After 5 days on the resort I was getting antsy and decided that it was time for us to leave and go on a Jeep Safari Adventure.
Cayo Coco is separated from mainland Cuba by a 31 km causeway. It is more of a ‘tourist’ island and some say ‘not the real Cuba’. With its idyllic beaches, manicured lawns, zero development outside of hotels, and the only locals being ones that are bussed in to work at the hotels, I would agree.
I wanted, if not needed, Gaston to get a taste of Cuban life and get a reality check.
The drive through the countryside is beautiful – fields of crops, cows, random goats tied in front of some houses and the occasional pig. My favourite was a giant grey pig that looked like an elephant and later 3 little piglets, struggling to run across the field, with only their little pink ears flopping above the grass visible. They were so cute that it (almost) made me not want to ever eat bacon again.
There are random horses everywhere. They are in the fields, pulling buggies, walking around by the side of the road, or sometimes just tied in front of someone’s house in town.
Driving itself is an adventure. You have to watch out for cars, trucks, mopeds, bicycles, tractors, horse drawn carriages, bicycle taxies, horses, dogs, chickens, potholes and people. Driving through the town of Morón (Yes I wanted to call it moron, but didn’t) with the houses so close to each other, the dogs free to roam the streets, babies sat on the handlebars of a moped with no helmet, was an eye opener for Gaston.
Our first stop was at a farm in the country for a horseback ride with some real Cuban Cowboys. The owner had 57 horses, including some quarter horses used for racing. (We didn’t get to ride those). He also has rooms available to rent in his hacienda, where we will undoubtedly come back to stay at in a future adventure.
We rode our horses into the foothills of the mountains before returning to the farm to play with a friendly donkey and drink some fresh juice.
We jumped back into our jeep and hit the road again. After a dusty, bumpy ride, we swerved our jeep and jumped James Bond style into a speedboat and we were on our way to a private island for a traditional Cuban lunch.
The spread was sensational. Arroz Congri (the Cuban version of rice and beans), Carne Asada (grilled and sliced beef), pickled veggies, fried taro and boiled taro (kind of like a potato but way better), sweet plantains and fried plantains (kind of like a banana but way better) and a café con leche for dessert. You can tell when the food is really good because I don’t have any pictures of it because I was too busy eating it.
After lunch the cutest little old Cuban man put on a magic show for us and had us in stitches. As his last trick he put 5 balls in my hand and closed my hand into a fist. When I opened my hand, it had magically turned into a giant foam penis… I really need to figure out how he did that one…
Speaking Spanish is like being a member of a secret society. All the people I met so far have wanted to tell me all of their stories, about their lives, about the history, and all their trade secrets. This view into their hearts is an extra special gift.
Fed, fat and happy, we hopped back onto our boat and sped back to our jeep. We set our course for a farm where we would learn about cacao, tobacco and coffee.
I immediately recognized the cacao plants from my time in Costa Rica and explained to Gaston how you can cut open the plant and eat the mushy pulp stuff around the cacao seeds. The seeds are then dried, roasted and crushed to make cocoa the basis of my beloved chocolate.
Moving on to the coffee plants, we picked some ‘fruits’ that sort of looked like little kumquats off the plants and squished them open to reveal the seeds. Inside were two halves of the coffee been covered in a thin, sticky white film. Naturally, I put them in my mouth…kind of sweet.
Then they showed us how they roast the beans and before we moved on to crushing them for coffee, Gaston had grabbed a handful and started eating them. I’m pretty sure he won’t be sleeping for the balance of the vacation.
Next, in a greenhouse looking like shelter, were the tobacco plants. They grow to almost 2 meters and take 75 days to grow before they are ready to be harvested. The leaves are soft and leave a stickiness on your fingers after you touch them. After the leaves are dried, you pull off the stems and roll them. Then you smoke ‘em if you got ‘em
High after a few puffs, I spent some time chasing the chickens, roosters, turkeys and little baby chicks around the farm.
Just before we reached the causeway on the way back we stopped at a little bar that made the best piña coladas, eva! They cut out the inside of the piña, mix up the pineapple and the coconut and then it is PYOA – Pour Your Own Alcohol!!! Between the cigars and the colada, Gaston was down for the count.
We enjoyed our cocktails in a little hut by the water before finally heading home after a fun filled day.
Here’s how it all went down: