Our group woke up this morning to head to the
Uxmal ruins. It was pretty rainy, and I thought that might put a damper on the
trip somewhat. However, the ruins were absolutely beautiful, even in the rain!
The best part was the view from the Governor’s Palace. From this vantage point,
we could see the entirety of Uxmal and the beautiful jungle surrounding it.
Afer our visit to Uxmal, we went to visit Bob Gow,
former president of Zapata corporation, on his hacienda. There is some
suspicion that he was once in the CIA disguised as an exotic fruit importer
from Columbia. Needless to say, he is an interesting man. Bob Gow bought his
hacienda, Xixim, in 1985 when both the floors and roof were missing. He has
worked on it for a number of years, and the hacienda has been returned to its a
original state (with a few modern additions such as a pool).
Like most
haciendas in Mexico, Xixim has three cenotes (underground pools) that would
carry the water to supply the fields as well as the inhabitants of the hacienda.
During our visit with Mr. Gow, we enjoyed a delicious traditional Yucatecan
meal that featured pork, rice, and steamed vegetables. Mr. Gow took a great
interest in each of our personal stories, and
gave us some valuable life lessons. Bob Gow is a believer in being prepared to
change at a moments notice, and he has used the hacienda as a think tank for
many of those ventures including both a talapia and bamboo farm. He stressed to
us the importance of experimentation and not being afraid to take chances, for
chances are what makes life worth living.
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