Beautiful Barbados

From http://www.wickedlocal.com/hopedale/fun/x398375796/Rum-and-more-yo-ho-on-Barbados

Bridgetown, Barbados -

A Barbados legend insists when Englishmen partook of the brownish beverage concocted from molasses - a by-product of sugar-making - they became boisterous, bawdy and even unruly or rumbustious.

It didn't take long for the drink to be christened "rum."

The easternmost of the Caribbean islands, Barbados could easily adopt the moniker "the Island that rum built," but that is only part of the story.

Visitors to the island will discover a place of pink sand beaches, clear blue seas and friendly residents eager to share their island's beauty and history.

Bridgetown, the capital, retains its British ambience and is home to the country's Parliament Building - Barbados has been independent since 1966 but Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state.
It is also the main port and the place to head under the sea in the Atlantis III (www.atlantisadventures.com), a submarine sporting multiple windows on both its port and starboard sides so those inside don't miss any views.

As the submarine slowly descends to an offshore coral reef, schools of tropical fish glide past.
Hundreds of blue chromis - so blue they're nearly black - are the main inhabitants of the reef, but they share their home with the "school-master snapper," a gray fish with yellow spots so named because it appears to have a stern look on its face; and the chief predators of the reef, the horse-eye jack. As the submarine nears a shipwreck, much to the crowd's delight, several sea turtles slice their way through the water.

For those who prefer to stay above board, Tiami Catamaran (www.tallshipcruises.com) offers daily catamaran sailing trips. A five-hour sail hugs the shoreline, stopping a few times to allow passengers the opportunity to snorkel or swim. Cruises include lunch complete with the nation's two most recognized dishes - steamed flying fish and macaroni pie.

Back on land, grab a board and head to the island's Atlantic Coast and the best surfing in the Caribbean. Beginners would be wise to book a lesson with professional surfer Alan Burke.
In the basement of his home on Burke's Beach, Burke runs Burkie's Surf School (www.surfbarbados.net) teaching students who have ranged in age from 8 to 65.

"Barbados has an amazing amount of surfing spots. Spots that are consistent," Burke said.
A lesson in Burke's backyard about how to find the board's sweet spot, how to keep the nose of the board slightly out of the water and how to stand in one smooth move, of course becomes a harder process when clinging to a board that is being thrashed by waves - in my case at Long Beach on the calmer waters of the Caribbean.

When you've had your fill of sand and surf, Barbados offers several indoor attractions that are historical, educational and just plain fun.

St. Nicholas Abbey (www.stnicholasabbey.com), in the northern parish of St. Peter, is the second plantation house built on the island. Dating back to about 1660, the home is one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere.

The place has nothing to do with the church, but, like much of the island, was built as part of the burgeoning sugar trade. Little remains of the original homestead beyond the walls and beams, but visitors can tour the buildings and grounds to get a glimpse of what life was like for the historic privileged few on the island.

For a look into the lives of common Bajans, as locals are called, head to Speightstown and the Arlington House Museum (www.arlingtonbarbados.com). The museum is located in a three-story home with a steeply pitched gable roof, dormer windows and a veranda on its northern side that 200 years ago was home to the Skinners, a merchant family. It's a classic example of a Single House - a house that's one room wide on the street but can be several rooms deep.

Life in the 1800s centered on fishing, sugar cane and trade with England. Speightstown was once called Little Bristol after the English port city of Bristol, a major trading post with the island.
The museum offers historic maps, photographs and prints that tell the history of Barbados, with interactive videos and a movie outlining the story of slaves brought from Africa and the sugar trade.

Visitors can also learn about the island's most famous pirate, Stede Bonnet, a wealthy plantation owner who ditched conformity and joined forces with Blackbeard.

Though it's hard to prove any pirate ever burst into song with, "Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum," the beverage is an important part of the island's economy and lifestyle.

At the center of that story is Mount Gay Rum and its factory in Bridgetown which produces 10,000 bottles a day.

You can take a tour of the facility (www.barbados.org/mountgay.htm) and learn about founder Sir John Gay Alleyne, see the various stages in the rum-making process and even sample the end product that is part of everyday life on the island.

"When you're holding a bottle of Mount Gay, you're not just holding a bottle," said Maria Elias, a tour guide at the factory. "You're holding the history of Barbados."

If you go:

GETTING THERE: American Airlines (www.aa.com) offers connecting flights via New York's JFK and Miami; Delta (www.delta.com) through Atlanta.

STAYING THERE: The Hilton Barbados is located on Needham's Point just five minutes from Bridgetown. The two-towered structure offers 350 guest rooms, two swimming pools, two private beaches and a fitness center. Rooms from $299 per night (www.hiltoncaribbean.com/barbados).
The Crane Resort and Residences offers upscale accommodations, overlooking its private pink sand beach. Rates run from $300 per night for a garden-view junior suite to $2,100 per night for a three-bedroom penthouse with ocean views and a private pool (www.thecrane.com).

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.visitbarbados.org.

(Find more travel features and the Get Away with Fran blog at www.wickedlocal.com/travel)

http://bajanreporter.blogspot.com/2008/10/nature-sanctuary-in-barbados-forced-to.html

For the last 18 months, Barbados Free Press staged an uphill battle against the destruction of the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, with this News-Blog adding its voice where appropriate. I have even gone so far as to e-mail Dr Karl Watson and get his view on some of the international visitors of the feathered kind that grace the Graeme Hall Swamp...

But now it appears as though it is too late, despite Barbados Underground joining in the fray -

Environmental philanthropist Peter Allard announced that the 35-acre Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary in Barbados will close on December 15, 2008.

Saying that “no one individual can stand longer than a generation in the wilderness of environmental preservation,” Allard despaired that to preserve the environmental heritage at Graeme Hall for future generations of Barbadians would require “a government-led consciousness.”

“I thank the the citizens of Barbados who came to the Sanctuary to visit, and thank those who signed the petition with the Friends of Graeme Hall for a National Park,” said Allard. “I believe the Sanctuary would not have been possible without the support of the many eco-visitors, school children and the hard-working employees who put their heart and soul into making the Sanctuary a first class visitor experience.”

Allard went on to say that the Sanctuary would not exist if it had not been for special individuals who helped make it happen such as Dame Billie Miller and her kind and capable Permanent Secretary, the late Brie St. John, Dr. Lorna Inniss, Dr. Trevor Carmichael, Dr. Karl Watson and many, many others.

Approximately 85 employees and contractors will be negatively affected by the closing. It is expected that tour companies, taxis and local businesses will lose bookings as well.

In 2007, over 6,000 Barbadians signed a Friends of Graeme Hall petition in favor of preserving the approximately 240 acre green area at Graeme Hall as a National Park. As the largest green space on the South Coast between the Airport and Bridgetown, the proposed National Park would include the designated 91-acre RAMSAR wetland approved under the international Convention on Wetlands, the 35-acre Sanctuary, and recreational lands.

Saying that that the future of the Sanctuary and the National Park is in the hands of the people of Barbados, Allard believes that the Friends of Graeme Hall and the citizens of Barbados must decide what their priorities are.

“We have great affection and regard for the people of Barbados, and the Sanctuary effort has always been a philanthropic mission. This has been an incredibly painful and saddening decision, but ultimately it is not for us to initiate or set national goals and long term legacies for the nation.”

http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/caribbean/articles/2008/10/19/measured_by_the_foot/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed3#

Pure air, pristine beaches, and miles of byways make hiking eye-opening

By Patricia Borns

Globe Correspondent / October 19, 2008

Belair is where Barbados's tourist industry got its start. Codrington College in St. John Parish opened in 1745 and is the oldest Anglican theological school in the hemisphere. (Patricia Born for The Boston Globe)

The young British fencing coach had left her friends on the beach to go hiking. It was her first time in the Caribbean.

"Hot weather doesn't normally agree with me," she said, nor, she admitted, had hiking. "At home it's an older person's sport."

We met in the East Coast village of Bathsheba, where some 50 outdoors lovers had materialized like a scene from "Field of Dreams." We hiked for four hours, fumbling through light woods and lianas (woody tropical vines); crowding reverently into a former slave chapel smothered in bush; laboring up Melvin Hill to a fisheye-lens view of the green Chimborazo valley below; and over coral promontories where Atlantic waves exploded in furies of spray.

Our guides, George Medford and Carl Fenty, reminded us that the wind washing over us travels some 2,600 miles across the ocean to this coast from The Gambia in West Africa and is some of the purest air in the world.

"This track was part of the Barbados Railway built to transport sugar cane and tourists," said Fenty. "It went bust five times before ceasing operation under its last owner, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. A first-class seat with champagne cost 48 cents; when the train stalled, the third class got out and pushed."

As we spilled down a heathered slope to the seascape of Cattlewash, raw and romantic in the Byronic sense, the fencer turned to me with shining eyes. "I'm definitely coming back here," she said.

While Barbados can be enjoyed without ever leaving West Coast Highway 1, which is fringed with beaches and hotels, a local passion for walking has created opportunities to explore more than 800 miles of roads at little or no cost. Our trek was one of 45 rambles offered free by Hike Barbados, a program of the Barbados National Trust. No reservations are necessary: Simply meet Sunday morning or afternoon at the designated location, break into groups according to pace, and experience a 6-to-14-mile slice of the island that you might not otherwise see.

"Everything we encounter has a reason in history. Our early settlers planted those palms around their plantations so insect-eating birds could nest in safety," said Victor Cooke, a professional guide and National Trust volunteer, on a hike in rural St. Lucy Parish. "Those mahogany trees were planted near the driveway to shade workers waiting to begin the day. You always see these peas planted at the edges of fields. They were used to make jug-jug, a Christmas stew."

It seemed to my fiance, Ron, and me, that at least half of our company were Bajans (or Barbadians), not visitors like us. Richard Goddard, a program founder, explained, "Hike Barbados started not as a tourist attraction but as a way to connect our own people with their environment and heritage."

We noticed several hikers wearing T-shirts inscribed "the Colin Hudson Hike," commemorating a Hike Barbados leader who died a national hero for his advocacy of sustainable development.

If the turnout for the St. Lucy hike was a good indicator, more Bajans than ever are hitting the trails. When we passed through villages (and increasingly, subdivisions), children and grandparents greeted us with a "Good morning" or "All right," as if the sight of 60 backpackers strung out in twos and threes was an everyday occurrence.

Hiking changed our vacation from the lazy idyll we had planned. We began buying rock cakes of dense Bajan coconut bread for carb fuel and saving empty water bottles to fill at the ubiquitous roadside stand pipes, the island's first water supply fed by underground springs. Our pockets bulged with chips of 18th-century blue and white porcelain, clay pipe stems, and wisps of Sea Island cotton. The best prize, an Amerindian adze made of conch shell, was found and given to us by a local insurance agent who placed its age at 500 to 1,000 years.

Members of smaller groups invited us to join their hikes. One, a Wednesday trek in St. John Parish, climbed to soaring views of Consett Bay and Ragged Point; crossed the gold-grained sand of Bath beach; slogged up Society Hill; and lingered beside the lily pond at Codrington College, where young West Indians study theology in the hush of majestic coral stone buildings.

An ambassador's wife told us about BH3, the Barbados Hash House Harriers, part of an international network whose free outings are modeled on the English schoolboy game Hares and Hounds. The group meets at locations across the island every Saturday at 4 p.m. and welcomes walkers as well as runners.

We tried them all.

Who would have guessed that a 21-by-14-mile island could seem so large and varied? The meandering quality of the roads contributes to a perennial sense of discovery - and to the frequent experience of getting lost.

"Every road in Barbados leads to your destination - eventually," Thomas Loftfield, an assistant director at the Barbados Museum, said reassuringly. The museum's collection of early maps clarifies why this is so. By 1645, English settlers had almost completely deforested Barbados and replanted it with sugarcane, which would drive the economy for the next 350 years. Today's roads and public rights of way are a web of those 17th-century cart paths and cane field intervals.

If there is a successor to Colin Hudson as the articulator of Barbadian byways, Adrian Loveridge might be it. "It's almost painful to reveal the spectacular beaches encountered on this hike," said Loveridge as we picked our way along five miles of the East Coast from Bottom Bay to Crane Beach in St. Philip Parish. Together with his wife, Margaret, Loveridge has packaged six hikes with a stay at the couple's hotel Peach and Quiet, in Christ Church Parish, located near one of Barbados's best unpublicized beaches.

We were seeing the others now: Ginger Bay, Harry Smith Beach, Sam Lord's Beach, and Belair. From a tourist map, you might never know they existed or were accessible by car or bus.

"Barbados was born when the original [tectonic] plate fragmented and the Caribbean portion slid beneath the Atlantic one," Loveridge said as we wound among fossilized crags. "Corals thrived in the shallow water this created, and with a final tectonic push, up came our coral-capped island - you're walking on the ancient, submerged plate now."

A staircased ruin appeared weirdly at the shore's edge. "Three guesses as to what this is," Loveridge challenged us.

"The remains of a health spa," he said. "Picture ladies in Victorian bathing costumes being carried to the beach in litters hoisted by Bajan men."

Invariably the hikes ended with some of us removing to a restaurant or rum shop, where we didn't hesitate to try a full-sugar-strength Plus or caloric staple like macaroni and cheese pie. Moving slowly and poetically through beautiful scenery is one of the pleasures of a walking vacation, but guiltless enjoyment of food shouldn't be overlooked.

We ate our hearts out and returned home tanned and toned, having lost a total of six pounds.

Patricia Borns can be reached at patriciaborns@comcast.net.

http://www.nationnews.com/story/292783277425144.php

Barbados wins top awards at craft show
Published on: 10/5/08.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce George Hutson (left) dancing to Soca Junkie by Mr Dale (backing) as his wife Isabel (second from left) and Carl Lewis, corporate banking director of FirstCaribbean International, look on.

BARBADOS walked away with the top prize Friday night at the Best Of Show Awards Ceremony of the 15th Caribbean Gift And Craft Show 2008.

An ecstatic Angela Went, designer of Angelique Custom Creations, won the coveted Best Of Show Award for her unique copper jewellery, beating out more than 200 exhibitors, who showcased their products over the last four days at Sherbourne Conference Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael.

Barbados also won Best Booth through Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean Inc. and Best Design School (Graphics & Communication) via Barbados Community College (BCC).

Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce George Hutson congratulated winners, noting the high quality of craftsmanship and their contributions to gross domestic product (GDP).

"When we consider gift and craft as a business sector, we think of small and micro business persons. Nevertheless, there is substantial contribution to the GDP that is made by this sector, both in terms of employment and in terms of foreign exchange earnings," the minister said.

He called for greater support from all sectors "to aid in the sustainable development of our craft industry". (TM)

from http://74.52.200.226/~sefarad/lm/015/page26.html

 

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS W.I. 1654 Old Synagogue & Cemetery

 

The present Jewish community of Barbados continues to maintain and use the cemetery which surrounds this historic synagogue. However, with the sale of the synagogue in 1929 by the last remaining Jews from the original congregation, there was a lapse of three years before the first member of the present congregation, Moses Altman, arrived in 1932. By this time artefacts had been removed; some sold to visitors found their way into private homes and museums. The original eight chandeliers, wall brackets and several other items are in the Barbados Museum and two standing lamps were given to Moses Altman to be used by his congregation. At first, services were held at his residence; with the growth of the community to thirty families, a property was purchased and adapted to the use of worship. The original synagogue located in the centre of Bridgetown, had been converted into commercial space. Before 1983, several attempts were made to restore the cemetery, and a positive achievement was its improved maintenance. Sadly however, in the effort to tidy-up, many old tombstones (dating back to 1660) were moved from their original positions.

The acquisition of the Synagogue building was not contemplated before 1980. It appears as if the problems encountered in efforts to improve the cemetery discouraged any further plans.

By 1983 government had made plans to build a new Supreme Court building, acquiring the synagogue building and a number of properties surrounding it. A member of the local Jewish Community and grandson of Moses Altman, Paul B. Altman, was successful in obtaining governmental support for the restoration. Former Prime Minister, the late Tom Adams, had taken a personal interest in the restoration project. This interest has extended into the present administration. A local committee has been organized. Overseas organizations have offered assistance with main support coming from the Commonwealth Jewish Trust and from visitors have offered assistance and the project has become a reality. A restored synagogue will represent an important link in Jewish history as a reminder of the route of the original Jewish settlers took to North America. It will represent one of the two oldest synagogues in the Western hemisphere and will be a place of worship for Barbadian Jews as well as for many Jewish visitors to Barbados. It will have historical significance for all.

HISTORY OF THE SYNAGOGUE

The old synagogue, located about 200 yards from Broad Street, the main shopping street in Bridgetown, had its origins soon after the first British settlement in 1627 with the exodus of Jews from Recife, Brazil in 1654. A group of those who had fled Recife for Amsterdam, upon learning that Oliver Cromwell had opened British domains to Jews, applied for and secured permission to settle in Barbados. Among them were members of the de Mercado family. Aaron de Mercado died in 1660 and became the second Jew known to have been buried in Barbados. The prime organiser of the congregation Nidhe Israel (The scattered of Israel) was a Recife Jew, Lewis Dias, alias Joseph Jesurum Mendes and the earliest reference to the synagogue is found in a deed of conveyance of land adjoining, the Jewish property dated September 1661, and vestry minutes of that period also date the old synagogue to the late 1660’s. Public worship for Jews in Barbados came in 1654, three years ahead of London.

The old synagogue in Barbados can boast of being one of the two oldest synagogue in the Western hemisphere and similar in age to the synagogue in Curaçao which has become a landmark of that Island. (Of interest, two Barbadian Jews established the beginning of a Jewish community in Rhode Island, USA in 1677 and it was another Barbadian Jew who was responsible in 1682 for purchasing the plot of land that is today the oldest surviving Jewish graveyard in North America, at Chatham Square, New York).

The hurricane of 1831 destroyed most of our original synagogue and on 29 March 1833, the present building was dedicated, constructed at a cost of 4000 L. The moving spirit behind the rebuilding was Dr Hart-Lyon, a jeweller who together with ninety other influential Jews, raised the necessary funds.

The following extract is taken from the Barbados Globe of 1 April 1833 as reprinted in Mr E.M. Shilston’s work Monumental Inscriptions in the Jewish Cemetery, Bridgetown, Barbados.

“About three of the clock on a bright and sunny afternoon in the month of march 1833, the people of the Hebrew Nation in Bridgetown, Barbados, commenced to assemble in the courts and avenues of their Synagogue, and in the course of an hour, They were joined by a number of the most respectable inhabitants, the ladies of grace, fashion and beauty (admitted to the galleries) to witness the interesting and impressive ceremony before them. It was the day that would ever stand eminently distinguished in the annals of the Hebrew Community of the town prophesied the editor of the Barbados Globe.

“The building occupied an area of two thousand square feet, fifty feet long and forty feet wide. It was thirty-seven feet high and received considerable strength from the rounding of the angles, which were capped with large antique censers uniting a balustrated parapet all round, the roof being hardly visible.

The windows were lancet shaped and tastefully harmonised with the proportions of the building side, covered with a Gothic Hood, led to the gallery within; the whole of the exterior was lightly tinged of stone-colour, and scored in blocks, the appearance altogether was classical and chaste…

The interior correspond with the outer appearance; a light and tasteful gallery occupied three sides of the interior supported by neat Doric columns. The Reader’s desk in the body of the edifice was sufficiently elevated to give a conspicuous view of the person officiating. From the ceiling was suspended at each corner in front of the gallery a single brass chandelier of eight lights, and in the centre, one of similar kind containing twenty-four.

The area of the building was paved in alternate squares of black and white marble; and the ceiling, painted in relief produced a most pleasing effect, as well from artist-like manner in which it was executed as from the chasteness of its design. It was computed to hold about three hundred persons.

The cost of this building, L 4.000 in Island currency, was defrayed by the ninety influential Jews resident in Barbados. Mr Hart-Lyon, a Jeweller was the moving spirit in its rebuilding”.

A fall In sugar prices led to emigration of most of the Jewish community from Barbados and by 1900 only seventeen Jews remained. The synagogue was sold in 1929 by private treaty with only one Jew remaining. It was converted into offices and continued under this use until the end of 1993 when it was compulsorily acquired by government with plans to demolish it and erect a new Supreme Court building. The Jewish community, with the support of the Barbados National Trust and Caribbean Conservation Association were able to persuade government to accept plans for a restoration project.

(An attempt had been made in 1929 by Mr Eustace M. Shildstone a Barbadian lawyer and non-Jew, to purchase the synagogue for preservation as a national memorial to the Jews of Barbados and because of its historical and antiquarian connections).

Lord Bernstein

From http://ftpsurfer.com/09/19/beautiful-island-nation-of-barbados/

Located far out in the Atlantic Ocean, there are few places more beautiful than the island nation of Barbados. Featuring stunning island scenery and a rich culture, Barbados is worth a visit of its own merit. Surfers though will especially want to make time and save money for a trip to experience the world-class waves that form off the coasts of Barbados.

A coral reef stretches around Barbados, reining in the waves and allowing the swell to be more consistent than usual. Because of the island’s position in the Atlantic Ocean, waves can travel thousands of miles to finally break on the shore of Barbados. These two factors make surfing a possibility almost every day of the year, without too much difficulty in finding a spot. The east coast of the island is especially popular among surfers, because it has what many contend to be the best waves. The south coast is popular because a variety of surfing conditions from one side of the coast to the other allow you to decide what you want to surf and when.

Barbados is warm and sunny the whole year, with temperatures ranging from 75 degrees to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and not getting much higher or lower than that, except in rare circumstances. A wind coming from the northeast blows steadily so that the island is not unbearably hot. When it does rain, it is only in small showers and is usually in the later half of the year, so for the first part of the summer you can expect it to be dry. Water temperature stays in the mid-80s.

A popular surf spot on the eastern coast of Barbados is called the Soup Bowl, and its world-class waves are known far and wide among dedicated surfers. Even with this in mind, the crowds tend to be manageable throughout the week and the year. Parking is limited, but getting to the spot is fairly easy since Barbados isn’t too large of an island. It is generally recommended that the best time to go is from September to November in order to take advantage of the good weather and the excellent waves.

From http://blog.thecrane.com/zen-barbados-top-restaurant/

The Crane thanks all its valued members and guests for helping us making Zen the top restaurant on the island, as noted by the 2009 Zagat Guide to Barbados. Beating out traditional favourites, our Japanese and Thai signature restaurant was named Top in the Food category of all restaurants in Barbados.

Perched atop a cliff overlooking Crane Beach, Zen restaurant took the top rating in the Food category, of all restaurants on the island. The restaurant, which features classic Thai and Japanese cuisine, has a fantastic panoramic ocean view, traditional Grand Tatami room, an exquisite sushi bar and private rooms for dining. It’s no wonder that reviewers declare it is “worth the drive” for Zen’s delicious cuisine.

We are extremely proud to be the home of the top restaurant in Barbados!

The accolades were presented to The Crane at Zagat’s award ceremony held at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion in St. James on Saturday, September 13.

Both Zen and L’Azure restaurants were honoured with ratings in the ‘Top Ten Most Popular Restaurants’ and ‘Top Hotel Dining’ categories. L’Azure was praised for its “incredible Gospel Sunday brunch” and described by one reviewer as “heaven on earth.”

The Best of Barbados Guide is the only Zagat Guide for a Caribbean destination. Now in its third year, the 2009 Guide features 181 restaurants, night spots, attractions and golf courses stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Caribbean Sea. The ratings and reviews are based on the collective opinions of more than 1,500 savvy locals and frequent visitors.

About Zagat Survey:
Zagat Survey is the world’s leading provider of consumer survey-based leisure content. With more than 250,000 surveyors, Zagat Survey rates and reviews restaurants, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories.

Zen Restaurant's Grand Tatami Room