During our "Dominican Experience" excursion, we made a stop at this home to see their plantation.
Their garden was beautiful.
They let us walk inside the house, but we had to be quiet because there was a 90 year old woman sleeping in her bed and she had been sick. So, we basically walked straight through.
We went out onto the covered porch and spoke with the woman's husband, who is also in his 90's, and learned a little about their daily life.
Who knew bananas grew this way?!
This is where the family did all of their washing and cooking.
After visiting with the family, we went to see the crops. First, we learned all about coffee.
Our tour guide showed us the coffee beans, ground them into powder and shared some samples of coffee with those who wanted to try it.
Then we learned how they produce chocolate.
I don't remember what this is but they dry it out and mix it with the cocoa beans to make chocolate. Our guide had us taste it. It tastes similar to kiwi, but it wasn't very good.
This is their mixture of hot chocolate. We tasted a sample. It was nasty. Nothing like the hot chocolate we have in the United States.
We saw where they grow coconut and pineapple.
And tobacco.
They actually dry the tobacco leaves for at least 3 years before they use them in cigars.
We were able to watch this guy roll and cut a few cigars. Luckily for us, they didn't offer any samples. However, we did get to smell them off and on throughout our vacation. Apparently, Dominican cigars are a hot commodity.
We also visited their butterfly house.
Love all the pictures! FYI...The slimy kiwi-tasting things house the cocoa beans. :)
ReplyDeleteI knew there was some sort of connection. I think I was just zoned out during that part of the tour :)
Delete