Beautiful Barbados

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

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

A bit about this shipwreck by Tropical Welcome:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bottom Bay

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

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

 

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

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

Church Point 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dover Beach

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

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

Cattlewash

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

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

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

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

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

 

Mullins Bay

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

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

 

Folkstone Beach

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

 

 

 

Sandy Lane Bay

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

Holetown, a small town in Barbados is the spot where the British first landed in 1625, previously they had made a temporary stop in 1620 to get fresh water.

A Captain Henry Powell sailing the ship Olive Blossom came back to Barbados in February 17, 1627 with fifty British settlers and ten slaves to form a new settlement.

The settlement called Jamestown was up until 1629 the only town on Barbados.

The town got the name Holetown from a very small body of water called "The Hole" which provided safe landing and ship cleaning to take place.

The settlers arrival has been celebrated since the 1970's with a week long festival beginning in the middle of February with the opening celebrations taking place at the Holetown Monument.

This monument dedicated to Captain Henry Powells landing, for some reason has his date of landing as 1605 which is incorrect but has not to this day been corrected.

This historic town is located on the West Coast of Barbados in the Parish of Saint James.

Today it's one of the most popular Parishes for visitors to the island, Sunset Crest a unique resort complex that is spread over 130 acres is part of modern day Holetown.

For entertainment there's Lexy Piano Bar & cabaret on second street.

There are many different types of restaurants, three of my favourites are, Just Grillin in Sunset Crest, an open air grill and bar, Angry Annie's which is well known for its curries and Ragamuffins Bar and restaurant that serves Bajan food and also has a drag show on Sunday nights.

If you're looking for an interesting day out visit the Folkestone Marine Park.

 

From http://www.best-barbados-beaches.com/holetown.html

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.