Feel the wind, move to reggae beats & look below the waves!
Barbados is a unique coral island in the Caribbean famous for its white-sand beaches, consistently warm weather and excellent rum. A great way to tour the island and partake in some of the best of what Barbados has to offer is to sail and snorkel along the west coast. Sailing has a rich history in Barbados and with near constant trade-winds and calm Caribbean seas, a sailing excursion is a “must-do” tour when visiting the island. This may also be the best way for first-timers to reach the snorkeling hotspots in Carlisle Bay. It’s what we did!
After the Tour Operator collected us from our hotel, it was just a short mini-van ride to the marina at the north end of Carlisle Bay. After a short walk in the drizzling rain, we boarded a catamaran for a snorkel, sail and lunch tour. We were joined by a couple of dozen people or so, although it never really felt crowded. The spacious vessel had a large covered cabin downstairs with a huge bar and bathrooms located off in both of the hulls. There was plenty of room on deck, at the front half of the boat on and around the catamaran webbing, over the main cabin, as well as an area at the back of the boat. After a brief introduction from the crew, we were on our way.
The tour started with a quick motor over to Carlisle Bay’s choicest spots – One known for swimming with turtles and the other over a shallow shipwreck. A friendly member of the crew handed out some masks, fins and floatation vests and we entered the warm Caribbean Sea. FYI – we have our own masks now – no more wondering where that mouthpiece had been last 😉.
Luckily the drizzle had subsided by the time we got to the snorkel spots. That said, the water seemed a little cloudy – I suspect more sunlight would have helped with visibility. At first, I didn’t see anything, however as my eyes adjusted to my new underwater environment, I saw something move… There were several stingrays cruising along the seafloor looking for food scraps. Unfortunately, there were several boatloads of people here at the same time as us, so when a turtle was eventually spotted, everyone converged on the area. Regardless of the thrashing humans all around, we managed to see a couple of the fascinating reptiles. I think they were green turtles and not hawksbills, but I’m not sure. It was really fun to watch a turtle, enveloped in a swarm of “entourage” fish, swim-up for an easy meal. After surfacing for some air, they gracefully descended back into the mysterious blue depths. Wow – That was pretty cool!
We re-boarded the boat and motored a couple of hundred feet away, a little closer to shore this time, near the location of a sunken tugboat. Our guide led us to where the shipwreck was resting in about 15 feet of water. Once I looked below the surface it was easy to spot. Snorkeling over the shipwreck was a lot of fun! It was amazing to see so many fish congregating in one area like that. The top and sides of the wreck were covered in a variety of corals as well as sponges and sea fans, although it was the large variety of tropical fish that really got me excited. I viewed the ship from stern to bow and back again – I just couldn’t get enough. Along with schools of sergeant-majors, the trumpetfish, blue-tang and angelfish really stood out to me.
Somewhat reluctantly, I got back on the boat and dried off in the sun while the crew steered us out of the bay. They hoisted the sails and we were off for the sailing portion of the tour. We were really fortunate to be out on a windy day, as it’s just no fun having to motor around on a gorgeous sailboat. With both the mainsail and jib up harnessing the wind, we skimmed quickly across the beautiful Caribbean Sea. It was exhilarating sitting at the front of the boat, enjoying some decent speeds – I even lied down on the catamaran webbing, reveling in the water rushing below. We sailed north along the west coast to the energetic yet relaxing sounds of beautiful reggae music – It doesn’t really get much better than this! I was thinking to myself, how do I make this moment last forever? Oh well, back to reality… Eventually, we came to a stop near Sandy Lane and maneuvered into position to anchor for lunch.
Did I mention that the boat had an open bar downstairs? Well, it did and the friendly crew was doing their best to create a party atmosphere and ensure everyone was having fun. Personally, I thought the rum sour and rum punch I sampled were delicious! While sitting out in the warm sun viewing the beach-filled shoreline with a rum beverage in my hand I was thinking, This is a pretty great way to spend a day!
Before long, the crew let us know that the buffet lunch was there for the taking. Having worked up an appetite after our swim and snorkeling, it was great to sample their offering of barbeque chicken, fish, baked potatoes, rice & peas (beans) and vegetables along with an assortment of salads. What a nice spread. We were moored there for a while, so after lunch we had time to just chill… While some people went for a swim, others dived or flipped off the side of the catamaran. We just relaxed at the back of the boat making new friends. I think the best place to be was at the back of the boat dangling our feet in the water enjoying the beautiful and calming blue sea…
Well, eventually we had to head back. We motored/sailed south to the sound of contemporary / pop hits, which some would say is the easiest to dance to. This particular crowd did not erupt into a congo line of dancers that we’ve seen on other party boats – That was fine with me. The crew came around with one last treat of carrot cake – perhaps intended to help sober us up a bit.
Over-all this was a great sailing tour. Even though it sprinkled rain a couple of times it didn’t dampen our spirit. We enjoyed seeing the turtles and snorkeling over the wreck, chatting with folks and having a good time! We were driven back to our hotel, where we still had a few hours of daylight left to enjoy
FYI – There are several catamaran tour operators in Barbados to choose from, even a monohull tour operator is available. Most seem to do some variation of this west coast cruise. You can check out a number of them to find the one best suited for your needs. Some other sailing excursions feature sunsets or dinner.
ACT Staff
For more information on sailing in Barbados, including a list of boat / tour operators, check out our Barbados Sailing page
For an overview of beautiful Barbados, take a look at our Barbados Vacations page
For an overview of great Tourist Attractions on the island, including tour operators who will take good care of you, check out our Things to Do in Barbados page
For more underwater adventures, maybe you’ll enjoy our Barbados Snorkeling blog
If you’re looking for more ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the island, click on our Barbados Adventures blog post for some great ideas!
A wild ride down the Spice Island’s Balthazar River
After a somewhat harrowing drive from the St. Georges area to the heart of Grenada, we eventually made it to ‘The River’s Edge’ restaurant, which also conveniently doubles as the launch site for river-tubing Grenada’s “Great River”. It was warm and sunny the day of our visit – Just perfect for a river tubing adventure. A couple of friendly locals from Funtastic Island Adventures greeted us in the parking lot to get us ready for our journey downstream. Our excursion guides for the next hour or so were named Blue and Splashy. Once they fitted us with helmets and life jackets we were each handed a large inflated ‘tube’ that would be the best seat in the house, which in this case was the Spice Island’s Baltahar River. One by one we plopped ourselves down into the floating bright orange tubes and excitedly pushed off from shore.
After a few seconds, the river current picked up speed and we headed downstream. After the first set of rapids, we gently bounced off a stone wall before slowly drifting under a bridge where we gained momentum once again. For our Grenada river-tubing experience, it was just our small party of three, so we pretty much had a private tour. Well, actually a couple of dogs also joined us for our journey – sometimes running along the shore, other times joining us in the water for a refreshing swim. Pretty cool…
The Balthazar River system consists of a diverse assortment of fairly fast-moving water through long narrow channels bordered with large rocks, exciting small waterfall-like drops of a foot or two, along with some wide open areas of deeper water where things slow down to more of a lazy river vibe. All this variation made for a very interesting ride through the tree-lined river gully, giving us a remote and secluded feel. The entire voyage through the lush green environment was a great way to enjoy the Grenada wilderness.
After a few calming minutes of leisurely drifting down the river, we left the world behind and it was just us and the ebbing flow of the stream, surrounded by the natural beauty of Grenada’s jungle-like vegetation. Blue told us that being mid-April the water level was really low for our river journey and that during the rainy season later in the year the water level can be two feet higher or more, and much much faster! Meanwhile, for our trip down Grenada’s “Great River”, we occasionally felt rocks passing beneath us, but the tubes we were riding in had Styrofoam bottoms to keep us protected. We did get caught up several times on rocks, but Blue and Splashy were always close by, helping to pull or push us around the obstacles as required. One time though, going over a 3-foot drop I thought I was going to dump for sure – but I just held onto the handles until Blue rushed over to pull me through the mini-falls and the tube eventually righted itself. During all the excitement, I did get a little mouthful of water, but that just added to the fun experience!
To add to the ‘nature’ vibe of our river tubing experience, at one point we came across a handful of blue herons fishing the waters. At yet another area we passed under an old stone bridge that looked like the ruins of some lost civilization – Turns out it was just the remnants of an old road that was replaced decades ago. It was still an interesting sight though, as it is slowly being reclaimed by the natural world.
Somewhere along our outing, we floated into a fairly large pond area where the water was barely moving. Apparently, when large groups are taking the tour, additional entertainment is provided by locals jumping off the riverside cliff! Anyways… After about 45 minutes of speeding through small series of rapids and slowly floating across tranquil ponds, our amazing Balthazar River tubing experience sadly came to a conclusion as the river was getting too rocky and shallow to continue. Well, it was great fun that I didn’t want to be over, but all good things must come to an end!
ACT Staff
For more information about river tubing down the Balthazar River, check out the Funtastic Island Adventures website.
For Tour Operators who can get you on the river, as well as guide you to many other great Tourist Attractions on the island, check out our Things to Do in Grenada page.
For an overview of the Spice Island of the Caribbean, take a look at our Grenada Vacations page.
If you’re looking for more ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the island, click on our Grenada Adventures blog post for some great ideas!
Rum is such a big part of Caribbean history that whenever I’m in the Caribbean I just have to visit a local distillery or two. However, in the French Caribbean Island of Martinique, the choice is almost overwhelming. While plenty of Caribbean islands produce Rum, Martinique could be considered the rum, or should I say rhum (en Francais), capital of the world. With over 10 distilleries and likely hundreds of rhums produced on the island, the folks in Martinique take their rum-making seriously. This is evident with the formalization of the liquid gold with an AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) certification. Similar to French-made wines, cheeses and other spirits, the designation certifies the authenticity of Martinique rhums, characterized by their unique geographical origin and production techniques. The terminology used to describe Martinique rhums are also akin to brandies or wines – This includes rhum classifications such as VO, VSOP and XO, and some rhums from a particularly good batch are even sold as ‘vintages’
Oh… One other thing I should also mention is that French “Rhum Agricole” (agricultural rum) is made directly from sugar cane juice, not the molasses by-product of producing sugar, which is the case for most other Caribbean rums. As a result, Martinique rhum production includes a few different steps than other Caribbean distilleries and some of their rhums can be much more expensive than molasses-based rums – We’re talking hundreds of euros per bottle expensive. That said, a great thing about Martinique’s distilleries is that most of them are open to the public, offering free or reasonably priced plantation/distillery tours and rhum tasting along with storefronts providing the opportunity to purchase the rhum(s) of your choice.
So… on our recent trip to Martinique, I had to check out a couple of the rhum industry heavyweights, along with a couple of lesser-known distilleries.
Distillerie Saint-James et Musée du Rhum
Our first stop had to be the world-renowned Saint James Distillery and Museum of Rhum located in Sainte-Marie on the northeast coast of the island. We parked right next to the large distillery building which unfortunately was not in operation or open to tour when we visited in January, as it is “not in harvest season”. Instead, we wandered around on a self-guided tour of the Museum of Rhum / Maison de la Distillation. The old two-story building is filled with historical St. James memorabilia including old rhum-making equipment such as distillation columns, stills and steam-powered machinery. The building also contains tons of information on Martinique, sugar cane, as well as the French Agricole rhum-making process. For me, it was a thrill to see the incredible stash they have in their basement – Display cases stocked with very old rhums, some dating back as far as the 19th century!
I understand the rhums of St. James began in the 18th century when the Reverend Father in charge of a local hospital built a sugar refinery nearby, which eventually also produced alcohol. The rhum is named after one of the regions providing sugar cane to the refinery. However as France had banned alcohol sales other than wine at the time, the rhum produced was named Saint James, not Saint Jacques, making it easier to sell in the English colonies. Later in the 19th century, the St. James distillery parted ways with the typical round fat bottle of the time, becoming famous for its square bottle. While this move was likely developed to increase shipping efficiency, it presented a modern clean look, that is still attractive today.
After our enjoyable museum visit we went to their little train station out back. It wasn’t long before we boarded an old narrow-gauge train consisting of a small locomotive and three open-air passenger cars. Our train ride took us through fields of sugar cane and other crops in various stages of growth, as well as remarkably close to some residences – Not something we would ever see in North America. A young St. James tour guide entertained the passengers with an interactive and humorous presentation, most of which I, unfortunately, didn’t understand as my conversational French was not up to the task.
Our guide also did double duty as a crossing guard and switchman, hopping off the train at one point to manually sound an alarm and perform flag-man duties as the train crossed a rural road. The train traveled about a mile (< 2km) or so before stopping and reversing course, where at one point our tour guide once again jumped off, this time to switch our track, which took us to the impressive Habitation La Salle.
At the Habitation La Salle train station we disembarked and walked a short distance along a river before crossing a bridge and entering a wonderfully restored collection of 17th-century buildings. Formerly a sugar refinery, now the buildings house a coffee museum, a display of mill equipment used to crush sugar cane into juice, a fascinating “guildiverie” where evaporators and stills were used to produce tafia (a predecessor to rum), as well as aging/storage warehouses. There’s also a special tasting area and shop selling top-shelf artisan bottles of La Salle and St. James branded rhum. After meandering around the grounds of the habitation and exploring the banks of the river, the train returned to pick us up and return us back to the grounds of the St. James Distillery.
On the way to the St. James rhum shop, I noticed a small workshop where a craftsman was demonstrating how the rhum barrels are charred, instilling flavour into the rhum as they age – that was pretty cool. The building that houses the store, with its collection of old distillery and other centuries-old local artifacts, is a museum in its own right, almost distracting from the long bar at the back. Staffed with plenty of friendly and informative patrons, the tasting bar was a happening place. St. James’ latest offerings include a number of white and amber rhums, a variety of aged rhums along with some incredible vintage rhums as well as some interesting premixed concoctions.
While it was great to be immersed in Martinique’s rhum-making history and tradition, we eventually decided that our St. James Rhum experience had to come to an end… After a visit to the nearby Banana Museum and Habitation, we headed back to where we were staying on the other side of the island.
Rhum Depaz
The next afternoon it was overcast and threatening to rain – An excellent opportunity to explore another Martinique rhum distillery! Located in the foothills of Mount Pelee on the northwest side of Martinique just outside the former capital city of Saint-Pierre, reside the impressive grounds of the Depaz plantation and distillery. Back in the 17th century, this was home to the island’s first French Governor and his large farm known as La Montagne.
As soon as we arrived at the Depaz property, we were immediately drawn to the magnificent, what the English would call a Greathouse, on the nearby hillside. Chateau Depaz, also known as Depaz Castle, was built in the early 20th century as a replica of the childhood home of Victor Depaz. The original building was destroyed, along with the city of Saint-Pierre and the surrounding area, in 1902 when the Mount Pelee volcano erupted. Situated between colourful gardens with Mount Pelee in the background and manicured lawns and fields of sugar cane, the chateau enjoys spectacular views of the Caribbean Sea.
After wandering around the grounds for a while, we passed a large 19th-century water wheel before heading towards the distillery and a number of other buildings, situated in a beautiful park setting complete with magnificent centuries-old trees. Once again, we were ‘out of season’ when we visited in January so the distillery was not in operation nor open to the public. I understand that the buildings still operate with power from an old steam engine, fuelled by the remains of crushed sugar cane. It is unfortunate that we were not able to witness the crushing of the cane, the fermentation or the distillation of the precious juice. We did however stroll into the small Depaz Museum displaying some old farm and distillation equipment, as well as some other buildings. The highlight for me had to be peering into the warehouses used to store and age the delicious outputs from the distillery.
Eventually we made our way into their welcoming and informative storefront, where I learned about Depaz’s environmentally friendly farming and production practices as well as more about the sugar cane used to make their rhum, they emphasized the unique blue cane sugar, spring water and the volcanic ground, or “terroir”, local to the Mount Pelée region. Depaz Rhum’s latest offerings include a wide variety of white rhums, and aged rhums along with some special edition rhums that include specific vintages as well as exceptional barrel-finished rhums.
Well, all that walking around and learning had whet my appetite, so I was really looking forward to trying some of their rhums. After not so patiently waiting, a spot finally opened at the small tasting room bar. The friendly Depaz hostess was extremely helpful in explaining the differences between the rhums I wanted to sample. She generously gave me a sample of three whites and the same number of aged rhums. She wisely and professionally gave me enough to sample the elixir, without giving me too much to impair my ability to drive. I am not really a white rum drinker, however, their white rhums were incredibly unique to my palate. The aroma of one of them was pungent yet inviting, with a strong scent of wet green vegetation. The dominant tasting characteristic of the white rhums was a funky burn in the mouth and throat, however, it was kind of a good burn – much better than other white rums I have tasted. That said, I preferred the more flavourful aged rhums, especially the mellow and diverse taste of the reasonably priced ‘Cuvee Victor Depaz’, apparently a blend of bourbon-barrel-aged rhums between 3 and 6 years. I’m no connoisseur, however it tasted a little woody, fruity and herbal to me. When I open the bottle at home, I will try to imagine flavours of chocolate and prunes as suggested on the label. As I am very limited as to what I can bring home with me, I believe this was a solid choice!
After being amazed by the large colourfully labelled vats of rhum off the side of their shop, we called it a day – and it never did rain, or if it did, we didn’t notice it 🙂
Habitation Clement
A few days later we headed out to the illustrious Habitation Clement, located a little inland just south of Le Francois on the east side of Martinique. FYI – We visited the Habitation from the southeast region of the island and got lost trying to follow a Google maps shortcut. I suggest you just drive all the way into Le Francois and follow the ‘Habitation Clement’ signs at the main roundabout.
Anyways, once we found the place, we parked and paid a nominal fee to enter the property. The grounds are absolutely spectacular! Even if you’re not into rum, this is a great place to just stroll around and relaxingly take in the sights. Following the path from the entrance took us through a well-manicured landscape, including a couple of nice ponds. Fields of sugar cane and bananas surround the grounds – Crops we saw a lot of while exploring the island. Habitation Clement also highlights the work of many local artists, with their creative and imaginative creations displayed throughout the property. While I found some of the art pieces interesting, I was just as happy to feel the warmth of the sun, breath the fresh air and appreciate our gorgeous surroundings.
After a short sit on a bench soaking up the lush green Caribbean environment, we continued to follow the trail up a small hill to a small wooden structure with a grinding stone. The sugar cane crushing machinery would have been powered by a donkey walking around and around in circles. From this vantage point we had a great view of the palm grove and buildings below. At the bottom of the hill, the path took us through a wonderful variety of palm trees of different colours, shapes and sizes. We also passed another small pond, this one the canvass for another art display. From there we walked through a small patch of sugar cane and then things started to get more exciting, or at least more rhum themed.
We approached a building that just oozing with the strong but appealing smell of wood and aging rum. The scent was emanating of course from a warehouse full of rhum barrels – An overload to the nasal senses for sure. A little further along the trail and we came across a couple more warehouses filled with more Clement-stamped barrels of assorted shapes and sizes. After admiring the vast quantity of barrels in storage we went up the Clement Creole village consisting of a few old buildings that included a stable, a separate kitchen-house as well as the iconic Clement Greathouse, a graphic of which is used as their logo on every bottle of rhum and other products they sell. There is also a building that houses their renowned art exhibits. I was also enamored with the amazing old trees in the area, my favourites being a figuier, a red mahogany and a tamarind tree.
The path then took us into the old distillery for more things to see. It is no longer operating, however there are several old stills and various distillery machinery to look at. Upstairs the building houses an amazingly set of displays and presentations providing a detailed record of the history of sugar cane, rhum making, Martinique and Habitation Clement – Extremely informative and fascinating. By the way, an audio guide is available on your smartphone if you are interested in hearing all the details of the art displays and buildings encountered on the self-guided tour.
Eventually, our self-guided tour spilled us out into a small shop and sampling bar where some of Clément’s finest can be tasted. Latest offerings from Clement include a variety of white and aged rhums, as well as several rhum liqueurs and pre-mixed concoctions. I tried a white rhum and a young-age rhum as well as some rhum liqueurs and pre-mixed concoctions, with the highlight having to be a taste of a very well-aged cuvee – Extremely smooth and complex. That said, we ended up purchasing their Antilles (Planters) Punch to savour while we continued to vacation on the island.
It was a very enjoyable couple of hours, walking the well-manicured lawns, soaking up the warmth of the sun, appreciating the art, smelling the aromas of the barrel warehouses, and of course sampling Clement’s fine rhums and rhum liqueurs.
Distillerie Neisson
After one of our other Martinique adventures, we accidentally came across a distillery located on the western side of Martinique, just south of Le Carbet. Invited by the ‘Neisson Rhum’ signs along the N2 road, we thought we venture in for a look. We didn’t have time for a tour of the facility, however I understand that it consists of a stroll through a number of buildings that house a mill, a boiler, fermentation tanks, a column still, warehouses used for aging their rhums, as well as a bottling facility. After a brief look around, we visited their shop to sample a couple of aged rhums, and I ended up picking up one of their bottles of VO rhum, something I would never be able to find at home. I’ve never tasted a rhum so light and floral in my entire life – Very interesting. We enjoyed our brief visit to Rhum Neisson, and left with the impression of a small boutique rhum producer.
Ahhh – So many Martinique rhums, so little time… Other distilleries that I would have liked to have visited while we were on the island include La Mauny, Trois Rivieres, Habitation Saint Etienne (HSE), Dillon, La Favorite, J.M. and A1710 (Habitation Simon). Maybe next time 😊
If you’re interested in reading more about rum, check out our Caribbean Rum page and our Martinique Rhum page, which includes a list of Tour Operators who will get you sampling the island’s finest.
For an overview of beautiful and rugged Martinique, take a look at our Martinique Vacations page
The Joy Spence Experience (Jamaica’s Appleton Estate) – The Ultimate Caribbean Rum Tour
Wow, I’m finally here… That’s what I was thinking when we exited our tour bus at our third and final stop of the day. I was excited, yet trying to keep my expectations low, as I have experienced mostly disappointing rum tours (on other Caribbean islands) in the past. This was our fourth visit to Jamaica, and this time we finally made the journey to visit the remotely located Appleton Estate – Makers of some of the finest rum in the world.
The day’s tour of Jamaica included three amazing south-west island excursions – First, we went on The Black River Safari, then we visited YS Falls and now, for the finale, was the Appleton Estate Rum tour. We booked this 3-in-1 smorgasbord of adventures through Jamaica’s Amstar DMC and Tropical Tours.
This is the final installment of three blog posts from the day’s adventures – This one Focuses on the Joy Spence Experience (AKA The Appleton Estate Rum Tour).
Well, the folks at Appleton Estates know how to set the mood – We started off with a drink in their warm and inviting lounge/bar, watching a gorgeous peacock strut his stuff through a window just a few feet away from our super comfy couch.
OK, let’s get back to the drink, as this is a rum tour after-all! We were offered a generous welcome drink upon our arrival – The bartender casually poured about 3 to 4 ounces of ‘Appleton Signature Blend’ rum into a glass and offered us either a Valley Storm (AKA Dark & Stormy) or a Rum Punch. I chose the former, while my two tour buddies chose the latter. You couldn’t go wrong either way!
Although we were quite relaxed and fully prepared to spend more time in the lounge, our hostess introduced herself and the tour began. We started by entering a charming little theatre for a short film about Caribbean rum, the island of Jamaica as well as the history and marriage of the two… While the video had a serious marketing slickness to it, I enjoyed it. The film was really well done, providing interesting information in a very enjoyable format. Personally, I can’t get enough of seeing aerial views of Jamaica’s lush green forests, fast flowing rivers and rum! We were then invited outside to visit a number of exhibition buildings / gazebos.
First, we were shown how the juice was removed from the sugar cane in the old days – via a donkey-powered mechanical crusher / juicer of sorts. The poor creatures would just walk in circles all day long, but don’t feel too sorry for the donkey just yet, I’ll have my chance to be put to work too…
Next we went into a small “history” building with artifacts to view and short historical fact sheets to read. Interesting – I just learned that Appleton and Wray & Nephew, another large rum producer on the island, are actually both owned by the same company, and have been for some time.
After that, we got “hands on” with some sugar cane. Our tour hostess provided us with pieces of cane stalk to pass around, as well as bite size morsels of sugar cane core for each of us. We sucked and chewed on the sweet cane while she told us about the different kinds of cane as well as the importance of quality water and soil found on the island. It was surprisingly easily to crush the cane between our teeth, filling our mouths with delicious liquid while leaving behind a chunk of fibrous pulp to discard. The initial steps of making Caribbean rum.
Then it was deja-vu, all over again. We gathered around the mechanical sugar cane crusher / juicer, which we had seen before, except this time there was no donkey. Our hostess persuaded myself and another tipsy tourist to ‘man the machine’. We pushed on two long arms on opposite sides of the machine, while someone fed cane stalks into the machine. Not sure what made me more dizzy, walking in circles or the rum beverage I had recently enjoyed – Probably a bit of both! Ahhh, but my efforts were rewarded with a nice cup of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice to sample. Well ok, everyone got a cup, but mine was fuller 🙂
For the next stop in the ‘Sugar Cane to Rum’ process we were shown a centrifugal machine which spins the juice to separate the liquid from the molasses covered sugar. So what happens next you ask? Well, our next stop was to see and taste what our hostess called ‘wet sugar’. Basically a warm thick sugary molasses. I really enjoyed getting a sample of this sweet treat – Yum!
After that, we walked up an observation tower to get a good view of the property and surrounding landscape while our hostess told us more about Appleton rum and the estate. Apparently an abandoned train track below the tower platform may be rejuvenated and put back in service. That would make it much easier for visitors from the main tourist towns in the north-west of the island to reach them – A great idea!
Our hostess then escorted us across the spectacular estate grounds to the distillery itself. We were kind of rushed through the facility in small ‘controllable’ groups – apparently there was concern about someone stealing trade secrets or something. Anyways, we got a glimpse of their pot stills and continuous still. More than anything else, I learned that a Jamaican rum distillery has a real funky smell to it. I guess it’s from the fermenting molasses and esters doing their magic.
As the tour appeared to be coming to an end, we were taken inside a large building through a cool tunnel-like entrance. This turned out to be one of their warehouses. Our hostess told us about the barrel aging process and how this really gives the rums their distinct flavours and smoothness. It was an amazing site to see hundreds of barrels, literally ‘filled to the rafters’, maturing the alcohol into the golden nectar we know as rum!
Wait, there was more… We were then taken inside their main facility to a tasting room! It felt like a cross between a class room and a playground. We were seated in rows with three rums of varying age to sample. Being already familiar with all three, it was no surprise to me that you can really tell the difference that maturing process makes to the flavour and smoothness of the rum. Wow – that was a special event though.
Finally, this Caribbean rum tour was over and we headed to the gift shop. There was plenty of Appleton rum related shirts, spices and other goods to purchase. Oh ya, there were bottles of rum for sale as well.
In summary, we really enjoyed the “Joy Spence Experience” and I felt a certain level of personal fulfillment from taking the tour. We appreciated the newly renovated modern facility, the professional and informative hostess, and I just loved the ‘wood feel’ of the place. Everywhere we went I enjoyed the decor, with it’s barrels and old rum bottles – This is what I think of , when I think about a rum distillery tour. Bravo!
What a day… It was an absolutely spectacular tour filled with Jamaican landscapes, rivers, waterfalls, nature and rum. It doesn’t get any better than this. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so we boarded the bus for what turned out to be a long dark drive to the other side of the island. It seemed like the journey back to our hotels took a slightly different route than on the way down, however it still took a couple of hours to travel the 40 miles (62km) back to Montego Bay.
If the Joy Spence Experience / Appleton Estate Rum Tour sounds like fun, you can contact the friendly folks at Amstar by visiting the Amstar DMC website or their Facebook page .
For an overview of the land of wood and water, take a look at our Jamaica Vacations page
If you’re interested in reading more about Caribbean rums, check out our Rum page
For other great Tourist Attractions on the island, check out our Things to Do in Jamaica page
If you’re looking for more ‘active’ things to do while vacationing on the island, click on our Jamaica Adventures blog for some great ideas!
Jamaica River Tubing – Again, Again! Let’s Do It Again…
One thing that makes Jamaica different from many other Caribbean islands, is the number of decent sized rivers they have. While some other islands have similar weather and terrain, in terms of rainfall and a mountainous interior, they’re much smaller and don’t have the room for long winding rivers. The Spanish explorers were right to call Jamaica the ‘land of wood and water’ – The lush forested island has all the right ingredients for plenty of natural waterways… and that means plenty of opportunity to have adrenaline pumping fun while Jamaica river tubing.
Sometimes I look for a Caribbean island tour that’s a little “off the beaten track” and I’m always looking to support the island’s local population. Well, we found a great ‘rootsy’ outing with Yardy River Adventure Tours. These folks are not a large commercial operation, however they know how to give you a real Jamaican experience. Friendly and un-pretentious, the folks from Yardy River Adventure Tours showed our small party of three a great time – even arranging transportation for the long drive from Montego Bay down to their facility in Savanna la Mar.
While the first part of the drive, through Montego Bay and a long section of road that was undergoing major re-construction was nothing to talk about, the last part of the drive was really enjoyable. I especially liked driving through the cane fields and seeing the rural communities so far away from the tourist areas of Jamaica’s north/west coast.
This was a local tour, in a remote area, managed by local residents of the area. The low-lands where we did our river tubing was absolutely beautiful. The over-all property was very natural and rustic, with lovely tropical thatched-leave covered buildings next to the river. On the day and time we had our tour, we were the only tourists there, so it was nice and quiet – The sun was shining and we felt warm and cozy. This amazing environment provided a great backdrop for the Jamaica river tubing adventure we were about to experience.
While some Jamaica river tours offer rafting and kayaking, we wanted to get real close close to the action and “tube” down a wild river. Two guides joined us, one on a tube in the water with us, the other walking along the shore-line just ahead of us, ready to jump in if needed. This way we felt safe and that we were in good hands. Ya Mon!
OK, here we go – Our private river tubing experience was underway… We sat comfortably on the tube, with only your hands, feet and bum getting a little wet. Having come down from the mountains and being mostly in the shade, we were expecting the water to be on the cold side, however we were pleasantly surprised that after the initial transition of getting into the water, it was “all good”.
The Yardy River, which I believe is part of the same waterway as the Roaring and White Rivers in the area, carves a snake-like path through the well canopied landscape. The river has fairly high banks and moves fairly fast, although there were a few nice relaxing slow areas as well. There were several bends and turns in the river, as well as some fast stretches with small rapids. Perfect for Jamaica river tubing! Sometimes our tube would want to ram into the river bank, although our hard-working guide in the water did his best to prevent that from happening. He would frantically try to stay ahead of us, pushing us into the middle of the river, sometimes running through the water, other times diving and swimming below us, whatever it took to keep us moving together as a group. Once we realized the challenge, we did our best to keep together and in the middle of the river by ourselves – A little paddling with our hands and pushing off the river bank with our feet whenever required. No Problem Mon
What a Rush!
We were moving fairly quickly downstream, yet at one point we managed to link-up the tubes and float together for a short stretch. The depth of the river was constantly changing from several feet in stretches to only a few inches over some rocks in a couple of shallow spots. We lifted our butts out of the water a couple of times in shallow water to avoid snagging on big rocks… What an awesome ride! My adrenaline was really flowing and I felt like a kid… When we were pulled out the water, I was thinking – Again – Again, Let’s do it again!
Right before the river cascaded over a small waterfall and headed towards some serious rapids, our guides helped us out of the river. That said, our wondrous tour wasn’t over yet. We walked around the waterfall drop and waded back into the river, this time without our tubes.
We were guided to a natural whirlpool at the bottom of the falls. We sat there a while, then also ventured into an area where the current was quite strong, hanging on to a rope for dear life. There was also a rock seat under one of the waterfalls, so you could comfortably dunk your head under the water – Soooo refreshing!
We really enjoyed our Jamaica river tubing experience with Yardy River Adventure Tours. Our over-all time in the water was probably around 45 minutes, with actual tubing time around 30 minutes, although it didn’t seem that long – I guess its true what they say… “time flies when you’re having fun”. Sometimes it’s good to be left wanting more – I’ll be back!
The natural landscape is constantly changing. We were told that after a heavy rainfall, the river is deeper and much faster… This would result in fewer snags on rocks, although the trip would probably be over much quicker…
In summary, this was not your typical tourist event. While it was a long drive from the resort, the river tubing tour was definitely worth it! Perhaps a bit dis-organized at the beginning, the day turned out to be one of the highlights of our vacation. We spent the day with some nice friendly folks and had a ton of fun.
If our Jamaica river rafting adventure above sounds good to you and you’re planning a trip to Jamaica, you can contact the folks at Yardy River Adventure Tours by visiting their facebook page or website (just click on a link below):
