Robyn's Wanderings

“Our Nature lies in movement; complete calm is death.” – Blaise Pascal

Barbados' Flag!

I could hear the rain pelting down. The wind stirred and the house creaked. By daylight the rain had cleared and the sun was out.

By the afternoon the clouds gathered again and the storm would pummel Barbados for a second time.

Those storms really didn’t matter, though, because the day was beautiful, sunny and not too warm! Can you think of a better destination during the heat of Bermuda’s summer? I didn’t think so.

That’s why this month, August, my destination of choice for the Rock Fever column is Barbados (not to mention I am currently visiting this Caribbean country!)

Sure it is their rainy season, but out of the 30-odd days I was in Barbados the skies opened actually during the day, three time.

Which brings me to reason one to visit Barbados in our summer months (July and August): the hotels offer their reduced rates and there are fewer tourists! Honestly, I could not imagine the roads with more tourists on them; traffic was crazy in the rainy season let alone tourist season. Don’t even get me started on my very own traffic lesson I was given by a crazy Barbadian man. Read my blog www.robynswanderings.com for that one!

Reason two: There is so much open land and it is all lush and green. Of course every Barbadian I spoke to laughed when I made this observation. For them the land is overdeveloped, but compared to Bermuda….well it’s a wide-expanse. Which is why you should go during this time of year, but also why you have to go hiking here.

Reason three is free hikes! Sure you could pay almost $100 for an safari by jeep (and if you want to I would visit islandsafari.bb/ for information), but isn’t it better for the environment and your health to hike? Hike Barbados offers a variety of hikes every Sunday morning that will take you to places you could never imagine. When I went we hiked down a cliff to secluded St. Martin’s Bay with its rock outcroppings and back through, what I can only describe as, a rain forest! Bonus? It’s free! Visit hikebarbados.com!

Crane Beach

After the trek you’ll need some time to relax and good food. Reason four should send you to The Crane Beach Resort. Voted as having one of the ten best beaches in the world (though it was filled with seaweed when I went) by Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, the resort also has a stunning view of the Atlantic from its restaurant L’Azure. Sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean, the food and the view will take you far away from the muddy hike. Even better it is not as expensive as I would have thought for that type of resort (www.thecrane.com/).

Reason five: after lunch there is plenty of sightseeing to do and so you need to plan your trip. To start there are really two coastlines when you visit Barbados: East and West. The West has beautiful resorts, shopping, white-sand beaches and is the best place to go swimming. The East coast, though, has cliffs, rock out-crops, surfing sites (swimming is not advised on the East) and green as far as you can see. And of course there is the middle of the island!

Ok, since in this column we are already at Crane Resort I will take you up the East Coast. Reason six: take the coast road for hills that pull you up above the Atlantic and between one-room houses offers vistas of cliffs and crashing waves. The road will meander to Codrington College, which is the Theological College of the Church of the Province of the West Indies, and has been instructing students since 1830. It also sits in a tranquil setting with some of the most amazing water-lilies. Perfect place for a picnic and you will see many locals there on the weekends doing just that.

After your education, follow the coastline to Bathsheba where surfers will outnumber anyone else and the setting reminded me of Thailand. Even better would be to visit the RoundHouse, which sits above it all and offers amazing Flying Fish (a traditional Bajan dish!). The perfect way to finish your day.

Bathsheba's beach

From the East we move to reason seven and the middle of Barbados! The middle of the island truly offers an understanding of how the country formed! Start at Harrison’s Cave, which takes our Crystal Caves and just multiplies! There is a tram ride to help tourists through the extensive system and an informative guide who instructs you on the formation of the island. Next stop: Welchman Hall Gully, where a walk through the collapsed cave (i.e. a gully) which is filled with palms with spikes, flowers for days will give you a sense of what Barbados used to be like.

Culminate your tour at St. Nicholas’ Abbey, which is an old sugar cane plantation that now makes rum! It also offers a peaceful place among the mahogany trees for a great lunch!

Finally reach the top of the island (or at least you feel like you have) at Cherry Tree Hill, which is an ancient natural passageway connecting the east and west coasts. Take your pic and then head back south.

St. Nicholas' Abbey

It’s time for reason eight to visit Barbados and that has to be the nightlife! On a Friday night that will mean heading to Oistins Fish-Fry. This lively, evening market offers vendor after vendor grilling everything from your flying fish to tuna and lobster! A massive fish dinner will cost about US$10 and you can then walk it off shopping the various craft stalls or dancing on the stage or in the bars surrounding it. Other options for nightlife? St. Lawrence Gap (a one-way driving stretch along the water) has restaurant after vendor after bar to give you what you might need for a fantastic night out.

But don’t party too hard, the next day will require heading to the West Coast of the Island and reason nine. Start in Bridgetown, but be careful to walk along Broad Street and Swan Street and that’s about it! You do have to be wary here, but it is a fun city that will definitely keep you busy people watching.

Head to the Kensington Oval, where you can pretend you’re in the Cricket World Cup before you head north. Take your pick for lunch in either Holetown with it’s cute and colourful restaurants or drive further north through the mega-resorts to Speightstown, with its historic buildings. Make sure along the way you don’t miss the beaches!

Cricket anyone? Can you tell I don't play?

I am now down to reason ten and that has to be the month of July which is Crop Over and the time to truly party in Barbados! Cup Match, I’m afraid, has nothing on this party time.

But further explanation of Crop Over will have to wait till next week! I’ve run out of space and I think I’ve given you plenty to plan your trip next year and of course once you hear about Crop Over….well let’s just say you’ll have recovered from Cup Match by then.

Until next week, bye!

A Barbadian Traffic Lesson!

His black Vitara Jeep came inches from my legs! My legs were, of course, trapped inside a car door,but with the speed he was moving….well, I wouldn’t have lasted long.

And it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

I was living in Barbados for a month for a course at the University of the West Indies and the only way to see the island? Well that was going to be by car.

So I rented one. It came with a glowing “H” plate, which identified me as a tourist without even opening my mouth. Of course this worked both ways for me.

Late one night as a friend and I came up against a flooded road that forced us to turn around, a friendly local rolled-down his window and suggested we follow him. Without our “H” plate we may have been lost in the middle of sugar cane fields, sleeping in the car.

Instead we got home safely.

And then it came to the last week of the course and the end of Crop Over (Barbados’ carnival). Me and two friends from the course needed to buy our tickets for Foreday.

Foreday? Trucks filled with music, followed by groups of people, which are followed by a truck filled with drinks, wander through the streets of Barbados’ capital, Bridgetown from 2 a.m. until 8 a.m.!

Even the tickets for this event were a mission. About half an hour from our College in St. Lawrence’s gap was the store for our Band (group of people/trucks).

We set-off determined. And then we came-up on the round-about. I stayed in the outside lane to move to the second exit.

The black Vitara? He decided to go on the inside and then take me out! Coming from behind without a glance he veered into my lane only to stop short (luckily for my legs).

But that’s not the worst part. No one was touched, but I could barely breath…..so I kept driving. I wanted to get out of the round-about and I wanted to get away from the crazy man in the big jeep.

He followed, beeping his horn, flashing his lights, yelling at me even as I decided to go around the second round-about.

“Pull over Robyn. Just pull over or he’s just going to keep this up,” said my friends.

He pulled up beside me: “Don’t you know you have to stop when you hit someone? How can I look to see if you caused any damage?”

“You’re crazy! I didn’t even touch your car and you swerved into me!!”

He decided to mess with the wrong three women and we were clearly no tourists he wanted to take-on! Nonetheless he decided to prove his point by pulling in front of my car.

My friends got out of the car to confront him (I was too shaken-up). There was a lot of gesturing and shaking and then finally I heard:

“Great you gave us a “traffic lesson” now go on your way. Enough. Done.”

And my friends got back in the car…..we managed to get our tickets!

I have been in Barbados for two weeks surveying the landscape between my apartment rental and the college and ….that’s about it.

Sad, I know.

Traveling for a course or business, however, is so different from traveling for traveling sake! Trying to understand a new country and then new material is just plain exhausting (but that’s a column for another day)!

Luckily, this weekend that just passed I had a friend come to visit me and it finally expelled me from my work shell and we started to venture into Barbados.

Our first stop? Well I just had to try the legendary flying fish! Yes, in Bermuda, where I am from, these fish are often spotted dodging the fishing boats or on the end of lines as….bait! I don’t know if anyone actually eats them!

It was a Friday night so the only spot to eat fish is Oistins Fish Market.

Of course they close the fish market at night and instead stall after stall tries to smoke the other out of existence. These BBQ’s are piled with layers of tuna steaks, King Fish steaks, Lobsters, snapper, and….NO flying fish!

I couldn’t find it anywhere. Ok, to be fair I couldn’t wait to search more than three places because I was starving, but I thought it would ubiquitous. Grr……

I had to “settle” for a pound of fresh Tuna, some grilled potatoes and a salad for $10! Yes, $10! And the fish was amazing.

Grilling for my dinner

And just for your entertainment, there are vendors lining the beach where Oistins sits selling all sorts of bowls made from fish scales, necklaces, straw bags, and just about any kind of trinket you want to take home with Barbados scrolled across it.

At one end of the market ball room dancing manages to keep ….well the older set occupied, while a stage shaking in the middle offers the latest calypso and reggae songs. Of course you might have to dodge 100 pound, twelve-year-old boys, but it wasn’t a bad way to work off dinner.

So I didn’t find my flying fish, but have no fear! I am here another two weeks and I will find that leaping ocean dweller.