Day 5 (November 15, 2015): And that, folks, is a wrap!

Being the last day of our vacay, we decided to sleep in til the shocking hour of 8AM.  It's amazing how quickly one falls into a comfy and cozy routine, such as breakfast overlooking a stunning bay... Whipping it down to a powdery sand beach...  Running in to test the waves and water temperature first thing... Fetching coffee and pastries mid-morning...  And walking down a secluded  stretch of beach before lunch.  

One last look at "our" beach and hotel

We met a wonderful couple - a retired clergyman and his wife - from Aberdeen, who were staying across the hall from us. They told us we could go over to their room at 6AM and view the race horses from the nearby track swimming in the bay, a morning ritual only seen from their side of the hotel. Unfortunately we slept through that opportunity. Missing that sight and not seeing a turtle were our only two regrets of the trip. 

Having been given a 2PM late checkout, we maxed out our beach time 'til 1PM. As we were leaving our room, Guest Services called to "remind" us we had a $100 US credit that we could use on anything prior to check out. Nice of them to remind us something no one had ever mentioned!  Anyway, we did a quick shopping spree in the tiny gift shop before hopping in an airport cab. 

We left Barbados on time, arrived Toronto early, and will connect to a flight arriving Halifax at 2AM. Monday will be a long work day on very little sleep, but no complaint.

Our Air Canada Airbus A320

The view looking down on paradise

Dinner on-board was delicious - chicken and couscous 

Crazy, how something you look forward to for months and months can come to an end so quickly.  But we are grateful for the opportunity to have been able to experience a true Carribean gem. Thanks for tuning in to our blog!  Happy travels. 

Day 4 (November 14, 2015): Turtle Hunt

We woke this morning, as you likely did in North America, shocked by the updates on the Paris massacres.  Every one of the recent terror attacks -- the Russian aircraft bombing, the Beirut suicide attacks, and now the Paris massacres -- has plunged the world into greater darkness.  In a way, it makes it feel selfish and shallow to be here in the paradise of Barbados, while such horror is going on.  Paris definitely did cast a deep shadow on our day.

It was another up-at-7:30 day.  Another "beach lounging > ocean dipping > sand walking > repeat" type of day!  And another perfect 30C sunny Barbadian day, with a perfect breeze.

Daily breakfast in the 8th floor Hilton lounge, overlooking Carlisle Bay

At 1PM, I walked back to the famous fish shack (see Day 2) to get more fish cutter sandwiches, only to find the shack closed.  However a food truck was in the same parking lot, serving up Carribean jerk chicken meals, which served us well for lunch today.

By 2PM, we hopped a minibus (known as "Zed-Rs" here) to the center of Bridgetown.  We set out on foot to visit St. Michael's Cathedral, the Harbour Walk, and then checked out Cave Shepard Department Store, the Island's historic retailer.

St. Michael's Cathedral from 1789

Bridgetown's Harbour Walk

Then we walked to the Operation Mobilization Office again, to meet our friend, Megan.  She took us to her favourite coffee haunt, Italia Coffee House, for frappucinos.  Then we were off to Payne's Beach for snorkeling and an attempt to swim with the Hawksbill and Leatherback turtles that are usually found there. We snorkelled for almost an hour but turtle-spotting luck was not on our side.  We loved the snorkelling anyway. 

 Walking with Megan to Payne's Beach

Snorkel gear is oh-so-flattering, eh?!

The west coast of Barbados boasts incredible properties, such as this one, seen from our turtle expedition

We didn't see turtles, but it was one heck of a sunset from the water 

Megan did see one turtle, but Pam and I came up dry.  Wait -- what am I saying!  We DID spot turtles before the day was done! ;-)

Yes, yes - we DID see turtles after all!

Megan's very nice roommates, Donna and Rodney, joined us for dinner.  We had Indian food at a place called Chutney's, followed by another round of coffee at Italia Coffee House.  One can never get enough good coffee.

Dinner with Megan, Donna and Rodney 

Another round of coffee!

Hard to believe Day 4 is over.  A half day of beach rest and the long trek home begins.  It has been another excellent day in paradise!

Day 3 (November 13, 2015): Take me to Bathsheba!

Today was all about Bathsheba.  No, not the 'Bathsheba' in the Old Testament, but rather a special place on the east coast of Barbados.  Before the trip,  we had seen a picture of a massive mushroom-looking boulder and decided we wanted to see it up close and personal!  So that was our mission today.

 

Up at 7:30AM, breakfast in the business lounge, out on the beach by 9AM.  The waves were very high today, so much so that the lifeguard ordered everyone out of the water at one point.  Shortly past noon, we packed up at the beach and explored a small fort next to the hotel at Needham's Point.  

  

Canon at Needham's Point

 

At 12:30, we hopped in a cab to the Fairfield Street Bus Station, where we got a Barbados Transit bus to the east coast.  Destination:  Bathsheba and its amazing boulder formations.  The bus route cut right through the island (see map below), giving us a really good sense of the country and the agriculture sector.

 

Our bus route across the island, from Bridgetown to Bathsheba.

Not sure what these are, but these "feathery vegetation thingies" dot the countryside.

Sugar cane is a very prolific product all over the island.

A typical home in rural Barbados

As we neared the east coast (the "Atlantic Coast" as they call it here), the terrain became very mountainous and rugged, dotted with orchards of banana trees.  Suddenly, the coast came into view and the bus trundled down a rickety road to Bathsheba Park.  And there before us was the massive mushroom boulder we had seen back home in a brochure! 

Mushroom rock at Bathsheba Park

 

But the beauty extended beyond the mushroom boulder.  The rugged coastline has many amazing rock formations.  The pictures below attempt to give you an idea.

Rugged, boulder-strewn coastline at Bathsheba

 

The Barbados Independence Pro and Soup Bowl Surfing Competition was underway at Bathsheba today, so we took in a bit of that.

Competitor in the Barbados Independence Pro and Soup Bowl Surfing Competition

LOL!  Sign says it all. 

 

We were ready to jump on the 3PM bus back to Bridgetown, but it was late arriving, and then it kept stopping to pick up school kids.  We were soon sardined in a rickety bus with what seemed like a zillion kids, and then found ourselves in horrible end-of-day traffic as we neared the city. What should have taken 45 minutes, took two hours to get back to the hotel.

We wound down with hors d'oeuvres in the business lounge at sunset, and then walked down the street to the Radisson Hotel for a curry dinner on a pier extending over the clear waters of Carlisle Bay.

Closing the day with curry.

And that's the type of day it has been for us in Barbados!  Good night.

Day 2 (November 12, 2015): "Imagine Meeting You Here!"

Sometimes your brain says to your body, "That's quite enough: too little sleep, so I'm shutting you down."  And that's what our brains said to our bodies last night.  We slept like logs til after 8AM.  I woke to see a message from a Halifax friend who has been working here for seven years.  I know this will sound bizarre, but I had totally forgotten it was HERE that she was living -- my brain had linked her with Trinidad for some reason.  In any case, she had seen my Facebook posting, indicating we were here, so she reached out.  And our get-together became the highlight of our day.  More on that shortly.

At 9AM, we went to the business lounge on the hotel's top floor and enjoyed the buffet breakfast there, overlooking beautiful Carlisle Bay.

Carlisle Bay from the Hilton Lounge 

By 10AM, we were installed on the beach and started a three-hour regime of beach chair > ocean dip > beach chair > beach walk > ocean dip... You get the picture!

Mid-morning walk on Drill Hall Beach

Surfboards on Drill Hall Beach

There is a well-known hole-in-the-wall down the road from the hotel called Cuz's Fish Shack.  It is a Barbadian food institution, so having it so close to the hotel was a huge bonus!  I ran down to get a couple 'fish cutter' sandwiches for lunch, and we ate them on our balcony.  Quite tasty.

Coming to Barbados and NOT having a Cuz's Fish Shack sandwhich would be like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower!

Back to our surprise friend contact:  Megan Ingram works with Operation Mobilization here in Barbados.  At 2:30 we hopped on one of the prolific private packed vans that ply the streets here and made our way to the centre of Bridgetown.  

The dizzying pool of minibuses at the Nursery Drive Minibus Terminal

From there, we set out on foot to explore the hodge-podge of streets in the city centre, passing monuments and the Parliament.

The Parliament Buildings

Much to our surprise, we actually found Megan's office, and enjoyed a wonderful catch-up conversation.

Megan Ingram outside the OM Barbados office 

From there, we got another van to the community of Hastings, which boasts a stunning 3-KM boardwalk along the water.

The impressive 3km Boardwalk in Hastings

We watched the sun go down as we walked, and then had an early dinner at the Tiki Restaurant on Accra Beach, sampling calamari and local fish cakes.

Sunset from Accra Beach

It was a beautiful, hot-but-breezy day here in Barbados, filled with relaxation and re-connecting.  Good night from here!

Day 1 (November 11, 2015): Modus Operandi - STAY AWAKE!

Some mornings, I despise the 'marimba' alarm tone on my iPhone. This morning at 3AM, when that marimba sounded to rouse us for our flight to Barbados, I was very tempted to throw it across the room. (Ok, I wouldn't really do that!)  For many years now, we have taken a short trip south in conjunction with Remembrance Day as a rest before the crazy Christmas music season kicks in for Pam. This year, we settled on Barbados. And this is my first entry in a five-day blog to provide our thoughts on this tiny island nation,  surprisingly close to South America. 

Barbados (see blue dot) is one of the most southerly islands in the Carribean 

We pulled out of the driveway at 4AM and were through security at Halifax Aiport by 4:45. The packed flight to Toronto pushed back at 5:25 on schedule and we arrived early. 

Modern art at Pearson Airport in Toronto

Our equally packed connecting flight left Toronto on time at 8:45 and landed early in Bridgetown, Barbados, at 2:45PM. Noteworthy is the fact that, somewhere north of Bermuda at exactly 11AM, the crew thanked all veterans and asked everyone to observe two minutes of silence. 

Our Air Canada Airbus A319

It may cost a few extra shekels, but yesteryear's good airline food on bone china is actually back!

Customs, baggage, and finding a taxi were all easy, but finding an ATM (to pay for the cab) was much trickier! By the way, Barbadian dollars are pegged at double the US green-back. The very friendly taxi driver filled us in on all the must-know stuff, enroute to the Hilton. Our hotel room overlooks the hotel's private beach on Needham's Point, just south of the city centre. 

The beach and pool view from our room

The Hilton Barbados 

We spent an hour at the beach prior to dusk, just to get an introduction to the sand and surf. The water was beautiful and warm - perfect!  

Dave had...

...no hesitation about...

...jumping right in!

This is rainy season in the Carribean, and the rainstorm on the horizon confirmed it. The sky was very dramatic indeed!

By 6PM we were spiffed up and headed to the business lounge for nibblies. After an hour of snacking, we set out to explore the neighbourhood, with its narrow streets. Oh, and thanks to the Brits, Barbados drives on the left!  The uber early rise and too many hors d'oeuvres nixed our appetites for dinner, so we made our way back to the Hilton and simply crashed.  Tomorrow we will start some serious beach therapy and see some sights in Bridgetown.  These two tired Canucks bid you a Carribean good evening.