It was the fourth day of a week-long cruise around the Caribbean on board Arvia, and I was on a roll. Docking at La Romana in the Dominican Republic, we had wasted no time in disembarking for a shore excursion to the ChoCafe Plantation and cigar factory where I tried rolling my first cigar. While the end product may not have been to smoking hot standard, despite enthusiastic guidance from Davy, one of the factory’s skilled craftsmen, I came away with a fun souvenir and an appreciation of the fine art of cigar-making.
Thanks to its rich soil and sultry climate — ideal for growing tobacco — the Dominican Republic is arguably the world’s largest cigar producer. But the island nation has another string to its bow as producers of award-winning chocolate, thanks to a climate ideal for also growing cocoa beans. This was the real reason I had signed up for this tour, which promised tastings after a fascinating walk through the lush plantation, learning all about the process of producing world-class chocolate, as well as the cacao bean’s impressive medicinal properties.
Did you know that cocoa tea helps lower blood pressure, and that cocoa juice is rich in antioxidants, while cocoa butter is a great skin moisturiser? After picking up goodies from the gift shop we were ready to return to Arvia, our floating home. We had joined the spectacular 5,200-passenger ship, the latest addition to the P&O fleet, in Barbados, starting our island-hopping adventure with an overnight stay o.