Beautiful Barbados

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

September 18, 2009 by Phil Stilton

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Bridgetown, Barbados -  Just south of Bridgetown in Barbados, you’ll find one of the nicest stretches of beaches in the Caribbean from Carlisle Bay to Needham Point.  Mixed in these beautiful and picturesque beaches, you’ll find Charles Fort on the grounds of the Barbados Hilton.

The fort was built in 1650 by the British Navy to protect the capital of Bridgetown and Carlisle Bay from attack by Pirates, Spaniards and whoever else might have come by to take the Island away from the British.     

After years of neglect, the fort has been restored into a historical eco park of sorts.  A brick lined walkway was constructed that winds through the ramparts and overlooks of the fort, passing by 24 cannons that have been retrieved from the seas in one of the most picturesque settings you can find in the Caribbean.

Nearby you can also find Anns fort which was built in the early 1700’s to compliment Charlesfort.    The fort lies next to the new Barbados Hilton.   You can make an entire day out of Charles Fort and Anns Fort by adding a hotel day pass at the Hilton in which you can use their pools, spas and facilities while spending time at the fort.

Hint for parents:  If you plan on visiting the forts of Caribbean, bring some pirate attire for the children.  A bandana, eyepatch and plastic saber would do the trick and make it an enjoyable exeperience they’ll never forget.  Otherwise, they’re just being forced to look at a bunch of old junk with mom and dad.

About Cruise News Network & Tropical Ports
Tropical Ports is home of the world’s only interactive online Cruise Ship Tracking software.  Cruise News Network is a family travel blog.

 

From http://www.jacksonnjonline.com/2009/09/18/things-to-do-in-barbados-charles-fort-cannon-walk-at-the-barbados-hilton/

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

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

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

From http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/travel/2009/05/23/caribbean-rum-reggae-and-sun-in-barbados-115875-21381724/

Ryan Parry checks in and chills out on one of the Caribbean’s most laid-back islands

Dazzling white beach, crystal clear water and a rum punch within reach – heaven on earth.

Most Caribbean islands evoke the usual cliches about “paradise”. But in Barbados the cliche becomes reality.

With its endless palm-lined beaches, luxury resorts and laid-back locals, it’s the dream destination for millions of Brits.

It’s also a firm favourite with celebrities such as Simon Cowell, Wayne Rooney and Sir Cliff Richard who has a house there.

It’s my fifth time on the island and I’m desperate to get back.

We stayed at the Almond Casuarina Beach resort on Dover Beach on the south coast.

This 10-acre all-inclusive gem in its elegant but natural setting is as relaxing as it gets.

There are three pools to lounge by and a stunning section of beach feet away.

The only brief interruption to my tanning came when a handful of pesky kids ignored the “No Under 16s” notice by the pool and plunged in. Ah well.

Just four miles from the capital Bridgetown, and five miles from the airport, the resort is a  four-star, 267-room hotel offering snorkelling, windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, a gym and tennis.

It also has three fantastic gourmet restaurants serving an a la carte menu.

One day we popped over to the adults-only Almond Beach Club  – literally a stone’s throw from the celeb haunt of Sandy Lane.

It’s also just spitting distance from St Lawrence Gap, a mile-long street teeming with clubs pumping out calypso, reggae, jazz and R&B.

Here you’ll find McBrides Pub which offers the perfect way to cool off after a hard day baking in the sun. With happy hour from 11pm to 1am every night and live reggae music, it’s a great way to unwind.

A short walk away you’ll find The Ship Inn, another favourite with Brits. Both are rammed at weekends so go midweek.

And after a few drinks you can’t miss Barnacle Bill’s BBQ which starts at 10.30pm for late-night munchies.

Food is a real treat in Barbados. With plenty of local fresh fish, shellfish and tropical fruit, it’s also good value for money.

But if you fancy a special treat, try the open-air Cliff restaurant in St James. It’s situated on top of a high coral cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea and has the food and service to match the scenery.

At night the tiny beach below is illuminated to add to the romance of the setting. But you’ll have to book early during peak season.

There’s more to Barbados than beaches and booze though.

This former British colony is obsessed with horse racing, polo and of course cricket. Then there are the plantation houses, botanical gardens and military forts.

The capital, Bridgetown, is one of the oldest cities in the Caribbean and offers decent restaurants and nightlife.

You can even combine culture with booze.

We stopped by the 250-year-old Four Square Rum Factory which sits amid fields of sugar cane.

Our guided tour was followed by a tasting session – although the owner’s son was less than impressed when we necked six test tubes of his finest rum and then stumbled around making inappropriate jokes.

Luckily, for shaking off a hangover, a visit to Silver Rock on the east coast is ideal. Here you will meet windsurfing legend Brian “Action Man” Talma.

He will teach you to surf, windsurf, kite-surf and just about anything else in the water. Always smiling, he bounces around his beach using the word “action” more times than strictly necessary, but he cooks a mean BBQ on the porch of his De Action Shop.

The east coast beaches have the biggest waves and are popular with surfies. But they also have dangerous currents, so swim at your peril.

Barbados is also known for its snorkelling and dive sites. I went out to Carlisle Bay with the guys from Dive Barbados Blue. There are four shipwrecks here teeming with aquatic life and near by sea turtles hang out looking for food.

Because the east coast is less built up, it’s easy to find a secluded beach.

A day out I’d definitely recommend here is Sunday Gospel Brunch at The Crane. You help yourself from a fantastic buffet while being serenaded by gospel singers.

After that you can stroll down to the stunning beach – voted one of the top five in the world.

On Friday or Saturday nights you have to get over to Oistins, a tiny fishing village in the parish of Christ Church. Hundreds of locals and visitors flock here for Fish-Fry. A ramshackle gathering of sidewalk stalls combine to make up dozens of tiny restaurants . Local arts and craftsmen display their wares while a reggae band keeps the party going into the night.

Our evening was interrupted when a power-cut swept across the island leaving Oistins in darkness except for the glow of the barbecues. Time to hit the generator-powered hotel bar. Mine’s a pina colada – with a sparkler please.

My top five..

1 Oistins fishing village – Fish-Fry Friday and Saturday night when every kind of fish is BBQd, fried or grilled.

2 The Crane hotel beach –  breathtaking must-visit spot on the east coast.

3 The Ship Inn – guaranteed good night out in the St Lawrence Gap, pick a night with live reggae music.

4 Four Square Rum Factory – interesting distillery tour with rum tasting session at the end.

5 The Cliff – expensive special treat but worth every penny.

GETTING THERE

Seven nights at the four-star premium Almond Casuarina Beach starts from £1,059pp all-inclusive. Price includes return flights with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick direct to Barbados and return transfers. Price also includes taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Prices are based on two adults sharing a standard room.

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

For more information about the hotel visit www.almondresorts.co.uk or call 0871 871 2828.

For more information on Barbados visit the Tourism Authority at www.visitbarbados.org.

Virgin Atlantic flies from London Gatwick to Barbados daily. Fares start from £449 inclusive of taxes and can be booked at www.virginatlantic.com or by calling 08705 747 747. Premium economy fares start from £759.

For kiting, windsurfing, surfing, fishing or just learning how to blow the conch shell visit De Action Beach Shop at Silver Sands. www.briantalma.com.

For diving visit www.divebarbadosblue.com or call (246) 434 5764

Websites for walking tours: www.hfholidays.co.uk/guidedwalking/barbados (020 8732 1220), www.ramblersholidays.co.uk

(01707 331133) or www.peachandquiet.com

Seven nights at the four-star premium Almond Casuarina Beach starts from £1,059pp all-inclusive. Price includes return flights with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick direct to Barbados and return transfers. Price also includes taxes and fuel surcharges which are subject to change. Prices are based on two adults sharing a standard room.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/country-profile/barbados

Country profile: Barbados

Facts and statistics on Barbados including history, population, politics, geography, economy, religion and climate

• The Guardian, Saturday 18 April 2009
• Article history

Map of Barbados. Source: Graphic

Potted history of the country: With Caribs long gone from Barbados, British settlers found the island uninhibited on their arrival in 1627. The demand for sugar, rum and molasses made it a common destination for slaves, and the industries flourished long after the abolition of slavery in 1834. The nation retains a strong British culture, four decades after independence in 1966.

1. At a glance
2. Location: The most easterly of the Caribbean islands
3. Neighbours: Trinidad
4. Size: 166 square miles
5. Population: 273,987 (180th)
6. Density: 1,650.5 people per square mile
7. Capital city: Bridgetown (population 116,000)
8. Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II
   Head of government: Prime minister David Thompson
9. Currency: Barbados dollar
10. Time zone: Barbados time (-4 hours)
11. International dialling code: +1 246
12. Website: barbados.gov.bb
13. Data correct on Saturday 18 April 2009

Political pressure points: The prime minister, David Thompson, in power since January 2008, won a no-confidence vote in March over his handling of a financial crisis involving the troubled insurer CLICO. The Barbados Labour party had accused him of masking the extent of an emergency that threatens jobs and pensions.

Population mix: African-Caribbean 80%, European 4%, mixed 16%

Religious makeup: Protestant 36%, Catholic 3%, Muslim 1%

Main languages: English

Living national icons: Kamau Brathwaite (writer), George Lamming (writer), Rihanna (singer), Sir Garry Sobers (cricketer, retired), Obadele Thompson (athletics)

Barbados on a map. Source: Graphic

Landscape and climate: Almost completely encircled by coral reefs, the easternmost Caribbean island's position, tropical climate and gently sloping limestone plains make it fertile growing ground for sugarcane, which covers about 80% of the island's surface. The wet season runs from June to November and the dry season from December to May.

Highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 metres

Area covered by water: Less than one square mile

Healthcare and disease: Occasional outbreaks of Dengue fever are among the few concerns on an island that has some of the best healthcare facilities in the region. The government is funding a $90m (£64m) programme to reduce the country's prevalence of HIV nearer the Caribbean average of 1.2%.

Average life expectancy (m/f): 72/78

Average number of children per mother: 1.5

Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births: 16

Infant deaths per 1,000 births: 12

Adults HIV/Aids rate: 1.5%

Doctors per 1,000 head of population: 1.2

Adult literacy rate: 99.7% (m 99.7%/f 99.7%)

Economic outlook: The end of the construction boom has hurt the tourism industry, and foreign exchange earnings have suffered as offshore banking activities have slowed. The government has committed to stronger trade ties with China.

Main industries: Tourism, banking, insurance, rum

Key crops/livestock: Sweet potatoes, coconuts, poultry

Key export: Rum

GDP: £1,752m (145th)

GDP per head: £5,980

Unemployment rate: 9.8%

Proportion of global carbon emissions: 0.01%

Most popular tourist attractions: Enterprise beach, one of the most popular white-sand beaches, the Andromeda botanic gardens

Local recommendation: A tour of the 350-year-old Sunbury Plantation House, 25 minutes from Bridgetown in the St Philip countryside

Traditional dish: Coucou (cornmeal and okra paste) and flying fish

Foreign tourist visitors per year: 547,534

Media freedom index (ranked out of 173): n/a

Did you know ... Road tennis, originally played on quiet streets with a wooden paddle and a de-fuzzed tennis ball was invented on the island.

National anthem:
We write our names on history's page
With expectations great
Strict guardians of our heritage
Firm craftsmen of our fate

· Information correct on date of first publication, Saturday 18 April 2009.

From http://blog.atlastravelweb.com/2008/12/barbados-port-overview/

Barbados is one of the best developed, most popular tourist destinations of the southern Caribbean. Often called the “Little England” of the Caribbean, blends the finer elements of British tradition with warm island hospitality. Located relatively close to South America, the nation of Barbados is around 270 miles northeast of Venezuela.  Explore the many beaches, rolling countryside, charming villages, old sugar mills and plantations that represent the colonial past of the island. Tour the East Coast where the Atlantic Ocean’s waves are a surfer’s paradise. Shop in the capital city or stay out late to party in the nightlife. The average annual temperature ranges from 70°F–87°F.

Ships dock at the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal, about a mile west of downtown Bridgetown.  You can shop for crafts and souvenirs in the terminal area. Barbados offers plenty of duty free shopping for jewelry, perfumes, liquor, pottery & cigars. Not interested in shopping, enjoy Barbados’ endless beaches, natural beauty, attractions and fine dining.  You can tour Barbados via car, 4 x 4, bus, catamaran or helicopter.  Snorkeling and scuba diving are popular shore excursions as well.

Rather than use the cruise line’s shore excursions, we wanted to book a private tour to create our own itinerary. We booked through Glory tours. Confirming everything via email was easy. Please note that the tour operators cannot come all the way to the ship, so there is about a 1/4 mile walk to where you meet up with the tour guides. Our interests were the Mt. Gay Rum Factory, the Barbados Wildlife reserve, Harrison’s Cave, St. John’s Church & Bathsheba.

The day did not go exactly as planned. There had been a small earthquake the day before and it was rumored that there may be an aftershock. So we opted for a 1/2 day tour rather than a full day. We got great pictures of area beaches and made it to the Wildlife Reserve. If I had it to do again, I would have skipped the reserve. Although it was interesting, it took up too much time and I did not get to see a Green monkey which was the main reasons I wanted to go and see them in their habitat. Apparently the monkeys normally come out around feeding time which is 3 p.m.  In my opinion, there are many other “must-sees” that you should spend your day in port enjoying:

Harrison’s Cave:  Travel through the winding tunnels in specially designed trams and make your way into the specially lighted caverns, view the majestic stalactites and stalagmites which have been growing from the floors and ceilings for many centuries. Cascading through the caves, the crystal blue waters form magnificent pools and waterfalls.
Get their early to avoid the lines.

Bathsheba:  It is said that Bathsheba, wife of King David, bathed in milk to keep her skin beautiful and soft. The surf covered white waters of Bathsheba are said to resemble Bathsheba’s bath in both appearance and health giving value. It is breathtakingly beautiful dramatic coastline of striking rock formations against which the Atlantic rollers break in cascades of foam.

Mt. Gay Rum Factory:  Discover the colorful history of Mount Gay Rum Learn how the world’s finest rum is made and then taste it. Enjoy Bajan cuisine in the verandah restaurant overlooking the sea. Then take home a taste of the Good Times from their store.

In speaking to other cruisers, they really enjoyed the Turtle and shipwreck snorkel excursion.

We are looking forward to going back to see these island highlights. 

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)

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

Yesterday we ended up going to breakfast again here at the Crane.  We ran into four of the 8 others from the bus and talked with them a little.

I spent the rest of the morning lazing around - I do that a lot here - and Tom worked  - he does that a lot, too!  He had a meeting in Black Rock around noon.  I went in the little pool.

Finally, about 4:30PM on the next to the last day, we went in the big pool and outdoor, under-the-stars, Jacuzzi.  We ran into those same four again.  I guess they were having a lazy day, too.

Not much else of interest.  We're cleaning up leftovers since we're leaving Saturday.  We go through Charlotte, NC.  I see that the latest hurricane is supposed to hit that day.  Maybe we'll stay here longer - I wish!  I think Tom is ready to get back but I'm not.  He had another new job come in last night, so that's at least 2 new jobs since we got here.  He has a trip planned for Arizona next week, already getting back into the rat race.  Me, I could laze around forever given the choice.

Here's a list of some of the activities here in Barbados.  I'm sure I'm missing some but I'll add those next year!  Years listed before 2006 are guesses since my memory isn't that great.

To add...We've also been to Tyrol Cot, about 2005.

As usual, the rest of Wednesday didn't work out quite how I thought it would.  We ended up going out to breakfast at the Crane and saw that the surf was a little high, possibly due to one of the hurricanes forming out to sea.  So, we decided that we wouldn't have the afternoon as an ocean day but would go to the pool instead.

Tom did some work and I did some reading/napping and he got a new job coming in.  So, it was about 3 before he suggested that it was pool-time.  I thought I should take a serious nap since we'd be out all night at the Bajan Roots and Rhythms show (this site has music and video) at the Plantation.

So, I stopped the pretense and put down my book and fell asleep for real.  Tom continued working, calling people, checking email - the usual.

About 5, we started getting ready since the shuttle pick-up was 5:30.  We got to the Plantation early - our shuttle was the first one there - even before the payment booths were open.  That was a first for us, to be anywhere early.

We talked to others from our shuttle and the nice crew of the Plantation set up a table so that all 10 of us from the Crane could sit together.  That was nice and we got to talk to others from here.  One couple is staying right over us, in 221.   They had spent the day driving around, getting lost, making their way up to Bathsheba.

We all got our complementary drinks and were taken to our table, very close to the front.  Last time we were a little closer - actually on the dance floor - but those are four little round tables.  Since we were a group we had a nice large table with more room for our food and drinks.  We were as close as we could be without being on the dance floor.

The waitress kept bringing us more drinks.  I finished my one rum punch and switched over to piña coladas.  She would bring a fresh drink whenever I had only about half the previous drink.  She also brought water, which was a good thing!

After a little while, the steel drum band started playing.  One guy had a double drum, one on bass, a few on other parts, one "real" drum and an electric guitar.  They called themselves The Casablancas and they were very good.  They continued to play while we ate.

We also got to go through the buffet line first, maybe because we were seated first, whatever.  The meal was as I described earlier, with the addition of the macaroni pie and also beef stew.  They had a wide selection of desserts, too.  I got way too much food and couldn't finish most of it.  I never found any hot sauce so I didn't eat much of my flying fish.

I just love that hot sauce, made with Scotch bonnet peppers.  We got some to take home one year but since we never have flying fish at home it's still unopened.  I'm sure I could eat it on something else but it wouldn't seem "right".

After everyone finished eating, there was a little Name That Tune contest with the steel drummers.  Unfortunately for me, they played music that most people would recognize.  Had they played local music I might have won.

Then the MC came out and introduced the show.  The first set was from Africa and had belly dancers, African costumes, and the stilt walkers made their first appearance, entering right next to our table.  The music was loud, with a great beat, and the costumes gorgeous and colorful.

Also in this show was a little "street scene" from Bridgetown about 100 years ago.  This was my least favorite set.

The set from Cuba, old-time Havana cabaret was great and I loved the Crop Over enactment.  Included in that is a "Mother Sally" character, tumblers Shaggy Bear and more stilt walkers.

The stilt walkers were fabulous and they did way more than walk.  They danced, jumped, did splits in the air.  I was sure that they might hit the ceiling sometimes, they were so tall.

There was a tribute to local superstar Rihanna and they danced to some of her music.  Bob Marley also warranted a tribute and some of his reggae music was featured.

The fire eater was amazing, too.  And the limbo dancer did her limbo-ing under a rod of fire.  When they had the limbo contest at least the rookies who volunteered from the audience didn't have to go under fire!

When the show was over, a singer came out and sang popular music.   People sang and danced to soca, reggae, calypso and more.  What a great party!

Saturday, August 23 (the day we arrived) was supposed to be a race day but it was rained out.  So, we got lucky this year when the race was postponed to August 30, instead.  We've always known that they had horse racing at the Garrison Savannah but it never had happened while we were here.  So, we decided to go.

I found out very late Friday night that one of my sites had been hacked. I had contacted Tech Support for my hosting company and got nowhere, being the Friday night/Saturday morning of a 3-day weekend.  So, Tom called them before we went.  At $2.00 a minute, I didn't want to stay on the line while they restored a database so I trusted them to do this and we left for the races.

We got to the Garrison Savannah in plenty of time and parked about 1/3 of the way around the oval, trying for a place in the "shade".  HA.

The Garrison area, just south of Bridgetown, is also home to the Barbados Museum & Historical Society as well as the newly opened George Washington House and Museum.  We have been to the Barbados Museum a few times but not (yet) this year.  It's set on the grounds of a 19th century military prison and has several galleries such as:

• Amerindian Culture
• Barbadian social and military history
• Antique maps, prints and paintings
• New African Gallery
• Interactive children's gallery
• Natural history
• A research library of Barbadian and Caribbean history
• and, of course, a gift store

The George Washington House and Museum is just opened this year so we haven't been there yet.  Neither that nor the Barbados Museum was open on race day.  We did walk past both on the way to  the grandstand for the race. 

I was amazed that we could get in so cheaply - it was only $10BDS each ($1BDS equals $1.98US) and $5BDS for the program.  $12.50 US for both of us.

I have never been to any kind of race so this was all new to me.  We were very close to the track and we sat by the finish line.  There was a grass track and an inner sand track.  We had been told that the sand track was used sometimes but it wasn't while we were there.

We were kind of confused at first because they were describing a race but no one was running.  It turned out that they were broadcasting another race from Sarasota in between the individual races here.

There were 10 races in all and we stayed for 4.  In the second, I picked a horse that I liked while it was walking around the track before the race.  When I found out it had a musical name - Bold Ballard - I was hooked.  Too bad I didn't bet.  Bold Ballard, number 8, won.

 

 

The 4th race was all horses from the US and UK.  I chose one from Ocala, FL because I thought that one could best deal with the heat.  Guess which won?  The jockey was 19 year old Chris Husbands.  He'd just won something like 4 out of 5 races in Trinidad in July.  And he did very well on Saturday.

After the 4th race we decided to leave and walk the other 2/3 of the way around the track (well, going that way was Tom's idea).  He kept looking back, thinking we could catch one more race.  I was hot and wanted to get something to eat.

While we were walking, they move the start gate halfway around the track.  When we got there, the horses were right in front of us.  Tom got a great picture of Chris Husbands.  He said he was having a "good day".  Guess so - he won that race, too!

Finally, back to our car and off to Bubba's for lunch.  Not my favorite but it's a sports bar with big screen TVs and American-style burgers and fries. The food is good but it's just a little too much USA and not enough Barbados.

Then back home for a dip in the pool, a bit of reading and a nap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday mornings Tom always has a meeting here and today was no different.  Actually, Sundays are pretty slow here since the stores, museums and activities are mostly closed. 

The Crane has a nice Gospel Brunch followed by a lunch buffet with steel pan drums.  We used to go the the Brunch but the format has changed.  It used to be a drop in thing up until about 11:30-12:00.  Now it's 2 seatings.  One at 9, one at 10 and we can't make either of those.  We have never been to the lunch buffet.

Someone at the meeting asked Tom to go to another one at night.  It was up in St John parish and we've always gotten lost there.  Luckily, the guy agreed to meet Tom and lead him to the meeting - and back again, since it would be dark.

In the meantime, we talked to MIchael and wished him luck with his upcoming move on Monday and new job starting Tuesday.

The website is not fixed.  In fact, 2 others are now not working.  They had been fine, not hacked, before the database restore.  So, there are 3 with 500 Internal Server Errors.  I guess it's better than having that hacker stuff but I hope these can be restored.  So much work was put into them and I hate to have to redo everything.

Then, Tom went to his meeting...and ran into someone from his childhood hometown.  Small world!  He always seems to run into people he knows, no matter where he is. 

He brought back Chefette roti for dinner.  Yum!

We usually go out on one of the Tiami family of catamarans - Tiami, Excellence (1, 2 and 3) or the Irish Mist.  This company also owns the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship and the Harbor Master.  We have a selection of hats and T-shirts from these ships and we brought a TIami shirt and an Excellence hat with us for this year's trip.

We've always had good experiences with them and decided to try something different this year - Cool Runnings.  The picked us up at 8:15 am, a bit of a problem for me because I didn't wake up until 8:05 but we made it albeit a little late. I wore one of my Tiami shirts and even the taxi driver commented that the crew wouldn't like that!

And they didn't although they did so jokingly. We tried to buy a Cool Runnings shirt and couldn't.  I paid for the trip with a credit card and they couldn't give me a shirt - that was on the ship only.  On the ship they took cash only and we only had enough for the tips.  So, maybe next year.  The guys even offered a burial at sea for my shirt LOL

So, we set off from the Careenage.  This is an inlet into Bridgetown where several ships, boats and catamarans make berth.  The "bridge" in Bridgetown is over the Careenage.  There are two bridges now.  The original is now a foot bridge with the newer, wider one for vehicles.

On any of these ships, they have an open bar and start off with yummy banana bread for a morning snack.  After they clear the Careenage, they put up the sails and we're off.

Our first stop of the morning was Payne's Bay where we swam with the giant sea turtles.  The second stop was Folkstone Marine Park.  All these ships stop there because it's home to a sunken barge.  This creates a home for lots of marine life.  I'm not very good at recognizing fish but I always know when I see a school of sergeant major fish.

Our last stop was a swimming stop off Sandy Lane beach.  Sandy Lane is famous for having Tiger Woods get married there - it's a very popular gold course here.  During this stop, we had a typical Bajan tourist lunch.  The main dishes in this are fish (usually flying fish, today kingfish), barbecue chicken, peas'n'rice, green salad, potato salad, plantains and rolls.  Sometimes a sweet coleslaw or beef stew is added but not today.  Today's dessert was carrot cake with cream cheese.  Just like at home!

We were heading back to port and the crew had lowered the sail when the captain took us out a little to sea.  There was a storm out there somewhere and the breeze felt wonderful.  We had some great waves, too.  The sails went back up and we had about 30 extra minutes at sea.  Cool!

All too soon we were back at the Careenage and back to the shuttle.  One person was missing and we had to wait for him.  He'd gone off looking for cigarettes.  Grrrrr.

There were fewer people going back on the shuttle so we all had more chance to talk.  The cigarette guy had been on a Virgin flight out of England when the engine caught on fire and they had a 12 hour layover in Gatwick while waiting for another plane.

Another is a Brit who lives here now working for Cable and Wireless.  A nice young Indian man and his Brazilian wife were also there - they live in London now but have traveled all over.  He had some interesting stories to tell!

Finally, back here and a little nap (no surprise there!) for me.  Then, into our little pool.

Ever since I posted the article I'd found on Nidhe Israel Museum, I knew I wanted to visit.  I've always known that one of the earliest-ever synagogues in the western hemisphere was here but I didn't know where it was in Bridgetown, or how to get there.

Then I found out that a local department store had a shuttle to Bridgetown for shopping and I figured we could take that, shop a little, then find the museum and synagogue.  I am not a big fan of Bridgetown.  The very first year we were here a drunks/doped up man put his arm around our son and started talking to him.  Ever since that situation, I've been uncomfortable there.  The parking is also a nightmare as are the narrow one-way streets.  So, when we've wanted something, we've always shopped at a mall on the coast.

We got on the bus at 8:45 am and headed to Bridgetown.  As is usual with these shuttles, we picked up people at 2 or 3 other hotels in Worthing and Hastings before we landed in front of National Heroes Square.   This square used to be called Trafalgar Square until 1999 and has a statue of Lord Horatio Nelson in it.  This statue was erected 30 years before the one in London.  Nelson had sailed to Barbados in 1805. The new memorial, for which the National Heroes Square was named, commemorates Barbadians killed in the two World Wars.

We headed over to Cave Shepherd and bought a few items.  The, off to the synagogue and museum.  Along the way, I was accosted by someone, presumably not the same person who was interested in our son.  He asked for money for "soup" before he was sent on his way.

The Bridgetown Synagogue was just lovely.  It dates back to 1654.  At that time there was a Jewish population of 300 here.  They had left South America and were allowed to settle here.  The synagogue was destroyed by a hurricane in 1831 and rebuilt in 1837.  Today, the original sand floor has been replaced with tiles but the rest has been kept as it was.

The parking lot is being dug up as part of an archeological project of the University of the West Indies.  There were three men working today and we talked extensively with one of them.  (pictures to be posted later!)  So far, they have uncovered the foundation of a rabbi's house, the foundations of other buildings, pottery and artifacts from the Arawak and Carib Indians.  Many of the artifacts are located now in the museum.

The Nidhe Israel (Scattered of Israel) Museum is located in the middle of the synagogue's cemetery.  Many of the inscriptions from the tombs are along the walls along with translations.  We got a partial, very helpful tour from Celso Brewster, the museum's manager.  He explained a lot of the history of the Jewish people before and after they got to Barbados.  We learned a little about the Jewish Diaspora; exodus from Spain and Portugal during the inquisition in 1492.

The Dutch were a major naval power then and were colonizing Brazil.  Many Jews volunteered to settle in Reclife, Brazil, and they learned about sugar there.  Harvesting, marketing, building sugar mills.  They brought all these skills to Barbados when they fled Reclife in 1591.

By 1948 there were only 70 Jewish people still on Barbados and by 1925 only one.  The Nidhe Israel Synagogue was deconsecrated and sold.  In 1931, Askenazi Jews migrated to Barbados from Poland.  Moses Altman and his son, Paul, were among these and they rescued the synagogue from demolition in 1989.

Restoration is still going on and I'm sure much about Barbados will be learned from the archeological findings.

The museum shows the sugar trail, and how spices were traded, the history of the Jewish people before and after they arrived in Barbados and much more.  Embedded in sand and covered with glass are many of the artifacts dug up outside.  These make up much of the floor and it feels a little weird to walk over them.

There were spice exhibits where we got to smell them and guess what they were.  There was an interactive display that showed how much time you'd have to work for various products.  30 days for a pound of saffron!  Wow!

We went back to our bus meeting place and Tom ran into that same guy from this morning.  He actually apologized for hassling us!

Back home and naptime!

From http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-10062--26-26--.html

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS): In a quest to promote cultural tourism and to honour this country’s slave heritage, the Barbados government is embarking on a “Slave Route Signage Project”.

To this end, on August 27, Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, will officially launch the Project with a Plaque Reveal Ceremony at the site of Chefette Restaurant, Upper Broad Street, Bridgetown.

The plaque to be unveiled will interpret the site of “The Cage” and is one of five interpretative signs being erected across Barbados under phase one of the project.

It is being executed by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Barbados Tourism Authority.

According to an official of the Ministry, “the Barbados project, which was launched in 2003, is one element of the Caribbean component of the UNESCO/WTO Slave Route Project, which was originally launched in Accra, Ghana, in April, 1995.

“At that time, the primary objective of the UNESCO/WTO was to foster economic and human development and to rehabilitate, restore and promote the tangible and intangible heritage handed down by the slave trade for the purpose of cultural tourism”.

The Barbados Slave Route Signage Project involves the identification, research and interpretation of sites and places of memory across Barbados that are linked to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

The interpretation of the sites will be effected through the erection of interpretative signage at the places identified.

Under phase one of the project, interpretative signage will be erected at the following four sites: Gun Hill, St. George; Sweet Bottom (Vale), St. George; Bourne’s Land, Christ Church; and The Cage, Bridgetown.

Meanwhile, a refurbished sign will be erected at the Newton Slave Burial Ground, Newton, Christ Church; and the sites identified will form the basis for the development of the proposed Barbados Slave Route Heritage Trail and Tour.

From http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/barbados/bridgetown/sd4-6barbados_synagogue.htm

Who were the 'Bearded Ones?'

Reclaiming the Jewish past in Barbados

San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, April. 6, 2001

By Donald H. Harrison

Bridgetown, Barbados (special) --In just a glance, a visitor may see evidence of the decline and subsequent rise of the tiny Jewish community of Barbados.

The 17th-century cemetery is adjacent to the synagogue, which recently has been restored in large measure thanks to the efforts of Paul Altman.

CEMETERY AND SYNAGOGUE-- Paul Altman stands in 17th century cemetery adjacent to original synagogue of Barbados, which has undergone renovation. The grave of his grandfather,
Moses Altman, who led the family's migration from Poland to Barbados in 1931. also is in this cemetery.

When his grandfather, Moses Altman, came to Barbados from Poland in 1931, he found that the Jews had all left the island. Members of the once thriving community had scattered in many directions.

"Some went to Britain because of Barbados being British," Paul Altman told me. "Some went to the United States when the U.S. opened up. The various hurricanes were another reason some left. A lot of them became assimilated.

"Today, Barbadians of all creeds and colors will tap me on the shoulder and say, 'you know my grandfather, or my great-grandfather, left us something from the synagogue and we would like to contribute.'"

In 1925, Edmund Baeza, who then was considered the Caribbean island's last Jewish resident, sold the synagogue which had been capable of accommodating 300 congregants. Baeza donated the proceeds of the sale, amounting to 500 British pounds, to the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, England.

There had been a longstanding relationship between Bevis Marks Synagogue--which follows the Sephardic rite--and the synagogue in Barbados, which was established approximately in 1654 by Sephardic immigrants from Brazil. While the exact date that the first Jewish settlers arrived in Barbados is not known, it is believed it was as early as 1628--one year after British settlement on this Caribbean island began.

FUTURE MUSEUM-- This old schoolhouse building, adjacent to the old Jewish cemetery, has been obtained by the Jewish community for a future museum.

After Baeza sold the synagogue building to Henry Graham Yearwood, it was used for a variety of purposes, including as a law library, turf club and warehouse. Except for weathering, the adjacent cemetery meanwhile was left unchanged--and now requires considerable renovation.

E.M. Shilstone, a local historian, had proposed to Baeza that the synagogue be maintained as a monument to Barbados' early Jewish settlers, among whom were members of the de Mercado family, who were credited with bringing to Barbados the sugar refining industry. After Baeza rejected his offer of a lower amount of money for the synagogue building, Shilstone carefully photographed the interior of the synagogue as well as the inscriptions on the gravestones in the cemetery.

Among them was an inscription on the tomb of Benjamin Massiah, extolling him for having been "a reader of the Jews' Synagogue for many years without a fee or reward and performed the office of Circumciser with great applause and dexterity..."

Moses Altman supported himself as a peddlar, gradually working himself up to a shop keeper. In 1932, his son Henry, followed him over, and eventually a new Jewish settlement of approximately 40 families took root in Barbados. They built themselves a small synagogue, which they named Shaare Tzedek, in a neighborhood of Bridgetown called Rockley. They continued to use the Jewish cemetery adjacent to the old synagogue building for their burials, however.

So matters stood until the late 1970s, when the government of Barbados acquired the old synagogue building by condemnation and made plans to level it so that the lot it stood on could be used for the expansion of the nearby Supreme Court building.

Historical preservation was far from a governmental priority at the time. In fact, Barbados' original Parliament Building once had stood next to the synagogue, and it was destroyed to make room for expansion. Known as Codd's House, it was a building which had housed some important history. It was there, for example, that the Emancipation Bill had been signed during the 1800s, forever outlawing slavery in Barbados.

As destruction came to Codd's House, so too was it planned for what once had been God's house.

Henry Altman became concerned, however, when the government proposed not only to destroy the former synagogue building, but also to take about 10 feet of the Jewish cemetery, which would require the relocation of some of the bodies buried there.

The Altman family immediately began a campaign to preserve both the synagogue and the cemetery.

RESTORED INTERIOR-- Almost every thing inside the old synagogue in Bridgetown, Barbados-- whether the chandeliers, bima, the reader's table or Ten Commandments-- have stories attached to them attesting to the dedication of the current Jewish community to remembering the past.

Henry Altman had an important ally in his son, Paul, who then was serving on the board of the Barbados National Trust. The son went to the Shilstone Library of the Barbados Museum and found Shilstone's photographs which showed exactly how the synagogue's interior once had looked. So armed, he paid a call on Barbados Prime Minister Tom Adams, who told him "if you can find the money to restore the building, we will give you the building."

Fired up, the small Jewish community in Barbados set about contacting potential allies throughout the world.

"Everyone said we were crazy; 'you will never do it!'" Altman recalled to me during an interview at the old synagogue, located within easy walking distance of the pier where our cruise ship, MV Olympic Voyager, had docked that morning.

"Where were we going to get $1 million U.S. currency to restore an old broken down building which no one might ever use?" Altman asked rhetorically. "We set about our task by simply putting one worker to chip away at the building, because that was all that we had funds for at the time. We told him to tell anyone who came and asked what he was doing to say that he was just getting some facts because a major restoration was starting, and that they could contribute to that."

The preservationist eventually attracted contributions from the Commonwealth Jewish Council in Britian, the American Jewish Congress the Canadian Jewish Congress, and individual donors.

BRIDGETOWN SHOPPING-- The flags of many nations wave over the crowded shopping avenue in Bridgetown Barbados.

"I went and attended various meetings, invited them here, and got people to write articles for newspapers in different areas, and people saw that we were serious," Altman recalled.

With the help of Shilstone's photographs, the community set about to restore the old building to its former self.

"It was like putting a puzzle together," said Altman. "One of the first things we did was we found out that the University of Florida had a program called PIC-- Preservation in the Caribbean. ...They sent us a School of Architecture graduate student who came and spent three months and worked with a firm in Barbados, who offered their services."

The Barbados Museum had a few pieces from the synagogue, like an original bench, and other pieces were located both on the island and elsewhere. Last year, for example, "a lady from the Winterthur Museum came here ... because she wanted to discuss the original chandeliers. But they wouldn't give them back, and I went as far as speaking with Mr. Shapiro, who was then president or chairman of Dupont (which underwrote the museum).

"He happened to be a Jewish man, whom I thought I could appeal to in terms of the cause, but he said it would be up to the curator of the museum and he couldn't impose his wishes on her," Altman recalled. "The feeling was that if you returned artifacts such as those chandeliers to their places of origin, then the museum would cease to have a reason to exist. I argued differently of course. I said this was one opportunity that presented itself, whereas many wouldn't."

Even though the synagogue couldn't recover its original chandeliers, it was able to commission artisans to make replicas, which were installed in the old sanctuary.

Altman was more successful with the "Ten Commandments" which originally had been placed over the aron kodesh. It turned out the tablets "were hanging over the swimming pool in the former residence of an ex governor general of Barbados." Known as Illaro Court, the house later had become the residence of the Prime Minister of Barbados. (I couldn't help but wonder if anyone had posted near the tablets, an 11th Commandment saying "Thou shalt not run near the pool.")

"When we were assembling the (synagogue) building, the Prime Minister at the time was Bernard St. John, who is now Sir Bernard St. John, and his wife, Stella," continued Altman, waving off my dive into humor. "Stella had a particular link with a man called Teddy Reitman, who was the honorary consul of Barbados in Israel. He had befriended the St. John family in Israel, and in fact,they had visited his house near Tel Aviv. Teddy Reitman approached Stella, and Stella was immediately willing. She said 'Come and take them,' and we put them back here."

Local artisans were commissioned to reproduce the old wood bima as well as the reader's table, which faced each other in the configuration typical of Sephardic shuls.

"We have superb craftsmen in Barbados, just like the ones who would have made the original ones back in the 1600's," Altman said. "These were done by a very talented man by the name of Andy Tempro-- our families have known each other for many years. He builds furniture. In fact, he is connected with Princess Margaret's son, Lindsey, who is in the area, and they have a common interest in the reproduction of antique furniture and that type of thing."

Altman said although there were always monetary pressures, he insisted upon quality. "For example, someone said they could do these moldings a lot cheaper if they did them out of fiber glass, and I said 'absolutely not. What was here was wood.' We used mahogany. I suppose because of my National Trust hat and links that I don't believe in synthetics when it comes to doing a restoration of an old building."

During the winter months, the Jewish community holds its services in the old synagogue building, which, as in days of old, has no air conditioning. But during the hot months of summer, they retreat to the smaller, but air conditioned, Shaare Tzedek for their services.

Besides restoration of the old synagogue, Altman has arranged for the repair of the cemetery and plans a Jewish museum in a nearby school house following renovation.

The cemetery project started only after "we had someone we could have 100 percent confidence in. We found that person in Evan Mielner-- a British fellow, who has a degree in stone work, and has experience as a hobby in archeology. ... He has done a tremendous amount of research. He belongs to the Bevis Marks Synagogue...so he understands all the religious requirements that attaches to that type of Spanish graveyard."

Restoration of the cemetery "is a slow process, and he has left instructions for the gentlemen who are here. He (Mielner) comes three months a year and works on his hands and knees with them doing the work and then leaves a detailed set of instructions, and they continue. We have two men who slowly, laboriously, piece by piece, are doing it. If it takes ten years, it will take ten years, but it will be done right and that is my concern."

One of the local artisans is Charles Leslie, "who must be given full credit for what he has done," Altman said. "He has put years of his life into this work, and although he is not Jewish, he considers this his purpose in life to continue this job. He is so committed to it."

Besides repairing broken stones, the team has chiseled onto the stones lost letters, using for guidance inscriptions from Shilstone's book--as well as some records found at the Bevis Marks Synagogue.

I asked Altman to try to put in words what motivates him.

"I will tell you what is in my heart," he replied. "When I walked into this building for the first time, people walked me around and said that these tiles here were the original tiles, although at the time they were so dirty you could hardly see them, and that under the fake ceiling there was another ceiling. As I looked around, I saw the graveyard and I recognized the significance and the history, and I felt a part of it for whatever reason...

"Barbados has something special," Altman added. "It has that history; it has that attachment to the Jewish presence here, the African presence here, the British presence here. "

According to legend, the name " Las Barbados," meaning "the bearded ones," in Portuguese, refers to a type of fig tree found on the island by explorers. While he can't disprove the legend, Altman prefers his alternative explanation for the island's name.

"If you check anywhere in Barbados, the only Portuguese names that are in Barbados, and the ones which are from the original settlement, are in this graveyard," he said. "So I suggest that 'Las Barbados' really referred to those bearded Jewish settlers who came here..."

Who'd have thought? A Jewish island!