One more day, another fantastic journey.  Today we took an excursion to the Santa Teresa Rum Farm, approximately 1 3/4 hours from Caracas.  The bus ride to the hacienda was an adventure in itself, with many sights to see along the way:

For more photos taken on the way to the distillery, click on through!

We were dropped off at the oldest section of the distillery, the housing for the most aged and wonderful of their rums.  Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed inside so here’s a shot of the exterior:

There is a train line that lies on the periphery of the grounds for grand tours; our group was too big, but that didn’t stop one of our cellists from an errant attempt:

This distillery is the oldest in the country with its finest rum confounding the most experienced tasters in the world for other liquors such as brandy and cognac.

The farm plants more than 3,000 acres of sugar cane between May and November; the cane grows at a rate of 1cm every day!

Each barrel produced by the distillery contains 180 bottles of rum; 300 barrels are finished each day: 54,000 bottles of rum are shipped from the farm on a daily basis!

At this point we had the chance to taste five different versions of their product, guided by a professional rum expert.  She did a wonderful job explaining to us the differences in each type and the processes involved.  Our day’s tour guide was also excellent, and stylish as well:

After the tour we were lavished with as much wonderful food as we could fit in our bellies.  A flavorful end to a delicious day.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s daily update including a masterclass with El Sistema students and a performance of the intense 6th symphony of Mahler.