Scenic Places

We are leaving Barbados tomorrow for a week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  We want to share a few of the scenic spots we have visited in Barbados.  We are having some trouble with publishing from the iPad so the captions here refer to the pictures in the post below.

The first photo was taken on Needham Point, in front of the Hilton Hotel.  We went there for a drink and to watch the sunset after a swim on Pebbles Beach.  There are some old cannons there, as the point was part of St. Ann's Fort and Garrison that was established here in the early 1700's.  



This fountain is in the center of Bridgetown in a new park that was built along the careenage.  The careenage is a place where boats were brought in for repairs, as it was shallow enough to tip them on their sides to get at the bottom.  We toured a sailing boat that is trying to re-establish the shipping of goods using only wind power.  They were shipping chocolate from Grenada to New York, and other cargo from the USA to Europe.



In the small neighbourhood where our appartment is most houses have mature gardens.  This lovely bouganvillia is around the front entryway of a house near one of the local bus stops.  We have taken the local bus only once as our friend Jim has been happy to play tour guide and take us all around the island.  He is very knowledgeable about the island and his love for this place shows, even through his frustrations about things here that don't work well.



This is Accra Beach, which is one of the well known, popular beaches.  One evening after a swim here we went for dinner at a restaurant at the other end of a sea-side boardwalk that begins here.  The brief sunset that night was followed by a rain shower and strong winds so we were happy to be inside the restaurant enjoying a pepper pot and some flying fish, both common traditional dishes in Barbados.

 This is Miami Beach (sometimes known as Enterprise Beach), and it is the beach we swim at most days.  It is a short car ride from the apartment, and Jim likes to go there most days in the afternoon.  Of course we tag along and enjoy the pristine waters.  There are fewer tourists and more local people at this beach than at Accra, so it feels very safe and comfortable.  This section of the beach has some waves, and around the point, which is behind the photographer, there is another stretch of beach with very little wave action.

We have been watching the weather in Regina, and were very happy we were not there last week. We have had a bit of rain here, but it is mainly early in the morning and doesn't hamper our activities much.

We have a few more pictures of our activities in Barbados that we want to share, so we will likely send another post later today.

Scenic Spots

We are leaving Barbados tomorrow for a week in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We want to share a few of the scenic spots we have visited in Barbados.

This photo was taken on Needham Point, in front of the Hilton Hotel. We went there for a drink and to watch the sunset after a swim on Pebbles Beach. There are some old cannons there, as the point was part of St. Ann's Fort and Garrison that was established here in the early 1700's.

Hatching Turtles

As promised here is a picture of the turtles hatching.

Beautiful Beaches

We arrived in Barbados on Monday, Jan 16 at about 9:30 pm walked off the plane to warmth and humidity.  We have been having a rain shower every morning, and then clear or partly cloudy skies the rest of the day.  The temperature has been in the high 20s but it has been very windy.

Our friends Jim and Jym, from whom we are renting an apartment, live in Inch Marlow on the south coast of Barbados. Their house is about 50 meters from the far end of the beach pictured below, and we have been going for a morning walk on this beach every day.  This is the windy side of the island, so this beach is frequented by kite sailers and wind surfers. It is not a good beach for swimming as there is a strong undertow, but there are many other beautiful beaches for swimming.

Long Beach

The island of Barbados is mainly limestone and Evanna has been enjoying examining the rocks.  This coral is at the east end of Long Beach. 

Of course the vegetation is very tropical, sea grapes grow on the dune between the beach and the housing development, and there are many kinds of palm trees, flowering trees and bushes, and ground cover.

This palm tree grows in a botanical garden that we visited yesterday inland in the central part of the island.

When we bought fish at the local fish market in Oistins we were given a bunch of scraps to feed to the green turtles out in the bay behind the market.  Evanna threw out pieces of fish, and soon about 8 turtles swam in to feed.

We visited the historic Garrison House and had a Rum Punch at sunset at the beachside bar of the Hilton Hotel in Bridgetown.

Our friends have been showing us the sights around the island.

On our way to the botanical gardens yesterday we stopped at St. John's Church, near the east coast.  It is built on top of a limestone ridge with a beautiful view of the east coast, looking northeast toward Bathsheba on one side and south east on the other side.  The east coast is on the Atlantic ocean and is not recommended for swimming. The water is rough and the bottom is rocky in most places.

East Coast

Last night we went to the famour Oitsins Fish Fry, which is a Friday night institution in Barbados.  Besides the myriad of food booths there were many craft and souvenier vendors.

Jym and Jim waiting for our meal at the Oistins Fish Fry

This morning we rose early to visit a farmer's market inland from Inch Marlow, where we had breakfast and bought some lovely produce.  We are off to the beach this afternoon and then to watch a sailing regatta.  We are definitely not msissing Canadian weather!

Goodbye Snow

This is where we will be tomorrow around 10:00 pm. Of course it will be dark by then.

We will write again from Barbados.

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Ready for the Sun

In just under two weeks we will leave the snow and cold for the sun and sand in Barbados and St. Vincent.