Barbados in a Day

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. We continue our journey in the Caribbean basin with Barbados (yes, the birthplace of pop singer Rihanna :-). It was one of the stops during our two-weeks cruise, exploring the Eastern part of the Caribbean. Certainly, exploring places when on a cruise is slightly different in comparison to going there for longer. For the route we have chosen though, going on a cruise is a good option in order to get a feeling of the islands and decide which one to visit for longer.

The article for Barbados is part of the series of posts presenting the islands we visited and giving you tips on what to see and do “in a day”. The other islands we visited were:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• British Virgin Islands
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• St Kitts & Nevis
• St Maarten
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent & The Grenadines
• Trinidad & Tobago

In order to read our recommendations for each island, just follow the links. We also shared our overall cruise experience and tips when going on a cruise for the first time.

Barbados name origin

Now back to Barbados. The name “Barbados” comes from a Portuguese explorer Pedro Campos in 1536, who originally called the island Os Barbados (“The Bearded Ones”). This name refers to the appearance of the island’s fig trees, whose long hanging aerial roots resembled beards. If you remember from the previous article for Antigua and Barbuda, the same fig trees inspired the name of Barbuda island. Between Campos’s sighting in 1536 and 1550, Spanish conquistadors seized many Caribs on Barbados and used them as slave labor on plantations. 

What makes Barbados different from the rest of the Lesser Antilles islands is the fact that it does not have volcanic origin. It consists of corals and limestone. The origin of the island defines the beautiful white-sand beaches you can find there.

Unfortunately, the weather on the day we were in Barbados was not nice. It was raining during most of the time. Despite that we did the best to enjoy our stay.

Transportation 

If you are coming to Barbados on a cruise, you will most probably use taxis to get from one place to the other. However, if you are looking for a local experience, you might consider using local buses. A small research showed that the services along the south and west coasts are frequent, journeys of any length cost just BD$2 (75p). The island’s main bus terminal is conveniently located ten minutes walk from the cruise terminal. To be honest, the bus terminal is a bit outside the city center and it did not look safe. I would think twice before going there when it is dark. 

Besides the full-size buses, there are ZR mini vans (they have ZR on their number plates), which pick up and drop off anywhere on set routes. Squeezing into a ZR packed with locals with their shopping, with the music blaring, can be fun.

History of Barbados

Barbados is the only Caribbean island that was governed by only one colonial power, Great Britain. Just for comparison, some neighboring islands like St Lucia for example changed their governor country 14 times. The British influence has given the country the nickname “Little England”. The Barbadians’ name for themselves is “Bajans” (BAY-juns). It comes from “Barbajians,” the way the British pronounced “Barbadians.”

The British first landed on Barbados in 1625. They soon began growing sugar cane and brought in African slaves to work on plantations. Even after slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834, things changed very little in Barbados. The black workers stayed on the plantations while a small group of white landowners held on to economic and political power.

Some scary stories about from Barbados folklore

The Bajan folklore is something which I found different from the rest of the islands we visited. I would like to share with you some interesting beliefs. Most of them go back to the African roots of the island’s population. Many folk beliefs involve methods for keeping ghosts, or duppies, from returning to haunt living people. These folk methods include sprinkling rum on the ground, walking into the house backward, and hanging herbs from the windows and doorways.

Here are some other stories which will make you shiver:

1. The Heartman is a prominent here in many tales. He kills little children and offers their hearts to the devil as a form of worship. 
2. The Baccoo, a tiny spirit who lives in a bottle and decides the fate of others, usually those who have wronged the person who summoned the spirit.
3. The scary story about the Chase Crypts

In this 1800 century a sealed family crypt was opened on numerous occasions after reports of strange sounds coming from the burial site. Each time the crypt was reopened the six solid lead coffins inside were found thrown around the room. The coffins would once again be arranged in an orderly fashion only to be found scattered once again a few months later. Isn’t this scary?

    4. The steel donkey 

This ‘creature’ emerged sometime in the early 20th century, out of the superstition of ‘cursing’; that is, the belief that persons could put curses on others. In appearance, the steel donkey has features of an animal (more specifically, a donkey) with eyes like fire (and apparently he was fire breathing as well according to some reports) and a clanking chain.

The donkey has been associated with stones landing on houses without anyone in sight seen to be throwing them. Others have associated the steel donkey with terrorizing some members of Barbados, particularly those from rural areas and their homes in the middle of the night. One minute it resided in Silver Sands, next it was seen in Bay Street (neither of these are rural areas). In the words of a famous Barbadian music group The Merrymen, “Half of Barbados swear that they see the Steel Donkey”. Yet, no one can agree on what he/she/it was…

What to see in Barbados in a day:

• Harrison’s cave 

Upon arriving at the port, we headed directly to the only attraction we knew we should not miss- Harrison’s cave. Our driver at St Lucia had recommended it to us. Here is the time to mention that this was the island having the rudest taxi drivers. Like on all other islands, once you arrive at the pier, you firstly pass through the place where official taxis stand. We asked for the price of the transportation to the cave and back. Not only did they offer quite a high rate (we had researched beforehand the approximate cost), but also they behaved very arrogantly. This unfortunately coincided with the observations from a friend of ours who lived there for a while.

Based on our experience so far, we skipped the official taxis and we went out of the harbor area. A group of unofficial taxi drivers were waiting there. We could bargain a ride for $60 to get to the Harrison’s cave and then- to Brownes Beach. 

Harrison’s Cave, an underground cavern located in the central uplands of Barbados, is a 1.4-mile (2.3-kilometer) natural wonder chock-full of stalactites, stalagmites, cascading waterfalls, and natural passages. The cave is named after Thomas Harrison who bought the land above the cave (not knowing what is beneath) in the 18th century. The temperature in the cave is 26 degrees during the whole year- unlike other caves where you need a jacket. 

 

 

Harrison’s cave history

The cave was open to the public in 1981. The Government paid for the creation of the tunnel. Otherwise, if we wanted to walk through the cave in the old days, we would have spent 3.5 hours (crawling through different insects, scorpions and bats). Thankfully, we had an amazing guide who was working there for 30 years. She gave us great insights about all the formations in the cave. I found impressive that it takes 120 years for two centimeters of stalactites to be formed. There were formations of more than five meters in height- you can calculate yourself how old they are. The most interesting formations are the Crystal room where they held different ceremonies, including weddings; “the village” which is 7000 years old. 

The guide said that they call the cave “fountain of youth”. Due to the different microorganisms which live in the cave and also to the fresh water, the locals believe that visiting the cave makes you ten years younger :-). Judging by the outer appearance of our guide (she was turning 60, but one could give her maximum 50), this must be true. 

We were the first group to enter Harrison’s cave. On the way out there were quite a lot of people queuing at the entrance. So you better head towards it once you arrive at the pier. I forgot to mention that the entrance fee is $35: definitely worth the experience. 

• Brownes Beach overlooking Carlisle Bay

Being the closest located to the pier terminal, this beach is also the most touristic one. We chose it as we could easily walk from it to Bridgetown and then back to the ship. 

I have to admit that the water on Brownes Beach had amazing turquoise color. However, it is busy and locals are all the time trying to sell you different stuff- trips to shipwrecks, swimming with sea turtles, photos with lizards and monkeys, sunbeds with umbrellas, drinks, etc. You can skip all of this by going to another beach nearby.

Swimming with sea turtles

One of the most popular “trips” from Brownes Beach is a one-hour boat ride to a place where you can snorkel with sea turtles. The price of the trip is $20. I intentionally say “trip”, as you spent most of the time collecting people from different parts of the beach. Then they bring you to a place in the middle of Carlisle Bay. If you can swim, there is no problem to get there from the shore- it is around seven minutes of swimming.

The experience in the water was simply awful- a lot of people snorkeling at the same time in a small area. However, we could see turtles, different types of fish and some stingrays. We assume they are coming as the boat crew are giving them food. The marine creatures did not seem to be bothered by people and one of the turtles even came close to me. I could even touch it, but as I know it is not good for their health, I did not do so. It is a pity we did not bring the water camera with us. I found one picture which shows exactly what we saw.

We did not see where the shipwrecks were. Yet, even if we had, we did not have any desire to go there based on what a tourist trap the other boat ride was. Instead, we decided to head to Bridgetown.

• Bridgetown

Bridgetown is the main town in Barbados. It is located just one kilometer away from the pier (20 minutes walking), so we could easily go back to the ship without using a taxi. The most interesting things to see in Bridgetown are:

• Barbados Synagogue 

The oldest Jewish Synagogue in the Caribbean with an interesting architectural design and detail. The building of buff-colored coral stone and mortar, surrounded by the centuries-old graves of the island’s Jewish settlers. The first synagogue on the site was built about 1651 by Jews from Recife, Brazil, fleeing Portuguese lands to English territories during the Inquisition. 

Here is what New York Times writes about the synagogue: “The building’s exterior, with its balustrade roof line, lancet-shaped windows and thick walls with rounded corners, appears much as it did in the 1830’s, the prosperous days of Barbados’s Jewish community, which led the island’s sugar industry.”

• St. Mary’s church

St. Mary’s Anglican Church is at the western end of Lower Broad Street. This distinctively beautiful church with its large red roof has a truly remarkable history. The old church building is right next to the Jubilee Garden, the one and only public green space in the city center. This garden has itself, gone through some changes. Initially, the space was set aside as a garden to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee (fiftieth anniversary), later it was abandoned and the garden was converted to a bus terminal known as the Lower Green Bus Stand. It was only in 2005 that the land reverted to a garden and once again took up its former name.

Some little known details about this city church include the fact that Samuel Jackman Prescod, one of Barbados’ National Heroes and the first non-white to be elected to the national parliament is interred in the church’s cemetery. Additionally, the impressively beautiful silk cotton tree growing at the east end of the church yard is famous as the ‘Justice Tree’ since it was used for public hangings in the city. The former governor of Barbados, William Tufton, was arrested and sentenced to death on fabricated charges by his predecessor, Henry Hawley. Tufton was said to have been shot under the same silk cotton tree.

• St. Michael’s Cathedral 

The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels is an Anglican church located on St. Michael’s Row, two blocks east of National Heroes Square. The Cathedral is the tallest of the Anglican’s houses of worship within Barbados.

• The parliament buildings 

You can see them when you are coming from the beach and you pass by the Independence square.  Each Lesser Antilles main town had an Independence square. This one was nothing special and that is why I do not recommend visiting it. The Parliament buildings date back to the 18th and 19th century.

• Broad Street

The main thoroughfare in downtown Bridgetown. It has lots of duty-free shops in case you are in mood for shopping.

• Waterfront cafe at the careenage 

We visited it around 16:00 in the afternoon and due to the bad weather, we could not see the sunset.

However, we could enjoy the happy hour and the peaceful atmosphere in the cafe. We took Pina Colada, but in case you would like to taste something local, you can try the main island-brewed beer Banks.

Due to the bad weather and the fact we were a bit tired, we did not go to the other places in Barbados which I marked as interesting.

Here they are in case you have more time to explore the island:

• Bathsheba beach– popular among surfers, just a short visit to see the rocks 

• George Washington House

• St. Nicholas Abbey and the view from the Cherry Tree Hill
• Barbados Boardwalk- It links up almost two kilometers of beachfront around the southern coastal stretches of the island. Along the way there are countless little rum shacks and bars to enjoy, while there are also swaying palm trees and blooming cassias, pretty clusters of fig bushes and plenty of places to sit and take in the salty sea breeze.
• Food: 

• Fish is always on the menu and you must try the flying fish sandwich offered almost everywhere. Oistins Fish Fry was a place where they offer fish on the streets especially on Fridays. Friday street market is typical for other islands in the Caribbean. A lot of locals gather at these markets and besides the food, you can enjoy local music and dances.  
• Popular eating joints include cutters deli, the lone star, and chafette for fast food. 
• Vegetarians also have a spot at the Goodlife which also serves the best smoothies on the island (they say). 

This was our one day in Barbados, full of experiences and impressions. We hope you enjoyed traveling with us.

Stay tuned for the next Caribbean cruise stopover.