And I’m off! First Stop Barbados

Friday, January 19, 2024

This evening I arrived into the capital city of Bridgetown, Barbados from Toronto where I overnighted last night so as to avoid a hellishly early flight from Ottawa to the centre of the universe. I planned my trip to have one night in Barbados in advance of the start of my cruise, just in case there were bad weather delays or cancelled flights. I’m getting soft in my old age! The travel logics were uneventful, which are the best kind when travelling. Everything was on time, the reservations worked out, and the transfer to the hotel was flawless.

Also with the chaos of travel these days I decided not to chance checking baggage on this trip and went with only carry-on. With a couple of trial runs, I managed to get almost everything I thought I’d need in to my luggage and backpack. I have a laundry package on the ship, and they do an excellent job of it and getting it back to you same day. So, we’ll see how I make out and whether it’s my new go-to or if I go back to checking a bag.

And what a great place the Accra Beach Resort is to spend a night before boarding the Star Pride. Right on one of the white sand beaches Barbados is famous for, and a big pool area. It’s a little tired but very clean and the people are incredibly friendly.

It took me just minutes to get changed and out to the beach after arrival, put my toes in the white powdery sand and go for a walk in the surf. I didn’t spend too much time in the sun, with my fish-belly white skin, but watched the sun go down from a comfortable lounge chair in the shade.

Before I start posting for this trip, I will remind you that I try my best to research info that I put into my blogs, but I do screw up and misconstrue info sometimes, so please take all this with a grain of salt. And all opinions expressed are mine. (Who else’s would they be?)

I started my Caribbean cruise last year from Puerto Rico which is in the north central part of the Caribbean Sea, but I’m starting at the other side of the Caribbean this year. Barbados is a single island country in the south east part of the Caribbean, well actually the most western part of the Atlantic Ocean (although it is still known as a Caribbean island). It is quite small, at approximately 25 by 32 kilometres, and is the most easterly and first island you come to when sailing from Europe and Africa which of course influenced its history and culture. It is not part of the Lesser Antilles which is to the east and north of it, but we will head for this archipelago for some of the stops later on our cruise.

Like other Caribbean islands I’ve visited, the aboriginal people, the Arawaks, were driven off Barbados in 1200 by the Caribs from South America. The Caribs left around the time that the Europeans were starting to explore the area. Barbados is unlike many of the other Caribbean islands I have visited however, in that after being discovered by the Portuguese, then claimed for the British by Captain John Powell in 1625, and the British establishing a colony here in 1627, it remained as a British possession for 300 years rather than bouncing back and forth between other nations. (How’s that for a run-on sentence!) The British settlers deforested most of the island to first plant cotton and tobacco and then sugar cane. The sugar cane crops were labour intensive so they imported enslaved Africans to work in the fields. In 1834 slavery was abolished but the wealthy colonists continued to own the majority of the land. By the 1930s, the black majority was able to influence political outcomes and Barbados gained its independence from Britain in 1966. Today people of African and a mix of African-European descent make up the majority of the population with just a minority of the population of European descent as well as some expatriates of the United States, Great Britain and other countries. Although sugar cane continues to be a profitable crop, since independence the economy of Barbados has transformed from an agricultural one based on sugar cane through some highs and lows to one based on tourism and international finance. I saw sugar cane crops on the way from the airport to my hotel today.

Not surprising given its history, the government, headquartered in Bridgetown, is similar to our Westminster-style Parliament with bicameral Houses of Senate and Assembly.

Fun facts about Barbados:

⁃ Although a small island, there are more than 50 white-sand beaches around the island, mostly on the southern and western coast (nicknamed Platinum Coast for all the luxury resorts there)

⁃ superstar Rihanna (full name Robyn Rihanna Fenway) is from Barbados and in 2018 she was named as “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary” for Barbados. She was declared Barbados’ first billionaire by Forbes and she has given millions of her wealth to the country, and has a Foundation specifically to invest in the island.

⁃ Harrison’s Cave is a 2.3 km long system of caves under the island and you can explore the larger ones by an electric tram or for the more adventurous by crawling and squeezing through smaller passages (that wouldn’t be me).

⁃ Duty Free shopping in the air conditioned, North American style malls is popular.

⁃ the people of Barbados are officially called Barbadian but more commonly known as as Bajans (Bay-Juns).

⁃ Although English is the official language, the majority of the residents speak Bajans, which is English influenced by West African roots. Some examples of words are “rucka-tuk” which means a loud noise, or a “tie goat” which is the name of someone who is married.

⁃ Known as the land of the flying fish as they can be seen gliding through the air for up to 45 seconds at speeds of more than 70 km/hour around the island. The national dish is flying fish and cou-cou (made from cornmeal and okra). Often served on Fish Fry Friday.

⁃ The national sport is cricket, like in many other Caribbean countries, and there is a cricket museum you can visit that is the most extensive in the Caribbean.

⁃ It is just on the southern edge of the hurricane zone, and 1955 was the last time it has been hit by one.

⁃ Is apparently the birthplace of rum (although I think I’ve heard that about other islands as well). The internationally known Mount Gay Distillery was founded in 1703.

⁃ Two real-life pirates known to use Barbados as their home base were Sam Lord and Steve Bonnet.

⁃ The happy mix of a sweet orange and pomelo fruit here in the 17th century created the grapefruit.

⁃ George Washington lived with his brother in Barbados for a year in 1751.

⁃ Music is key in this country, where unique styles such as Soca, and Rapso are popular. (I wish I’d know this last week doing the NYT Connections about dance styles!)

Unfortunately, given my late arrival and boarding the ship tomorrow, I may not have a chance to explore much of Barbados. However, after I get checked in at 1pmish, I’m hoping to explore nearby Bridgetown as we don’t sail til 6 pm. Most of downtown Bridgetown was designated as a UNESCO site in 2012 for historical value, as well as a nearby Garrison Savannah area built by the British that houses the largest collection of 17th century canons in the world.

Overnight Saturday, the Star Pride will head south to Tobago (part of Trinidad and Tobago) where I have a glass bottom boat and snorkel adventure booked. See you there!