Island Discovery & Chocolate Experience

Learn how several characteristic Mexican products are made and enjoy tastings that showcase their unique flavors. At the Mayan Cacao Company, you will learn how the ancient Mayas produced chocolate from cacao beans and drank it for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Following a tasting of chocolate, you will join a tequila seminar at Barriecito and discover how this iconic premium spirit is produced from the blue agave plant. A sampling will solidify why tequila is so revered in Mexico. Yet another tasting awaits you at the Mayan Bee Sanctuary, whose honey bears a more floral fragrance and citrusy taste than other honeys. You will also learn how the ancient Mayas cultivated stingless Melipona bees, the same species used to produce the honey at the sanctuary. For the ultimate coastal view of the area, you will pause at El Mirador lookout to watch the crashing surf, which has slowly carved arches in the limestone.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Become familiar with how the ancient Mayas produced chocolate from cacao beans.
• Learn about tequila production at a seminar at Barriecito and enjoy a sampling of the spirit.
• Taste honey produced by a species of stingless bees that the ancient Mayas held sacred.
• See iconic El Mirador, where the surf has carved dramatic arches in the limestone.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.