We spent our last days here on the island revisiting beaches and getting our last licks in enjoying the sun, surf and sand!
Munchie was on a mission to use up all of our "supplies" and always amazes by putting together feasts with what's left in the refrigerator and cupboards!
We ate out more often towards the last few days as well.
Our view!
Munchie and I have been toying with the thought of spending more time here in Barbados and actually "pulled the trigger" so to speak and have secured a year's lease on an apartment in St. Lucy! You can't get much farther north, but the place is exactly what we were looking for! We like quiet and laid back, which Sunset Point gives us. It is a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment that is quite spacious! The view is absolutely spectacular! I'm also excited with the prospect of being able to ride my bicycle in relative safety as there is substantially less traffic in the north!
This Google Earth link will take you to Sunset Point! Click on "Sunset Point" marker and you can have a look at more photos of where we will be living!
There is a secluded bay just a short walk away (I walked to it from Sunset Point in less than 8 minutes at a leisurely pace!), Archer's Bay. A nice little bay, quiet, peaceful and close! Unfortunately, not a swimming beach, but we do have the lane pool!
View from Ragged Point. World's largest asparagus??
During our time here, we have been meeting the most wonderful people. The local Bajans we have met have all in all be kind, courteous, helpful and genuine! We have also met a multitude of visitors like ourselves from all over the globe. All enjoying what the island has to offer!
Andrea & John on Fitts Beach!
On our last days on Fitts beach we met a couple, Andrea and John, who live about 15 minutes away from our place in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada! Andrea and Brenda hit it off immediately when they learned they both had Ukrainian roots! There was perogie talk flying around let me tell you!
This will be my final entry for our adventure here in Barbados. I'm not sure what I will do when we come back in December, to blog or not to blog, that is the question.........?
Wednesday April 10th, 2024 Batts Rock / Perogies / Sunsets!
Dave, Pat and I took a turn on Batts Rock beach. Munchie opted to stay back and deliver on a promise she made to JP and Ronnie. JP and Ronnie are servers at Il Tempio and have looked after us on our visits there! Not sure how, but somehow the topic of perogies came up and Munchie told the boys she would make some for them to try. So this was perogie making day for Munchkin!
While Munchie toiled away in the kitchen (which happens to be one of her happy places!), Pat, Dave and I spent the afternoon on Batts Rock Beach. Pat had her snorkel gear with her and checked out the reefs there. After getting our fill of sun and surf, we stopped in at the La Cabane for a beverage before heading back to Fitts.
Munchie's decision to stay home and built some of those wonderful little bundles of gastric joy was fully endorsed by all of us who got to chow down on them!
We finished off the day with another awesome sunset!
Thursday April 11th, 2024 St. Nicholas Abbey & Steam Train
Our plan for today was taking in the St. Nicholas plantation and its operational steam train ride! We started off the morning with our usual routine, coffee and a bran muffin (often fresh out of the oven!). Every morning we are visited by some bullfinch, a very clever little bird that has been getting bolder every morning. I'm sure now they are expecting their morning crumbs that we have been putting out for them from our muffins. This morning, one didn't bother to wait for us to put the crumbs out for him, he just hopped up and started in!
We headed up the St. Nicholas Abbey and started with the steam train tour. This steam rail line is all that is left from a line that used to stretch from Bridgetown through St. Philip, along the east coast, into St. Andrew, just over 38km.
My brief appearance as a steam train engineer!
After the train ride we had a guided tour of, first the mill works and then the plantation house. The mill works were quite interesting (for you enthusiasts of such, try this link; mill ).
1681! Very cool!
They also had some vintage tractors there, so just for my brother-in-law, Wade, I've included them! Cheers Wade! Also, sister-in-law Beverly might like this! An old church bell! She has one in the "bell tower" on her farm that Wade built for her!
St. Nicholas Abbey circa 1915!
The Abbey today!
Our tour of the plantation house was a delight! Our tour guide, Victoria, had a quick wit, was knowledgeable, and informative! Kudos to Victoria! The lavish furniture and decorations told a story on their own of what daily life may have been for the aristocrats of the day. I also found myself pondering what it would take to live in such a manor, the manpower required to maintain a house and sugar mill operation. I can't help but acknowledge there is a dark side to how plantations first began and the exploitation of first, slaves and indentured workers and later employees. I hope that moving forward we can all accept that we cannot change the past and learn from the both the tragedies and triumphs and resolve to make the future a better place for all generations from all walks of life!
On our way out, I had to use the "little boys room"! I had a chuckle at the door signs!
Melissa!
Our chef (my darling bride, Munchie) had planned on preparing some fresh fish for our evening meal, so on the way home we stopped at Payne's Fish Market. It's only 1.5km from our place! Melissa (Fish, Fish and More Fish Barbados) cut us some awesome dolphin (not Flipper!) also called mahi mahi.
Mmmm, mahi-mahi!
So, we took in another great sunset, then had a fantastic feed of fresh fish, prepared to perfection, thanks to my darling bride for another awesome meal!
Friday April 12th, 2024 Mexican Night!
We stuck around Fitts for the day. Taking in some beach time, some swim time, some snorkel time, very relaxing.
Cafe Sol!
We decided to try out the Cafe Sol Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar on the St. Lawrence Gap for supper! We enjoyed the atmosphere, the location, and the food/drinks!
ariba! andale!
Saturday, April 13th, 2024 Welchman's Hall Gully!
We set up another tour of the Gully with Ashan. Number 3 for Munchie and I! For me, the highlight of this tour was we got to meet Ashae', Ashan's 18 month old son! It warmed my heart to the max when Ashan came walking up the path and little Ashae came right to me into my arms! Sometimes little ones can be a tad standoffish with me as I can be quite exuberant in my excitement when meeting little people! As Munchie and I do not have grandbabies (subtle dig at Nolan!), we have to "adopt" grandbabies! First and foremost is our Peanut (Gracyn!). I first held her when she was just hours old! We have also been fortunate to now have our Hawaiian GB's, Demitri, Mimi, and now Shep!
Ashan said he was a bit surprised that Ashae' came right to me as he could be a bit shy with strangers. So while Ashan gave the tour to Dave and Pat, Munchie and I hung out with Ashae'!
After the tour we stopped by a contact of Ashan's, Gail, who makes "roti"! We had ordered some roti from Gail through Ashan.
We finished our afternoon with a visit to the Vault Vybz for a beer with Ashan, then headed home.
Pigtails!
Dave and I wanted to try the bbq pigtails up at Wendy's. So we went up there in the afternoon and tried them! They were good! A bit messy, but quite tasty!
Sunday April 14th, 2024 Bathsheba coast!
Today, Pat, Dave and I took a drive to the east coast. Munchie opted to stay home for this one.
Dave and Pat really enjoyed walking the rugged coast line! Dave went crazy with the Canon fire! Shooting the vista from numerous vantage points!
There were some surfers out in the "Soup Bowl" and they came under Canon fire! We met a surfer coming in from shredding some waves, he was a young man, about my age! He has lived in Barbados all his life and has been surfing since 13 years old (around 50 years!).
I'm canon fodder here!
We stopped by the Roundhouse for a beverage before heading home!
We ended the day with another beautiful sunset!
Monday April 15th, 2024 Harrison's Cave
Today we went to the Harrison's Cave. Being a "cave", my darling bride was not interested and stayed home!
The cave itself was first mentioned in writings from 1795. Brenda and I did visit them in 1990 and Brenda did take the tram ride down! It wasn't a fun experience for her! There may have been tears!
Dave, Pat and I did a walk up and were able to get on the tram's 12:20pm run. We had time to walk about the grounds that now included a bit of a nature trail and a cafe/bar! There were lots of changes since 1990! There were now zip lines, elevators and the nature walk!
On the nature walk!
Our guide, Sandra!
Sandra's reaction!
We met our tour guide, Sandra, before our tour and enjoyed a great conversation with her! I showed her a gag photo of Brenda and I sitting in the snow having a cocktail, me in shorts! This really tickled Sandra's funny bone!
Cocktails in the sun (& snow)!
On the tram c/w safety equipment!
At our appointed time we started the tour. We first were treated to an informative video presentation about the history of the cave. Sandra also provided a commentary of the cave and how it become what we were experiencing today. After the video, we rode the elevator down and hopped on the tram, safety equipment in place! I found the hair net not all that useful!
I'm not used to a hair net!
Just a sample of what's in the cave!
I recall being impressed by the cave in 1990, and was again this time around! Dave's canon must have been white hot from all the shooting he was doing! Just google "Harrison Cave images" and you will get a pretty good idea of what we experienced!
Tuesday April 16, 2024 Animal Flower Cave, St. Lucy, Barbados!
Today was a visit to the Animal Flower Cave. (Munchie and I, visit number 3!)
The view from inside the cave!
Pat, Dave and I went down into the cave. Even with this being my 3rd time since February, I still enjoyed the views and taking a dip in the pool! Pat got a kick out of the actual "animal flowers" that we saw! These flowers are actually little living sea anemones.
After our visit to the cave and a swim, we went topside for a bite and a beverage in the restaurant.
Wednesday April 17, 2024 Sun Halo & Wendy's!
Sun Halo!
We made this a beach morning right here at Fitts! We were treated to a very cool atmospheric phenomenon, a sun halo! Although a number of locals said they had never seen one before the local meteorological service said they are not all that rare, just that this one was very bright and visible! They are the result of ice crystals about 20,000 ft above us!
Dave's perfect compliment to the Halo, a Banks!
In the afternoon, Dave and I went up to Wendy's to catch the Champion's League 2nd leg Arsenal vs Bayern Munich and Real Madrid vs Man City. The crowd was predominantly Arsenal supporters. Although there was one very vocal local fellow cheering on Real Madrid. He provided additional entertainment for the match! Munich got by Arsenal 1 nil and Real Madrid downed Man City in a shoot out!
After the matches we went over to Il Tempio and caught the last call for happy hour and had some pizza!
It was a tad cloudy so our sunset was a bit muted in comparison to previous ones!
Thursday April 18th, 2024 Heywoods Beach & the Caboose!
We went up to Speightstown for another beach day. We set up on the south side of Heywoods Beach by the pier. A sheltered little "cove". Pat did some snorkelling and was very pleased with the reef and fish she saw. After the beach we went over to the Caboose for a libation!
Friday April 19th, 2024 Morgan Lewis Windmill & Cove Bay
Dave, Pat and I took a drive over to the east side of the island to take what Google said was the only "working" windmill left on the island.
No sails!
Prior to 2021, sails intact!
As it turned out the windmill has not worked since it's sails were torn off in 2021 (hurricane Elsa). Although, it is no longer operational, the bar was still there and open! We were able to get a Banks! The fellow there, our bartender, who used to be one of the tour guides, said that the cost to replace the sails on the windmill was over $200,000! Dave was able to blast away at the mill with his canon!
We took a drive down to Morgan Lewis Beach. This involved following a rural, unpaved road, that if had been wet would have been impassable! We were able to navigate the "path" slowly down to the beach without issue! We were not the only ones that took the path. Another Toyota Vitz followed us down! 3 gents from Ontario, Canada! They said they saw us heading down the trail and decided to follow and see where we were going! The stretch of beach had sand, however the surf was rough and high. Not a place to swim, unless you were a surfer!
From the beach we headed north following more paved rural roads to our next stop, Cove Bay. On the way we found a great vantage point for Dave to shoot his canon off!
We got to Cove Bay. The lookout area was really quite spectacular! The canon was booming again! We took a trail down the bank to the rugged shoreline complete with a shipwreck on the rocky beach!
The trail down was a bit of a scramble in some spots, but we were able to navigate it without too much difficulty!
The coast line was very rugged and with the white "cliffs" could have been a little "Dover"!
From the cliffs, we headed back to the west coast and pulled into the Caboose for a cool one! Pat tried the Caboose rum punch. She really liked it and we soon discovered it was quite potent! It's official, Pat is a light weight when it comes to libations and spirits! She got a bit tipsy!
There was a trio of sisters sitting next to us and were trying to get some pictures so I offered to assist. As it turned out, Dorothy has been living here (re-located for the the UK) for 8 years I believe she said and her sister, Jacqueline, had also re-located to Barbados from Britain arriving last October! Jacqueline does a video blog as well, please click on her name to have a look! It was a pleasure to meet you ladies!
Saturday April 20th, 2024 Another Day at the Beach!
We took a drive down to the south coast and spent a few hours on Rockley Beach. It is Munchie's favourite beach. There was a lot of sargassum seaweed in the surf! We were still able to swim, but you couldn't avoid the seaweed!
King Fish (mackerel)
In the afternoon we went up to Payne Bay Fish Market and picked some King Fish from Melissa (Fish, Fish and More Fish). Melissa cut up the fish to order, offering suggestions on filet size etc.
Brenda did another awesome job on the fish and it was absolutely delicious!
We got some rain in the late afternoon! It was like the heavens opened up!
To cap off another great day, I was able to watch the Bruins lay a lickin' on the Leafs!
That's it for now, will post again before we head north!
