully furnished and appointed.
As usual in these hunts the owners are always very hospitable and generous.
In this case the owner (pictured here) sat us all down on the terrace with tequila and hibiscus juice.
He told us the histories and stories of the area.
Always make sure it says 100% agave on the label otherwise it is not real tequila.
End
__________________________________________________________
Photo above courtesy Wikipedia Commons
HACIENDA JALISCO is outside the small hilltown of San Sebastian about 60 miles east of Puerto Vallarta in the mountains.
The road- or should I say track that leads up to the Hacienda could be challenging in the wrong car. Close to the coast the climate is more tropical and humid so all around was the drone of crickets, cicadas, and assorted insects.
The road gets a little better as one nears the hacienda. Ferns are abundant in the moist climate.
Above and below– The fern covered bridge that leads to the hacienda.
Trompe l’oeil painting was employed to give the walls a more ornate look than they really were. Quite realistic on first glance.
In it’s day the hacienda hosted Hollywood stars such as Liz taylor. This was on the living room wall.
_______________________________________________
In the valley just south of Tequila Mountain are two very well preserved haciendas. Hacienda del Carmen and Hacienda La Libor
Almost next door to each other both are exquisite examples of restored haciendas. Both are hotels now which is the fate of most well cared for haciendas. Some are of course in private hands.
Above View of Tequila Mountain from hacienda La Libor.
THE HACIENDA DEL CARMEN
This well preserved and restored hacienda in the Ameca valley sits amid sugar cane fields about an hour from here. It is now a hotel and after arranging with them for a visit we enjoyed a few hours there looking at the rooms and the spacious grounds.
Above-The water viaduct that brought water in from the hills.
Above– one of the old photos on the wall shows the inhabitants sometime before the revolution.
Below– Today from the same spot. 
There are many fine pieces of period furnishings and decor.
Above-A well fed monk hopefully looking out for the well being of the native woman.
Speaking of food. Here below is an outdoor table set for lunch.
Below-A peek into the kitchen.
Below-Where lunch was served inside.
Below– An upper patio with more rooms.
Below-Our guide proved the old radio still works.
This room above also had a pool in the room.
For more posts on haciendas see here .
____________________
HACIENDA LA LIBOR
Above– A sitting area.
Above and below- The original entrance where the horses and carriages would have entered is this charming tile imagery.
