Sun, Fun, and Mint Mojitos: Bacardi Factory Tour, Puerto Rico
While on our Puerto Rican adventure, my parents, sister, and I decided to venture away from our hotel one day and over to the Bacardi Factory Tour in Cantaño. We all love learning about behind the scenes stuff on factory tours, so, even though we're not the biggest drinkers, we decided to devote half a day to learning about rum production.
Here's how our day went, and what you should expect if you're going on the Bacardi Factory Tour in Puerto Rico.
Getting to the Factory
As the crow flies, the factory isn't far from downtown San Juan, but there's a big bay that you've got to either go across or around. For our trip there, we decided on the route across, and took the ferry over to Cantaño. The ride was uneventful, and it wasn't until we got to the taxi stand on the Cantaño side of the bay that we got our first taste of strange taxis.I should interject here that--up until this point--we'd taken many taxis to and from our hotel into Old San Juan without any issues.
We waited and waited at the taxi rank for someone to come get us. On the other side of the bay in San Juan, there are always taxis lined up ten deep, but here, all we saw were (figurative) tumbleweeds. It was honestly kind of creepy, as the area we were in was all residential but it was completely deserted. No one was walking a dog or loitering. It was just us, four sunburnt Americans, hanging out on a curb.
After 20 minutes, we were about to climb back onto the ferry and call it a day when a taxi came up. FINALLY. We piled in and told the driver we were going to the Bacardi Factory. He didn't seem too happy about taking us there, but he took our money and sped off.
Only to dump us a good 300 feet from the Factory entrance.
There was a nice roundabout that we could've been dropped off in--it was specifically for visitors arriving by taxi--but no way that was happening. The driver scowled at us as we got out and then screeched off the minute we were all out.
What to Expect on the Tour
When we arrived inside the factory property, we were greeted by a big white tent--and best of all on that hot, humid day--we were each given tickets for two mint mojitos when we showed our IDs. Sweet heavens to Betsy, those things were good!
We were considering going back and paying for another (the first two were free with the factory tour) but it was time to head inside the main building.
After slogging another ten miles (or so it felt) through the humidity, we made it into the wonderful air conditioning of the factory. You'd think that, after living in South Carolina my entire life, I'd be used to crazy humidity. Alas, it is something to be endured since it seems that I still have not acclimated after 3 decades here.
The tour was really interesting: we learned about the history of rum farming and production on the island, and how rum was a crucial element of trade as early as the 1500s. We also learned a bit about popular drinks that are made with rum, such as the Cuba Libre (a fancy name for rum and Coke). Sadly, no additional samples were made available to the tour attendees.
After the tour finished, we walked around the property, enjoying the late afternoon sun.
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| Me and my sister outside of the Bacardi Factory |
We'd just gotten there when a 10 passenger white van pulled up. Imagine the oiliest, sketchiest man that you can. Now, add more oil and more sketch, and you're starting to get the picture on who jumped out of the taxi.
Six other people from our tour were also looking to get to the ferry, so we all agreed to go together. How bad could it be? It's not like Sketchy Oil Man could kidnap all of us, right?
Over the next 10 minutes, we were all treated to delightful (read: gag-inducing) tales of the taxi driver's bravado and supposedly ample attributes in the boudoir (to put it nicely). I'll spare you the details, and you can thank me later.
When he stopped the van at the ferry port, all 10 of us scattered like flies. Clearly, I wasn't the only one who got major creeps from this guy. What was with the taxi drivers in Cantaño that day!?!
Final Thoughts on Visiting the Bacardi Factory
Other than Mr. Sour Driver and Mr. Pervert Driver, we really enjoyed our jaunt to the Bacardi Factory. I wouldn't mind heading back on another trip to Puerto Rico, but I think I might rent a car if I was going again!Have you been to a factory tour of any kind? What's your best weirdo taxi driver story? Share with me! :)
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