The day starts early for these hacienda hunts.
The eastern Sun shining on the lake.
On the way we pass much wildlife. (No- they are concrete wildlife along the side of the road).
We near the town of Sayula and its fairy hill.
The hacienda we were looking for is near the pueblo of Usmajac which is near the town of Sayula and it dates back to 300 BC and is one of the oldest settlements in Jalisco. The community was contemporary in time to the circular pyramid builders of western Jalisco. See here.
Above- The area is rich fertile farm country and even at this time of year when plant life is drying out is was still green. The water table is quite close to the surface which supports these large trees. Below-Outside the entrance to the hacienda there were white egrets nesting in the trees.
The Spanish eventually came and settled the area in 1532 . Alonso de Avalos who founded this hacienda, was a conquistador who came with Cortez and he was deeded a vast western territory by the King of Spain- but he also purchased this land from the native Queen of Tzaulan. Avalos built this hacienda which was originally called the Hacienda de St Joseph de Amatitlan.
The hacienda eventually attracted the natives of the nearby pueblo of Usmajac to live there and the original village was abandoned. This was 1548 to 1575 when it was at it’s height with a chapel, a cemetery and a hospital. After Avalos died in 1587 the estate went into ruin. In the ensuing years some further use and construction went on and some kind of farming went on here. It may have survived until the revolution of 1910 when the many surviving haciendas went into ruin.
The current owner Francisco does indeed farm here still and opened up the hacienda for us to see
Below his daughter Consuela who acted as translator. The Mexicans are nearly always very willing to open up these places to anyone interested. In our case they put on a lunch for us.
Like many haciendas it is a ruin though quite photogenic.
The two photos below are of another nearby hacienda of huge size BUT unfortunately no access.
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Then to the Hacienda Catalina (Ladybug) which is restored and is a private home near Ciudad Guzman.
This was a completely impromptu visit and the owners without hesitation invited us all in to see their house.
Mexicans are very proud of their heritage and their homes especially if restored.
The view from the front door over the fertile valley of avocados and fruit trees to El Vulcan the volcano of Colima
Below the entry hall or ante room. Beyond the interior patio off which are all the rooms.
The photo below was the current Mother’s- Mother, taken I guess in the same patio but with roses.
Above old clay cups arranged on the kitchen wall.
Above the Mother of the house and below her twin sons.
The sons each had their own “bachelor pads” within the compound decorated totally moderne with these two old radios as decoration.
Then the drive back along the dry lake bed.
….and El Vieyo (the Ancient One) which is our highest local peak.
