Mar 3, 2013 - Bridgetown, Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados – Sunday and everything was closed so nothing else for it but off to yet another beautiful beach. We took a taxi with a couple from Toronto and sat back and enjoyed the beautiful sand and sea. We were there early so it gradually got busier and busier. We took the local bus back to town and walked around the empty streets. There are some nice colonial buildings there. Barbados is the easternmost of the Caribbean Islands, settled by the Portuguese in 1536. They decided not to settle here and then in 1627 along came the...

Feb 25, 2013 - Barbados Bound

In Barbados today, one of our favourite places, which we have visited several times. The ship docked in Bridgetown and there we caught a catamaran for a trip along the coast to swim and snorkel. That particular part of the coast is very pretty and it is there that many celeribities have homes. These include Cliff Richard, Cilla Black, Simon Cowell and Wayne Rooney to name but a few. We realised that our favourite beach for snorkelling was just a few yards from Cilla’s gaffe and as we stopped near there we were able to walk along the beach...

Nov 30, 2012 - Plantations and Rum

In Barbados I had the chance to either visit a rum distillery or Cococabana Beach. I have to say that the rum distillery won. I was never much a rum drinker before this trip but it is growing on me. More so the daquiries are becoming a drink of choice. After being shown around the property which was once a sugar cane plant, we tasted a number of rums that unfortunately are not available in Australia and it was impracticle for me to carry them with me :( We then made our way to an old plantation house that was dressed as though it was the...

Mar 18, 2012 - Bridgetown, Barbados

*easternmost of the Caribbean Islands; part of the Windward Island Group *they claim to have the healthiest people because of the healthiest air and lifestyle *discovered and named by the Portuguese (NOT Columbus! Imagine that) *got its independence from Great Britain in 1986 *thriving economy; among the most developed countries in the Caribbean; Barbados dollar *densely populated; sugar still an important export product here *Barbadian rum among the finest and oldest in the world *rolling terrain of limestone hills and terraces; very...

Feb 19, 2012 - Barbados: Plantocracy or The English Way

After a six week voyage over what he would describe as a ‘A Fickle & Merciliss Ocean’, it is on November 2nd 1751 that George Washington and his half brother Lawrence arrive in Bridgetown Barbados. 19 year old George is accompanying his older brother, who has tuberculosis and hopes that the warm climate and excellent doctors on the island will help cure the disease. (Because, although you would be hard put to imagine that today, Bridgetown in the 1750s is on a par with Boston and even London, as it is a hub for the maritime traffic from...

Jan 9, 2012 - Barbados

Barbados to much surprise is the complete opposite of Dominica. It’s very industrialized and covered with resorts and luxury houses and condos. My mom and I were taken for a steal today, the taxi driver would take us to Hunt’s Gardens but for a small fortune, 80 dollars, we couldn’t go for that. So he bargained with us, a roundtrip excursion to get a look at the island and a history for 50 bucks, not as bad so we took it. Definitely not an excursion we will ever do again, he drove us around the city and would point and say, “This is a...

Jan 4, 2011 - Barbados

Tuesday, January 4, 2011 The adventure begins! Monday was a travel day and it took the entire day. Claude took me to Mitchell International by 7:20 am for a 9:15 am flight to Dallas. In Dallas I spotted the distinctive red “Road Scholar” luggage tags and made some new friends, also met some of the friends that I met on the Asian trip. There were a lot of happy hugs. The flight from Dallas seemed to consolidate with another, so we had to move to another gate and instead of departing at 1:30 pm we had lift-off at 2:41. We arrived at Barbados...

Jan 21, 2010 - Barbados

Wednesday 20th January – Day 11 Well we went to see the Bachelors last night in the Palladium; they were not bad but definitely past their sell by date, there is only one original bachelor left in the group, but it was our era music so we enjoyed that part. No sunrise this morning, but as we sail towards the island other cruise ships appear on the horizon, 3 altogether after not seeing another ship for 5 days. Boy is it warm as we enter Barbados, it was great to stand out on deck and watch the berthing of this huge ship. Going on land is a...

Jan 20, 2010 - Barbados

Barbados is a small island, just 21 miles long and 14 miles wide, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the warm Caribbean sea and endless beaches to the south and west. The people of Barbados drive on the left and the currency is the Barbados dollar (approx 2 to 1 USD). It has a population of approx 254,000 people, and was the first Caribbean island to have piped water. Barbados has a literacy rate of 97%, and the United Nations Development Index rates islanders as having a better quality of life than people living in Spain, Italy or...

Jan 19, 2010 - Here we are again

Sunday 17th January – Day 8 Well we are pleased to report back that the cabaret act last night with chap called Steve Stevens was brilliant, will go back and see him again if he is on. Signed on at the gym today, so the messages might look a little tired tomorrow night, we were shattered looking at all the sophisticated machines. Although having said that we are keeping up the circuits of the ship, three to the mile! Had a lazy day Sunday and sat around and read. In the morning we sat out on the balcony, it is unbelievably warm in...

Mar 5, 2008 - Bridgetown, Barbados

3/5 – 3/6 Another day’s travel brought us to Bridgetown, Barbados. We walked into town to do some sightseeing. Saw the Parliament building (they wanted $5/person to see the inside so we settled for the outside view). After hunting up and down streets we finally located the True Blue Synagogue. This 17th century synagogue has been rebuilt after the original was destroyed by a hurricane in the 19th century. On the property a archeologist from South Carolina was excavating to uncover the rabbi’s original house.

Apr 12, 2007 - Barbados, Caribbean

April 12-15 & 19th, 2007 Here at last, ready to watch the Aussies in action. On arrival we checked into our hotel (rostrevor apartments in St Lawrence Gap), we had a great room on the 4th floor directly on the beach overlooking the Caribbean Sea so there were no complaints from us in the morning waking up to the sounds of the waves overlooking the bright aqua colored water. The room was great but at the end of the day we were here to see the cricket. We were expecting to see a heavyweight clash against Pakistan, but as we all know it turned...