Barbados: Beyond Your Imagination

Monday, 13 December

There’s no moon to keep me company tonight.   It’s somewhere out there, but I can’t see it from the veranda.  It’s pitch black all around us.  No twinkling island lights; just the dim glimmer of a passenger ship on the horizon … perhaps it’s Sea Princess, the ship that shared Barbados with us today.

Barbados, meaning “bearded ones” was named for the shaggy
exposed roots of the native ficus trees.
(the inset shows the two beaches we visited today.)

Our third visit to Barbados turned out to be a 10+ in our book.  Our first time here was in 2002 aboard Celebrity’s Infinity — our first Caribbean cruise.  We hired a private guide and explored the island, visiting a plantation house, the scenic south side beaches, Bathsheba (surfer’s heaven) on the Atlantic Coast, and the green monkey reserve.  We returned to the island in 2004 aboard Holland America’s Maasdam.  On that occasion, we did a catamaran snorkeling excursion that was both relaxing and fun.

Barbados 2002 and 2004

The photos in the collage are self-explanatory, except perhaps the “monument” on the right edge.  It’s not a monument per se … rather, it’s the grave of a former British soldier.  The story goes that he spent so much of his military career standing at attention on guard duty that he asked that he be buried upright when his time came.

On with today’s visit to the island.  Up around 6:15a, we took our time getting ready and had a leisurely breakfast on the aft Lido Deck.  When the ship was cleared shortly after 8:00a, we were ready to disembark and put our plans in motion.  First, a 10-minute walk to the bus depot where we purchased tokens (.75¢/person each way; USD accepted) and boarded the #1 bus that would take us to Payne’s Bay.  The 25-minute ride was crazy, but the Bajans (as Barbadians are colloquially known) seemed to be taking it in stride, so we followed suit.

The blue busses are operated by the Barbados Transport Board.

The bus driver alerted us when we reached our stop in front of the Esso gas station.  Crossing the street, and looking for all the world like we knew what we were doing, we walked through the lobby of the Tamarind Cove Resort and out to the beach behind.  Once on the sand, we turned right and strolled down a bit further where we found some lounge chairs for rent ($5/chair).

Welcome to Payne’s Bay! 

I’m enthralled by how bright the colors are when the sun comes out.

While I settled down to read my book in the shade, Mui wasted no time snorkeling out to the turtles.  I wasn’t sure at first that we’d found the right spot, but when the catamarans started showing up with their tour groups, I knew we were in the right place.

Now we know we’re in the right place for Mui to swim with the turtles.
(The last time we were in Barbados, we were on that big white catamaran on the right.)

Barbados is home to a healthy population of hawksbill and leatherback turtles.  Once endangered by over-fishing, these creatures are now protected and monitored throughout the island.  In some areas the local fishermen feed and care for them, scraping barnacles off their backs and making sure that their nesting area is safe.  The turtles are sociable and tend to stay in the same area.  They follow a steady routine, so it’s relatively easy to join them for a swim if you’re a strong swimmer yourself.

When Mui returned to my side an hour later, he was grinning from ear to ear, waving the camera at me.  Good thing I brought the underwater casing for my Canon G-10 camera with me.  Otherwise, we’d have neither video nor photographs of his great experience swimming with the hawksbill turtles.  (PS: this was our first time using the casing; we were pleasantly surprised by the results we got.)

Well, hello there!

I can dive gracefully, can you?

I can’t resist … here’s a collage of a few more images that Mui took.  I especially like the one on the lower left … it looks like the turtle and the fish are at a standoff, waiting to see which one blinks first!  (Remember, you can click any photo for a larger version.)

We left Payne’s Bay around 11:00a, heading back to town on one of the yellow public busses that are operated privately (they accept the same bus tokens).  The ride was quite the experience, with music blaring all the way, and the driver’s assistant hanging out the door, trying to attract customers onto the bus.  By contrast, this morning’s ride on the blue bus was a serene walk in the park!

Sharing a ride with the Bajans … fun and quite the experience.

At the bus depot, we bought a few more tokens, wrongly assuming that we’d need them to get to our next beach.  Mistaking the walking directions to the beach for directions to the Fairchild Bus Terminal, we walked about 10-15 minutes through Bridgetown.  At least we were headed in the right direction.  Thanks to a kindly local pointing out the error of our ways, another two-minute walk from the terminal found us at our destination: Lobster Alive on Carlisle Beach (Bay).

Our walking path from the Cruise ship Terminal to the Bus Depot
and to Carlisle Beach and back.

We weren’t there for the restaurant, but rather, for the great stretch of white-sand beach with calm turquoise waters.  We were greeted by the beach master (chair vendor) and given our choice of location.  For $15 we got two lounge chairs, an umbrella, use of the locked facilities (wristband gets you the keys from the bar), and three free drinks.  (By the way, the beach is public, so if you don’t want to rent chairs or need shade, you can just plunk yourself anywhere on the sand.  The same goes for any of the other beaches I’ve mentioned in this blog.)

Checking out the beach first in one direction …

… and then in the other direction.

A colorful lifeguard tower; but no one on duty.

Once again, the water was perfectly suited to my taste … warm and no shock-factor entering the water; just the way I like it.  For every 15-20 minutes we spent sitting in the shade of our umbrella, we spent 10-15 minutes taking a dip in the water. The sun shined bright and hot, and the temperature was in the 81F (27C) range.  There were enough clouds in the sky, as well as a gentle breeze, to provide brief periods of respite … for which we were grateful.  It also helped that there was little humidity.

I’ve spent more time in the water on this cruise than ever before.

Mui’s satisfied smile deems Carlisle Beach perfect.

Today’s local brew is “Banks.”

We left the beach around 2:30p, walking back to the ship instead of grabbing a cab.  Along the way, we bought some yummy ice cream from a street vendor and made a quick stop at the bus depot to return our unused tokens.  Although it was hot, it was an easy walk with patches of shade en route.  We were glad to have the opportunity to stretch our legs.

By the time we boarded the Grand Princess, we were starving.  Heading directly to the Horizon Court, we sated our grumbling tummies with some light fare before returning to the cabin to clean up after a day of sun, surf, and plenty of sunblock.  I was comfortably ensconced on the veranda by the time we sailed off into the sunset at 5:00p.

Love the golden hue imbued by the setting sun.

Until next time … goodbye Barbados.

I found it really hard to give up the veranda when dinner time came around.  With cool breezes wafting in over the railing, the evening was just perfect, but give it up I did.

Mui: dry-cured San Daniele ham with cantaloupe; mixed greens and baby spinach salad; gamberi alla fra diavolo.

Me: eggplant parmigiana with tomato basil sauce; pasta e fagioli red bean soup; spaghetti with meatballs.

Dessert: gelato al torroncino and New York style cheesecake … to share.

Did I mention that while in Barbados, we bought ourselves a little toy?
just kidding!  But the vessel sure was attractive.

And thus another day in the Caribbean comes to a close.  Tomorrow we’re at an island that we’ve not visited before.  We have an all-day boat excursion booked based on some high-praise posted on the CruiseCritic website … looking forward to it.

Oh, and before I close … here’s a bit of trivia about Barbados (from the Princess Patter).  The island was a popular tourist destination even back in the 18th century.  It was fashionable to go to Barbados for one’s health.  George Washington accompanied his ill half-brother, Lawrence, to Barbados for a change of air.  Unfortunately, during that visit, George contracted the smallpox that marked him for life!  Go figure!!!

Next Up … Video: Barbados