Henequen World

Today was such a fun day! We went to this plant where they make henequen and honestly at first I wasn't too excited about it. It ended up being one of my favourite excursions though! If you ever have the chance, you need to go! Such a cool little place!

I have never seen the 3 Amigos and Ryan and Caitlin thought I was crazy! We're pretty much the modern-day 3 Amigos and so we decided that we NEEDED to watch it on the ride up! So we squished in the seat and watched it all the way there on the bus. It was hilarious, we're still working on getting all the moves to "My Little Buttercup" haha. 

Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, and Ned Nederlander

If you fall asleep on the bus we will catch you... especially if we can add it to our chismes.

Our tour guide! Luckily there was an English-speaking group with us and so we got the info in both Spanish and English. I wish every tour was like that. He did it in Spanish first and so I'd try and understand as much as I could and then double-check it when he went over it in English. 

First we had a tour of this HUGE hacienda. It was so so so gorgeous! The family that owned the plantation lived in it and they must have been super rich!

The mother that lived in this house loved to cook and so she wanted to make a large, beautiful kitchen in the Hacienda. But once she saw it, she thought it was too beautiful to cook in; so this kitchen was never actually used haha. 

Just on the porch of the hacienda... apparently it was white shirt day.

I could definitely live here! 

And then the tour started... I got to comb the henequen! It was actually pretty tough!

Getting all the knots out!

All combed out... should I get extensions?

She's a natural! 

Then they brought us all drinks! It was sooo good... Lemonade with Hibiscus (Jamaica)!

Sippin' our morning cocktails ;) haha 

Isabel showed us how to make rope out of henequen... it's the strongest rope in the world! Maybe you've heard of it? More commonly known as sisal rope. 

She's a pro!

She got to keep it too, it was really fun!

More henequen strands!

This is what the leaves look like right after they're cut....

Then the workers sort through them before they're processed. 

This machine is so old but still working!

This is what it comes out looking like! It's like green, slimy strings!

Green slime everywhere! Glad I don't have to clean that out haha

Then once the bin is filled it is sent on this little train track to the next spot! 

Next the slimy strings are hung out to dry

There were so many rows! 

Then we went to this giant room full of the dry henequen strands... it is squished by this big squisher and they sell by the ton! 

My best friend and I just chilling on our henequen 

It's actually pretty itchy!

While we were listening to the guy Ryan thought it would be funny to tie my braids to the henequen. That stuff is super strong! Almost ripped my braid off haha... those strands are impossible to break!

Then both of them were tied together haha! 

This is how they make the bundles! All these machines are so cool!

I felt like I was the Tangled princess with meters and meters of long, blonde hair!

Just a normal day at work =) 

Factory workers!

Just lifting weights! Haha yeah right, these were the lightest things in the history of the world!

They also make cords and ropes that are super strong with this machine!

Then we were already having fun and they brought out even more fun! We got to go on these super fun little carts and ride through henequen fields!

All aboard! 

Just some best friends going for a little ride! 

Henequen fields that go on forever... They look like giant Aloe Vera plants. 

Our tour guide had a Canadian pin on his hat and so we became friends! He told me that there is a girl he loves in Canada so if I see her I'm supposed to say hi! haha 

You have to admit... this is one of the coolest forests you have ever seen! The plants are so huge!

Omgsh my heart is melting. This is the cutest little Mayan man on the planet! Antonio is my new best friend! He told us the greatest stories ever. He used to work on the Henequen fields when he was younger and he would work all day in the hot sun. He showed us how to throw the leaves onto his back and how much weight he carried every day. But one day he was brought into the Hacienda and started working for the family. He now tells his story every day to people all over the world. He used to think that he would live his whole life and die on the plantation without anyone ever knowing his name. But now his picture and name is all over the world and he's just the happiest person alive. He speaks fluent Mayan and a little bit of Spanish and so our tour guide translated for us.

He made these shoes himself! He's seriously the best, I love him!

This lady was part of our tour group. There's not really anything more that needs to be said... pictures say a thousand words haha. 

He told us that he has never worn underwear haha.. He's so funny! 

This is where he sleeps! It's a hammock made out of henequen. He just sat there swinging back and forth telling us stories. 

He said that this is the perfect way to lay in the hammock because then you can put one lady on each side of you haha

Such an attractive angle... just missing Antonio in the middle of us! 

Then he told us how he plants the henequen... so funny!

Haha I spy Caitlin! 

We taught him how to do thumbs up! He was soooo cute! I was almost crying when we had to say bye. I wanted to bring him home soooo bad!

Best friends! 

Besitos to say bye! 

Next we went to a Cenote! 

It was underground and seriously one of the prettiest cenotes I've ever been in.

The water was so clear! It looks like it's super shallow but it was seriously like 20-30 feet deep!

WE LOVE CENOTES! 

Swimming every day is the best! 

The back corner had a little light beam that shone on it and it was a fun place to hang out.

For some reason Ryan and Alannah still haven't seen the sun haha. Maybe too much time in underground cenotes. 

Isn't this gorgeous?! 

I could have swam in there all day!

Que Bonita =)

Best friends! 

So so happy! Happiest girl around =)

Brooke and I tanning our legs off the back of the cart... only a few days left! Gotta get all the sun in while we can =) 

This was our last cenote of Mexico =( We LOVE cenotes.... hating goodbyes and "lasts"

The best. 

Besties! Such a fun day! 

Adios to the henequen factory... the last excursion was definitely a great one!

Then they had little gifts to sell and we bought every single thing that they had on that table!

They even gave us cute little key chains for a souvenir... everyone that worked here was the best! Such a cool place to visit!

Next, we were off to dinner! Since it was our last day all of our families came too to celebrate. We went to such a fancy restaurant. Might have been one of the most expensive meals that I have ever eaten. Definitely a lot of fun. And perfect for a long day swimming and being in the sun!

It was obvious with all the other families there that I had the best parents around! I love these two more than anything!

Do you think we got enough desserts? Haha it all looks so good so we couldn't pick just one!

The parents

Table #1

Table #2

Table #3

Table #4

Jose! Love this little kid... it was sad to say goodbye =(

This was such a fun day! Lots of fun and then a great evening with our families reminiscing on all the good times. And to wrap it up, Cody, Brooke, and Tyler sang a song that they wrote about Merida. It was so fun and everyone was singing along laughing and crying. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be with.