Beautiful Barbados

Published Date: 23 August 2009

By Katie Wood

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fact file: Barbados

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

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

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

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

 

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

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.

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.

Of course yesterday didn't go as planned. After much haggling with his wi-fi in the lobby, Tom got a network cable from the front desk. The rest of the afternoon he was online or making phone calls.

I spent the time dipping in the pool, reading, napping. I did something I have never done here - I got a sunburn! The weather was so breezy and cool and I was out in my bathing suit. It never occurred to me I might get a burn.

Since Tom got online there was now no need to go shopping...so we didn't.

At night Tom started a schedule with 33 slots so we could fill them in with things we wanted to do. AACCKK!

At night, we watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, had dinner and I was off to bed. I tossed and turned a lot - the sheet was uncomfortable on my sunburned feet.

Today looks like another lazy day. I went to see Theresa (concierge) to set up the various trips and stuff we wanted to add to that schedule.

We were going to go on the Tiami but are going to try Cool Runnings this year instead. We're going to the Plantation Bajan Roots & Rhythms show again and on the Island Safari again.

New to us will be the helicopter around the island plus the Barbados Concorde Experience. We had planned on doing the Concorde anyway. We were here the day of their final flight out of Barbados before they stopped service.

I found out that one of our favorite lunch places, Cocomos, has gone out of business and has been reopened as another restaurant. This is sad on several levels, one being that this was where Sue (SuziQ) took us for lunch when she was here with us before she died. So many places here have memories of Sue. The year she died she'd been planning to come back with us again but never made it. Seeing Cocomos gone is like another part of Sue's memory destroyed. I miss Sue so much as a special friend and as a Cushing's advocate.

This afternoon we got our schedule all squared away. We found that the Garrison Savannah Horse Races were rained out last Saturday so they're rescheduled for this week. They've never run while we were here before so we changed out Cool Runnings to Friday and will go to the races on Saturday.

We went to lunch at Cutters. Cutter is the Bajan word for sandwich. After that, back to Emerald City for stuff we forgot Saturday and more milk.

Now, pool and naptime! I can never get enough of either.