Wed 2 Nov 2011
I recently had the privilege of spending a few days on the lovely island of Barbados.
I found the island to be somewhat similar to Cayman in terms of development and friendly people, it is however a much bigger island and also much further from Miami (a 3.5h flight) that I expected. Although I did not have a lot of time, I did get some time at the beach and to see a few local attractions.
First up, the beach near my hotel. Very nice.
This was my favorite part on the beach. Starting just a few hundred feet from my hotel, there was a boardwalk that was +-1/2mile long. Awesome for an early morning jog. Actually, at 6am this boardwalk was already full of walkers and runners enjoying the scenery. I cant blame them.
View from the restaurant where I had lunch with some work colleagues. Great view.
Did you know that the first rum ever produced (invented?) was from Barbados? I certainly did not. Well, it turns out that the Mount Gay Rum company, which produces its rum entirely in Barbados started production in 1703. We got a nice visit of the facilities one evening as organized by our local office. Very nice.
Of course, we got to taste the various types of rum ; the main difference of the different types are the age/color. When tasting them back to back you can really tell the difference. That was some strong stuff 🙂
Finally, an evening at Bert’s sports bar. This place is owned by Eugene Melnyk, a Canadian expat who is also the owner of the Ottawa Senators hockey team. There are TV’s all over the place to see the hockey games. I was lucky enough to go on an evening where my home team, the Montreal Canadians were playing ; it was definitely “Hockey Night in Barbados” with nachos, pizza and local beer! Awesome
About 10 years ago I spent 2 weeks in Barbados. You couldn’t pay me to go back there. We visited most parishes by car and had to drive off the road a couple of times to avoid the huge trucks carrying sugar cane – they OWN the road.
The beach where we were did not compare to Cayman’s.
People accosted us on the road and demanded money in turn for “directions” up in St. Lucy.
One bright spot was Col. Cave at St. Nicholas Abbey. He was so friendly and welcoming. The Abbey has since been sold though, and I hear it’s doing well under the new owners.
Cayman is far superior as a vacation spot.
Ha ha !
Hockey Night in Barbados is a fun reference to the popular TV show from the national TV network called Hockey Night in Canada !!!
Yves