Beautiful Barbados

ThAAAnkful

2011-11-28T22:13:00.001-05:00

The Tuesday before major holidays I take my mom to visit a friend of mine. We typically play seasonal piano duets and trios and go out for lunch. This tradition has been going on for nearly 20 years when my mom would drive here on the Sunday before a holiday.

This year, we were taking an exit from one major highway to another and there was some construction going on. The exit was two lanes and there was a car in the other lane so I had nowhere to go when I saw what looked to be a clump of dirt from the construction.

After I hit it, I soon found that it was more than dirt. The ride got bumpier and bumpier until I could barely steer.

We got off at an industrial park where I'd never been before. I called AAA and tried to explain where I was. They gently reminded me that I had neglected to renew my membership at the beginning of the month. You can bet I whipped out my debit card super-fast!

It was pouring rain but the nice AAA man arrived within 30 minutes. He got the tire changed out and put air in the other front tire. My mom didn't even have to help lift the car!

My friend had also come so we had sandwiches in a little shop in the industrial park. Not a bad end to the day.

I will never let that membership lapse again!

Mogul 2

2011-09-14T14:21:00.001-04:00

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A few more from the Gulf of Maine

Whale watching

2011-09-14T11:58:00.001-04:00

Where we're headed. Whales guaranteed. More later - hopefully!

Essex River Cruise

2011-09-14T09:29:00.001-04:00

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Since I was in bed at 9, I woke up at 6 AM - unheard of! Finally, I stopped trying to get back to sleep and started checking email and message boards. Susan woke up and we started planning our day.

There was an Essex River Cruise leaving a 1 and we decided to get on it.

The captain gave a wonderful narration of the islands, wildlife and the estuary itself.

The word “estuary” is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, which in itself is derived from the term aestus, meaning tide. There have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. The most widely accepted definition is: “a semi-enclosed coastal body of water, which has a free connection with the open sea, and within which sea water is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from drainage.

Check out this video of our trip that someone posted oh YouTube;

See all the pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111010152758124757139/EssexRiver

After the cruise we decided to wander around the little seaside town of Rockport. Lots of neat shops. We went into the candy shop and didn't come out empty handed...

Essex River Cruise

2011-09-14T09:28:00.001-04:00

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Since I was in bed at 9, I woke up at 6 AM - unheard of! Finally, I stopped trying to get back to sleep and started checking email and message boards. Susan woke up and we started planning our day.

There was an Essex River Cruise leaving a 1 and we decided to get on it.

The captain gave a wonderful narration of the islands, wildlife and the estuary itself.

Check out this video of our trip that someone posted oh YouTube;

See all the pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111010152758124757139/EssexRiver

After the cruise we decided to wander around the little seaside town of Rockport. Lots of neat shops. We went into the candy shop and didn't come out empty handed...

Last Trip For Awhile

2011-09-12T02:06:00.001-04:00

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A few starter pictures...

Not Going Anywhere!

2011-09-09T12:01:00.001-04:00

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Lazy Days and... Tuesdays?

2011-08-31T10:27:00.001-04:00

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In the morning, a reporesentative from the Sunday non-catamaran came here to convince us we'd like to have a free trip with them plus they would pay for our taxi getting back here. Tom said no, maybe we'd take them up on that offer next year. The representative and Tom called the president of the company who was also stunned that we wouldn't be bought off for a free catamaran trip and a $30 taxi ride.

Turns out that they were supposed to pick up 9 people at the Hilton but only 4 showed up. So they inconvenienced about 40 people for the Hilton and less than 50% of their folks even showed up.

But we moved on...

A lazy, lazy day by The Crane pools. These pictures were taken throughout the day and into the evening. To see the whole album and some nice sunset shots, please click here.

Jammin' Cat

2011-08-31T09:12:00.001-04:00

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What a nice - but early! - day. The taxi picked us up at 7:30 am for the Jammin' Cats catamaran. Along the way we picked up a couple young women from Holland, then another from Australia.

We arrived at the Careenage, paid our bill, took off our shoes and got onboard. We found a nice little place in the shade for a while before leaving the dock.

Not long after we got onboard, we started motoring out of the careenage into the Caribbean for thesbille first snorkel site, the one where folks can swim with the hawksbill sea turtles. People coudn't use fins here because the turtles are endangered. Due to Tom's puncture wound, we had decided not to go in the water on this trip but it was fun to see the others swimming with the turtles.

We countinued along to a snorkel site over a scuttled French ship, the Berwin. The Berwin is a World War I French boat scuttled in 1919 by her own crew. Her captain thought that they were being followed by a German U-Boat and decided to abandon ship first. The Berwyn sits between 7 and 10 feet below the surface depending on the tide. We could see her outline from onboard ship. Because it's so calm in the bay and because the wreck is nearly 100 years old, it is covered in marine life, such as coral, and lots of fish.

When we left the Berwin it was time to hoist the sails and head north to Payne's Beach. In this calm bay we were close to land and it was pretty shallow so people could have fun swimming, floating on mattresses or going into shore. This catamaran also had the luxury of drink delivery to the mattresses and swimmers! Next time, you'll find me relaxing on a floating mattress!

After a bit, it was lunch time. Those of us onboard got to eat while the swimmers were still climbing on board. It was a pretty standard Bajan Tour lunch - peas'n'rice, flying fish, curry chicken, salad, macaroni pie... I'm not complaining at all, though - I love it all :)

After lunch, a bit more swimming, then heading south again.

We disembarked about 2:30 or so and got home about 3:30. It was a beautiful day, no rain, but I was exhausted. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until about 8.

We got a call from the front desk - someone from the Sunday non-catamaran had called. Tom got the number to call back on Tuesday.

Medical Tourism

2011-08-30T20:34:00.001-04:00

Our catamaran pickup was for 8:15 so we got up early. The driver was actually here before 8:15 so we hustled to get to the (huge) bus. Another family fro The Crane was already on board. We waited a bit for someone else who never showed up.

At the first stop we picked up a bunch of guys who turned out to be part of a hockey team. They were either still, or already, drunk and acting moronic. Wonderful.

This bus held at least 40 people and we were nearly full when we got to the Hilton to pick up the last few people. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. Some of our folks got off to see what was going on. No answers. Tom got off and talked to the driver about why we were holding up the busload of people for so long. The driver said it was his orders, to talk to "the boat".

Finally, after about 45 minutes, 4 people got on the bus. No apologies from them or the driver. We just continued to the catamaran. Everyone except us got on the catamaran. Tom wanted to see the manager, who was not there on Sunday (of course !). The folks in the office said to let it go, we'd be "happy" once on board, probably referring to the open bar.

We said no, that we weren't going. They called us a taxi (at our expense, naturally). Tom got the name of the manager to speak with him later.

Our taxi arrived and we left. We told the driver exactly what had happened and he drove us to the competition! The first boat, Cool Runnings, had already left for the day but a very kind man from the Jolly Roger called them for us us. The didn't have any openings until Tuesday so the Jolly Roger man (Tom thought his name was Richard) booked us a trip for Monday on Jammin' Cats. I was really amazed at how kind and helpful the taxi driver and Richard(?) were to us.

If you need a taxi in Barbados, Call Big Apple at 246-239-0637. A great guy.

Meanwhile, on the trip back to The Crane, Tom mentioned that we had a bat in our apartment overnight. He had heard it about 2 am, then again at dawn the bat was at the glass doors trying to get out. Tom had pinned him (or her) between the slatted door and the glass door, then tried to open the glass door to let the bat out. S/he flew away and Tom noticed that his arm was bleeding.

I saw the puncture wound and we were trying to decide what to do. When we got back, Tom called the front desk to ask about doctors. Naturally, it was Sunday... He got the name of an emergency clinic that was open until midnight. I looked up bats online and found that there had been no rabies here for at least a decade. All the people said that there was no rabies here, too, but we wanted to be sure.

I wasn't even sure that it was a bat bite since it was just one puncture wound, not 2 (or 4) but we headed off to find the emergency clinic. There were about 10 people ahead of us and only 1 doctor so it took a while to get in. The nurse reiterated that there was no rabies here, took Tom's medical history. Turns out his last tetanus shot had been just over 10 years ago.

Back to the waiting room. Just after 5, we got to go into the small doctor's office. I was amazed at the old-style exam table.

After a bit, the doctor came in and told us what we already knew - it was probably not a bat bite. They dont have rabies here on Barbados but had it been Trinidad... Tom did have an infection that was creeping up his arm so he got the tetanus shot, got the wound cleaned and dressed, prescriptions for antibiotic ointment and meds.

We took the prescriptions to the pharmacy next door, then back to the clinic for paperwork that we can try to submit to our insurance when we get home.

Crisis averted!

Hurricane Irene Day

2011-08-30T19:44:00.001-04:00

Saturday - I guess that Hurricane Irene has hit North Carolina. This one looks a bit concern since my Mom is in Virginia and our son and my best friend are in New York - both places where this storm is projected to hit.

Reminds me of Hurricane Carol which hit where we lived when I was a kid. My Mom said "let's go down and see the waves". Our car got stuck and we probably would have washed out to sea had we not been blocking the path of a truck who wanted to get out of the area fast. He pushed us to safety.

We lived on a small embankment and when we got home, we could see that the road directly below us was flooded and people were going by in rowboats.

Even here it is pouring rain today. I'm not sure if there's another hurricane brewing or not. I guess I'll just read inside today. I'm still on book #5.

Sunday is supposed to be our catamaran. We'll see if it gets cancelled or postponed. It looks like rain off and on here for the rest of the week, though. I guess this is why it's called "the rainy season".

Plantation Dinner Theater

2011-08-28T13:25:00.002-04:00

Friday was a nice day with a little rain on and off. We had gone to Reception to sign up for a couple activities - The Plantation Dinner show and a catamaran for snorkeling.

It turned out that The Plantation was available last night so we grabbed that.

They set up a little wedding arbor on the cliff across from us so we took a few pictures. This wedding was a bit different from last year. This year, the bride walked down the hill, last year, she rode in a golf cart. This year was a violinist, last year a steel drummer.

The little video tried to to get a bit of the violin music. I told Tom that I didn't think that the salty sea air here would be good for a violin and he said it was maybe a plastic-varius.

1 of 4

Our pick-up time for The Plantation was 5:45 so we got changed and off to the taxi. After going through Oistens and the beginnings of the Friday Fish Fry, we picked up 5 other people, all from the UK.

We got to The Plantation in plenty of time. We picked up our "welcome drinks" and ome of us had pictures with members of the cast. We went to our table - right on the dance floor, in front Nearly perfect seating. Turns out a 5-year-old named Edward had the center front seat. More about him later.

We were entertained by the Casablanca Steel Orchestra - 5 steel drums with 4 drummers, a bass and a drum set. I love watching the one who deals with 2 steel drums - very talented!

Dinner time and lots of great food - salads, flying fish, macaroni pie, BBQ chicken, beef stew, peas'n'rice, desserts and more, coffee... Whatever anyone could possibly want and lots of it. There is also an open bar but I stopped after the first rum punch.

After dinner, the show started.

Here are some highlights:

My favorites, I think, are the stiltwalkers. I am always amazed at how they can dance on those stilts. And I wonder why there are no women doing this.

After the show was the limbo contest, then a singer whow encouraged people to dance with songs like Hot, Hot Hot and In De Congaline.

Took the taxi back home - all in all a great night!

Falling Into the "Do-It-Later" Syndrome

2011-08-25T18:57:00.001-04:00

I am getting so lazy, just sitting around and reading. I did finish that book from the last post, Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel. I have started book #4, Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry. I have a special bond with the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series because I first discovered it here at The Crane lending library about 9 years ago.

I haven't taken many pictures these last few days since there's not much happening. I did take these of the coming rain...

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I think that this day, Tuesday, was the day or the earthquake in the DC area. Sounded pretty scary.

The rains let up in the afternoon and we went swimming. That's the great thing about rain here - it rains for a few minutes, the sun comes out and everything dries up again. Just like The Itsy Bitsy Spider:

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,

and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

I took this picture of the little lizard trying to hide on the louvres in the bathroom:

Not much else of interest. This morning we had a meeting with some of The Crane staff, then off to Cutters for breakfast, Emerald City for more groceries then back to my chair for reading.

It's so relaxing here. We've been here just under a week but it seems like nearly forever...

I'm Already Falling Behind

2011-08-23T11:35:00.001-04:00

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... And falling literally but more of that in a bit.

Here it is Tuesday and I'm already falling behind.

Sunday, Tom got back from his meeting about 11 or so. Within 5 minutes some storm out to sea blew in a lot of rain at such an angle that it flooded about half the living room floor.

After getting that cleaned up we headed over to Emerald City to do our first grocery shopping of the trip. On Sundays they close at 2:00 so we wanted to be fast about that.

I had decided to get some nail polish but they were out of most colors. Only blue, yellow and green were left. I considered doing 1/2 blue and 1/2 yellow as a form of Cushie solidarity or something but decided against that. I got the blue. Looking at my hands now I'm hoping I don't get rushed to the hospital. They might think I have cyanosis...

In addition to other stuff we got tutti fruitti milk and salt bread. I think I could live on a diet of just those 2 items for quite some time. I'm uploading a picture of salt bread. It's more what we would call rolls, not salty at all but d that to distinguish it from sweet bread. It also has a sliver of coconut leaf on the top.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We went swimming about dusk and into the huge open air jacuzzi. We decided to have dinner by the pool at the Carriage House.

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Monday morning I woke up early and went outside to take sunrise pictures. I also got a little video and some starling and lizard pictures while I was at it.

We got some more rain but not as bad as Sunday. I guess it's Hurricane Irene out there we can see something out to sea but only the weather channel can identify some of these storms.

I was closing up the bedroom doors and slipped and fell. I hurt my hip pretty bad on the floor and my shoulder on the edge of the TV cabinet.

I spent most of the rest of the day not moving too much and so I finished book #1, Requiem for a Gypsy by Michael Genelin. Ive read all his books so far. I started the series because it takes place mostly in Slovakia and our son had spent a summer there teaching English so I feel a connection, however tenuous.

I started (and finished) book #2, Death by Honeymoon which I got because it was cheap and because the main action takes place here in Barbados.

I started reading book #3, Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny. I've read several in that series and will probably complete it before long.

Dinner at home while watching American Ninja Warriors.

Life is good!

We Made It!

2011-08-21T10:10:00.002-04:00

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Friday night seems so long ago now but that was when I took our dog to her sister's house - or what we call "summer camp". Mimi is so fortunate that her sister and human family let her visit so often and that she's never had to go to a kennel.

I got back from that about 10 and we had a quick dinner of sandwiches from the grocery. Then to finish up packing.

I got to bed about 12:30... Not too bad but we had to get up at 2:15 to catch our flight.

Our taxi arrived at 3 and we got to the airport by 4. Unfortunately, the flight folks didn't get there until nearly 5 so we couldn't check our baggage.

Finally, that was done, we cleared security, and got to the gate. One interesting thing about this flight was that we had used frequent flier miles on United. They got us the tickets through their partner, Air Canada, so we found ourselves flying from Washington, DC to Toronto before heading south to Barbados. Added a bit to the trip!

We did get some good sunrise pictures from the plane, though. The last few look like the wing is on fire.
Maybe later I'll make up a better story about those pictures :)

All went well and we got to Toronto in about an hour and a half. Cleared customs there but didn't have to get our luggage. Yea!

On to the next gate. The next flight had a bit of turbulence but I was proud of myself and didn't scream although I did clutch the armrests pretty heavily.

We arrived and all was well. Got our luggage, cleared customs and immigration and off to Stoute Rental Car. We have been renting cars (and once, bicycles) from them for about 15 years.

And we're off to The Crane, remembering to drive on the left. Around the roundabouts and up the road.

At last, we are home!

We got unpacked very quickly. We already know where everything goes. Computers set up, stuff put away, furniture moved so that the desk is facing the big doors to the ocean instead of the wall and smaller window to the ocean.

We went to the little grocery store here to tide us over until the real store on Sunday.

Tom did some email checking, I read and napped, then out to dinner at D'Onofrio's (Italian). Yummy food then back home.

When we got to our front door, there were 3 tiny baby frogs. I wished I had my camera. I got lucky when we got in because there was a slightly bigger one in our kitchen sink. I got his picture!

A little TV, a little reading, then fast asleep.

24 hours...

2011-08-19T04:15:00.001-04:00

...and we'll be at the airport for our trip to Barbados.

Heading to The Crane in Barbados in Just a Few Days

2011-08-17T14:41:00.001-04:00

I always get excited when it's close to Barbados time - it's like going home for me.

I was reading over some of the past years' blog posts and found that the images in some have a big black triangle. I'm not sure what that's about but if you click on that triangle, the picture will show up.

This will be our 15th year going to Barbados since we went for the first couple years to Coral Point, just up the coast. So many memories, especially the ones from September 11, 2001. Then there were the years that hurricanes almost hit, the year we met an "alien", being on the Concorde, the horse races, the archeology at an old Jewish Synagogue, the beautiful flowers, the roti, last year when we had the big ceiling leak...

The Countdown has begun!

Costa Rica, Tom's Pictures

2011-08-08T22:38:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the pictures Tom took. He took a lot of pictures of the destruction of the Oh, My God bridge, falling rocks on the road and other things I'm not as interested in.

Anyway, here are his pictures. We still have some coming from the waterproof camera taken in the Rainmaker rainforest. Those have to be developed before uploading.

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Costa Rica, Day 7 and Home

2011-08-08T18:34:00.001-04:00

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Early, early wake up time. We have to be at the airport by 5:00 am so we were up at 4:00 am. We got things we had taken out repacked - mostly electronics we wanted charged.

Checking out, we were able to get free "breakfast to go" bags that included cereal bars, juice, bananas and muffins. Pretty good.

The Holiday Inn had a 24/7 shuttle so we got on that within 5 minutes. It was only about 8 minutes to the airport. It was a good thing we were there early because the line to pay the departure tax was pretty long. Luckily, we had gotten a porter to move our bags because he was very helpful in showing us where to go for the departure tax and how to fill out the forms - then where to check in.

We got through security in plenty of time and I got a few pictures of the mountains outside the departure gate.

I ate the banana and the muffin. I should have had the juice since it was confiscated in a final security just before getting on the plane. The bottle was all sealed up but they took it anyway. Oh, well.

I was very happy on the plane. They showed the movie Water For Elephants. I had read (and shared with everyone) this book several years ago. I was glad to be able to watch the movie but it did cut into my naptime.

We arrived in Atlanta on time and went through the whole Customs/Immigration ordeal.It wasn't as bad as some places we have been through. All our luggage arrived and that's a good thing!

We stopped for a real meal at T.G.I.Fridays, then on to our gate. We were there about 30 minutes, then the gate changed so we dragged our stuff up the hall to the new gate. Boarding was pretty easy, then we taxied out for takeoff.

Then, we stopped. The pilot said that there were storms in the DC area so we couldn't land there. He figured that the storm was colser to Reagan airport and those flights were probably diverted to Dulles (our airport) and Baltimore. Whatever.

We sat, with the engines off, on the field. No engines, no A/C. They passed out ice water and told us to close the window shades to keep it "cooler". Right.

Finally, we were able to take off. Although I could see that we passed through some thunder storms, the flight was fairly smooth.

Into Dulles, got one suitcase. The big one is nowhere. Finally, that showed up and we got a taxi for home. Then off to get our dog ant the trip was over.

There will be more pictures later from Tom's camera plus the ones we took with the waterproof carmera in the Rainmaker rainforest.

Fairwell to

Thanks for reading!

Costa Rica, Day 6

2011-08-08T18:05:00.001-04:00

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I'm writing this post from home since I ran out of time to to it in Costa Rica.

Saturday was a "rest day". Ha! We were originally going to leave Quepos early and head to San Juan, leave our stuff at the Holiday Inn and head further north to the Poás Volcano.

We decided that would be a bit much so we mostly packed up our stuff and headed to Dominical, a small surfing town.

Dominical has been know for many years to the international surfing community because of its consistently good waves. Discovered in the early seventies by a group of intrepid and dedicated surfers, Dominical has steadily gained in popularity over the last 30 years. The town has become a haven for surfers with local restaurants.

The unusual conditions of the beach is what gives its surf both size and dependability. The wave is a beach break with a twist, that twist being the mouth of the Rio Baru to the north. The river empties out of the mountains to the east and deposits sediments that form into a sandbar that spreads like a pair of lazy rabbit ears north and south of the mouth.

From http://www.dominical-costarica.com/aboutdominical.html

This town was down a dirt/gravel road. We missed it the first time because it looked more like a driveway than a road into a town. There were all little restaurants, towel and tshirt stores. The picture of the VW bus was a restaurant called San Clemente and the bus had sculptures of Elvis, a frog and a surfer hanging out the windows.

Some of the other images are taken out of the window of the car and include rivers, palm tree plantations, the mountains and more.

The picture of the airport made me very glad I was in a car and not in one of those little cars!

We got back to Pueblo Real, finished packing. It was raining then and the last balcony pictures were taken in the rain as a little comparison to the balcony pictures I took the first night.

We checked out and headed north to San Jose but we didn't get on the road until about 3:30 which kept us on the road after dark. One of the pictures is of the sunset through the car window.

We stopped at the Crocodile Bridge over the Río Tárcoles just north of the Pacific beach town of Jacó. I thought I saw some but Tom said that they were logs. We had some ice cream and continued heading north.

Thank goodness for GPS - we got to the Holiday Inn about 6:30. We checked in there, unloaded the car and went to dinner next door at... Denny's! Almost like being back in the US. We found the only nearby ATM in the Fiesta Casino. Then we returned the rental car which was also less than a block away. Everything was so convenient.

I watched part of a House - in English - before falling asleep early. We had to get up at 4am the next day...

Glad we didn't fly in...

2011-08-06T16:23:00.001-04:00

The local airport, taken from the main highway in a moving car on the way from Dominical to Quepos. Too close!

Baby lizard

2011-08-06T12:32:00.001-04:00

On the door underneath the hinge.

I have no idea how he got to the second floor!

Costa Rica, Day 5

2011-08-06T00:14:00.001-04:00

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Another early day. We got up for an 8 am pickup. Today we went out snorkeling on a sailboat and saw some dolphins.

We stopped by the marina and I got a tshirt then, I decided I wanted a hat with SPF 45 built in so I went back in for that. Then Tom decided he wanted a shirt. This time the credit card was declined. I guess they thought it was stolen by then. Luckily, I had a second card.

All this activity made us the last ones inboard. We had been first at the dock.

We sailed out a bit and ran into the dolphins. I got lucky on the pictures. I was just shooting and hoping some would jump up when the shutter went off.

The video below is not mine but similar to what we saw:

The crew came around with wonderful pineapple slices. Yummy!

We sailed by a small rock island covered with brown booby birds. The little islands came up with the shifting of the tectonic plates.

Then snorkeling/swimming. There was a small island with sargent major fish. We had seen those in Barbados.

After this we had a nice lunch of fish, rice, potato, yucca and carrots.

A bit of sailing around then back home. First thing was to call the bank and assure them that the card hadn't been stolen, it was us making multiple small purchases.

Since we were already wet, we decided to go swimming. A nice dog came over and sat by me while I was reading. He even posed for the camera. I also tried to get a picture of a butterfly on a bush but I don't think it came out too well.

After showers, we headed in to Quepos to find the ATM again.

Then off to dinner. Our friends from Thrifty were there so we joined then and heard the whole saga of the flat tire.

Back home and writing this...

Costa Rica, Day 4B

2011-08-04T23:36:00.001-04:00

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We ended going out to breakfast here at Pueblo Real and I took the pictures of the flowers afterwards.

After exchanging our reservations since Michael can't join us, we ended up going to Rainmaker Rain Forest. That's a privately owned rain forest down a long gravel road.

On that road I took the picture of the cow/bull or whatever it was with the huge buffalo hump.

True to it's name, it was pouring when we got to rainmaker. We decided to go inside anyway.

Because it was raining, we had to take most of our pictures with a waterproof camera, old-style that will need to be developed before uploading.

There was lots of climbing, suspension bridges, slippery places, rain. What fun!

I was pretty ok until we saw the red band around the tree that meant a worker had spotted a snake in it that morning. I don't know if the snake has to move the band when he moves.

Tom went very quickly by the tree and didn't see the snake. I looked into the tree and did see it. With the help of Wikipedia and google I identified it as a green vine snake when we got back. It's venom was "serious cut not lethal" to humans.

After I saw him, what little adrenaline I have got depleted very fast and I had some trouble finishing the walk. This was the day (of course!) that I didn't bring any extra cortisone.

Finally got home and took the cortef and Tom went back out for gas.

After he got back we got phone calls from our Thrifty friends who were off somewhere, in the rain, getting dark out...with a flat tire. Tom gave them phone numbers of the office here, Thrifty and others. He was thinking of trying to find them but they somehow got help from someone closer to the scene.

We went out to dinner and major rains, thunder and lightning. This is an open-ish restaurant so we had rain blowing in...and a crab wandered through.

Finally, we figured it was time to go and the ice restaurant folks lent us an umbrella.

Time to head to bed. Out early tomorrow for a sail/snorkel/lunch trip.

This is not my video but it's a good one of where we were today.

Costa Rica, Day 4A

2011-08-04T10:13:00.001-04:00

A bit of disappointment. Michael can't join us due to the tropical storm/hurricane Emily. His flight was rescheduled but he would get here so late. He'd be here for less than a day.

So, we're canceling whitewater rafting, moving the sailboat to tomorrow and trying to find activities for today and Saturday, maybe!

Stay tuned...

Costa Rica, Day 3

2011-08-04T09:47:00.001-04:00

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This was the day we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. I'm only going to post some of the pictures from here and the rest later, depending on the connection.

Our shuttle picked us up at 7 and included the couple we met at the Thrifty on Sunday and the couple we met here for the Quepos grocery run.

At the park we got our guide, Andre, met up with us. He had a super high-powered telescope on a tripod so we could see lots of things would never have seen, especially on our own. Without Andre we probably would have seen nothing!

All of the pictures in a circular frame were taken through the telescope. We saw 2-toed and 3-toed sloths. Their differences were not just in the numbers of toes but several other things such what they ate. We also saw baby bats sleeping, several types of tree frogs, insects, frog larvae.

The frog larvae was interesting. I have 2 pictures. It looked like a gelatinous mass with lots of eyes...which moved. Eventually, the sac will fall off the leaf and into the water below. Those eyes will become tadpoles for a bit, then frogs.

We heard before we saw the howler monkeys. They were very noisy! Eventually one threw a tree branch down toward us, then a bit of monkey poop.

The monkeys are, of course, free to go wherever they want and some were getting killed in the roads. Or they would use the power cables as highways. Not a good idea! The people installed blue cables for them at the routes they normally took. The monkeys can see the blue, use those highways and stay safe.

We also saw another type of monkey, lizards and more.

After this part was over, we forded a stream and had a great fruit snack along with soursop drink. Mmmmmmm. On this trip I've had more fruit than a long time.

We went and sat on the beach for a bit, then back "home".

After naps, there was a barbecue near the pool, then early bed.

Costa Rica, Day 2B (or not 2B...)

2011-08-03T02:37:00.002-04:00

After Tom's conference call we went back by the pool for a bit until the thunder started and we decided to head home. On the way back we signed up for a tour of Manuel Antonio National Park (description below) which will happen tomorrow. So all our days are now filled with activities. I'll need a vacation day when I get home to recover...

Tom took the picture of me today on our balcony. Which reminds me: they told us yesterday if we were on the first floor to be sure to lock our back patio doors because the raccoons had figured out how to open them to get food. Glad we're on the second/top floor.

I was looking at some receipts. The money here is the colones, about 500 to $1.00. Our ATM receipt showed that we're millionaires, just not in US currency.

The temperature at home was 104. Here, near the equator, it's 78. Very strange.

Getting up in less than 6 hours for Manuel Antonio. Night, all!

Manuel Antonio...
With the establishment of ManuelAntonio National Park in 1972, the people of Costa Rica decided to preserve, for future generations, one of the most beautiful and bio-diverse areas in the world. Although it is the country's smallest national park, the stunning beauty and diversity of wildlife in its 683 hectares is unequaled.

Manuel Antonio contains a charming combination of rain forest, beaches and coral reefs. This beaches are the most beautiful in the country, lined with lush forest, and the snorkeling is excellent too. The forest is home for sloths, iguanas, the rare and adorable squirrel monkeys and millions of colorful little crabs. And the trail that winds around Punta Catedral affords some spectacular views. The park is easy to reach, south of the town of Quepos, and is near a good selection of hotels and restaurants.

Visiting the park, one is treated to an abundant diversity of wildlife. Cathedral Point, with its forest topped cliffs was once an island, but is now connected to the coast by a thin strip of island. This land bridge now forms the spine separating the parks two most popular beaches, Playa Espadilla Sur and Playa Manuel Antonio.

The southern facing beach, Playa Manuel Antonio, is a picturesque half mile long, white sand crescent bisecting deep green foliage to one side and a private, secluded cove to the other.

Standing with your feet dug into the sand and watching the wave crash against the rocks on either side of the lagoon, it is easy to believe that you are a thousand miles from anywhere.

For Terry

2011-08-02T14:00:00.002-04:00

I just took this sitting by the pool. When I tried to get closer, he scuttled into a hidey-hole.
Sorry my phone doesn't take as good pictures as the camera.

Costa Rica, Day 2A

2011-08-02T13:20:00.002-04:00

I thought I was being so clever last night. I had a thing to plug into my iPad which I could plug my camera SD card into. I downloaded my pictures and and wrote my post. All was well until I put the SD card back in the camera. It says the card is damaged but Tom's computer can read it.

So I need to find an SD card here. I asked Michael to bring one when he comes on Thursday. I definitely want the camera for whitewater rafting that day. Meanwhile, pictures will be from my cellphone.

What I alluded to yesterday... On Saturday I realized we didn't have a confirmation for this place so we called RCI. They said that they would resend. Still didn't get it.

When we got here, very tired, on Sunday night they wanted that confirmation,of course. Tom managed to convince them we would have it and to let us stay.

I tried to log on to the RCI site and login didn't work so I asked for that info to be resent to me. When the confirmation page came up I saw that they had my email address wrong. Someone else had our confirmation and login info.

A long phone call to RCI finally straightened that out and we got the confirmation info yesterday. I had asked them to send it to the resort as well so I figured all was well.

We stopped by the desk to see and they hadn't gotten anything. Trying to communicate was kind of hard with them speaking mostly Spanish and me mostly English I got their email address and forwarded it to them. The email came back undeliverable.

I took the iPad down to the office so they could see we had the confirmation but they needed a print out. I couldn't do that from the iPad and I couldn't send it to them so I asked if I could use their computer.

Yes! Logged on to RCI with new info and printed the thing out. The computer commands were all in Spanish which was a bit of a challenge but we are now here legally.

Tom has a conference call in a few minutes so I'll be going to the pool to "read". I'll post more later...

Costa Rica, Day 0

2011-08-01T10:52:00.001-04:00

Pictures from our balcony in Quepos, Costa Rica. Text to follow after breakfast/orientation.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Costa Rica

2011-06-25T19:23:00.001-04:00

We finally got our plane tickets today - that makes it "official".

We traded our timeshare a while ago for a place in Quepos, Costa Rica. We had originally traded for Saint Martin but after reading the online reviews changed our mind and switched to Costa Rica instead. Neither of us has ever been there before so it looks like it will be really fun.

Here's someone else's video:

Some of the things that I thought were really neat about this place was that it was near to Manuel Antonio National Park, rainforests, volcanos, ziplines and whitewater rafting.

From http://www.govisitcostarica.com/travelInfo/nationalParks.asp

With over 615 wildlife species per 10,000 sq km, Costa Rica sits atop of the list as the most bio-diverse region of the world. Home to an incredible plethora of exotic and tropical flora and fauna, this tiny Latin American country is the habitat of 12 key ecological zones. With an estimated 5% of the world’s biodiversity found here, it is no wonder that Costa Rica is often referred to as ‘the living Eden’ by many scientists and naturalists from all across the globe.

In an effort to preserve much of Costa Rica’s natural beauty and surroundings, 25% of the country’s land has been set aside and turned into protective parks and reserves so as to safeguard the beautiful and lush environs from deforestation and logging. To date Costa Rica has 27 national parks, 58 wildlife refuges, 32 protected zones, 15 wetland areas/mangroves, 11 forest reserves and 8 biological reserves, as well as 12 other conservation regions that protect the distinctive and diverse natural habitats found throughout the country.

Home to a staggering 10,000 species of plants and trees, Costa Rica is also the home of over 850 indigenous and migrant birds, 205 species of mammals, over 35,000 species of insects, 160 species of amphibians, 220 species of reptiles, and around 1,013 species of fresh and saltwater fish.. This diversity and richness of nature and wildlife makes Costa Rica a truly natural paradise.

Deciduous forests, mangrove swamps, rainforests, herbaceous swamps, cloud forests, riparian forests, swamp forests and coral reefs are just some of the many habitats that are protected by the national parks and reserves of Costa Rica. Areas of geological and geophysical interests, such as active volcanoes, hot springs, caves and relict mountains as the result of plate tectonics setting; areas of historic and archaeological interest, such as battlefields and pre-Columbian settlements; areas of scenic beauty, such as beaches and waterfalls; and areas of conservational importance, such as islands where the brown pelican and magnificent frigatebird nest, or enclaves with the last remaining stands of Mesoamerican dry forest, or beaches where huge sea turtles flock, all fall under the protection of the national parks and reserves in Costa Rica.

Home to many endangered wildlife plant and animal species such as the Leatherback turtle, Olive Ridley turtle, West Indian manatee, Scarlet Macaw, Resplendent Quetzal, Tapir, Golden Toad, Jabiru and Ocelot, Costa Rica’s national parks offer tourists a wealth of diversity that was previously unheard of.

Some of the popular national parks in Costa Rica include; the Arenal Volcano National Park – with the country’s most active volcano; the Barra Honda National Park – with its Pre-Columbian limestone caves; the Chirripo National Park – home to Costa Rica’s tallest mountain; the Corcovado National Park – considered to be the most biologically intense place on earth; the Las Baulas National Marine Park – where millions of Leatherback turtles nest; the Turrialba Volcano National Park – with the largest volcano craters and the La Amistad International Park – which is a biosphere project.

Looks perfect!

2011-05-31T03:18:00.001-04:00

I can upload pictures right from here. WooHoo

Using Blogsy to Publish Photos

2011-05-21T18:25:00.001-04:00

Will it work? Picture has to be online already...

Tropical tour de force

2011-03-19T13:45:00.002-04:00

Barbados Flower Forest is worlds away from the manicured resort garden

By Ailsa Francis, Citizen Special March 19, 2011

In the Barbadian hills overlooking the rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean is a botanical wonderland called the Flower Forest. When we were there in the middle of February, we were told it had been unseasonably wet, since the rains usually come between June and November. Thankfully, the showers didn't last long and when the sun returned, our stroll through this huge, privately owned garden felt like a walk back in time when tropical forests originally blanketed this island. Open every day of the year, it is lovingly tended by David Spieler (and his team), who is also the owner of a ceramic business on the island called Earthworks Pottery.

The Flower Forest is located in what is known as the Scotland District of Barbados. This means that the area is quite wild and hilly, with elevations ultimately reaching between 850 to 1,100 feet above sea level. The island boasts a sub-tropical climate with 3,000 hours of sunlight every year (compare this to Ottawa at 1,989 hours a year) and an average daily temperature of around 30 C.

This horticultural delight was christened the Flower Forest in 1983 after several years of development by the Hill family, with the design help of American architect Fritz Laundy. Don Hill must have been at his wit's end since his first attempt to farm the land ended in failure, followed by an unsuccessful stint at growing fruit trees (the monkeys ate the fruit and damaged the trees). After Hill, the land was run by a board of directors until it was purchased in 2008 by Spieler (who had been a member of that board for three years).

Helped along the way by Kewtrained horticulturist Richard

IF YOU GO

Flower Forest, Richmond, St. Joseph, P.O. Box 5T, St. Thomas, Barbados, West Indies. Telephone/fax: (246) 433-8152

Website: www.barbados.org/ flowfrst.htm

Open: Seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission: $20 Barbadian (approx. $10 Cdn.) for adults; $10 Barbadian (approx. $5 Cdn.) for children.

More: There is a gift shop on site as well as a café serving a modest selection of small meals and snacks. Coughlan, who runs another botanical must-see on the island called Orchid World, Spieler has been continuing to build this garden into a worthwhile tourist destination.

The Flower Forest has a vast array of trees, shrubs and flowering plants, many of which are indigenous to the Caribbean and, in many cases, Barbados in particular. One of the most common plants is the Royal palm (Roystonia oleracea, known colloquially on the island as the Cabbage palm) which can reach heights of 40 metres (130 feet). Spieler describes this plant as very fertile; the three gardeners employed here have to regularly remove the seedlings to keep them from overtaking less vigorous species. Other plants showcased here include the Agave barbadensis or Maypole, (indigenous to Barbados and all the islands of the Lesser Antilles) and the grapefruit (Citrus x paradisi), a hybrid citrus actually bred in Barbados during the 18th century. The pineapple (Ananias comosus), which is indigenous to South America but made its way to the Caribbean, is also present. A rare and primitive fern known as the Skeleton Fork Fern (Psilotum nudum) has also been introduced; found in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world, this rootless plant has an unusual branching form that resembles coral.

Outrageously colourful and exotic tropicals like false lobster claws (Heliconia), torch ginger (Nicolaia elatior), glory bower (Clerodendron thomsoniae) and the Pride of Barbados (Poinciana pulcherrima) are all found blooming throughout the gardens. I also spied huge crotons, philodendrons, Sago palms, snake plants, bougainvillea, blue sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) and orchids while walking along, as well as the unusual Chinese hat or parasol plant (Holmskioldia sanguinea). And on our visit, we were routed around the fallen orange-red blooms of the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulate) that decorated the paths.

Growing plants in this tropical location has its own unique brand of challenges. Last fall, Hurricane Tomas brought damaging winds and eroding rains to the island, the detritus of which the gardeners are still clearing. There are also giant African land slugs that are eating their way through the garden. At 20 centimetres long and 10 cm wide, these pests are not to be scoffed at.

Spieler has been introducing a predatory wasp to deal with a thrip problem that is affecting the Sago palms.

Unchecked, these pests would really mar the beauty, not to mention affect the vigour of these majestic palms.

If you're in Barbados, do seek out this treasure. It showcases tropical plants the way in which they were meant to be seen.

Visit Ailsa Francis's blog at hortus2.wordpress.com

From: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Tropical+tour+force/4469211/story.html

Morgan Lewis sails again

2011-03-19T13:36:00.004-04:00

By Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent

Even if I can't make the Sunday, March 20 turning of Morgan Lewis on Barbados, I'll sleep better knowing that the sugar grinding mill is sailing again. Right, sailing, with a full set designed just for historic windmills by Doyle Sails.

At the height of Barbados's sugar empire in the 1800s, 90 percent of the island's land grew sugar cane, and over 500 stone tower mills turned on the wind. Morgan Lewis was perfectly positioned on a hillside of Scotland District National Park facing the Atlantic Ocean, with arms outspread to catch the trades blowing from Africa. Very few of those mills are left today.

The mill manufactured muscovado sugar, syrup, molasses and rum from about 1727 until 1944 when it ceased to function. Eventually the World Monuments Fund selected it among 100 sites on the planet for urgent preservation. A spokesman said, "The mill offers an opportunity for profound historical and cultural reflection.''

Today Morgan Lewis is sailing again, an example of a superbly built 18th century sugar cane crushing mill, the largest still intact in the Caribbean, The turning is a happy event with volunteers racing to keep the grinders stoked with locally grown cane (watch those hands) and people lining up with plastic jugs for delicious cane juice.

Love the view, check out the crafts, then take a hike to Cherry Tree Hill and St. Nicholas Abbey, or skip down the hill to the beautiful, usually deserted east coast beach

Phone: 246-426-2421
Website: funbarbados.com
Price: $10 (children half price)

From http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2011/03/morgan_lewis_sa.html

One Day: Jan 21/11, One Race: Around Barbados, One Goal: Break Records

2011-01-08T14:55:00.001-05:00

'RC01 - The Mount Gay Round Barbados Race' Raphael Grisoni Click Here to view large photo

The 2011 Caribbean Sailing Calendar just added a unique premium event with the Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race. It will be held on January 21, 2011 and will mark the 75th anniversary of the Round Barbados Race.

This is an unparalleled race with a difference in the Caribbean as it will establish records for various size and categories of sailboats over a fixed course… Barbados!

The continuation of a storied sailing tradition, going back to the 19th century the races history is based on bragging rights for the fastest 'Trading Schooner'. This was a prize worth its weight in gold to captains in an era where prices for cargo arriving ahead of rival ships commanded a massive premium. First on the Calendar and First on every Yachtsman’s must do list, the race will be an open event with no handicapping, split into various overall size categories and open to both Monohull and Multihull competition.

Back in 1936, five trading schooners raced around Barbados, the winner Captain Lou Kennedy's 'Sea Fox' in a time of 10 hours and 20 minutes.

We're delighted share the news that once again Barbados will be treated to the sight of a racing schooner under full sail with the entry of 'Elena' to the Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race 2011. Elena - A Class Racing Schooner, designed by Nathaniel G. Herreshoff, length 55m. Elena, originally built in 1911, was one of the fastest yachts in commission when she was first launched. Commissioned in 1910 by Morton Plant with one simple design brief, 'build me a schooner that can win!' Looking back at her history, reports from The New York Times in 1912 show her racing against our 1936 race winner Sea Fox.

The Race:
Starting at the Barbados Cruising Club, you will sail through the historic Carlisle Bay, pass the deep water harbour to starboard and then begin a 20 mile tight reach in calm water up the platinum coast of Barbados passing the homes and haunts of the very rich and very famous.

After rounding the top of the island you will encounter the full force of the Atlantic with nothing between you and Africa. You will then face a good 7 mile plus beat in tricky currents, windshifts and some big waves. Follow this with a 20 mile fetch, riding those same waves beam on, trying to maximize speed without losing height enough to clear East Point.

Bear away and hoist through the big breaking Atlantic rollers for a fantastic 18 mile downwind slide along the south coast. Drop the kites and skate round the South West corner of the island to the finish!

Stop the clock and see if it’s time to fatten the skipper for the weigh in!

For further information and to register, please visit www.mountgayrumroundbarbadosrace.com

From http://www.sail-world.com/USA/One-Day:-Jan-21/11,-One-Race:-Around-Barbados,-One-Goal:-Break-Records/78899

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-20T13:30:00.001-05:00

No matter what your beliefs may be,
we wish the very best holiday season,
full of family, friends and better health.

Barbados for Hikes, Beaches

2010-09-30T12:54:00.008-04:00

By SETH KUGEL

Seth Kugel for The New York Times Bath Beach at sunrise.

I picked up a few money-saving tips during my four days in Barbados last week:

1) Drink tap water instead of bottled; it’s safe.

Seth Kugel for The New York Times A bus stop on the island’s eastern shore.

2) Take the bus, not a cab, from the airport to your hotel.

3) Avoid paying the cover for live music at McBride’s Pub by befriending the Brazilian women’s boxing team.

I admit, the third may not be universally applicable, but it sure saved me some bucks (15 Barbadian dollars, or $7.50 at a simple 2-1 exchange rate), so I’d be remiss in not passing it along.

Turns out that my trip coincided with the world championship of women’s boxing, also being held on the easternmost island of the Caribbean. My first night, I spotted three women wearing Brazilian athletic outfits and strolling along the island’s night-life row. I am a big fan – and part-time resident of — Brazil, so I introduced myself and invited them all for a drink.

Lest you think that either a) the Brazilian women’s boxing team boozes during tournaments or b) the Frugal Traveler can afford to buy three women a cocktail, let me clarify. First, my new friends Glauce, Clélia and Andréia had already been eliminated from their weight classes. And second, I was taking them to Café Sol, where the two-for-one, 10 p.m.-to-midnight happy hour meant a round would cost a mere 24 Barbadian dollars ($12).

So soon we were sipping mediocre, beggars-can’t-be-choosers frozen margaritas, and I was doing what any man surrounded by female Brazilian boxers must: beg for a team T-shirt. Clélia said she had an extra uniform (like the one in the photo accompanying this article), and would bring it to me the next night. She did, I put it on, and we were all waved into the dance party at McBride’s, where a mixed crowd of tourists, Barbadians and Barbadian-American tourists packed the sweaty house.

It was a nice change from my trip to slightly stuffy Bermuda. Both had perfect swaths of white sand lapped by brilliantly, pleasantly warm blue waters. But Barbados also had a vibrant, warm, slightly scruffy local scene to go with them. Add to that the incredible kindness with which this island’s residents — who call themselves Bajans — treat foreigners, and you’ve got one heck of an island.

Even its size seems perfect. Shaped like a ham (or, for vegetarians, an off-center pear), Barbados measures about 22 miles from top to bottom and at most 14 miles across – too big to get bored in, too small to get lost in.

Upscale resorts dot the western coast, and the bustling southern coast is full of budget hotels and nice – if teeming – beaches. The rest of the island is more raw, more wild. There are empty beaches; former plantation houses; historic parish churches; and small villages largely consisting of what Bajans call chattel houses, tiny old wooden homes, many of which are barely bigger than a small New York City studio apartment.

I spent a lot of time in the south, on the beach or at the Gap or eating at good places like Just Grillin’ and Ackee Tree, but I spent more on trips around the island. Buses will get you just about everywhere. Blue public buses, yellow private buses, and private vans are all 1.50 in Barbadian dollars (75 cents) per leg, no matter how far you go.

Seth Kugel for The New York Times Hiking with the Barbados National Trust.

My favorite spot by far was the sparsely populated east side, where surfers – and few others – flock. I got to see the east side’s other, er, side. I figured an easy way to do so was one of the free weekly hikes run by the Barbados National Trust that start out from a different point of the island each Sunday morning at 6 a.m. That’s how I found myself standing in the Bath Beach parking lot with about 60 or 70 Bajans on my third morning there. (I could spot only one other semi-outsider, a Bajan visiting from New York. ) The trust’s general manager, William Gollop, showed frightening good cheer as he explained that the hikes were available in five levels of difficulty. I joined the second easiest.

Make that the fourth hardest. We set off down a sometimes grassy, sometimes wooded trail that hugged the rocky coastline at a pace I associated more with speed walking than hiking. But the terrain was flat, and I kept up as we ducked under branches, swashbuckled through high grass and admired the crashing waves against rocks below.

It was when we cut inland and sharply uphill into the woods that I began to suffer. Pretty soon my heart was beating so hard that it upped the intensity of the pounding in my skull. Note to self: next time you are going hiking at 6 a.m., lay off the Mount Gay Rum on the rocks at Sweet Potatoes’ Latin night the previous evening.

The leaders of the hike felt my pain, though, and swung into be-kind-to-tourists mode. When I had to stop and catch my breath a few times, someone always waited with me, never remarking that several young children had passed me by. When I finally reached the top of the hill – after a final narrow, steep and tortuous passage between two rocks that required you to pull yourself up by vine, I was rewarded with a view of the coastline below, and a long, easy trip down.

Seth Kugel for The New York Times A view of the coastline.

The trip down, through villages and by churches, was much more sociable (in that I could breathe). I struck up a conversation with a Bajan named Roslyn Straker, who took it upon herself to become my fruit tree guide, picking fruits growing from trees everywhere – dunts, Barbados cherries, guava, even a fruit I had never heard of before, the janum. (Yes, I had heard of dunts – the day before.)

Seth Kugel for The New York Times Near Bathsheba Beach.

After we finished the hike – at barely 9 a.m. — I downed two snow cones (1.50 Barbadian from a woman who drives her snow cone truck to meet the hikers’ finish every week), and Mr. Gollop was kind enough to give me a ride to Bathsheba, the main town on the east side of the island.

I headed straight for the beach, where a swim and a nap were in order. The surf was fierce, in some spots crashing just offshore into dramatic rock formations carved by waves over the millennia. But there were other places to take a dip, and a handful of Bajans were taking advantage as I dozed.

Seth Kugel for The New York Times The view from the Round House Inn, in Bathsheba.

Everyone I met in Bathsheba recommended that I eat lunch at the Round House Inn up the hill above the beach. I landed a choice table with a view of the water and ordered pork chops in Bajan barbecue sauce, macaroni pie, salad and a spiked rum punch. Cost? Fifty-six Barbadian dollars, which I justified under the you-deserve-it-after-a-tortuous-hike clause of the Frugal Traveler unwritten contract. I ended the day with a walk (uphill, argh) to the Andromeda Botanic Gardens: nice, but no better than the free fruit-tree-tour I had gotten that morning from Roslyn.

One other worthwhile daytrip was to Speightstown, a slow-going historic port town on the northwest coast with little to do but walk around and enjoy the atmosphere – including a drink at a traditional Bajan rum house called Val’s Hideaway, housed in a chattel house on Mango Lane. I wish I could say there was some great chattel house hostel I stayed in for $10 a night through all this, but such a place does not exist. There are two other budget options, however, at slightly different definitions of “budget option.” The Intimate Hotels of Barbados site offers loads of hotels for under $100 a night, one of which was the Pirate’s Inn. The price listed on the Web site is 167.44 Barbadian dollars ($83.72) plus taxes, but when I called to reserve by phone and asked for their cheapest possible price, they offered me the Caricom rate (given to Caribbean residents), a discount of about 10 percent.

Seth Kugel for The New York Times Marlin at Oistins Friday night fish-fry.

But two days in, I moved to a guesthouse recommended by fellow bearers of the JetBlue All-You-Can-Jet pass, Saska and Paul, whom I met on the bus to the famous Oistins Friday night fish-fry. Over immense plates of marlin, macaroni pie and salad (17 Barbadian dollars, or $8.50) from one of the endless stands serving huge crowds of Bajans and tourists, they shared their find: a guesthouse called Cleverdale, where they were staying for $32 for in double room. I moved in the next day, even though the owner chose to charge me $40.

Cleverdale was far from luxurious – it had no air-conditioning and a shared kitchen, for example – but it was perfectly clean and friendly and had a beach view. It was also a 30-second walk away from the object that view, Worthing Beach, a pretty white stretch of sand popular with local families on weekends. Forming a cluster with Cleverdale were two other guest houses that travelers staying there suggested might even be better: Rydal Waters Apartments, and Maraval Guest House.

All also had the advantage of being within short walking distance of the St. Lawrence Gap, saving late-night money on cabs home and increasing the odds, however slight, of bumping into the Brazilian women’s boxing team.

From http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/barbados-for-hikes-beaches-and-a-brazilian-boxers-t-shirt/

Friday, September 3. Our last day this year

2010-09-03T19:24:00.002-04:00

Our last full day here.

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. Even with the AC on, I was very hot and I finally got up and rested on the sofa under the fan. I started writing this at 3:30am after tossing and turning.

It looked like it rained outside again, otherwise I might have tried to sleep outside. Maybe my non-sleep will make me tired enough to sleep well on the plane on Saturday.

Yesterday they had fogged for mosquitos like the do every Tuesday and Thursday evening but last night's seemed heavier than usual. Still, some mosquitos survived and managed to bite me, one on the arch of my foot. I can't imagine he got anything out of my foot.

When I woke up at 6am after getting only 2.5 hours of sleep. Tom had opened up and there was a nice breeze. He was off, trying to get sunrise pictures. When he got back, I was sitting with my legs in the pool, trying to cool down the burn from the mosquito bites. They reminded me of a time we had been in Hilton Head and I accidentally stepped into a nest of fire ants.

We got yet more pictures from the deck. I saw that heron again but he was still too fast for me. It looks like there's another storm out at sea somewhere. I hope nothing big happens between here and Miami tomorrow while we're flying home.

Turns out there was no storm today. The whole day was beautiful. We went over to the Carriage House again for lunch. I got several “heron pictures” but none that really show him/her to best advantage.

Yesterday I'd ordered a tossed salad with lunch instead of fries. Fries arrived. Today I figured what the heck and ordered fries. My salad came. Hmmm..

There was another wedding and we got pictures of the setup and all. This one had a steel drummer playing the wedding march. I tried to get a little video but we were too far away. The wedding took abut 5 minutes. The pictures afterward took about 45.

At some point, I was resting on my elbows on the side of the pool, just lying still, thinking, and a bird swooped down and touched my chest. I think he was as surprised as I was that I wasn't a fish.

This is the last entry until we get home. Tomorrow will be a long, difficult day. We get up and pack, then check out of here by 10. We have to be at the airport by 12:40, then lines for tickets, baggage checks, security, customs, duty-free stuff. Then at Miami we go through immigration, US customs, then wait for several hours until our next plane. We get to DC about 12:35am on Sunday, then get a cab for a 45 minute ride home. Then, sleep! Our son should be there when we get home and that will be so nice.

Then, we pick up our dog later on Sunday and...back to real life. Work, doctors, volunteer stuff, medical testing, webwork, house cleaning, laundry, calls to make, emails, rehearsals. Real life.

In 50 weeks we'll be back! I'm already counting the days.

We took 177 pictures today just in case we missed anything over the last 2 weeks:

Thursday, September 2

2010-09-03T19:16:00.003-04:00

Not much of interest today. I went over to reception and posted 3 days worth of blog posts and pictures. I haven't found anything yet that can replicate for the Mac what Windows LiveWriter does on my PC. Fortunately, at home. I can stick with the LiveWriter.

People called from the spa to offer a 10% discount for any treatment I wanted (or, presumably, any treatment Tom wanted). I guess someone looked at our account and realized that we weren't coming even close to the hold they had put on our debit card and wanted to use a bit more of that money before we left.

Around 2:30 we went over the the pool complex for lunch. I took some pictures of the goldfish? Koi? Whatever, there were lots of them, maybe hoping for lunch, too.

I saw what looked like a brown heron watching the fish but I think they were too big for him. I saw him or one of his relatives last night but thought that I was mistaken. I don't think that they have herons here. I'll have to look that up. Of course, this one flew away as I was getting my camera out but Tom saw him, too.

Around 6pm I finished my 4th book and started on number 5.

Only 10 pictures today:

Wednesday, September 1

2010-09-02T13:15:00.003-04:00

Wednesday September 1

When we woke up, we could see that it had rained overnight but it was another nice sunny day.

Mostly another lazy day that blended into the others. Around noon I finally decided to get the bag I'd been coveting since we got here. I had looked at it 3 times when we were in Cave Shepherd before. Naturally, this time it had been sold. They did have it in another color which I didn't like nearly so much. Tom got another thirt, though!

We went swimming in out little pool for a bit, then the rains came. We got lots of pictures.

At first, I thought this might be hurricane Fiona but it turned out she was already north of us. This was Tropical Storm 9, now hurricane Gaston. This season has had more hurricanes out to sea than I can remember from any other year. There have been 4 in the 12 days we have been here. Pretty impressive! Someone on StormCarib said that it seemed like Africa was shooting us with fiery cannonballs and I think she was right.

When it it was pretty obvious that the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon, I took my shower and resumed reading inside. When the rains stopped, I went back outside to read even with the chairs being wet. Why not? I had just been in the pool and the clothes would be washed anyway.

When it got too dark to read, I got some good sunset pictures before coming in to get dressed...again.

This time I put on the new island-y dress I had bought last week for only $24 duty free. We stopped over by the big pool again to see if we could see any of the satellites or the Hubble space telescope. Several space objects were supposed to be orbiting around 6:30 but it was too cloudy to see anything.

We stopped by the little street market in the village and Tom bought some handmade shoes but wanted then in black so the shoemaker is supposed to deliver them to us on Thursday. I had never known that anyone in Barbados made handmade shoes and I never knew Tom to be interested in any. He also bought some bird made out of a coconut shell for one of his office workers. I'll reserve comment but he was sure she'd like it.

We took the coconut-shell bird back home then went back out for our main mission of the evening. Out to dinner at D'Onofrio's again. I had the same thing I had last time – chicken scallopini with lemon sauce. Tom had the veal scallopini with lemon sauce but said that it was tough so he had some of my chicken instead. The restaurant manager took the veal off the bill, even though we hadn't asked, and that was nice.

A week from today I'll have to check in at Weight Watchers and I don't think it will be good news.

Stopped by the pool again, just in case any of the satellites were late but nothing there. Maybe tomorrow!

More pictures! Click to view, as always:

Tuesday, August 31

2010-09-02T13:08:00.002-04:00

Today we ran out of milk and the fridge is looking pretty bare so I guess we actually have to go shopping again. But later, much later.

Our usual housekeeper, Brenda, came back from a 4-week holiday and it was so nice to see her again.

We started the day as usual, my typing away, Tom checking email and we decided to go out to L'Azure for breakfast. They have a really nice buffet-type spread so we got lots of good stuff to eat, with a nice view.

When we got back, we found that Brenda had cleaned out or coffee pot, our supply for the day was gone and we hadn't gone shopping yet. Oh, no! I need my coffee and I'll drink day-old, cold, I don't care as long as it's fully caffeinated.

Tom managed to get some last coffee out of our container, enough to tide us over a little.

I went over to Reception and did my daily email, Facebook, Cushing's news and bios, the usual daily routine here. I saw Mel again from the other day and he actually remembered my name, probably because I'm the only person in Barbados walking around with a laptop all the time.

We were going to go to the store but decided to go later (everything in my life is becoming later and later!) and take the opportunity to go in the pool. Tom had a book to exchange so while we were over by the big pool we noticed that no one was in it so we settled into our private space. After reading for a while, we went in and swam for a bit, then went over to the pool complex and tried out a couple of those pools that we hadn't been in yet this year. Pictures were taken.

And I finished my third book for this trip.

We decided to go back and get to the store. We had decided on the little general store here. Surely they had milk, coffee and spaghetti sauce. The paperwork said they were open until 9, so no rush. We got there just after 7 and they were closed for inventory. There had been no announcement, no sign earlier. Luckily we had the rental car. Otherwise, I guess we'd have had to eat at one of the restaurants. Not a bad thing, but something I like to plan for, to look forward to.

So, we went back, got the car keys and headed to Emerald City again. We got more than we would have gotten at the general store and it probably cost less, so it all worked out.

Today's pictures: Click the cover one to see them all

Monday, August 30

2010-09-02T13:04:00.002-04:00

Monday, August 30

This is actually Tuesday now and I didn't write a thing yesterday. It was another of those sloth days, just being, thinking, reading, napping. No serious naps like at home but short ones here and there.

We had requested someone come in to fix two of the doors that were sticking due to all the moisture in the air. A very nice Portuguese man named Faroe from Guyana came to do that and Tom spent lots of time talking to him while he worked. Tom actually happened to have a phrasebook of lots of languages, one of them Portuguese, and the man was very thankful when Tom gave that to him.

There are a lot of workers here from Guyana. In past years we used to see the construction crews a lot more and Tom would talk to them about the building plans and so on. The wages here are so much better that many workers will come here for a year or two and send money home to family. Faroe had been able to bring his family here for a month and they were enjoying their time until the youngest had to go back to school next week

Sometime in the afternoon we decided to go have lunch by the pool so we put our suits on and walked over just to find out that something had happened to the stove and they only had drinks and cold stuff.

We went in the pool, read a bit then decided to go to the Manager's Welcome Party we missed last Monday. I went to take a shower and could hear Tom's cellphone ringing in the safe. Apparently, Tom had set his alarm on his phone. When he went to open the safe, it wouldn't open so he called the front desk.

I got my shower in before the safe-fixing person arrived. Apparently, it had lost power sometime – maybe when the stove stopped working at the pool? - and it “forgot” our combination.

We got to the party about halfway through and talked to some folks. There weren't many staff people that we could see there but a nice woman named Margarita came over and introduced herself. She was the new head of housekeeping, just here 3 weeks and she was anxious to hear from people how things were going. Although she is a Bajan, she has lived in Canada, Florida and Indianapolis. After being in all the snow of Canada and Indianapolis, she wanted to come home. Who can blame her?

Margarita had also worked at Sandy Lane but gave most diplomatic answers when I asked which she liked best.

Sandy Lane is a huge resort on the West Coast of Barbados which focuses mainly on golf and luxury living. I remember when they were being built, wondering what it would be because the area was so large. One of their claims to fame is that Tiger Woods was married there. This year I saw that they were still featuring his wedding pictures in their ads. I asked Tom if they shouldn't remove these ads since the marriage was in such trouble. Tom said that they weren't divorced yet and still might get back together. That night the divorce was announced.

Guess next year Sandy Lane will have different pictures in their ads.

Then we talked at great length to Paul's wife and that was nice. I wish I could remember her name. One of the other guests came over to introduce himself and asked where she was from. She said that she lived here and the man asked if she worked here. Embarrassment all around when she said that she and her husband owned the whole kit and caboodle.

We stopped by the pool overlooking the sea on the way back and thought that maybe could go to L'Azure for dinner but we weren't wearing “evening attire”. I pointed out that it was evening and we were dressed but we decided that probably wasn't what they meant.

We should have done shopping today, but we lazed around too much, so we were out of a lot of stuff. For our exotic dinner we had canned soup and peanut butter sandwiches. Yum! Shopping trip tomorrow for sure.

I don't think we even took any pictures today – amazing!

Sunday, August 29

2010-08-31T13:08:00.002-04:00

Sunday, August 29 (but not posted until Tuesday!)

The sun was shining brightly through the window but it looks hazy out to sea so I'm not sure what kind of day it's going to be.

At least we know it's going to be quieter!

Last night when I went to bed I slathered on some nice-smelling lotion. This morning, while writing this, I had mosquitoes hovering all around me. I guess they were attracted to the lotion, too! Luckily, I have some Off! Towelettes here and I used those. Mosquitoes gone!

The haze seems to be lifting and it looks like its going to be a beautiful day. I can hear some waves coming in and that's unusual. Even though we're on the Atlantic side of the island, we don't usually get much wave activity here. Further north, in Bathsheba, they get good waves, good enough for surfing competitions in the “Soup Bowl”. I wonder if Earl or another hurricane is out to sea somewhere.

Just checked on http://stormcarib.com and it looks like Earl is already north of us. He's become an actual hurricane with winds of 75 mph so that could affect our waves. I guess Fiona will be next up. Hopefully not too soon! I did read that article before we came that predicted a hurricane for here on August 30 so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Throughout the day, the waves her got stronger and I noticed that planes flying into the airport had changed from a southern approach to a northern one. Something is brewing out there.

The rest of the day was spent in the usual routine – reading/napping/being in the pool. I started on my third book since I've been here. This one is Kane and Abel, recommended by my good friend Alice.

Tom went over to Reception to get beach towels again. Our were lost in the great flooding incident. Then, he convinced someone to exchange the gift red wine for white. I still may not drink it, but there's a better chance. I don't get any headaches from white wine.

Today was a nice, relaxing day. So much better than yesterday.

Today's pictures:

Paradise Lost / Paradise (Re)found

2010-08-29T20:15:00.004-04:00

More excitement. While I was finishing up yesterday's blog, I started hearing a dripping noise. I ignored it, then Tom got up and said that we had water leakage from the floor above. Those noisy people upstairs managed to flood something.

Tom went upstairs to see what was going on. One of them had left the toilet handle up and after it had flushed water kept coming out of the tank, onto their bathroom floor and bedroom, then down to our bedroom. When Tom got their, they were still asleep and didn't know this.

Maintenance came in with buckets and mops and we moved out a rug that was getting wet on the edge. Tom went and had a few choice words with the front desk and I guess we're going to move.

We went and looked at another apartment in another building. It's newer and on the fourth floor so I'll have to take an elevator or stairs to get to Reception and online. The view will be different, too but, hopefully, it will be MUCH quieter. The apartment and the pool is smaller, too.

I originally chose this place, 211, because of the larger apartment, best view and bigger pool. Now annoying people have changed our vacation and I'm pretty angry. I keep telling myself that it will be quieter and dryer.

Already I hear these people yelling back and forth to each other. I'm glad we're going...I'm glad we're going...it will be fine. I hope.

I've packed up all my stuff already – it's 10:43 – and they just called to tell us our new place won't be ready until 3, even though they've made it a “priority”. Tom said if the water stops maybe we could stay. I told him to go outside for a minute and listen. He did and agreed that we should go. I still don't see why we should be inconvenienced like this because of other people. This day is completely wasted mopping, packing, waiting for the next place to be ready, unpacking.

At noon, we talk to someone else, Dwayne, at the front desk. I'm still PO'd, Tom thinks we could maybe stay here. He's concerned that I'm so angry and unhappy about all this. He points out to Dwayne at that these people made the noise, overflowed the water, are spending the day out at the pool/beach while we're sitting around, wasting the day waiting for another room to be available for us to move to.

At one, someone from Guest Relations, Korey, calls and says that the other people are leaving at 6. Hooray!

We decide to stay and start unpacking again. Korey sends us an apology along with a bottle of red wine. Eventually, someone from housekeeping will probably get the wine. Tom doesn't drink and red wine gives me headaches every time I try it. It was a nice thought, though.

Housekeeping came and cleared up the rest of the floor and removed the buckets, our pots and pans and pool towels that had been collecting water.

I resumed reading outside knowing that the noise would end at 6. A kid or kids from upstairs were in the pool and the father(?) was upstairs yelling at him/them from off their balcony. The kid yelled back. Doors slamming, yelling, the TV is a little quieter than last night. 6 is coming. Thank goodness!

At 5:30 the man yells to the kid(s) that it's time for them to come back to get ready to go. Hooray! They left at 5:59 and left the windows and door to their patio open.

The quiet is so nice. It's back to paradise after 30 hours of hell.

A couple got married over by the pool and we got some pictures of them. No rainbows today, though!

I took my laptop over to Reception to get done the things I couldn't do this morning during the packing/unpacking activities.

On the way back we stopped by the main/older pool. Years ago there had been a frog who stationed himself right outside the path to the pool. He was always there, like a guard on duty. We hadn't seen him for several years but tonight he (or one of his great-grandchildren) was there, back on duty. That was cool :)

We got back home and just before I started making dinner, it started to rain. I remembered the upstairs windows and called the main desk to let them know that it was probably raining in.

Those people probably did far more damage than they had paid to be here. As a fractional owner of this enterprise, this disturbs me. These people were being annoying to us (and to others around them), wasted a day of our vacation here AND cost us money due to their carelessness.

Let it go and not ruin the rest of our vacation, already!!!

Today's pictures: Remember about clicking to see them all?

Friday August 27

2010-08-28T19:51:00.003-04:00

Click on above image to get today's pictures, if you want :)

Wow, our time here is nearly half over. I was sad when I thought about this this morning but then I remembered that most folks would be headed home tomorrow after a week here. When I get home, bells will start up right away, maybe children's choirs, piano teaching for sure, doctors appointments... Boggles the mind, how to transition from this to that.

One thing that I'm looking forward to – our son is supposed to be there when we get home. He was able to get a week off work, but it was Labor Day week, not one while were were here. It will be so nice to see him, whenever, wherever.

Something new and exciting! The fire alarm is going off in our building. I was impressed how quickly staff got here. I talked to one of the workers who said that someone cooking set off the smoke alarm. The sound is still going, though, so we'll see.

I had gotten a mystery from the book exchange a few days ago. It looked like something I'd like and there had been 17 previous books in the series so someone must like it. I just never got into it at all and ended up returning it today. I've found some really good books here in the past. Books from England or Canada that I can't normally get as easily in the states. Back to reading the books I brought on my Kindle.

>We ended going to L'Azure for lunch which is always nice. I had a chicken and roasted pepper wrap. I had assumed that the peppers would be the mild green or red ones like we have at home but they were the hot Bajan ones. Shoulda known! It was good though.

Sometime in the afternoon I was reading/napping when not one but two sets of noisy neighbors arrived. One set, to our right, was the yelling, slamming doors type and the other set arrived and started watching sports on TV at a high level. I tried listening to my iPod with headphones to block out the noise but it wasn't enough. Tom tried noise canceling headphones and those didn't really work, either.

We shut the doors, turned on the AC and headed to the pool to get some quiet. When we got back it was nice and cool and we couldn't hear the upstairs people...too much. Who goes on vacation in the tropics to watch daytime sports? Sheesh! Hopefully tomorrow, they'll all go out, go to the pool, something quieter.

I am really liking this new Mac. The only thing really missing is Windows LiveWriter which I use to write my blog posts. I like that because it's so easy to insert images and other formatting where I want and, if there's something that's good for two or more blogs, I can easily switch to the second without changing any formatting.

I installed the new Google Voice today although I'm not sure if I'll use it much. I have Skype and rarely use that. We do have a MagicJack that we're using here to give us a “local number”, even though it's in Massachusetts. It's still cheaper than calling/being called from the states. We were able to get a vanity number that ends in our last name, although that gives us quite a series of 6s!

Wednesday, August 25

2010-08-26T13:01:00.004-04:00

For some reason I didn't sleep well last night. The last time I remember checking the time was at 3:45 so I guess I slept well after that, at least until 9. Not enough! The sun streaming through the windows is just too inviting to resist, though.

So, another lazy day. A little reading, a little napping, a little online stuff. We went in the plunge pool here then went over to the pool complex and went in a couple different pools. I think I might have napped a bit there, too :)

We split a club sandwich – for some reason not a club cutter – then back into the pool even though my Mom always said I had to wait a half an hour before going in. She hasn't been here since 2001 so she probably won't find out, either!

There's a niggling thought in the back of my mind. In 1984 we were on vacation and I knew that as soon as we went back I had an appointment at NIH to see if I'd be accepted into a clinical trial for Cushing's. I was terrified that I would and terrified that I wouldn't. Now I'm reminded that as soon as we go back I have an appointment with a new specialist, a pulmonologist. I guess I'm thinking of this today especially because of the article I posted with info from Dr. Mary Lee Vance at UVA about growth hormone and cancer. I've already had cancer. I hope that the lung nodules and enlarged mediastinal lymph node aren't heralding either a metastasis or anything new.

Time to think those happy thoughts again!

It's time for the street fair over in the village. This is new this year so maybe I'll check it out. Or maybe next week. This chair is just too comfy to get out of right now.

About an hour later, I did get out of the chair and we went to the street fair. There were some interesting local arts and crafts and stuff. Tom got some stuff for people back home and a replacement magnetite bracelet for himself. I also got an ankle bracelet since I never found one at home before we came.

We stopped in the new Italian restaurant, D'Onofrio's, for dinner. Turns out Paul was there with his family and he had some good recommendations for us! I had chicken scallopini with lemon sauce and a rice with peppers. Tom had spaghetti carbonara.

Dessert was a weird thing for me – something called beehive ice cream and liqueur. Gloria, our server, said that beehive was a kind of liqueur but I'd never heard of it. I had assumed that anything called beehive would be made of honey or at least be sweet but it wasn't. Actually, I found it kind of bitter.

The dessert was the beehive ice cream in a pastry shell with the beehive liqueur, whipped cream, pirouette cookie and garnish of strawberries and blackberries. How that can't be sweet was beyond me. So, now I know that I won't be getting that again! Live and learn...

Tom had plain vanilla ice cream, an old standby for him.

Back at home we watched the movie Up and had some popcorn before bed.

Today's pictures. Click on the cover image to see the rest of them. Today Tom got hold of the camera so there are lots more pictures than usual!

Thursday, August 26

2010-08-26T11:41:00.000-04:00

Yet another lazy day. I'm turning into a sloth! More of the reading/napping stuff. Today's big news is that I finally got on Facebook. I got nearly through the identification of the avatars, mainly by guesswork, then I came to one that I got entirely by accident. Thank you Becky B for using your yearbook picture with the tiny name written underneath!

Sandy Boone, former assistant pastor at my church had gone out on a leap of faith to start a new waterfront ministry in Baltimore. She sent me a copy of her new website for review/critique and that made me feel good, to be trusted to have possibly-useful comments and thoughts. :) The new site is supposed to go live today or tomorrow. Sometimes these things take a while to propagate, though. In case it's today, the URL is http://www.watersedgepartnership.org/ . We miss Sandy terribly at Pender UMC but I'm sure that her Waters Edge Partnership will exceed all expectations. When I go to my doctor appointments at Johns Hopkins, I'll be able to check this out, too!

Tom came over to Reception while I was doing my daily online routine. He had sent me some PDF files that he couldn't open. They were all financial reports about The Crane, some sent by a new man named Mel. While we were reading, Mel came over and introduced himself.

On the way back, we stopped at the village branch of Cave Shepherd and got that bathing suit Tom had wanted from the first day but didn't come in his size. They had sent one in the right size from another branch.

We were out of some basic stuff again, so it's off to Emerald City for shopping. I always feel like my name should be Dorothy when I mention or write about this store. LOL

Back home I was reading (or napping) outside when suddenly a huge rain cloud rolled in from the ocean. I don't remember seeing if there was a hurricane at sea or not. I thought the next one wasn't supposed to be until the 30th but one could be sneaking up. I went to get my camera but by then, it was really coming down.

About 10 minutes later I got these great rainbow pictures. I don't know if it will show up but the rainbow goes all the way into the sea.

I have a special “thing” for rainbows. Way back, we were in Florida, on the beach. My dad was terminally ill with his second bout of colon cancer. I was feeling guilty being on the beach while my mom was taking care of him in their home. Tom and our son were in the water and I was on shore praying for my dad, that everything would work out ok. It was a beautiful sunny day but all of a sudden there was the most glorious rainbow. I called to Tom and Michael so they could see it, too, and to prove to myself that I wasn't seeing things that weren't there. They both saw it too. I really felt that this was an answer to my prayers, that things were going to be ok. Since then, I've always looked for rainbows :)

No surprise but Tom spent a lot of time at his local “office”.

We went over to the pool area and all the pool chairs were wet from the storm – just like they were at our place. We went in the jacuzzi instead of one of the pools. The jacuzzi is in special location. Way, way back, when this was a hotel, the jacuzzi area was a stable. When my friend was here in the 1990s we were exploring and the stable was abandoned, with all kinds of junk in it and overgrown weeds and stuff. Nowadays, thanks to Paul's vision, it has been expanded, the roof removed and it houses a huge open-air jacuzzi where you can sit out and gaze at the stars.

The expansion – it was about doubled – looks so natural that no one would know. There are 6 large open window cuts on the shorter sides and 6 plus doorways on the longer sides. I'm guessing that the coral stone removed to make these open areas are what was used to make the expanded section but I'm not sure. However it was done all the coral stone looks to be the same age.

Similarly, the old carriage house has a new incarnation as the Carriage House Bar and Grill where we had lunch the other day.

Immediately after dinner I feel asleep on the sofa again. I don't see how I can sleep so much when I'm not doing anything!

The weirdest thing happened. I had been needing a nail file since we got here but I always forget when I'm in the store. Just after we paid at Ganzee the other day, I noticed some with souvenir pictures right near the cash register but I didn't want to start a new transaction. Then, I remembered in the jacuzzi.

When I went to bed, there was a brand new one, not in any packaging or anything, on my side of the bed. Tom didn't put it there – I'd never even mentioned one to him. I supposed that housekeeping maybe found it somewhere and assumed it was mine but I would have thought that they might put it on the bedside table.

Cue Twilight Zone music...

Today's pictures.

Tuesday, Lazy Day

2010-08-25T11:27:00.003-04:00

Tuesday, August 24:

Another early rise for me, anyway. I woke up at 8 with the sun streaming in. Made some coffee, wrote a little bit. The gardeners cut down some of the foliage that I liked the other day. Tom likes it better – we can see the sea better again. I liked the jungle feel, though.

By the time Tom had finished his morning work we decided to go to breakfast at the new Italian restaurant here. The paperwork said that they were open until 11. Turned out, they were only open until 10, then at noon for lunch. We could have gone to L'Azure but I knew that their buffet ended at 11 and I didn't want to get all the left-overs so we decided to go shopping instead.

We headed out to Six Roads, near Emerald City and the Chefette from the other night. The highway we usually take had a roadworks sign up so we circled the roundabout again and got off at highway 5 instead. That way to go is a little longer but prettier and goes by the Four Square Rum Distillery. That's a great place to go for tours and info on the rum process. A bit easier to get to from here than Mount Gay!

We got out to the ABC highway – named for 3 important past politicians from here: Tom Adams, Errol Barrow and Gordon Cummings. Each has his own named section of the road.

Then, along the Spring Garden to Holetown where we were going to another Cave Shepherd for that ellusive bathing suit. They had one – hooray! We also went into a tshirt store where they had a cute dress. They showed both the LP (Local price) and the DF (Duty Free price). Big difference – $24 US DF and $43.50 US LP. Luckily we were able to get the DF price.

From there we headed back home. We tried to take the road that had been closed out of Six Roads and we got close but there was a long detour. Of course, there was just the one detour sign with no further instruction. We did find our way and went just past our place to a newish restaurant called Cutters. Cutter is the Bajan word for sandwich. This restaurant is owned and operated by the husband of someone we've known for a long time here at The Crane and its nice to see them doing well.

While waiting for our food, Tom took the opportunity to check his email (as usual!)

I had a flying fish cutter. Yummy! I've never heard of any other place in the world that has flying fish. It's an interesting phenomenon to see, a school of fish flying/gliding through the air, all shimmery. They have a wonderful hot sauce to put on things here, made with Scotch bonnet peppers. I used some – sparingly. Yum! We actually bought a bottle to take home once but I never used it. Nothing at home seemed like it was suited to the hot sauce like flying fish is.

Back home for a little nap. When I woke up, I started taking pictures of the newly trimmed gallery when I came upon a little rainbow. I took these pictures but within 2 minutes, according to the timestamp, the rainbow was gone.

(Click on the image to view all today's pictures, please. But only if you're interested!)

Off to Reception to update webpages, blog and so on then we sat outside for a bit and just talked.

This year is nice. No plans (yet), no people to show around, no place we have to be. Just relaxing and being calm. I like this! Usually by now we'd have plans drawn up for the whole time. Where to be on what day, things to do, scheduled conference calls. How nice to leave all that behind for a few weeks and just chill.

I think it's about time for a bit of “Kristine's” rum punch now!

Facebook Friends...

2010-08-25T11:26:00.000-04:00

I still can't get on Facebook. If you've commented on anything that I've posted through my external sources like blogging and Twitter please forgive me for not responding!

FB doesn't recognize this location and wants me to identify people by their avatars. I don't know who currently has a picture of a mound of eggs or a young child with an Auntie tshirt. So, I get bounced out again. I'll try again today and there will be different images I probably won't identify correctly.

Some of the comments are coming through to my email.

Kristine, I'll have that rum punch for you tonight :)

Rainy Days and Mondays...

2010-08-24T18:43:00.002-04:00

Monday, August 24:

Rain! I got up about 8am and it wasn't long before there was a drenching rain. There had been families in the pool complex already and they got up to leave. I'm never sure about that. They were already wet, some playing under a waterfall but when the rain starts they leave.

After a while, the rain stopped and I took the laptop over to Reception where there's a better wifi connection. Several people were amazed that I was online since another area didn't have coverage. It rained again and people from the beach who'd come here just for that experience were trying to decide if they should leave or not. They finally took a taxi back to the west coast.

I tried to log into Facebook but couldn't since it didn't recognize my new location. I was supposed to identify a number of other members by their avatars. I can't remember all those and some people seem to change them daily. So, I was locked out for at least an hour. Maybe I'll take my phone over tomorrow and log on with that – I don't think I ever logged out.

I checked email, added some bios to http://www.cushie.info updated some other pages, checked banking records to be sure that none of the debit card thieves had gotten our card numbers yet. Downloaded Picasa to organize pictures to add to this.

The rain stopped again and I went back to 211A. Did some reading, more rain. Napped a bit, more wet you-know-what. I'm thinking that this is fallout from a hurricane that's out to sea. Next time I go online I'll check my favorite weather source for here – http://www.stormcarib.com – and see what's brewing out there. I remember reading before we came that we were supposed to get a cyclone on August 30. It hadn't even started raining yet but somehow the weather forecasters think that there will be a hurricane here on the 30th.

We've never had a hurricane here. They almost always veer to the north. I think the last one that came here was in the 1930s. One year, they thought that one would hit Barbados. We were out on a small cat (catamaran) and the owner was sure that a hurricane was coming so he took the cat to Trinidad and Tobago. Guess where the hurricane hit instead of here?

Others were pretty sure that wed get hit here, too, so housekeeping brought around emergency instructions, candles and so on. We already knew where the hurricane shelter was which was helpful. All the window shutters were closed and bolted down, the pool chairs sunk into the pool. We hunkered down and waited. We were in the historic hotel still at that time and we had the wonderful wrap-around second-floor deck. We sat out on that and so did our next-door neighbors. We watched the storm out to sea and waited.

The storm turned north for the cat's Appointment in Samarra...

I must be getting old with all these reminiscences and memories. It's sure nice to have them, though!

Tonight is the manager's welcome party but we've been welcomed in past years so we didn't go. I noticed on the invitation that the location had been changed to inside. They probably thought it might rain again. And it did.

Sunset on this coast is always amazing. It's light, light, light, dark! It seems like the whole sunset takes 15 minutes, like a shade dropping over the horizon. The moon right now is full, big and bright and in about an hour and a half a US telecom satellite will pass overhead.

It gets so dark here that we can see all kinds of constellations, which is pretty cool. We went out one time with an astronomer who brought telescopes and showed us all kinds of stuff. He had lots of information to share including that he was an alien from one of the planets he was showing us. When he invited us to the place he said he was living temporarily in Barbados, we politely declined...

It's so peaceful and relaxing here. No stress, no doctors, no deadlines to meet, no places to be and people to see. Very easy to take.

We decided to take a stroll down to the pool complex and sit there for a bit. Unfortunately, most of those chairs were still wet from the rain. We found some under a little roof that were dry enough and sat for a while enjoying the evening breeze, the stars and the tree frogs.

Back home we discovered we got the Game Show Network. Oh boy! More TV for me coming up! LOL

Barbados 22, 2010

2010-08-24T18:39:00.001-04:00

Click the image for the rest of the photo gallery for today.

We arrive!

2010-08-23T11:42:00.001-04:00

Friday, August 20:

I had an early morning appointment to get the stitches out of my back, then I came home to await the UPS delivery. It arrived at 3:00. Whew! Then to start set-up and adding my favorite programs that I need for the trip. Installing applications is a bit different from Windows but I finally got that figured out ok.

Took Mimi to her sister's for her vacation then home to pack. Our flight was out of Reagan, further away from us than Dulles and it was at 7:10 AM so it was to be an early start. Got everything packed and got to bed sometime after midnight.

Then, I got up and repacked the backpack. I had been going to take a larger one, intended for the Gateway but I realized that the Macbook might fit into my favorite backpack – and it did. So, smaller and lighter all-around. YEA!

Saturday, August 21:

The taxi arrived at 5:00 am and we got to Reagan just about 5:45. Plenty of time. The one main suitcase was 40.5 pounds so we didn't have to pay for overweight luggage. The first flight to Miami was uneventful. Our connecting flight was the next terminal over and we had about 40 minutes to get there so we really hustled. Thank goodness for rolling bags and my lighter backpack!

Along the way, of course I lost my neck pillow. I seem to lose one per trip. I vowed that the next one would have a bungee cord or something to attach it to my bag. Luckily, the little news shop had one with a snap at the front so I could snap it onto my bag and around my neck on the plane.

The flight crew was coming from elsewhere and they were late clearing customs/immigration so we didn't board the plane until an hour late. We didn't have to hustle quite as fast to get there.

On flights I almost always get Mr. and Mrs T's Bloody Mary Mix to drink. It's like a spicy V-8 and most flight magazines list it as an available drink. Our stewardess seemed amazed that I wanted that. Then, my husband wanted one, too, and she acted like she'd never heard of people drinking the stuff. Oh, well. She gave him a can, anyway.

I watched a movie and promptly fell asleep. The flight from Miami is about 3.5 hours which is a long time to sit in an airplane seat. My legs kept falling asleep, too.

We arrived in Barbados an hour late, of course, but we got here! So did our luggage. A major plus. Cleared customs and immigration with no problem and headed over to Stoute for our rental car. We've been renting cars from them for 12 years or so so we might own one of them by now!

Got the car and headed out – remembering to drive on the left side – to The Crane, our home-away-from-home.

Everything keeps changing here and it's all for the good. When we first bought in 1998, we were staying up the coast at a place called Coral Point where we'd stayed since 1996. We had actually wanted to buy that place but we would have had to buy outright and have to rent it out for the times that we weren't here aka most of the year. That place was beautiful and private but really too big for us. There were 4 bedrooms which is normally 3 too many. Even with guests, it would be 2 too many. But we looked into it and it would cost quite a bit plus we'd have to pay someone (Stoute, again – they do lots of stuff here!) to manage the place when we weren't here. Tom had seen a lawyer about buying here and it is very hard for non-locals to buy property in Barbados.

We went to lunch at The Crane just up the beach, a beautiful old hotel and restaurant built in 1887. A Canadian man named Paul Doyle had bought The Crane and he had big plans. We looked over the site maps, the plans, talked to Paul, liked what we saw/heard and bought 4 weeks worth.

When we came back in 1999, we had to stay in the original hotel but it was on the second floor and had a wonderful wrap-around rooftop verandah. The only bad part was they were constructing the building which we had bought and those workers started up early in the morning!

Tom had some all-important work to do in the states so he left me alone in Barbados but I had friends come down for a week. I dropped Tom off at the airport and got the only flat tyre of my life. I drove the car back home and called Stoute. They brought me a replacement car within the hour. Great service! The next day I picked up my friends and we spent the week tooling around the island. Took them back to the airport and picked up Tom.

We also had other guests that year.

2000 rolled around and we decided that maybe 4 weeks was too long to stay so we sold off the 4 weeks of our lock-off apartment and used the proceeds to buy an additional 2 weeks at Thanksgiving. We use those 2 weeks plus the 2 weeks we don't stay in our apartment in the rental pool so our place makes us money all year long. Good deal!

In 2001 my mother and our son came for a week of the 2. Michael was attending college and he had to get back to Massachusetts. It was a complicated plan but it worked. He and my mother flew back home – he helped her navigate the airport and customs and all. Then my friend who had stayed with me in 1999 picked them up at the airport and took my mom home and him to our house, then took him to the airport for Massachusetts the next morning. A really good friend!

Tuesday of that year we were out on a 4x4 jeep tour with our favorite driver, Zario. He picked us up and them we got a couple from New York City. We started the tour and got to the first stop. He'd been listening to the radio and said something about the World Trade Center. He was always joking and we thought that this was another story he was going to tell. As the day wore on, the news grew worse and worse. By the time we got to lunch, they had CNN on and all eyes were glued to it. No more funny stories, people laughing about their day. The NYC couple was worried about friends and family as was everyone.

The rest of the week was spent trying to call people at home, listening to news, reading the newspapers, emails, worrying. We didn't even know if we could get home. Paul said if we needed we could stay here. We were able to get out on Saturday to go to Puerto Rico. No one knew what would happen after that.

The airport at Puerto Rico was jammed with people who had no where else to go – the hotels were full, airports closed at home. We were very lucky. We got on the first American Airlines flight out, headed home. The crew came marching up the hallway with a huge American flag which they draped out the window on take-off and landing. It was so dramatic, with all the passengers cheering. They cheered, too, when we had a fighter plane escort into DC airspace. Most people seemed to think that they were there to protect us rather than shoot us down if we veered from our flight plan.

That was our most memorable year – hopefully there will never be another one similar to that!

Over the years we have shared Barbados with other friends and that has been nice but the nicest is that since we've sold the lock-off we are here by ourselves. Guests could sleep on the pull-out sofa but no one has done that yet.

This year when we arrived we got to see the new Crane Village. We'd seen the fences around the construction before and now, the real thing! As always, Paul did a fantastic job designing and building this to look like it's an old Bajan village. There's a town hall, Cave Shepherd (department store) , general store, Italian restaurant, beachwear store, jewelry store, gym and more. Reception is also in the Village so we checked in there and headed to our place.

The palm trees have really grown up outside the patio making it even more private – I like that! We can see some of the pool complex still and the ocean, of course. New pictures will be coming in a day or so to compare with the ones from past years.

We went out to the Emerald City grocery store to stock up on supplies for a few days. On the way we ran into Paul and we told him (again!) how pleased we were with the changes. He remembered us walking on the floorboards in the skeleton of this apartment while it was being built and that was cool.

We bought essentials including salt bread, tutti-fruiti milk, rum punch, coconut ice cream and other, more real, stuff.

By now I was exhausted. I'd missed a real nap for 2 days and hadn't slept well/long the night before. We stopped at Chefette for roti for dinner.

When we got home we had the roti and coleslaw. I was too tired to even finish my roti so I saved most of it. I fell asleep fully dressed on top of the bed and didn't wake up until housekeeping knocked on the door the next morning.

Sunday August 22:

At some point Tom told me he was headed out to meet some friends and that he'd made coffee. I'm sure I mumbled something in return before going back to sleep.

The next thing I knew housekeeping was here so I got some of that coffee and sat out on the deck. That's when I learned that there's wireless when the wind is blowing my way. We have a cable connection at the desk and wireless is better there but who wants to sit at a desk all day? I'm very familiar with taking computers over to Reception and using the wifi there but it will be even better if I get it here. Supposedly, at some point the whole place will be wireless and that will be nice but I'm not holding my breath! Everything that was promised to be done has been so I'm sure that this will come, too.

Tom got back and we got his computer and our internet phone set up then we went out to explore the new Village more. We bought the required t-shirts but Tom couldn't find a bathing suit in his size. Then we went down the glass elevator (new since we've been coming here – we used t have to take stairs down the cliff) to the beach. After walking on the sand and in the water a bit we came back for much-needed naptime.

And I started writing and writing...

Heading back "home" to Barbados, 2010

2010-08-23T11:37:00.001-04:00

Thursday, August 19:

I had my annual visit to my kidney cancer surgeon. He said that things are looking good and reminded me that chances of a recurrence are getting smaller each year as are probabilities of a metastasis. Whew! However. He asked me about the CT scans I'd had last year. I had lung nodules at that time as well as an enlarged mediastinal lymph node.

I was supposed to get those scanned fairly regularly and my PCP was supposed to order the scans. I did a couple of those then we (PCP and I) thought that maybe the radiation risk was worse than the possible findings since there was no change. So he stopped ordering the scans and I forgot all about it. Until today.

So my kidney cancer surgeon said that my PCP would no longer be in charge of these scans. He referred me to a pulmonologist. The KCS thinks there will probably be a biopsy. Yuck.

I called the hospital at 11:00am and said that I needed a CD of my scans and they said they'd be ready when I got there. I got to the hospital at 11:20 and their machine had broken. So, I waited while they made a manual copy.

I got home about noon and, of course, the pulmonologist's staff was out to lunch. I left a message for them to ca back but of course they didn't. When I called them back I got an appointment for September 8. I hope that this doesn't signal the beginning of a new medical journey.

Like Scarlet O'Hara I'll think about this...tomorrow.

I finally did it! I've been looking at Macs for a while now. I'm so tired of the Windows constant security updates. On tuesday night there were 35. Egads! I've had 5 different Macs in my amazon.com shopping card trying to decide what to get for a long time. Today I made the decision.

We leave on Saturday for our annual trip to Barbados and I'll be carrying my laptop in my backpack. Since I just had a bit of surgery on my mid-back, I want to keep things as light as possible. My Gateway weighs 7.5 pounds and the battery lasts maybe 3 hours. The Mac weighs 4.5 pounds with a 10-hour battery.

On some kind of whim, I looked at amazon.com again and they said that I could get next day shipping if I ordered by 7:30 pm. I assumed that the shipping costs would be prohibitive but I looked anyway – only $3.99. So, I ordered it and hoped that they were right about next day delivery. I hated the thought of this Macbook sitting on my front porch for 2 weeks if I missed the delivery.

Folkstone Marine Park

2010-04-10T12:49:00.001-04:00

Posted by Monique in Living in Barbados on April 10th, 2010

Folkestone Marine Park is located on the West coast of Barbados and is home to an artificial reef which has been formed by the sinking of the ship Stavronikita. This ship rests in 120 feet of water, is relatively close to the shore and is an excellent spot for scuba divers and snorkelers alike to explore the reefs and most often have the pleasure of swimming with the turtles.

A bit about this shipwreck by Tropical Welcome:

The Stav is the most popular wreck in Barbados waters. She was a 365 foot Greek freighter built in Denmark in 1956 and originally christened the Ohio. On August 26, 1976, while en route from Ireland to the Caribbean and carrying a cargo of 101,000 bags of cement, the vessel caught fire, killing six crew members and injuring three others.

An explosion that followed the fire destroyed all of the ship’s radio equipment, making it impossible for the stranded crew to call for help. Twenty four crewmen drifted in the open sea for four days before being rescued. The Stavronikita was then towed to Barbados.

A year went by, and the vessel was still anchored off Carlisle Bay, Barbados. On October 24, 1977 , she was purchased at an auction for the sum of $30,000 by the Parks and Beach Commission.

The ship was then stripped of all the machinery and brass that could be salvaged.

She was also cleaned of pollutants, namely the 70,000 gallons of oil being carried in her fuel tanks and towed to a spot just 400 yards offshore on the west coast of the island. On November 21,1978, the U.S. Navy demolition crew set seven charges totaling 200 pounds and blew holes in the ship’s hull, causing her to sink.
This area is also referred to as Church Point and can be a surfer’s dream when the North swells start rolling in onto the West coast.

Also on these grounds is a recreational park and playground, where you will find many local Bajans picnicking on any given Sunday.

From http://blog.barbadospropertylist.com/folkestone-marine-park-in-barbados/

Beautiful Barbados Beaches

2009-12-22T14:08:00.001-05:00

Although we have only been to Barbados in the summer, it has an appeal throughout the year. The Caribbean is known for hurricanes but it is very rare for one to hit Barbados.

Barbados is a relatively flat coral island with an abundant supply of large gradually sloping beaches.

All beaches on the island of Barbados are considered "public", although some are harder to get to than others!

Over 79 miles of beautiful white and pink sand beaches await you on the island of Barbados – come on in, the water’s great!

Crane Beach
My personal favorite, of course, is the Crane Beach.

Set on 40 acres of oceanfront land in the parish of St. Philip on the Southeast Coast of Barbados, The Crane is the island's oldest vacation resort. Conveniently located just six minutes east of Grantley Adams International Airport, the resort boasts a spectacular natural setting on a cliff overlooking the renowned Crane Beach. The Crane was recently awarded a Four Diamond rating from the Automobile Association of America (AAA). Today, The Crane is comprised of the original historic hotel building, built in the late 1700's and expanded in 1887, and a new all-suite development. Seven of ten phases of The Crane's new development are complete. On completion of the development, this world-class report will also feature a Bajan village offering retail shops, bar 1812, art gallery and museum; a full-service spa set in a coconut grove on the beach, a choice of gourmet and casual restaurants and flood-lit tennis courts. www.thecrane.com

Originally a harbor, Crane Beach is located at the famous Crane Hotel, and has been voted one of the ten best beaches in the world by "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Bigger waves make it good for body surfing, but in the cove to the left there is safe swimming close to shore.

You will have to walk down to the beach or take the new elevator down the cliff. There is a charge for parking, waived if you have lunch at one of the restaurants.

Nearby, about half a mile to the south is Foul Bay. Despite it’s name (it just meant that it was hard for ships to make harbor) this is a spectacular beach that is usually quiet. There are no facilities, so it is best to take your own food and drink. A great place for a day picnic.

Bottom Bay

Just north of the famed Sam Lord’s Castle, this bay is surrounded by high coral cliffs, and is the perfect beach postcard with lots of coconut trees, crystal turquoise water, and a large expansive beach area. It has medium waves, slight undertow, and a favorite picnic spot with Bajans and visitors.

Take your own food and drink as facilities are not nearby. A very popular beach for surfers but beach lovers will find lots of secluded spots.

Sam Lord's Castle is closed now but has been bought by another hotel company and should reopen...sometime.

Sam Lord was a pirate way back but not the kind that went to sea. He stayed at home, in his castle (pictured left), and put lights on the coconut trees so ships would think that they were near Bridgetown. They came close, crashed on the cliffs and Sam added to his treasure.

Church Point

A very special beach, clean, not very wide and somewhat sheltered, the waters are almost always placid with no undertow and good snorkeling. This beach is in front of the stunning coral stone Heron Bay House, which is almost as beautiful to view as the pristine beach it looks upon.

Heron Bay has hosted many famous guests, including former US President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, and several movie stars. The house was built in 1947 by the late Ronald Tree, a member of the Winston Churchill British Cabinet.

The house is set on 20 acres of manicured gardens, including a small lake, and the property is often opened as part of the Barbados National Trust's annual Open House Programme.

Long Beach
Long Beach stretches for more than a mile and is very flat and narrow, a great find since it is secluded and private. The nearby long Beach Club has facilities here but this is a fairly private setting.

Long Beach is situated in a natural environment. The buildings that are visible from the beach are a blend of period and modern properties and very attractive. The natural beach environment consists of rocks and cliff faces and is stunningly beautiful.

The sand is very fine and has a bright, white color and the beach and water are very clean. The seawater is a beautiful shade of light blue and is crystal clear.

The beach can only be reached by climbing a trail / by walking downhill. However, parking is available near the beach.

Dover Beach

Lying at the Southern end of the St. Lawrence Gap ’strip’ this is a popular beach among visitors to the south coast. Medium waves and a number of facilities close by add to its appeal.

This is charter-holiday territory, where families mingle on the sands with a procession of brides and grooms searching for that ultimate Caribbean wedding photo.

Cattlewash

This by far the longest beach on the island. It’s rough and rugged splendor make it a popular sightseeing and relaxing spot. It is several miles long and very often deserted. It is a perfect location for nature lovers.

This beach is a little north of Bathsheba and is a frequent “sight” on sight seeing tours. Its name defines it’s original function.

This area is a very popular get-away spot for Bajans, especially during the summer months. Although it is a very scenic and relaxing area, there are strong currents in the area and swimming in open water is not recommended. There are however many pools, surrounded by rocks where one can bathe safely.

Bath
There is usually a lifeguard and there are parking, changing, picnic and eating facilities. Medium to small waves and slight undertow close to shore make this a good swimming beach.

Bath Beach is the perfect swimming beach, and there are plenty of shady trees to relax under with a picnic lunch. There are no restaurants here, but changing rooms are provided.

Mullins Bay

This is another popular hangout, a picturesque bay with a nice, placid beach almost all year round. Plenty of facilities, from parking and eating, Mullins are also a very good snorkeling area. Located in a cove, the water is always calm, and crystal clear.

You'll find plenty of places to eat, especially Mullins Beach Bar, and parking is provided across the street. Beach chairs are available for rent.

Folkstone Beach

There are many water-related activities, along with fresh water showers and shops. There is an interpretive centre and museum. The underwater park zone extends from Sandy Lane to Colony Club and you can rent snorkeling equipment around the fringe reef, or hire a boat for diving.

Sandy Lane Bay

The beach of Sandy Lane, the island’s most opulent resort is home to Villas on the beach, Barbados. This is a long, wide beach which is in pristine condition and well-maintained. Quite literally it can be a VIP spotting beach with many a celebrity holidaying here.

Winter on the Beach: Barbados

2009-12-20T12:28:00.001-05:00

It's our favourite Caribbean destination for good reason – there's more to this island than sun, sea and sand. Kate Simon offers a guide.

The accommodation

The hot news from the east coast is the reopening of the Atlantis Hotel (atlantishotelbarbados.com). The venerable seaside lodgings have been turned into a stylish 10-room property by the team behind Little Good Harbour.

Further south on this coast, The Crane (thecrane.com) has expanded from the original 18-room hotel into a veritable village of 180 luxury suites. On the south coast at St Lawrence Gap, the all-inclusive Almond Casuarina Beach Resort (almondresorts.com) has had a revamp, adding 95 sea-facing rooms and a shorefront pool.

The activities

Any self-respecting surfer should try their luck in the Soup Bowl off the east coast at Bathsheba. This world-class break, which hosts international championships, can be surfed year round. But Barbados isn't all about the beach or the sea. Go inland to find more thrills at the Barbados Aerial Trek Zipline Adventures (00 246 433 8966) at Walkes Spring Plantation, which whizzes across 100ft-deep Jack-in-the-Box Gully. And, of course, Barbados is well supplied with polo fields, a sport first played here by British cavalry officers. The most famous ground is Holders, but others under construction include a new one at Apes Hill Club (apeshillclub.com), the latest addition to the island's portfolio of private estates.

The urban scene

The lively capital, Bridgetown, with its busy shops and harbour full of leisure craft, reveals the well-heeled nature of this island. This is also home to the third oldest parliament in the world and National Heroes Square, with its statue of Nelson that predates the one in London's Trafalgar Square. Also call by Holetown, where the British first settled, and see the once neglected Speightstown, the first major port, which is now being given a makeover.

The beaches

This island's exclusive image is largely down to its "Platinum Coast" on the Caribbean side of the island. Here, you'll find the rich and famous enjoying barefoot luxury on white sands lined with sunloungers set out by the five-star hotels that sit cheek by jowl along this coast. Further south, on the more blustery seafront of St Lawrence Gap, the resort hotels spill out on to golden beaches. This is charter-holiday territory, where families mingle on the sands with a procession of brides and grooms searching for that ultimate Caribbean wedding photo. Over on the east coast, the Atlantic waves keep the atmosphere bracing. It's a joy for surfers, but dangerous for swimmers who should ask a local to show them the safe spots for bathing.

The restaurants

Still the island's top spot for a special meal, The Cliff (thecliffbarbados.com) serves a starry clientele exquisite food in a sublime clifftop setting. At the new Marketfive by John Hazzard (00 246 436 1485), the eponymous chef is creating exciting, contemporary Caribbean dishes in a stylish dining room in the unlikely location of the new Sanjay Bridgetown Centre in the capital. Meanwhile, the Fish Pot (littlegoodharbour barbados.com) at the northern reach of the west coast and Cafe Luna (littlearches.com) at the southern end, both continue to delight with fine food and romantic settings. But for dinner with a touch of fun, join the locals and tourists at Fish Friday in Oistins.

The sights

Don't miss St Nicholas Abbey (stnicholasabbey.com) in St Peter, one of just three Jacobean houses remaining in the Americas. Take a tour of Harrison's Cave (harrisonscave.com) and the extraordinary limestone caverns at Allen View. Look out for the Emancipation Statue – aka Bussa, after the slave leader – which shows a black man breaking his chains. It sits on a roundabout east of Bridgetown.

Compact Facts

How to get there

Kate Simon travelled to Barbados with the Barbados Tourism Authority (visitbarbados.org). Thomas Cook Signature (0844 879 8015; tcsignature.com) offers seven nights' at Tamarind Cove from £1,299 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights with Virgin Atlantic, resort transfers, and B&B.

From http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/americas/winter-on-the-beach-barbados-1845578.html

The Barbados: Like to hike?; With an island paradise to explore, there's no need to waste time lazing about on the beach

2009-12-05T12:25:00.001-05:00

Canwest News Service

"People only come to Barbados to lie on the beach," declares a diminutive blond over rum cocktails on the beach. "Take a hike," say I, meaning it in the nicest possible way. Along with a perfect climate and wonderful beaches, Barbados boasts an English-style National Trust whose sites include 17th-century plantation houses, sugar mills, museums and a 1654 synagogue. Plus, every Sunday the National Trust offers free hikes – a fun way to explore the island.

I was lucky enough to be in Barbados for the Trust's Moonlight Hike, a once- a-month event. Here's how it worked:

At 5:30 p.m., our group – about 60 adults and kids – rendezvous at the St. Thomas Parish post office. Twenty minutes later we've left behind a rural village and its giggling children, who are amused by our twilight parade. On the outskirts we pause to admire exotic crops: cassava, breadfruit, sugar cane, guinea corn, pigeon peas.

Next comes Welchman Hall Gully, named for General William Asygell Williams. Island rumour has it that the shaddock (a.k.a. pomelo) and sweet orange spontaneously produced the world's first grapefruit (though the invention of the grapefruit is also claimed by Jamaica). Overhead, I hear the sound of birds, and ask the man next to me what kind they are. "Bats, actually." Oh.

As green monkeys crash about in the treetops, the group learns that the bitter bark tree yields a malaria treatment called Quashir's Remedy, and that Amerindians used the bark to make insect repellent for their crops. However, the swizzle-stick tree's purpose is obvious.

As darkness falls, National Trust Hike veterans – the ones with the walking sticks – now produce flashlights. Very smart.

On reaching a nutmeg grove, everyone stops and sniffs the spice-scented air – though it's no longer the spice-growing centre it once was.

Emerging from the gully, we loop across fields and meadows under a full moon. At a fence, helpers materialize, opening gates and hoisting us over. Stopping now and then, we examine unusual items such as the red sandalwood seeds that island schoolchildren rub on concrete until they get burning hot. We rest on a hilltop and gaze at the moon, Jupiter, Mars, Orion's Belt. The wind sighs through century-old cabbage palms that produce a delicious fruit, like heart of palm.

Three hours have sped by. Back at the parking lot, we have juice and homemade cakes. Organizers arrange my ride back to the hotel, and friendly voices calling out their goodbyes trail after me down the peaceful hillside.

– For more information, contact barbadosnationaltrust.com; barbados.org.

From http://www.kelowna.com/2009/12/04/the-barbados-like-to-hike-with-an-island-paradise-to-explore-theres-no-need-to-waste-time-lazing-about-on-the-beach/

Barbados makes the belly happy

2009-11-01T06:17:00.001-05:00

The island in the eastern Caribbean offers sweet rum and coconuts, incendiary peppers and the national symbol -- flying fish -- filleted and fried.

By Janis Cooke Newman

Reporting from Bridgetown, Barbados >>> - I came to Barbados for the flying fish sandwiches.
Not that this small island at the easternmost edge of the Caribbean doesn't offer other attractions. Like perfect weather. And beaches that come in two flavors -- Caribbean, which has a sea that is turquoise and tranquil, and into which the sun sets spectacularly every evening, and Atlantic, where the coastline is rocky and the sand is the color and consistency of cake flour.

Then there are the Barbadians themselves, people who are the very definition of friendly locals. And the fact that 300 years of British rule have left the island with some interesting Anglo-Caribbean quirks, including stone churches straight out of "Jane Eyre" and cricket players with dreadlocks.

Still for me, it was the flying fish sandwiches. And the macaroni pie. And the pepper sauce. Definitely the pepper sauce.

Because in my mind, the most compelling reason to travel anyplace is food. And Zagat -- holy book of the foodie traveler -- has proclaimed Barbados the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean. What I wasn't counting on was that eating one's way through Barbados would turn out to be as much a cultural tour as a culinary one. On Barbados, a healthy (or even obsessive) curiosity about sweet potato mash, coconut water and pig intestines is enough to gain entry into every one of the island's different worlds, from that of well-heeled tourist to the British expat to the born-and-bred Barbadian, or Bajan, as they're also known.
Here, then, are some simple instructions on doing Barbados by food.

Eat it
Every Friday night, the little seaside town of Oistins turns itself into one big barbecue. The food stands raise their awnings, long tables are set up near the beach, and the air fills with over-amplified reggae and the tangy scent of fish marinated in something spicy and slightly vinegary.

Oistins Friday Night Fish Fry is one of those rare events that attracts as many locals as visitors, probably because it's cheap, fun and seriously delicious. Just find a stand where the food looks appetizing, ask a waitperson to seat you at one of the long tables, and order whatever is on the grill.

When you're finished eating, stroll down to Lexie's bar and watch middle-aged Barbadian couples dipping and swirling on the open-air dance floor. (Ballroom dancing is big on Barbados.) Or wander to the opposite end of the street and get a firsthand look at the surprisingly competitive world of Barbadian dominoes. Just follow the sound of slamming tiles.

Tucked on a side street and up a flight of stairs, Mustor's in Bridgetown is the kind of locals' restaurant you always hope to find. It is no more than a big, airy room where the only thing approaching décor is the orangey bottle of pepper sauce on every table. And, really, you don't need anything else.

Place your order with the cashier: flying fish steamed or fried (I recommend fried) or chicken fried or stewed (go with stewed). It comes with macaroni pie (the Bajan version of mac and cheese) and mounds of yams, and rice with pigeon peas, those pale, nut-flavored peas that are a staple of Caribbean cooking. Wash everything down with a local Banks beer or a glass of Bajan-style limeade, which is almost magically sweet and tart at the same time.

If you're looking to up your Bajan cuisine game, try Sweet Potatoes at the entrance of bustling St. Lawrence Gap, the milelong stretch of road crowded with nightclubs and restaurants that cater to tourists. Take a seat under the icicle lights on the open-air porch, and order some examples of what Sweet Potatoes' owners refer to as Good Old Bajan Cooking. Try Mullins Bay bol jol, an insanely good spread of marinated codfish seasoned with herbs and onions. Or Pot Belly Flying Fish, rolled and fried and served in a red pepper sauce. And don't forget cou cou, a Bajan-style polenta made with okra.

If you decide you can't live without some Good Old Bajan Cooking at your house, you can come back for one of the restaurant's cooking classes.

Want to see what an expat British chef with locavore sensibilities cooks on Barbados? Dine at the Terrace at Cobbler's Cove (a small hotel on the northwest coast of Barbados). Bryan Porteus, the chef at the Terrace, is committed to using as many local ingredients as possible. He has planted an herb and lettuce garden across from the hotel and visits the fish market in Bridgetown every day. (Sometimes he even takes guests with him.)

The Cove also employs its own fisherman -- a one-named celebrity called Barker -- whose morning catch turns up on the dinner menu every evening. The result is an entree list that includes bonito with plantain fritters, sesame tempura of Caribbean vegetables, and rack of black belly lamb (a local animal that resembles a sheep and a goat).

Drink it
If you want to be a true Barbadian locavore, you must drink rum. Barbadians have been making rum -- distilled from local sugar cane -- since 1630. And Mount Gay has been making its version nearly as long. It's worth driving a couple of miles north of Bridgetown to take the Mount Gay Rum Factory Tour just for the "blow and breathe" session, which involves sticking your face into a fish bowl of partly distilled rum. This is guaranteed to keep your sinuses open.

Jason Zeddo, Mount Gay's tasting room bartender, says the proper way to taste rum is to first cover the top of the glass with your free hand and "take that fine rum and toss it around." This releases aromas (almond, vanilla, oak) that you can then savor before draining the glass.

If you want to drink rum the way Bajans do, mix it with Coke, which in Barbados is still made with cane sugar (instead of high-fructose corn syrup).
It's a Sunday tradition in Barbados for locals on their way home from church to stop at a roadside coconut vendor and pick up a half-gallon of coconut water to have with Sunday dinner. Coconut water is light and refreshing and only slightly sweet, and Bajans consider it a health drink. (It also mixes beautifully with rum.)

Drive along any major roadway around noontime on a Sunday, and you'll see vendors hacking off the tops of coconuts with machetes. (You will also wonder how they manage to keep all their fingers.) Pick up some coconut water, and while you're there, have the vendor cut open a coconut so you can sample the jelly inside. (It's like eating the liquefied center of a Mounds bar.)

Shop for it
Early every Saturday morning, ex-pats and tourists turn up at the Brighton Farmers Market in St. George to eat fish cakes for breakfast and drink what might be the only great coffee on this tea-centric island. Brighton is the place for locally grown produce and a diversity of prepared foods: curried chicken rotis (Bajan sandwiches), Thai egg rolls and freshly baked bread. It's also the place to sit under an enormous tree, watch the kids run around and socialize.

Saturday morning is the best time to visit the Cheapside Public Market in Bridgetown. Whereas Brighton is mostly ex-pats and tourists, Cheapside is locals. Under the arches of its open-roofed building, you'll find plenty of Bajan staples: black fist-shaped yams, green scaly skinned breadfruit, baskets overflowing with incendiary Scotch bonnet peppers (which Bajans pop like candy).

Express any amount of ignorance about how to prepare your purchase, and next thing you know a Barbadian grandmother will be hacking at your breadfruit with a large knife and explaining how long to boil it.

Cook it yourself
Seemingly all Barbadians are willing to teach visitors how to cook Bajan-style. Drop into the kitchen of Sweet Potatoes restaurant for one of its one-, two- or three-day classes, and you'll leave with a bottle of Bajan spices and a recipe for (among other traditional dishes) Souse and Pudding, grated sweet potato stuffed into pig intestine and topped with meat from the pig's head and feet.

It tastes better than it sounds.

Anne-Marie Whittaker is a one-woman evangelical movement for Caribbean cooking. Her company, Native Treasures, makes a variety of items -- piña colada jam and Captain Rasta's Revenge pepper sauce -- and she's the author of "Treasures of My Caribbean Kitchen" cookbook.

She also runs custom cooking classes for small groups. If you can't arrange to take one of her classes, you can still make her Bajan pepper sauce at home (without burning your fingers slicing all those Scotch bonnets) by picking up one of her hot pepper sauce kits (just add water and vinegar).

If you're staying at the Crane, a residential hotel on the Atlantic side, you'll probably have a better kitchen in your suite than you do at home. The bonus of this, besides being able to try out your newly acquired breadfruit recipe, is that you can arrange to have Executive Chef Michael Hinds drop by and give you a private cooking class. Hinds, a native Barbadian, studied at the Culinary Institute of America, which gives his Bajan cooking an international slant. In his hands, locally caught reef grouper and peppers and onions from Cheapside Market turn into ceviche. And his recipe for breadfruit calls for slicing it paper thin and deep-frying it until you're left with a stack of crispy (and totally addictive) chips.

At super-swank Sandy Lane hotel on the Caribbean side, Chef Timothy Walker elevates local flying fish to Cordon Bleu status by slathering it with a chiffonade of sweet peppers and onions, coating it with panko flavored with lemon zest and lightly frying it.

Walker's flying fish is a completely different aquatic animal from the flying fish at Mustor's. Which is not to say that they're not equally delicious. The real point is, it's difficult not to love a country that's willing to fry up its national symbol and serve it drenched in pepper sauce.

From http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-barbados1-2009nov01,0,5741821.story

Morgan Lewis Mill Barbados

2009-10-16T12:52:00.001-04:00

Morgan Lewis Mill is located on the top of a beautiful hill in the north eastern part of the island of Barbados. It is one of the two restored sugar mills in the entire Caribbean. The mill commands an excellent view of the amazing east coast. The mill is located near the Wildlife Reserve and Bathsheba. The Morgan Lewis Mill serves as a refreshment halt where ice creams and cool drinks are available. The mill which is maintained by the Barbados National Trust exhibits the equipment used to produce sugar when mills were run by wind-generated mills.

Morgan Lewis Mill, which has undergone a lot of restoration work undertaken by the Barbados National Trust, is one of the oldest mills in this area. This large mill which functioned during the 17th to 19th centuries and produced sugar for Barbados was famous throughout the world and is still intact. Photographs of the mills during it’s hey days can be seen within the mill. The mill has been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the yesteryears, Barbados was famous for its sugarcane cultivation and there were a number of windmill operated sugarcane crushing units. The immense number of sugar mills put Barbados on the world map and it was one of the prominent producers and exporters of sugar. This mill is called a Dutch-style mill and these types of mills replaced the older and less efficient cattle-powered mills. The Morgan Lewis Mill had the capacity to extract 65% of the sugar found in the sugar cane. The yokes and ladles and other implements for sugar extraction can be seen at the mill.

This mill which was constructed in the year 1727 continued to function and produced sugar till 1945. It was then donated to the Barbados National Trust in the year 1962. The trust undertook restoration work which commenced in 1964, but the restoration could not be done in totality. Restoration of the mill was taken up again in 1974, but it was not successful and deteriorated again. It was then listed as one of the world’s most endangered heritage sites. The United Kingdom undertook a 2-year restoration program and could bring back the Morgan Lewis Mill to its original splendor. Visitors who visit the mill have to pay a nominal entrance fee and where they can still see the roundhouse, tail tree, and points.

Do you know that this is the only fully intact sugarcane grinding windmill remaining on Barbados? You can see ruins of hundreds of sugar mills throughout the island. Would you like to know how the mill functioned in those days? You should then visit the island between the periods from February to April. The mill operates one Sunday a month during this period. In 1996, the Morgan Lewis Mill was listed as one of the world’s 100 most endangered historic sites.

Every visitor to Barbados should definitely undertake a trip to the Morgan Lewis Mill which provides visitors with an excellent opportunity to know and learn about Barbados’ heritage and the history of sugar production.

From http://www.world-travel-deals.co.uk/caribbean/barbados/barbados-attractions/morgan-lewis-mill.html

Diva Blog: Barbados Bliss!

2009-10-11T13:07:00.001-04:00

I'm so glad that Jet Blue is flying to Barbados now. They're my favorite airline! And Lisa stayed at The Crane - my home in Barbados :)

Watch her video for good looks at The Crane, Grantley Adams airport, steel drummers, stilt walkers, Bathsheba, Champers restaurant and much more.

From http://www.tangodiva.com/blog/2009/10/10/barbados-bliss/

Barbados Bliss!

October 10th, 2009 by Lisa Loverro

This past week I had the opportunity to fly on Jet Blue’s inaugural flight into their newest non-stop destination from New York City: The island of Barbados.

The celebration surrounding their inaugural flight was nothing short of spectacular. From steel drum music, breakfast buffet and ribbon cutting ceremony at their JFK Terminal departure gate, the atmosphere at the airport was more like a Caribbean celebration for all the lucky customers waiting to board. Once airborne, the party continued with raffles and prizes along with rum cake and the unofficial drink of the island, Mount Gay Rum. Upon the plane’s arrival, fire trucks “christened” the plane with an arch of water. How beautiful! Check out my video of the celebration along with a tour of the island!

I was immediately awestruck by Barbados. Charming and sophisticated, Barbados is an island filled with friendly people, lush, tropical landscape and white-sand beaches. From zip lining to surfing, the activities here are endless. My trip included a stay at the Crane Resort, home to one of the sexiest beaches in the world (according to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous). The island is filled with nightlife but on Friday night Barbados throws the biggest party in the Caribbean at Oistin’s fish fry. Bring your appetite and your dancing shoes to this party!

Accommodations range from the relaxed and comfortable Crane to the very posh Sandy Lane. There are also numerous villas available to rent. Check out Landmark House and Cottage, accommodating 8 persons and built primarily from local coralstone, the stylish villa lies on the northern end of the Sandy Lane Beach.

What a pleasant flight and relaxing stay! If only every flight could be an inaugural one…

Charles Fort Cannon Walk at the Barbados Hilton

2009-09-18T13:01:00.001-04:00

September 18, 2009 by Phil Stilton

September 11

2009-09-11T13:37:00.001-04:00

I originally wrote this on 9/11...

I, too, was stunned to hear the news this morning and continuing throughout the day.

It was just something unbelievable. My husband and I were on a Land Rover 4X4 tour of the off-road areas of Barbados when we first got the news.

At first, when we got the very first news, around 9:30 am, I thought that it was some tale that the driver was weaving...and that there would be a punchline. As the day wore on, more interest was on the radio than on the tour. Some of the people in our Land Rover were from New York City and they were terrified for friends and family.

What an awful day in history this is, one of those that we'll always remember where we were when we got the news.

Like the rest of you, I am stunned, absolutely shocked that this could happen, using our own planes, no less. I cannot imagine the terror of the people on those planes, or in the World Trade Center...or the Pentagon.

We were basically stuck in Barbados. Phones to the US didn't work well, email was slow to non-existent, all we knew was what we got on CNN, incessantly. My mother and son had been with us the week before and had just flown back the Saturday before. I was so glad that they had gotten back home ok, then my son off to college.

We were supposed to fly home on the next Saturday, but if was iffy if that would happen since the airports were closed for the longest time. We were flying into the DC area. The lines to the Barbados airport and to American Airlines were always busy.

Finally, we decided to give it a shot, packed up and went to the airport to see if we could fly out or not. They could only guarantee the flight as far as Puerto Rico.

The San Juan airport was crowded with Americans trying to get home, flights being canceled due to closed airports, people sleeping all around the airport, using backpacks for pillows. It was a very difficult time.

We did finally leave for home later that night. This is what I wrote the next day...

I flew on American Airlines last night (9/14/2001). We left Barbados on time but the connecting flight, originating out of Aruba was very late, and we waited for a long time in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

After that flight had arrived though, we were all sitting around, hoping they'd board the plane soon. All of a sudden, there was cheering in the hallway. We turned to look - our pilot and crew were marching up the hallway with a huge American flag. He stopped and talked to us. He explained that the copilot would hang that flag outside his window as we taxied out of Puerto Rico and into Dulles. The flag was making the rounds of American flights all over the country and that the yellow streamers hanging down were being signed by all the American crew members. He posed for lots of pictures (I have some I'll post later, when my eyes are less bleary!), then, as they were going to get the plane ready, he asked us in a loud voice if we were ready to fly to Washington and everyone cheered.

Along the way, he thanked us so much for having faith and flying (like we had any choice!). The headphones for the movie and the drinks were all free on this flight! He also told us that there were a lot of fighter planes in the Washington to NY corridor and not to be surprised if we were intercepted by one, who would just be making sure that we were "who we said we were". I thought that would be kind of neat to see, but I didn't see them. We arrived in Dulles (Washington, DC) with a jet fighter escort. At the time, that sounded so comforting, but it turned out that they had been there to shoot us down, if we'd made any funny moves.

Then, when we arrived at the terminal, the captain said that we were back in "the land of the free, and the home of the brave" and got some more cheers.

It was a memorable flight for someone like me, who is terrified of flying under the best of circumstances.

Us, on 9/10. Who knew?

9/14, San Juan Puerto Rico:
After the crew marched down the hallway.

The captain, letting others have a chance to fly the flag.

This young woman lead us onto the plane.

I wrote this in 2008, from memory, when I was rebuilding this blog after hackers...

Memories - 911

The year of 911 my mom and my son had been with us for the first week. My son had to be back at college so on Sunday he shepherded my mom through the airport, customs and all and got her back home before he headed back to UMass/Amherst on Monday. Thank goodness they got back before the mayhem started!

On Tuesday we were out on a 4X4 from Island Safari with our favorite guide, Zario. Zario is a fun guy and and very knowledgeable about Barbados and world events. We were very happy to have him again because it was the "luck of the draw" which driver/guide we got.

I remember that morning being kind of stressed already - I was having trouble with one of my contacts and I was just grumpy.

Zario picked us up first, one of the benefits of staying at The Crane - everyone picks us first for everything and drops us off last. Then he picked up another couple from New York City who were staying at Bougainvillea.

The tour started off through the fields, down cliffs as usual. Zario had the radio on in the background. When we got to the first stop he told us that there was a "problem" in New York. That it seemed that a plane had hit a building. We thought that there was going to be a punch line somewhere. There wasn't.
As the tour went on, the news got worse. The couple from NYC was very worried about relatives.

By the time we got to lunch and met up with the other 4x4s everyone had heard. We were in a little chattal house restaurant, the TV was on CNN and everyone was just watching in silence and horror. Usually this lunch is very festive and fun. Not a care in the world. Not today.

We left the New York people off at their hotel and went "home". The TV was full of New York news, then Pentagon news. We know people who work at the Pentagon. The news just got worse as we went along.

When Saturday came we had no idea if we could go back to the states or not. But we had to try.

We were able to fly to Puerto Rico with no idea if we'd be able to leave there or not.

Eventually, we were told we could fly out on American Airlines, on the first plane to get clearance to fly back to the states. We were flying into Dulles Airport, outside Washington, DC.

The captain and crew came marching up the corridor with huge American flags and everyone cheering wildly.

When we settled in, the captain thanked us for flying American - like we had a choice! - and more cheering.

When we got back to DC airspace we were met by two fighter planes, one on each side. There may have been one behind. The captain tried to tell us that they were there for our protection but I was sure that they would shoot us down in a heartbeat if we tried anything funny.

While we taxied both out of Puerto Rico and into Dulles the co-pilot held that flag out the window. Wild applause when we finally landed safely.

A very memorable trip!

Port Guide - Cruise Port - Barbados

2009-09-10T13:09:00.001-04:00

Barbados is one of the most popular Caribbean holiday destinations of all time. It is a gorgeous tropical paradise that is far from most of the other Caribbean islands. For this reason, it hasn’t been overrun with tourists especially since only a handful of cruise ship itineraries include it.

Barbados is part of the Netherlands Antilles chain of islands, with a decidedly English flavour. Cricket is the sport of choice and the island has been home to more world-class players than any other country.

Bridgetown is the capital city and is full of activity just about any time of the day or night. Visitors could spend their entire holiday just in the city proper and still not run out of things to do. There are fabulous facilities, including luxury hotels and resorts, along with a limitless array of restaurants and eateries appealing to all tastes and budgets. There is also a wide range of museums and archaeological sights, in and around the capital, that highlight the unique and rich heritage of this little island paradise.

The nightlife in Bridgetown is non-stop, with nightclubs galore and live music and dancing going until the wee hours of the morning. The city is very easy to get around and taxis are plentiful and readily available. There is also an extensive bus service on the island that will take you just about anywhere for a very reasonable price, usually around 75 cents, but make sure you have exact change. You can also rent a car for about $75 per day or you can hire a private car with driver if you would like a custom sightseeing tour. The driver also doubles as your guide and most are intimately familiar with the entire island.

Shopping is a popular activity in town and there are stores and other retail outlets to suit just about any budget, from upscale designer showcases to places that sell touristy type gifts that are perfect for friends and relatives or shops offering a variety of uniquely Barbadian craft items. While the Barbadian Dollar is the official currency on the island, the U.S. dollar is also readily accepted just about everywhere.

The weather is ideal most of the year. The only time it can be bad is between July and October, which is the hurricane season, when there will be more rainfall than usual. Temperatures during the day for most of the year hover in the 70’s (F), down to the 60s (F) at night. A sweater or light wrap might be desirable in the evenings.

There is much to see and do in the Bridgetown area, including visiting Harrison’s Cave and exploring the underground world of the island from an electric tram and trailer. You can view underground streams, tumbling waterfalls and deep pools of subtly lit water. Stalactites hang overhead, while others rise from the floor, creating an eerie glow that visitors find enchanting.

Visit the Flower Forest, which is a tropical paradise located on a former sugar plantation. The garden also boasts sweeping panoramic views of both the Chalky Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. While in the area, make a stop at Welchman’s Hall Gully, where you can walk a trail that winds through the island’s only remaining rain forest.

If more active pursuits are your game, Barbados is known for its spectacular diving and snorkelling opportunities. It is also a haven for just about any type of water sport, including windsurfing, fishing, kayaking and sailing.

Barbados is also home to many excellent beaches, each with its own unique charm. Some cater to the young crowd, with upscale resort hotels located nearby, along with a full range of amenities including outdoor eateries and bars, and water sports rental kiosks. Other beaches are more secluded and offer a quiet haven for people who just want to relax and enjoy the pleasures nature has to offer.

Horseback riding is also a popular activity and the Caribbean International Riding Centre has nearly 40 horses in its stables and will offer guided trail rides to people of all riding abilities. You will get to see some of the most panoramic sections of the island, including the hilly terrain of the Scotland district, where you’ll view ducks in their natural wild habitat and some of the most beautiful water lilies in all of the Caribbean.

Most people arrive in Barbados by air, but the island also has a good many cruise ships calling by. The cruise ship terminal is a modern facility located at the front door of Bridgetown, making it easy for passengers to get around the city, especially if they want to tour independently.

Whether you arrive by air or by cruise ship, staying a day or a week, Barbados is the perfect holiday destination and is sure to please the entire family.

A combination of old world colonial charm, coupled with the most modern facilities and amenities, Barbados offers a little something for everybody and a lot of long-lasting memories. It’s a place you will want to return to again and again.

From http://www.bestcruisedeal.co.uk/news_detail.asp?newsid=314/Port-Guide--Cruise-Port--Barbados

Island Destinations

2009-09-02T14:39:00.001-04:00

The Caribbean holds many great treasures when it comes to island destinations. Barbados is just one of these great places. This single island is its own independent country and is located close to South America, a bit over 250 miles from the coast of Venezuela. It is east of Saint Lucia and north of Trinidad and Tobago. The island itself is only about 165 square miles of low-lying land, but the tropical trade winds, beautiful rainforests, and, of course, lovely sandy beaches make it popular for tourist travel. You too can enjoy a vacation in Barbados.

According to the United Nations, Barbados is the fourth most developed of all the developing countries in the entire world. It may be small, but almost every resident of this island nation enjoys a very high standard of living, and this extends to the tourists who visit the country every year, so you can expect your travel in Barbados to be nothing short of fantastic.

If you plan to travel to the sunny beaches of Barbados, you will probably fly into the single major airport on the island, Sir Grantley Adams International Airport. Many major airlines fly into this airport from almost everywhere in the world, and it is actually a major hub for the Caribbean, so no matter where you are traveling in this region of the world, you may fly into Barbados to catch a flight or cruise to another island.

Some of the best things to do while you are in Barbados are centered on the beach. Surfing is very popular because the waters here are perfect for it, with the Soup Bowl, located near the town of Bathsheba, being a popular surfing destination. The western and southern coasts are most popular, and you’re sure to be able to enjoy a number of sunny days lying on the pink sand if you like to sunbathe.

However, if the beach isn’t your thing, you can also enjoy the shopping in the duty-free tourist centers. You can also check out the fun and exciting night life, the wildlife reserves, and the festivals that take part all over the island in July and August. Popular tourist destinations include Farley Hill National Park, Animal Flower Cave, Hackleton’s Cliff, Sharon Moravian Church, Orchid World, Gun Hill Signal Station, Garrison Savannah, and Barbados Historical Museum. Large towns that in Barbados in which you can stay include Bridgetown, Speightstown, Holetown, and Oistins. You can also stay in any one of the small local towns dotting the island while visiting this beautiful country.

From http://softwareagent007.blogspot.com/2009/09/island-destinations.html

Bridge Town: A Famous Tourist Places For Barbados Holidays Traveler

2009-08-25T13:14:00.001-04:00

By David

Bridge Town is the largest and capital city of Barbados and it is famous worldwide for its tourism purpose. It was once known as the Town of Saint Michael and it is located within the township of Saint Michael. It is a famous West Indies tourist destination and the city offers a wide range of attractions for its every visitor. If you are looking for an outstanding place to enjoy your holidays in an exceptional way, the city is the perfect match that will be a dream land for you.

There are plenty of attractions in Bridge Town that will please you in every possible way. All of these famous locations add more charm to your journey. The major attractions of the city are National Heroes Square and Fountain Garden, Independence Square and The Independence Arch, The Montefiore Fountain, Parliament Buildings, The Cathedral Church of Saint Michaels and All Angles and The St.Mary’s Anglican Church and many more. The harbor of the city is also a famous attraction point where you can go to enjoy boat tours in Barbados.

Bridge Town enjoys a warm and humid climate all year around and thus, it offers plenty of water sports and other amenities for its travelers. The tourists can go to the city as per their suitability as it welcomes them throughout the year in the same manner.

Being a famous tourist destination, the city of Bridgetown takes care of your staying problems in a better way. You can find good accommodation facilities here. The most famous hotels in the city include Hilton Barbados, Island Inn, Kings, Beach Hotel, and Shells Guesthouse Bed and Breakfast. The lovely beaches of the city will let you relax there and forget your tensions and worries in just a few minutes.

Bridgetown is famous for shopping and tourist take pleasure in shopping here. Don’t miss shopping here that helps you buy something different and cheap goods here. Your visit to the city of Bridgetown will be the best of your tours ever enjoyed!

From http://www.articles-heaven.com/articles/?Bridge-Town-Famous-Tourist-Places-for-Barbados-Holidays-Traveler&articleid=39764

Barbados: Little Britain

2009-08-23T17:58:00.001-04:00

Published Date: 23 August 2009

By Katie Wood

IT'S hard to be grumpy in Barbados, but I managed it. So am I a spoiled, pesky individual who would find fault in paradise? No, genuinely no. I just got rather hacked off hearing the Caribbean island constantly referred to as Little England.

Not only are there plenty of physical similarities on the east coast of Barbados to Scotland (hence it's actually called the Scotland District), but when you delve into its history there are countless strong links to north of the border. And, as we all know, nothing - well few things - irritate a Scot more than being called English.

So, since a sizeable proportion of the population has Scottish blood flowing through their veins, I politely pointed out to my new Bajan pals that it might be more accurate (and PC) to call it Little Britain.

As a break from the idyllic beach, delicious food and barrage of cocktails one normally associates with the Caribbean, I took myself off to the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, where I discovered several interesting papers that took me through the background of the "MacBajans". The first "proprietor" of Barbados was the Scotsman James Hay, Earl of Carlisle. Following the establishment of trading links between Scotland and the West Indies, Scots indentured servants were in constant demand on Barbados plantations, and many married African slaves; hence you find black Hamish MacDonalds and the like on the island today.

Three major spurs caused Scots to be banished to the island: Cromwell's victory between 1648 and 1651; the Covenanter Risings in the second half of the 17th century and the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745. There were also voluntary immigrants, as throughout the colonial period a steady trickle of Scots sought to inhabit Barbados because of the various opportunities offered by the land.

Barbados is also of special significance to genealogists, as it was the springboard for the settlement of other British colonies - notably Jamaica and South Carolina. One infamous inhabitant of Scots descent was Rachel Pringle - the illegitimate daughter of a Scottish sea captain and a local black woman, whose claim to fame is that she founded the first brothel in Barbados. That famous Scottish entrepreneurial streak strikes again.

Another link with home is the annual Celtic Festival, which takes place each spring. Pipers, dancers, choirs, a haggis night, a rugby tournament… sounds like a real home from home.

Okay, I won't pretend I spent all week leafing through dusty ancient manuscripts in the museum while it was 85 degrees of perfection outside. So what else should one not miss on the island? Well, a good start would be a trip on the Cool Runnings, a luxurious catamaran offering five-hour sails with snorkelling, lunch, hotel transfers and a free bar thrown in - well worth the £58 a head. It's great to get on the water and enjoy a rum punch, and it's a good way to see the beautiful Barbadian coastlines.

The aforementioned Scotland District, on the east coast, reminded me of Ardnamurchan. Battered by Atlantic seas (though turquoise, not the murky grey we know so well), the whole area is wild, uncommercialised and seriously beautiful. Here you find the little village of Bathsheba, huddling beneath cliffs and populated mainly by surfers.

What distinguishes Barbados from other Caribbean islands is its sophistication and infrastructure (and, come to that, the large middle class). Here you find a National Trust looking after many of the historically important buildings. Worth visiting are Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill, one of the oldest and largest surviving in the Caribbean, and Tyrol Cot Heritage Village, the former home of Sir Grantley Adams. This beautifully restored 1854 mansion, with its Barbadian antiques, is the centrepiece of an authentic chattel house village that features a market for local arts, crafts, food and drink.

The visit to the Foursquare rum distillery at St Philip is akin to a good whisky distillery tour. It's set in a beautifully landscaped park and occupies the site of an abandoned sugar factory.

The renovated St Nicholas Abbey, a Jacobean mansion dating back to 1658, is one of Barbados's most historic landmarks. There's also an 1890 steam mill, gift shop and restaurant. And don't miss the film of Barbados as it was in the 1920s, which is absolutely charming.

As a destination of only 166 square miles, but with more than 100 restaurants of every genre, Barbados is known for the quality of its food. Indeed, the range of restaurants is one of the primary reasons repeat visitors account for 40 per cent of arrivals in Barbados. If you want a really special meal, the Fish Pot, near Speightstown, is a great place to go. A favourite of Tony Blair and numerous A-list celebs, it is a relaxed beachfront location with an excellent menu and a Bajan chef who has worked in fine kitchens around the world. It has fabulous seafood, steaks, Asian fusion, creative salads, fantastic desserts and an excellent wine list - lunch costs around £80 for two.

The restaurant is attached to a cluster of luxurious suites that make up the accompanying Little Good Harbour hotel (www.littlegoodharbourbarbados.com). It offers peace, tranquillity and all the privacy of a personal villa while at the same time affording all the amenities of a hotel.

But if you prefer to lock your wallet away for the duration of your stay, Almond Beach Resorts has the monopoly on all-inclusives. It has three properties on Barbados: Almond Beach Village, with an impressive mile-long beach, five restaurants, comfortable rooms, a kids' club and all manner of land and water sports; the new Almond Beach Casuarina, which has good facilities but somewhat lacks atmosphere in the public areas and has no nightclub; and the adults-only Almond Beach Club, which has the best spa and a great location, right next to Sandy Lane, on the west coast (though service can be patchy and the beach is too small for comfort when the resort is busy). The value for money in all of them, however, is seriously good. And as a Scot, that makes real financial sense.

Fact file: Barbados

Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia (020 7636 9448, www.barbados.org)

A seven-night stay at the Almond Beach Village starts from £1,179 per person. Seven nights at the Almond Casuarina Beach starts from £999 per person. Seven nights at the Almond Beach Club & Spa starts from £1,069 per person. These prices include return international flights with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick or Manchester, direct to Barbados, and return transfers - based on two adults sharing a standard room on an all-inclusive basis.

To book, call 0844 5573 859 or visit www.virginholidays.com/almond

For more information about the hotels, call 0871 871 2828 or log on to www.almondresorts.co.uk

From http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/Barbados-Little-Britain.5577599.jp

No Barbados This Year. :(

2009-08-16T14:00:00.001-04:00

So...what happened? I still don't understand this but for about 8 years we owned 3-weeks of "lock-offs". This means we own the larger front 1-bedroom unit and the smaller studio. The 2 apartments can be used as 1 2-bedroom unit or as 2 units by locking the connecting door.

At first we used all 3 weeks but that turned out to be too long and Tom ended up coming home to work leaving me there to entertain friends.

A few years ago we decided we wanted to enter the Rental Pool to save on maintenance fees. We needed 4 weeks to put into the pool and we still wanted to be in Barbados for 2 weeks. We also wanted to get rid off the other 2 studio apartments since all our guests have already come. They didn't want all these studios, so we sold the 3rd week back to them and bought 2 cheaper units for November. So, the 2 third-week units plus the 2 November units gave us enough for the Rental Pool, saving us a bit of money each year.

All this stuff is somehow run through RCI. Unfortunately, as of yesterday, RCI had information BEFORE these sales/trades in 2006. A computer somewhere in Barbados submitted our old 3 lock-offs to RCI to be used by someone else. RCI was never updated as to what we actually own.

So...we had our plane tickets since early June. Tom needed a surgery. The hospital scheduled surgery for September 2 - when we would be in Barbados. Tom got them to change the surgery to last Tuesday so we wouldn't have to change Barbados.

I had a premonition about this trip and emailed people we know to remind them we were coming. That's when we learned that someone else had been given our weeks by RCI who thought that they were available.

So, now we have plane tickets to a place that we can't go to. We could rent a place but I sure don't want to pay thousands of dollars for something we actually own.

Everyone says that this is someone else's fault so we're out of luck.

We do have a lot of points now with RCI so we can go somewhere else but it's so close to the time to leave that not much is available. If we do find something, then we have to tackle changing the flights at this late stage of the game.

I am so angry and I feel betrayed by people who have been told time and time again over the last 10 years that we were never going to trade these two weeks.

I know I should feel lucky that I have ever been to Barbados but right now I can't see it that way.