In 1990, we visited Sam Lord's Castle. Our memory of it was a stately piece of history, with an awesome view and nice restaurant. I had googled it and learned that the original structure was now a "ruin"! Now the Sam Lord's Castle is a huge Wyndham all inclusive resort! Some of the original Castle was still standing and we were able to find a way "in"! It was a bit sad to see the place in ruins, such a contrast to our memories of the place!
2024, the "ruins"!
The Castle today!
For our last supper in the villa Munchie whipped up some wonderful chicken pieces with fried rice and saute vegetables! Mmmm, mmmm, good!
On a side note, Munchie has been working on perfecting a "spicy" margarita. She said she is getting close to perfection! I am a bit confused, she says she muddled it, to me muddle is like messing things up, yet she says you have to muddle it to make it better!
Today our friend Dan Maqotiaux arrives on the island! He will be here for 16 days. We are looking forward to having him here with us to experience "Bim"! He is scheduled to arrive on Westjet flight WS2512 ( Toronto to Barbados nonstop). The most common itinerary it seems, for Albertan travellers using Edmonton as their first leg in the journey, is the "redeye" Westjet WS418 departing YEG at 00:05 hrs and arriving YYZ at 05:50 hrs. Then jumping on WS2512 at 08:30 hrs, arriving BGI at 14:50 hrs. This was the Coffey itinerary as well.
We had a leisurely morning, with me doing some blogging with my coffee and Munchie relaxing on the patio with her book!
We scheduled a stop at the Massey market down by the airport to pick up some supplies before today's airport pickup! My Google maps gave us the "quickest" route to this Massey. We have not been to this one before. Well Google's route ended up taking us off the beaten path and onto a "direct" road that turned out to be just a trail that was not for automobiles! No harm, no foul, just a minor "recalculation" and we were back on track, with only a few minutes spent re-routing!
Dan's flight got in early so we were there waiting with excited anticipation for him to walk through the arrival doors at 14:30 hrs. About 35 minutes later, Dan walked through the doors! He was in the standard Alberta winter apparel, blue jeans! So in the parking lot beside the chariot, Dan changed into more appropriate attire, shorts!
We hopped into the chariot and headed to Bottom Bay! On our route to the villa there is a sign for "Thelma's Sports Grill". We have been saying we should check it out so on our way home we swung by! Well, on this Friday at 4:30pm, Thelma's was closed! We had to settle for a Banks at the villa!
BJ had found Chef Kenny's Grill on google and it had great reviews! Unfortunately, it was the Sunday he discovered it, he's only open Friday and Saturday, BJ & Yoyo left on the Wednesday! He sets up in a church parking lot 6 minutes from our villa! We chose Kenny's for our supper, rather than driving down to Oistin's for the Friday night event there at the Fish Fry. I must say the reviews did not lie!
Kenny in back grilling!
Kenny was on the grill cooking up a storm and as it was our first time, he provided samples of the fresh marlin and tuna he had that night! We all chose the marlin! Dayna was at the "counter" and helped us with our order. We got three very generous portions of the grilled marlin with 3 sides! What we didn't know was Kenny's was strictly "take away"! We were hoping there were picnic tables to enjoy the meal right there in the great outdoors! The place was busy! Walk ups like us and Dayna was on the phone continuously! We took our marlin back to the villa and enjoyed a great feast!
Dayna taking orders!
One of the drawbacks of doing the red-eye from Edmonton to get here, is the toll it takes on your sleep! If you can't sleep on an air-plane you could be up for over 24 hours! So it was a relatively early evening!
Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 Dan's First Full Day!
Dan had a good sleep and was ready for a morning coffee around ten am. We had a nice slow morning relaxing and taking in the awesome view! We took a stroll down to show Dan Bottom Bay beach. I jumped in to cool off and Dan got surprised by one large wave that ended up wetting his shorts! For anyone that is into playing in the waves or boogie boarding, Bottom Bay is a great spot!
At the top of the stairs to the beach a local fellow has a table under an umbrella with handmade souvenir jewellery and fresh coconuts he cuts and adds rum for a tasty beverage (for those who like rum & coconut)! We learned that Ash, his nickname forever he said, his given name is Roy. Ash is the same age as Munchie, born in 1960. Ash told us he wouldn't be at the table on Sunday as he would be playing cricket down at Dover!
Mark and Brenda at Chill!
We decided to take a drive down to the Richard Haynes Boardwalk on the south coast in the Hastings area. Its not far from Rockley Beach. We started out at Blakey's. After a beverage we took a walk down the boardwalk ending up at Chill Bar & Grill. We ended up spending the entire evening there! We met a wonderful couple from Scotland, Brenda and Mark, and spent the evening sharing stories and having a great time!
Dan got his first experience of driving at night in Barbados! It can be a tad scary the first time, even for the passengers! I've been driving here now for 16 days (& nights!) and it still gives me white knuckles sometimes. We made it back without incident and spent the rest of the evening relaxing!
Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 Cricket at Dover!
Our new friend, Ash!
We woke up to another beautiful morning! We had a relaxing morning then headed to the Dover Cricket Club and got there before the start of the match. We said hello to Ash and he was pleased that we had come out to watch them play. One of Ash's teammates, Austin, learned we were from the Edmonton area of Alberta, he called over his significant other, Adrienne. As it turned out Adrienne, whose actual first name is Veronica, has lived in Edmonton for more than 20 years! She has a place in the Ellerslie neighbourhood and her 5 grandchildren are all in Edmonton. We had a wonderful conversation with her and she provided us with some insight into how the game of cricket is played. I took down her contact information and hope we can connect in the future!
Cricket matches can be lengthy!
It was almost 3 hours of play before Ash's team took up the bats! After seeing Ash and Austin as batsmen, we skipped away for a beverage and nosh at Johnny Cool's Bar.
Back at the ranch, Munchie built some fish cakes with our left over marlin, then whipped up an awesome pasta and shrimp dish for our supper!
We had a bit of a shower this evening! Since arriving on the island we have had a few brief showers, usually at night and occasionally in the morning. The rain we had tonight was a deluge! I was looking outside and wondered exactly where the rain was coming from as the night sky was still full of stars!
With the rain came Eleutherodactylus johnstonei! We quite often have both the front and rear patio doors open to get a cool breeze through the house. The little whistling frog of Barbados stopped in for a visit! We were sitting there in the living room chatting and listening to the rain when we saw one of the little guys "hop"! Boy can they jump! Well my darling bride could not live with an "infestation" so our resident hunter tracked down not only one but 3 of the little hoppers. Dan was able to humanely capture and release the critters back to the wild! One of the little green guys that had been relocated to the back patio decided he wanted back in and promptly leaped up the step back into the living room. His mistake! Dan also leaped into action and after a short pursuit had his quarry! I ended up joining the hunt and caught 2 as well!
The frogs are not the only "visitors" we've had. We have had a few green crickets make their way inside! Again, Munchie is far less than comfortable with sharing our space with them so I have had to perform catch and release of these as well!
With the departure of the Coffeys, Munchie and I had to spend an entire day by ourselves! I'm so lucky that my darling bride still likes me! We do love our time together. Our time alone is usually quite routine, at least our routine! I get up early, can't sleep in, don't know why, just can't. Sometimes I'm up before 5am! I try to stay abed until at least 6am so as not to disturb Munchie too much. Doesn't always work! So I get up and make coffee, my one domestic chore permitted by my bride! I often use this early morning time to work on the blogg!
I have missed going out for a bike ride or a brisk walk early in the morning! I haven't picked up a bike here yet. I have to scout out some "bike routes" that aren't on the busier roads as the roads are generally narrow, no shoulders, and often have lots of potholes! As a cyclist, you really have to stay aware and keep you head on a swivel! I haven't been doing a lot of walking either due to the tendentious in the achilles. Fortunately, it is slowly improving! I have been testing it with some short strolls in the area. So far so good!
Once Munchie gets up, we usually have a homemade bran muffin with our coffee and then will play a game of cards or yahtzee! I know, we are live wires!
We did get a visit from a small troop of green monkeys! I was talking to one of the neighbours, Jay, from Ontario. He and his wife bought a place here 20 years ago. He said the monkeys are considered pest here and can be quite aggressive! I believe that as I saw a couple of them chase a cat away! Jay said there has been talk of the government putting a bounty on them to help control their numbers as they have no natural predators here on the island.
Today decided to check out the Welcome Inn, now operating as the Barbados Beach Club. This is the place we spent the month of February at, in 1990! We enjoyed the nostalgia of the visit and reminisced about our time there in 1990 with Tom and Laurie! The room on the left, ground floor was ours!
After the visit to the Inn, we zipped up the the Sheraton Mall. I needed a cell phone mount for the dashboard and we needed some dominoes! We were able to find both!
We went down to Dover Beach for lunch. We stopped at Johnny Cools Jazz and Blues Bar! What a great name for a bar! The jazz and blues playing in the background was very cool!
View at Johnny Cool's!
Hmmmm good!
We went back to the villa after lunch and after another wonderful meal compliments of Munchie, we spent some time "breaking in " the dominoes! So far, Munchie "0", Johnny "1"!
Tomorrow, Dan arrives! We are looking forward to his visit!
This was the first real opportunity for Yolanda and BJ to spend some serious time with their toes in the sand and surf! Crane beach is quite close to our villa, less than ten minutes by chariot! Six kilometres by road, four "as the crow flies"! It is a wonderful beach, however being on the windward side of the island you still get some pretty good swells rolling in on you! They are fun to play in, but you do have to be aware of what's coming in! We made a deal with Oskar for the use of chairs and umbrellas and got busy relaxing! The Crane Beach Resort overlooks the beach is well used by their guests! Even so, it was not crowded at all! BJ and Yolanda enjoyed frolicking in the ocean! We also did a little hike to the south point of the bay, and as I mentioned "hike" the "we" referred to are: BJ, Yoyo and me!
The hike!
The views from the point were great! The hike wasn't too difficult other than getting from the beach to the trail, you had to do some scrambling over some pretty jagged rocks! I'm happy to report, no major falls, bumps, slips or trips were experienced!
Yolanda to the rescue!
There was one act of compassion and aid that may even border on heroism done by one the members of our foursome! Yolanda came to the aid of Shelley! She had been tumbled over by a wave and even with the help of another, couldn't regain her feet! Without hesitation of concern for her own safety from the crashing waves, Yolanda jumped into action and assisted in getting Shelley back up on her feet! Hooray for Yolanda!
A mermaid on the beach?!
Yahoo!
We spent about 3 hours on the beach and that was maybe a bit too long for a first day in the sun. Poor ol' BJ, being pretty fair skinned, did have a pretty noticeable shade of pink happening! And that was with multiple applications of sun screen! Fortunately he said it wasn't too bad even though it looked like it might be uncomfortable!
We had planned on the Oistin's Fish Fry tonight so after our primping and preening we zipped down for the evening! Again, the place was hopping!
It was a fun evening and Yolanda got to shake it with one of the locals! She told us that BJ doesn't dance so she will solo it when she can't stop the beat from taking over! By the time we got back to the villa, we were all pretty bagged and it was a relatively early night for us all!
Sunday February 25, 2024 Enterprise Beach! Known as Miami Beach to the locals!
Zoomed in !
This beach is on the south coast and doesn't see the more aggressive waves you get at Crane. Another great afternoon basking, and bathing! We didn't get any heroics from Yolanda this time. No one appeared in distress and other than one rather large fellow who Yolanda mistook for a beached whale and wanted to run over and roll him back into the sea, the day was serene and peaceful!
Monday February 26, 2024 Sunset Party!
There were 3 cruise ships at port in Bridgetown this day, the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas (2500 passengers), the TUI Cruise Lines Mein Schiff 4 (2500 passengers) and the Reagent Seven Seas of Splendor (750 passengers). We drove through Bridgetown, took a couple of "wrong" turns, but eventually got to the port. We couldn't, of course, get onto the pier but we did find a likely spot for an afternoon beverage!
From the port we headed north. I had joined a FB group, "Canadians in Barbados" and was invited to this event, "The Sunset Party"! It was at the Drift Ocean Terrace Lounge, in Holetown. This is just minutes from our spot in Fitt's Village! The event was organized by Ann Jamieson, a Canadian expat who has a strong connection to the island. From mingling and speaking with others at the event, she is the "go to" person for info about the island. And upon the band's request, she even accompanied them with her steel drums! The entertainment was awesome, with a keyboardist, vocalist and another steel drum player. We enjoyed the evening and the interaction with a large number of snowbirds, mostly from Canada, but also some from the UK and USA. All in all, it was a great time!
At the Drift!
The Drift's terrace.
Tuesday February 27, 2024 Rockley Beach
We chose Rockley Beach for BJ & Yolanda's last day in the sand and surf!
Sadly, they will be leavin' on a jetplane tomorrow!
Rockely was a great beach! Much more "friendly" to swimmers and "frolickers"!
There were also lots of souvenir shops all about so the girls enjoyed some browsing and buying before a much needed rest on the beach!
The Coffeys enjoyed their last hoorah on the beaches of Barbados!
We had decided on having fresh fish for supper and being close to the Oistin's fish market, we stopped in to "catch" our dinner! Marlin was the choice!
We met Diana! She carved up our steaks for us, 5 lbs of marlin! The "Pavlov" effect was working on me I tell you!
And of course my Munchie did not disappoint with the fabulous meal she put together!
To cap off the evening we played cards! We taught the Coffeys Spades! They enjoy playing cards and liked the new game.
BJ and Munchie were crowing about their card prowess, so Yolanda and I took them on and were victorious!
Wednesday February 28, 2024 Farewell to the Coffeys!
We got up and spent a leisurely morning preparing for Yolanda and BJ's flight back to winter! Munchie whipped up a farewell breakfast and BJ was able to finish up the Spam!
Inevitably, we had to take the chariot to the Grantley Adams International and say our goodbyes! We had an absolutely great time with Yolanda and BJ!
Thanks so much to the Coffeys for making the journey down here to share the experience with us!
Cheers to all................more to come, click on the follow button!
