Monday in Barbados

Accra Beach

This was our second visit to Barbados. On our first visit in 2009, we visited the Concorde Museum. Riding on the Concorde has always been on Terry's bucket list. Since that is no longer possible, visiting the museum and actually boarding the real thing, was great. This visit we booked a tour with Glory Tours. To our surprise as we expected to be in a group, we were given a private tour with Colin, a local taxi driver who also chauffeurs for Glory Tours. Our first stop was way across the island to the Harrison Caves. We learned that Barbados is the only island in the Southern Caribbean that is not of volcanic origin. The island was formed millions of years ago with ocean sediment that was eventually pushed up by the earth's plates. As a result of all this, about 500,000 years ago the caves were formed. They were used by runaway slaves in the 1600's and then pretty much forgotten until 1970 when 2 geologists came upon them. One of them was named Ole Sorensen, which caught my eye because my nephew's son shares the same name. Several years ago the Chinese invested in property and the result is a wonderful exhibit and tour of the caves. We rode in open cars and descended 160 feet below the surface to view waterfalls, lakes, and plenty of stalagtites and stalagmites. It was beautiful.

Stalagtite or stalagmite??

Next we headed over to Oistin's Beach where we ate lunch near the local fish market. Our guide, Colin, helped us choose a fish for lunch that wasn't too fishy and that choice was Flying Fish. Mac & Cheese is big with the locals so that was the sidedish. Terry did good in sampling the fish--it was actually pretty good. Next Colin took us through the fish market where the daily catches were being processed. One of the workers went to find some Flying Fish so we could see what we had just eaten. She held it up proudly for us to snap a couple photos. We followed Colin through the Oistin Fish Processing Center to the jetty (dock) where Colin had a bag of turtle food ready. Barbados is home to a healthy population of hawksbill and leatherback turtles. Once endangered by over fishing, these creatures are now protected and monitored throughout the island. In some areas, the local fishermen feed and care for them, scraping barnacles off their backs and making sure that their nesting area is safe. The turtles are sociable and tend to stay in the same area. Colin threw the bait in the water and we watched as the turtles came to the surface to feed. We thought we would be swimming with the turtles as we did on our first visit, but the area we were in just didn't lend itself to that, although Colin said we certainly could if we wanted to. We chose to just watch them from the dock.

Next on our tour was a stop at Accra Beach. Colin left us to relax on the beach for awhile. The water was warm, clear, and the sands white. We played in the water for awhile and it felt great. The sun shined bright and hot. There were enough clouds in the sky, as well as gentle breeze, to provide brief periods of respite...for which we were thankful. We left the beach about 1.5 hours later and Colin drove us back to the port, continuing to point out things of interest along the way.

Crystal clear water and white sand beach---ahh!

Here's a bit of trivia about Barbados (from the Princess Patter). This island was a popular tourist destination even back in the 18th century. It was fashionable to go to Barbados for one's health. George Washington accompanied his ill half-brother, Lawrence, to Barbados for a change of air. Unfortunately, during that visit, George contracted the smallpox that marked him for life. Go figure!!

The lion that stands guard over Barbados

Next port....St. Vincent, a new one for us!