Steve and Cathy's Blog

Insignia has already docked in Bridgetown by the time Cathy and I wake up at 5:30am.  For the third time this week, the P & O Line’s Azura is in port with us.  We watch as the beautiful clipper ship Royal Clipper slowly and ultra-carefully slides into a berth between us and the Azura.  

The Norwegian Breakaway and another familiar sight, the Celebrity Eclipse, next enter the now-crowded harbor.  It’s going to be a busy high-season day in Barbados.

As usual, we have breakfast in the Waves Grill as we are due to be in Insignia Lounge to begin our excursion, Best of Barbados, at 7:45.  For reasons known only to our cruise line, we were unable to book any excursions in Barbados prior to boarding our ship, and this one is one of several available to us.  It begins early, but, as will will find out soon after we begin, this is a real advantage on a day with so many cruise ships in port.  Everywhere we go, we are the first bus of the day to arrive.  Well worth getting up early to have these popular tourist destinations to ourselves.

We board the bus and meet our guide Sariah, another thoroughly professional, friendly person full of interesting information.  We proceed through Bridgetown as she points out various buildings.  One of them is a Cheffette restaurant, which Sariah describes as the McDonalds of Barbados.  Every Chefette restaurant is located in Barbados, and they have been successful at introducing Barbadians to unhealthy American cuisine.  In fact, McDonalds did attempt to colonize Barbados fifteen or so years ago, but the restaurant failed.  Burger King, however, does have a few stores here, while McDonalds has never made another attempt.  Interesting tidbit.

We are now in St. Michael Parish, one of eleven making up the island, with all but one being named after saints.  Our guide makes sure to point out when we move from one parish to another, so they must have some significance.  We pass the island cricket stadium as Sariah describes how there is more population in the south and southwest where the beaches are and less population in the east and north, where surfing is done.  As in most Caribbean islands, the Atlantic side where the winds come from has much heavier surf and fewer people.

However, Barbados is different than most other of the nearby Lesser Antilles islands.  First of all, it is the farthest east, and is not considered part of the Lesser Antilles chain.  In fact, it is part of the South American tectonic plate, while the other islands are part of the Caribbean plate.  The topography is also much different, as the origins of the island are not volcanic but are built from coral reefs and the resultant limestone.  Barbados is much less mountainous than its cousins to the north, and only about sixty inches of rain fall each year.

And unlike so many of the others, this island has not been passed back and forth among colonial powers for much of its modern existence.  The Spanish were the first Europeans, and the Portuguese followed and named the island.  The French then arrived, but never took a real interest in the place.  Thus the British have been the European country occupying Barbados since the first half of the 17th century, the ease of defending the island being one of the principal reasons.

Now the subject matter of this post will meander for a while, following the information flow that Sariah presents as we motor to our first stop.  We pass by the University of the West Indies, a large attractive place in Bridgetown.  This is the main campus, with several of the graduate schools being located here.  Other campuses are located in Trinidad and Jamaica.  As in St.Lucia, achieving a good education is paramount, and all children are to attend school through the 12th grade.

Interesting factoid: Barbados has a very peculiar law: clothes made in a camouflage pattern are outlawed.  Apparently a few years ago, a serious and violent robbery occurred and the perps were wearing camo.  So now it’s against the law to wear such gear.

As we drive along, we pass through many roundabouts (what we in the US call traffic circles).  “Roundabouts are the mortal enemy of Barbadians” to quote our guide.  Apparently, if one were to get in the slightest fender-bender in Barbados, the police must investigate.  If the accident occurs in one of the many roundabouts, it ties the island in knots.

Barbados has the second largest population on earth of people that have achieved the age of 100 or more, with Japan having the highest.  Presently, the island is home to sixty-five men and women who have achieved such longevity, and the government has a program where each of them is given a dinner each year.

Sariah describes the people of Barbados as friendly, and it is considered a social mistake not to greet everyone you come in contact with, even if you don’t know them.  She also says that, conversely, it makes people “nosy.”  For instance, if someone – anyone – were to see a child on a street when that child should be in school, anyone who makes such an observation is to call the local police for them to investigate the situation.  280,000 people may live on the island, but it has the culture of a very small town.

Our guide relates some interesting demographic information as we tour Gun Hill, an old British fort at the top of a hill.  The building of the Panama Canal at the beginning of the 20th century had a strange effect on the gender distribution.  Many men left and went to Panama to work on the massive construction project and ended up settling there.  Thus to this day, there are many more women than men on the island, resulting in a culture that Sariah describes as matriarchal.

Because of its geographical location, Barbados is not battered by as many hurricanes as its neighbors.  The last one was in 2010, and it only grazed the island.  Thus there is an expression on the island: “God is a Barbadian.”

Our first stop is Gun Hill Signal Station, an old military outpost built in the first quarter of the 19th century.  It has been completely restored by the Barbados National Trust by means of a government grant.  In fact, you see Trust efforts throughout the island.  The view from here is magnificent, and the grounds are very attractive.  There is a large stone lion there, the significance of which I can’t recall, but it’s cool to see.

Much of the agriculture of the island is located in the eastern and northern portions of Barbados, where the soil has the right proportions of clay and sand.  Great for agriculture,  but difficult to build a house on.  Speaking of agriculture….sugar cane was the crop on the island, and many plantations existed through the 19th century, so many that this small island was the largest producer of sugar in the world for a time.  1,000 people are still employed in the industry, which has been supplanted by other crops such as corn, potatoes, peas and some dairy.  In fact, rum was first distilled in Barbados.  There was a surplus of molasses that the planters didn’t know what to do with.  Legend has it that they just stored the stuff, and eventually it fermented and voila, rum was born.  More on that product later in this post.

Sariah tells us that the most common diseases on the island are diabetes – no surprise there – and asthma.  I can’t recall the reason for the asthma, but the diabetes problem is diet-related as it is in other islands.  She regales us with a description of macaroni pie, a popular local dish.  The insists it is not like mac n’ cheese, but still, it’s characteristic of an unhealthy diet all too prevalent on Barbados.  Like Americans should be casting aspersions?  Nevertheless, there is some effort to change the diet to reduce the percentage of people with this dangerous disease.

And again with the breadfruit.  This staple from Polynesia is primarily boiled or roasted, she tells us.  We see the large green fruit hanging from trees all over the place.  You’ve heard enough about this in other posts, but its popularity here is worth mentioning.

[Cathy writes:] Second stop : Botanical Gardens. We had been chatting with a couple from Valley Forge PA named Stephanie and Carl and we toured through the gardens with them. Stephanie had told us that this was their third time in Barbados and on this same tour. She said it was because of the gorgeous orchid areas coming up in the gardens. Well she wasn’t kidding . We thought Longwood Gardens in PA had wonderful orchids but this place was amazing. So many varieties of huge ones, tiny intricate ones, brilliantly colored ones. It was wonderful. Could have spent more time there. The rest of the tour was nice, and in the shade thank goodness! Then we sat in a gazebo thing and had some refreshing fruit punch.

We arrive at our next stop: Sunbury Plantation House, which is over three hundred years old and gives a vivid view of the opulent lifestyle of the sugar plantation owners in the 18th and 19th centuries.  As we walk through the house, we are reminded of just how profitable sugar must have been, especially prior to the abolition of slavery in 1834, at which time the slaves became employees after a two-year apprenticeship.  The mahogany furniture is of European design, although it was all made on the island.  There were quite a few examples of the fashionable clothing they wore as well, and it looks stiflingly hot and uncomfortable in this era of no a.c.  The house was built with walls 2 1/2 feet thick, both to withstand the occasional hurricane and also to insulate the interior against the oppressive heat.  They did have ice, shipped in from Canada.

After wandering through the beautiful house, we step outside into an area set up with chairs and a long table atop which are a half dozen bottles of rum.  Carl and Stephanie had “warned” us about this part of the tour: the rum tasting.  We are greeted by Dawn, whose lively personality is immediately evident.  She introduces her two assistants, Shelly and Ian.  We are now to enjoy part of the marketing effort made by Mount Gay Rum, the oldest rum distillery in the world.

The party begins.  This is no shy, careful tasting with tiny sips of various products.  This is a party.  Dawn banters with her guests as she explains the various products.  First Shelly makes a rum punch, and the ratio of rum to fruit juices is about one to one.  Ian passes around glasses of the concoction.  It is indeed delicious.  Seconds are offered.  Next Shelly describes Mount Gay’s answer to Captain Morgan, a flavored rum that she proudly boasts outsells the popular Captain Morgan in worldwide sales.  Another batch in smaller plastic cups goes around.  Seconds are offered.  Then it’s time to describe Crispa, which can best be described as Bailey’s except with rum.  Another small plastic cup for each of us.  Seconds are offered.  In between the samples of rum, Thank God, delicious samples of fried fish/chicken and another scrumptious local dish are offered.   All of this is offered in high spirits by three delightful young people.  It is a memorable … well, maybe memory isn’t the right word … let’s say, very fun experience.

Needless to say, we tour bus riders are much louder and much more conversational on our trip back to the dock.  Other than the fact that each parish has an Anglican church, and that the Anglican Church is the most predominant in Barbados (as opposed to Roman Catholic, which is predominant in almost all the other Caribbean islands), I have no more notes.

As far as I can recall, we board the ship after purchasing and writing up postcards to the grandchildren, have lunch at Waves grill … or was it Terrace Cafe … and nap for a while.  We awaken feeling way more refreshed, write and read until dinner.  Dinner is wherever-I-can’t-remember.  Surely Cathy will help me out with details.

Whew!  Barbados sure was fun.