Hacienda Mundaco

There once was a pirate who sailed the seas between Africa and Cuba.  By the 1850s he'd make a fortune selling slaves (some say he made his money another way but most historical accounts say he was a slave trader).

In 1870, Pirate Mundaco landed on Isla Mujeres and began building a house on property which took up 40% of the island (it's only 5 miles long).  He planted vast gardens, kept animals in pens, farmed and brought in plant species from all over the world and dug deep wells.  Now on the island local people are working to restore the property.  The first well is still standing and part of the original house has been reconstructed.

Mundaco built the property to woo an 18 year old woman.  She eventually chose to marry a fisherman instead.  Legand says the old pirate slowly lost his mind from heartbreak and died in Merida.  

He has a tomb on the island that is still empty (Kingsley and I found it after roaming the cemetery).  It's marked with a skull and cross bones supposedly made by Mundaco himself.  We took pictures of it last time we were in Isla.  Creepy - but interesting.