Exploring Barbados
Travel Location: Bridgetown,Barbados
Wednesday, Dec 26
Our trip started at a very early hour but was greatly brightened when after seated on the plane our names were called and we discovered we had been bumped to First Class. Flying through Miami from San Francisco to Barbados, the trip lasted all day and into the night. When we landed at 11 PM, we were the first to clear customs as we had carried on all of our luggage.
…roads are very rural and beautiful…
Since we had been unable to book a rental car (they were all booked due to the holidays), we grabbed a taxi for our hotel, the Accra Beach Hotel in Rockley on the south side of the island, which, as are most things on Barbados, was only a few miles away.
The hotel clerk greeted us and said we would be treated to a rum punch at the bar which closed at midnight so we quickly headed out to the bar by the pool to enjoy, as it was nearing midnight.
We wandered to our room (#4105) and were delighted to find that we had been upgraded from the ocean view room which we had booked to an ocean front room. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach just outside our balcony.
Thursday, Dec 27
We awakened early to the sound of the ocean waves … yes, we are here. After drinking some coffee on our balcony, we headed downstairs to the Coco Patch Restaurant for breakfast. We chose to sit at an outside table (we were the only ones outside) and enjoy the pretty beachside location.
Since we did not have a car, we walked down the street a ways to explore and check out the strip mall across from the hotel (Quayside Shops), where we stopped at a convenience store for a few incidentals which we needed, as we carried our luggage onboard, and it’s difficult to pack 3 oz of sunscreen. We decided to make this a “relax on the beach day” since we didn’t have a car to roam about the island. I actually am appreciating the ability to relax today and not feel that I must tour, tour, tour. That we shall do later.
After a relaxing morning on the beach on the loungers and under the umbrellas provided by the hotel, we grabbed lunch at the same restaurant where we had breakfast. We grabbed a table by the window and had Caesar Salad with shrimp (me) and with chicken (Gary) and iced tea. Very nice.
We checked with the concierge about hiring a car, even if for one day. She confirmed there were no cars available. As we conversed about taking the very plentiful and inexpensive busses, the concierge was calling several rental agencies (they are all small family owned companies on Barbados, no big Hertz or Avis, even Europcar goes through the family companies). On her third or fourth call, which was to 1st Choice, she was able to get us a car for Saturday, the day of our departure on the Royal Clipper. We were to pick it up Friday night delivered to the hotel at 5:30 PM. We were elated.
In the late afternoon, the phone rang, and we found that there had been a cancellation and that the car could be available for another day. We arranged for delivery the next morning.
We spent the rest of the the afternoon on the beach, reading, relaxing and getting wet.
Friday, Dec 28
Our rental car was deliverd this morning at 8:30 by 1st Choice Rental Cars. We decided over breakfast to spend the day exploring the island using one of the tour books in the room. Our main goal is to see a lot of the island and hopefully get some nice photos, rather than shopping or seeing museums and the like. We drove from the hotel into Bridgetown and the drove by the Cruise Terminal to kind of scope it out for tomorrow. We were concerned about where to store our luggage between the hotel checkout at noon and boarding the Royal Clipper at 4 PM.
From there, we drove north through Holetown and stopped at the historic St. James Church which was originally built in 1628. We continued along the west coast road toward and through Speightstown to Port St. Charles. There we stopped for some pictures, my favorite of a decrepit boat named “Big Hooker”. We continued inland to the Barbados Wildlife Refuge. Once there, we then actually read the guidebook, and found that the best time to go was at 2 PM for the monkey feeding, the only time you are guaranteed a look at the wildlife. In this park, the animals roam freely through the forest, so you may not see them at all. We decided to have lunch, and then return for the 2pm feeding.
In our search for lunch, we ended up on the east side of the island headed south to Bathsheba. There we discovered the historic Round House Inn, where we could dine on the terrace with a gorgeous view of the beach and the coast line. We were happy to have discovered this place as it in well off the beaten path.
It’s very important to have a good map when you drive here, and sometimes directional signs are either not obvious or are missing completely. The roads are very rural and beautiful and I was lucky not to be driving as you need to drive on the left side here. Or as our taxi driver from the airport put it, “we drive on the right side here”, meaning we drive on the “correct side”. We took some wrong turns somewhere trying to get back to the Wildlife Refuge, and eventually found ourselves going south when we needed to be going north. Fortunately, Gary has a compass in his watch which proved to be very useful. By the time we got back to a proper road and direction, we found we were unable to make it to the monkey feeding, so we forged on to the next stop, the Morgan Lewis Windmill, the only working sugar mill windmill left in the world (according to the tour book in our room). Just up the road is Cherry Tree Hill and just past there is a beautiful avenue of mahogany trees that form a canopy over the road and , of course, we stopped to get some pictures.
On to our next goal which was Little Bay, a beautiful bay of exposed reef (at low tide) and spectacular views down the east coast. The winding drive is certainly worth this gorgeous scenery. The next stop was River Bay, a bit further north. After climbing up on the cliffs, we were rewarded with some more gorgeous views of the island and the coast, as we watched thunderous waves pound the shore, sending spray 50 feet high at times. This is the windward side of the island, rough seas and strong winds. The sea is pounding the island. The island here is of vulcanic rock, while not immune to the sea, it puts up a good fight to keep the sea from reclaiming the island.
The next stop and the place I most wanted to see here is at the northernmost tip of the island, the Animal Flower Cave. For an entrance fee of only BDS$15 (US$7.50) you receive a guided tour of the caves. Animal Flower takes its name from the sea anemones found in the pools in the cave. They were named “animal flowers” in 1750 in Griffith Hughes book “The Natural History of Barbados”. The views from inside the caves through the windows in the rock to the ocean beyond are worth every bit of effort to get here. Bring your swimsuit to enjoy the pool inside the cave. I didn’t have mine but my husband did and he enjoyed a swim here and taunted me by standing at the cave opening as large waves were breaking. I really have to recommend this spot to anyone who wants a bit of adventure in their touring. The guide we had was superb. And I say that because he handled the somewhat hesitant American tourist as she had some nervousness at crossing the wet rocks on the way into the cave with great care and courtesy. He gave encouragement and a steady hand when needed. Definitely recommended. I purchased a bracelet of some natural stone to remember this experience and will make some nice earrings out of it … a nice souvenir.
From here we headed south toward our hotel, as it was about 5 PM and we stayed on H2A most of the way. Once back at the hotel, we thought it would be relaxing to enjoy the jacuzzi hot tub on our balcony and though it took a long time to fill, it was certainly relaxing and with a great ocean view. We decided to walk the mile or so from our hotel to “The Gap” (officially on the street named “St. Lawrence Gap”, which runs along the coast) for dinner. The Gap is known as the place for great restaurants and night spots on the island and this area comes alive at night. We were shown the Gap by our taxi driver from the airport, who recommended it for dining and night spots. We walked only about two blocks before we stopped at Sweet Potatoes – “Good ol’ Bajan cooking” on the first curve at the west end of the Gap. The restaurant was built on stilts and looked very Caribbean. I ordered Pot Belly Flying Fish stuffed with vegetables. Flying fish is a dish unique to Barbados and delicious. Apparently this fish has many bones and is a challenge to prepare but on this island they take pride in it even going as far as having competitions for fastest deboning. We also ordered a chicken in jerk sauce which was accompanied with Duck Pond 2005 Pinot Noir from Oregon. Though we should have walked back to the hotel, we got lazy and took a taxi which turned out to be relatively inexpensive (US$5).
Saturday, Dec 29 Last day in Barbados
This morning we took our time while we packed and checked out of the hotel. We have been happy here and we wouldn’t mind coming back (they even have meal plans which are quite reasonable, though you need to purchase for a three day minimum). We packed our suitcases into the trunk of the rental car and set about exploring the city of Bridgetown. The main goal was to purchase a few items we needed, which was not a problem here with all the shopping options.
One thing we did find difficult were the many one way streets which change directions seemingly every couple of blocks. Sometimes it seemed like we were driving in circles. We were driving in circles. Unbeknownst to him, we finally decided to follow a small truck with a local driver. We followed him in a circle, then he eventually got out, and we got to where we could navigate on our own. Odd that a local was as confused as we were. He was probably wondering what sort of idiots were following him in circles!
We found a parking lot which charged only one $1 BDS or fifty US cents per hour, and walked through much of the locals shopping area (we stayed out of the tourist area as we will probably see a lot of that later on). However, they must enjoy chicken, as there is a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) shop seemingly every block. They are as plentiful as Starbucks in Seattle!
As it was nearing midday, we headed to the waterfront area and grabbed lunch at the Limelight Cafe on the top floor of the Bridge House. After lunch, we drove to the Cruise Terminal on the north end of town. There we left the rental car in a prearranged parking lot, we locked the keys in the car in a special location and headed to the terminal. We were very happy with our rental experience with 1st Choice, especially considering that they were able to get us a car at the last minute. Their service was great and very personal, they delivered to the hotel and picked it up from the cruise terminal at no extra charge.
We have certainly enjoined our short visit to Barbados and it would be great to come back here sometime in the future. We would guess 80-90% of the visitors here are from Great Britain. Also, the local people remind me very much of the people of Jamaica with their lovely accents.
As we drove into Bridgetown this morning, I could see the five tall masts of the Royal Clipper in port. Goosebump time! I have really been looking forward to the cruise.
