We walked to Speightstown this morning, went to the bakery for pastries and I grabbed a latte at the Orange Street Grocer. Just as good the second time around. :-).
I forgot to mention the interesting trees that are along the way. You can't miss them, they have a red stripe painted around the trunk. The produce a fruit that looks like a very small green apple- exactly like a very small apple. Except they are poisonous, so poisonous that they will kill a person! Also, don't get caught under them in a rainstorm. We are told that they water hits the leave and a form of acid runs off that will burn you- yikes!
The weather is hot and humid, even with a breeze, it reminds me of Rome. It's so different not being in AC most of the time! In light of this, we headed directly to the pool. The weather was beautiful for catching some rays (we have the pink skin to prove it) and reading in the shade. The clouds were moving quickly across the sky and there was a 5 min downpour and then blue sky for the remainder of the day.
Huge bummer- I am not invisible to mosquitoes as previously thought. Poor B has 12 bites, and I have 2, yet I was so hoping I could last the entire trip without any. So now we both appear to have some crazy red-spotted disease from the ankles down-haha!
June 7, 2012
Today we went to Bridgetown (the capital city) to board a Cool Runnings catamaran.
They sure know how to do it up right! The boat was pretty big and there were probably 30 or so people and it didn't even feel crowded.
So a couple of funny things right from the start: I wanted to take a lot of pictures, which drives Brandon crazy. I start taking them as we board and realize later that I had it set to video- hilarious! There was an open bar the whole time. At one point Brandon tells the guy to give him whatever drink he wants and he'll drink it. He gave him some rum drink and asks after what it's called and is told its a Baby Maker. I totally laughed!! Thanks for helping my case dude!
We made two stops to snorkel, which was awesome. The crew would go in the water, too, and show us what to check out. The fish were much more colorful than I'd seen and there was at least one turtle. They also brought us by an old underwater shipwreck. The flying fish were all around the boat and very cool to watch, too.
We made a third stop for lunch- which was amazing. We had Bajan food consisting of potato salad, rice with peas and gravy, a somewhat sweet pasta, chicken, and flying fish (one of my island favorites).
June 8, 2012
After breakfast we went to buy flying fish at the local market. I decided then and there that if I had to prepare my own meat or fish from something still looking like the actual animal, I would need to become vegetarian. Or just make Brandon prepare all of it. :-)
For dinner we experienced the ever-popular Bajan world of Cheffette, the local fast food place. (Note that there is a KFC that does well, we are told there is one Subway, but McDonald's failed on the island). So we say fast food with a pinch of sarcasm, as they did not get our food to us very fast at all- I guess it's just another island difference. We did try rotis though. They are basically a burrito with a mild curry chicken or beef. We really liked them- two thumbs up!
June 9, 2012
I cannot believe our time is coming to an end and this is our last full day in Barbados.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Island living with cocktails starting early in the day, going swimming in either the pool or ocean, and looking for seashells at the beach right outside.
Today we ventured to the east side of the island, the Atlantic side with very rough water. Also, that side is fairly uninhibited land- totally different from the west side. It took only about 10 minutes to drive there and it is so amazing how it seems as if you are on a completely different island. We are told that many of the Bajans vacation on the east side We went by a plantation called St. Nicholas Abbey and a very beautiful, and very old church called St. Andrews.
We went to the ocean once more- I couldn't resist one last swim in the warm Carribbean water.
I have loved each day we have spent here, yet I do admit that I am ready to go home.
Some nuances of Barbados:
They drive on the "other" side of the road- they are a British settled island.
There are hardly any Americans on the island- mainly British, Canadian, and Bajan.
People often stop their cars in the middle of the road, whenever they feel like it. Roads are only 2 lanes for the most part- therefore, cars pass into oncoming traffic as a regular thing. Not sure I could get used to that!
The government will not go into debt- novel thought- so there are a ton of places that have begun being built or remodeled but not finished.
Also the island is pretty much made of coral. I'd seen what I thought were rocks close to the shore and it turns out they are all coral, or coral reefs. Pretty cool!
Also the island is pretty much made of coral. I'd seen what I thought were rocks close to the shore and it turns out they are all coral, or coral reefs. Pretty cool!
There are frogs that come out at night and they chirp all night long. I hear they are about an inch long. The locals say that the sound becomes soothing.
There is quite a variance of wealth on the island. There are very nice houses/mansions right next to shacks. I'm told that many of the Bajans could sell for millions and just refuse to and they also refuse to fix up the property.
It is the norm to see colorfully painted houses and buildings all over. It reminds me a bit of Argentina. :-)
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| Our favorite little bakery. |
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