Beautiful Barbados

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Barbados Flower Forest is worlds away from the manicured resort garden

By Ailsa Francis, Citizen Special March 19, 2011

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

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

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

Helped along the way by Kewtrained horticulturist Richard

IF YOU GO

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

Website: www.barbados.org/ flowfrst.htm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

By SETH KUGEL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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