My Barbados
I personally refer to Barbados as “My Island in the Sun”. Harry Belafonte wrote the amazing song and if you are privileged enough to be in a local establishment when this song is played, you will notice that everyone sings along. Music is a way of life here and Soca and Calypso music very much alive. Steel drums welcome you to the island and you can always find a place where someone is playing steel pan bands.
There is still a large British exposure here. In the early 1600’s Scots, Irish and Welsh settlers immigrated to Barbados and my guess is that most stayed. On the north side of the east coast you will find rolling hills and many compare it to Scotland. I personally compared it to my home in Cape Breton. If you examine the shape of the map of Barbados and the map of Cape Breton, they are the same.
Green Monkeys
Many of the things that my family appreciated are still enjoyed by many. The green monkeys were my favorite and they are actually all over the island. If you would like to feed them you can tour the Wildlife Reserve in St. Peter and they have certain times when the public can feed the monkeys. Before the wildlife was built, I would go to Jack-In-the-box gully and Welchman Hall gully in St. Thomas Parish and would be in awe with these magnificent creatures. I actually visited the monkeys there last year and they were still waiting for me, or I would like to think. They ran up to me looking for bananas and bringing their little babies to show.
Another great memory was swimming with the turtles. We stayed on the east coast so we only had to go to the Animal Flower Cave to find turtles. These turtles are gentle and love swimming with people. You should always keep in mind that the ocean on the East Coast is the Atlantic Ocean and it is much rougher than the waters at the Gap or the West Coast. Since the Atlantic Ocean has a lot more waves, it is great for surfing. If you would like to go to an amazing beach to surf, I would go to the Bottom Bay Beach. It is a bit north on the east coast and a few steps past an old Rasta selling coconuts. I have heard people say that it was the best body surfing experience of their life. The beach is not very large and is sheltered by 3 small but steep cliffs. There are walkways cut out of the cliff and most people just run down them.
Nigil Benn’s Aunty’s Bar
Another experience that will never leave my mind is Nigil Benn’s Aunty’s Bar and this is also on the east coast. Nigil Benn was a British boxer and bought the bar for his aunt Lucille. Everyone is family here and you just need to feed the juke box, order some great rum and listen to great stories. Many a visitor has slept on Aunty Lucille’s veranda and it has been said that they stayed not because of too much alcohol, but because of the stories. They preferred to leave in the daylight.
There are rainforests in Barbados and they are only 40 mins. north of Bridgetown. Everyone would love to visit a rainforest but many have fear of the animals in a rain forest. The great thing about this rain forest is that Barbados does not have any poisonous snakes or spiders. It is magical to be inside here with a camera and listening to the sounds of nature.
Fish Fry
For now, I am going to leave you with a Friday night must. Fish Fry at Oistins. It is an institution in Barbados and is located on the south coast. The locals come for dinner and then stay and play dominos. There is a live music band and a craft market. Here you are able to experience a true Bajan night. You must book in advance but reservations are not difficult.
When you go, you must order a Flying Fish Sandwich: It is served on a freshly bakes salt roll. This delicious bread is not salty at all and is typically crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. The roll is cut in half and filled with delicious grilled fish, lettuce, tomatoes and your choice of sauce. I will leave you with one more recommendation: ask for the spicy bajan pepper sauce.
