Consider it drive-by history.

In October, during Hispanic Heritage Month, the Miami-Dade Transit Department sponsored free bus tours that showed the Hispanic past of Miami.

Passengers got to sit back, relax and enjoy history as they were driven through several Miami neighborhoods.

This year, the one-day event included visits to Our Lady of Charity Sanctuary near Mercy Hospital, a drive through Coconut Grove, the Brickell Financial District and downtown Miami. There was also lunch on Calle Ocho -- the heart of Miami's Cuban history.

And the tour stopped at downtown's Freedom Tower for an art exhibit by Cuban painter Cundo Bermudez. The Freedom Tower, which originally housed the now defunct Miami News, was later used to process tens of thousands of Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The bus tour was a fun way to learn history, said Kendall resident John Isaacs.

``I just thought it was a very pleasant way to spend the day -- it's was nice just eating at Calle Ocho and having time to get out and walk by Domino Park,'' added Isaacs, who was on his second year of taking the tour. ``It's just a great way to experience your community and learn something about it.''

Lory Villar, who has lived in Miami for 30 years, said the tour was more than an opportunity to play tourist.

Villar's favorite part -- and the main reason why she and her husband Robert came -- was Freedom Tower in downtown Miami. Villar said visiting the tower brought back feelings of nostalgia from when she first arrived from Cuba 39 years ago.

``We've driven by it countless times, but I had never gone back,'' she said. ``It's been so long and I was so young that I didn't remember much. But every time I've driven by it, I've always made sure to tell my children that when I was young and first came from Cuba, this was our first stop. It was really nice to be able to go back.''

Karla Damian, who led one of the tours, told her passengers that ``in the wake of dictator Fidel Castro's regime and the Bay of Pigs situation,'' the tower functioned as a service center to Cubans. More than 400,000 Cuban refugees would eventually have their visas processed and receive assistance from getting basic supplies to medical care.

For many on the bus, the tour gave them a new perspective. Damian said that is the key to the yearly program's success.

``I think they [passengers] mostly find themselves really surprised about learning the history of each place we take them to and how everything came about,'' said Damian, who led a bus tour for English speakers on Oct. 24. ``What's most interesting is that most of them have lived here most of their lives and weren't aware of these things. As county employees, it's a joy to provide them with a little bit of Hispanic history in Miami.''

This is not the only tour offered by Miami-Dade Transit. During Black History Month, tours are also offered. They started in 1994. Sign-ups begin as early as December.

Isaacs and his wife Wendy have also gone on the latter -- and enjoyed them as well.

``More people should take advantage and go out and enjoy their communities,'' he said. ``There's a lot of things to take advantage of here in Florida, a lot of good things and even many more that are free.''

For information on upcoming tours, go to www.miamidade.gov/transit/.

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