Varadero - March/April 2004 - Discovery Tour

Our second trip was the Discovery Tour. They promote it as 'driving in Jeeps' but they were actually Suzuki Samurais - hence our 'thumbs down'! Oh well, they got us where we needed to go! We drove through the back country and stopped at a sugar cane farm. They chopped off hand-size pieces for anyone who wanted to try one. Next we stopped in a small town at a little store for refreshments. Then we moved on to a working coffee and fruit farm. We toured the farm house and the lady made us all this sugar-drink. There was this huge tree that they said the long-ago slaves had brought with them from their home country. It was amazing! After that we exchanged the 'Jeeps' for 4-person boats and we all drove down the river to a sort-of retreat. We had lunch in the restaurant, browsed through the shops, relaxed in hammocks, and there was horse riding available for anyone who wanted. After a few hours there, we were bussed on to some underground caves, where my sister Michelle was asked to participate in a demonstration of the cave water's special properties. Supposedly she would find love shortly thereafter... :) It was a fun-filled day!