Thursday, April 5, 2018

Barbados! November 25, 2017

Today we would be boarding our ship! We were definitely looking forward to seeing what a sailing yacht would be like! But before it was time to head to the dock, we had plenty of time to tour the island of Barbados! When Lisa was at one of our industry conferences last year she met a representative from the Barbados Tourism Authority and they were very welcoming to us during our visit. Not only did Lisa get to spend the day yesterday before I arrived touring some other hotels, but today they provided us with a sightseeing tour of the island! Our driver/guide, picked us up after breakfast and off we went! 

As we made our way along the Caribbean Coast our driver told us stories about his life growing up in Barbados. We drove through Holetown and Speighstown until we crossed the island and made our way to the North Point. I had a vague familiarity of Barbados as I was there twenty five years ago for my honeymoon! We even drove by the resort that Keith and I stayed at, which seemed like so long ago, and also seems like yesterday! But one of the places I remember well was the cliffs at the North Point!




We stopped here for quite some time to take in the views, which are spectacular!












































The Animal Flower Cave is also located here, but we didn't get a chance to visit. Tours are offered throughout the day, so if you plan to visit - be sure to check it out!




There is also a gift shop and restaurant here as well. 


After our stop, we drove along the Atlantic Coast of the island. The clouds had started to form and it began to drizzle off and on. Our driver was very cautious and didn't know if we would be able to visit some of our stops because of the water on the roads. But we went ahead, stopping at a few photo spots, including this lovely view!




Which is apparently popular to stop to take pictures of because there are people selling goods right there on the side of the road where we stopped!



Our next stop was the Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill. Here was the Caribbean's largest and oldest working Mill. 











The views from here were quite pretty! And if we looked inland the sky was blue, but towards the coast, it was raining.





Our next stop was supposed to be Bathsheba. Legend says that Bathsheba was the wife of King David and that she bathed in milk to keep her skin so beautiful and soft. The legend also says that the waters of Bathsheba are surf covered, white waters, and that they resemble Bathsheba's bath in appearance and in health values because they are rich in minerals and in life. But our driver didn't want to make the drive down the side of the island because the road was too steep and he feared that with the rains today it would be too slick and unsafe. So we would just get a glimpse of the rock formations through the mist. These rocks are actually made of ancient coral reefs!



As we drove along the coast, it was about lunch time and we stopped at the Atlantis Hotel & Restaurant. We were seated on the porch with beautiful views of the ocean, and luckily it was a covered porch because just as we ordered the rain came down!

















Our guide made some recommendations for lunch, including some traditional foods, fish cakes for example, and we had a great meal. After lunch we started back towards the Caribbean, but not before stopping at the Gun Hill Signal Station for another quick photo stop.

Barbados has several Signal Stations remaining. The purpose of these stations was to warn of approaching ships, cane fires and slave rebellions. The stations offer great views of the islands, however we weren't able to actually get to the station itself because they were setting up for a private party.









It was about time to head to the ship! We said goodbye to our driver, and Lisa took a minute to pose with a pirate....


before saying goodbye to Barbados!  Next up....the Wind Star and sailing away!

2 comments:

  1. I'm so excited to read a new trip review of yours. I started following your travels when I found you on Cruise Critic and you had written an amazing review of your first European Adventure. Your pictures are stunning!!!

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    1. Hi Becki! I'm glad you found me over here on my Blog! I have a few other trip reviews between that European Adventure and this one....if you feel like catching up! :) Thank you for the compliments on my pictures! I really love reliving my travels through my photography and sharing my adventures through my blog!

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