Barbados 2006 Options

[michael]

Well, we landed succesfully at 1540 local time but nearly didn't make it due to the mother of all foul-ups at the BA check-in desk. For 45 minutes the check-in staff wouldn't let us board due to a query with the payment of the flights. My new debit card was swallowed up by the Camberley ATM on the Saturday before the flight because the Woolwich issued me with a new PIN, which I used, which I shouldn't, becuase I was supposed to use my old PIN, on my NEW card, although they sent me a new PIN. Arse.

Anyway, we missed the duty free shopping because of the delay and also lost our reserved window seats. I eventually settled down into my seat to watch the in-flight movie. There was a choice of Aeon Flux, which I really wanted to watch, and Harry Potter, which I didn't. I selected Aeon Flux. It didn't work. I had to watch Harry Potter. Double Arse.

Upon landing, we were the last in the queue because the BA cabin crew issued everyone with landing cards, apart from us so we had to wait for them to find some. We duly filled in the cards passed through customs and stepped out into a completely different airport from the one I was expecting. Grantley Adams International Airport has undergone some serious restructing in time for next years Cricket World Cup and was completely unrecognisable. Plus, I got the arrival time wrong. My family weren't due for another hour so I was stranded. Treble Arse.

To cut a long story short, my sister found us and drove us back to my Mum's but we stopped off buy the coast and looked out onto the sea as the sun went down and the ocean was a glorious shade I could never describe in words.



You know what? It was worth all the trouble just to see the sunset.

[womble]

You can replicate a sunset if you look into a lamp and slowly close your eyes.

[michael]

Thanks, and if you try really hard Simpkins, you might just be able to replicate a personality.

Tuesday:
We drove into Oistins to do some shopping. On the way to Oistins beach we passed through Hastings and Worthing. I mused to myself how annoying it must be for the locals whenever a tourist tells them that they have a town with the same name back home. This air of smugness was short-lived as I screamed at my sister to stop the car so I could take pictures of the Bagshot Hotel. Any remnant of respect my family held for me soon vanished as bought a pack of Eclipse crackers and insisted we ate our lunch at Dover Beach. Well, what were they expecting?

[womble]

Meow

[Janette]

Glad to hear you're safe and well Mikey.

Keep us updated with your shananigans.

[james]

Gutted there wasn't another 'Taitts Back!' moment but keep up the blogging - makes me smile

[michael]

Wednesday: (I think)
Got up early to go to Miami Beach. There's also a Miami Beach in Florida but that's not important. The sand is almost white in colour and the sea is so clear you can see so far into it. What the beautiful pictures don't tell you is that the water is bloody cold at 9 in the morning. The shock of stepping into such cold water had me yelping, much to the further embarrasment of my family. The beaches are public domain, there are no private areas, which was nice to know. Locals and tourists were swimming and talking together in a nice relaxed atmosphere. Apart from the Germans.

Shopping followed, this time Dad drove us into Bridgetown, the capital. The roads are packed with all manner of vehicles from tractors to Escalades charging around twisting bumpy roads teeming with shoppers and clueless tourists. How nobody is hit or run over every 10 minutes can only be put down to each driver having the skills of a Jedi. There are shops for everything, from diamonds to tablemats. My favourite vendor had to be Foam World, a shop that sold foam. Nothing else, just foam. All shapes, all sizes, all foam.

Cave Shepard is one of the main shopping centres in Bridgetown. It's an impressive multi storey building not unlike a department store. Rather than being one major retailer, traders lease floorspace in it, so you have lots of different concessions all trading under one roof. The goverment encourages small business and would like to see them expand with links to overseas. We stopped in the buffet bar to get some lunch and I came face to face with the World famous Bajan hospitality. Staff everywhere are polite, courteous and professional in every aspect but have absolultely no time for muppets. The main dishes on the buffet today were Baked Chicken and Flying Fish. The lady behind the counter asked me which one I wanted. I said 'errrr...' and she threw me a look that said 'did you see "errrr..." on the menu? Fool.' . I made a decision as soon as I could as to not displease her and moved down the bar to choose a drink. This time I was prepared and asked for a ginger beer. This was soon followed by an apology as not only did I not specify the size but the ginger beer dispenser was a full three steps away from the counter, disrupting the whole catering machine that is the Cave Shepard buffet bar. I was handed my ginger beer with a look you could also receive by defecating on the national flag of any country you care to visit and made my way to the table.

The food was lovely.

[russ-boy]

She's clearly giving you the come-on. Get in there Pascal!

[Niall]

Wicked.

[michael]

Wednesday (Possibly, I'm not checking)

Fancied a lazy lie-in today to compensate for all the running around I've been doing. I was hoping to sleep in till about 0900, but the sun was already broiling me in my own sweat by about 0730. Not wanting to end my life as a caribbean duvet casserole, I peeled myself off the mattress to see what everyone else was up to. Desmond was up with his wife and kids watching a movie in one of the bedrooms. He's networked four PCs in the house and stacked them up with enough games and movies to keep us entertained through even the longest power cut. Hang on...

We left the house at about 1200 and drove to explore the northen parishes of Barbados. Armed with a free map which you can obtain from any retailer we set out to find Earthworks, the island's premier pottery merchant. There's a saying in Barbados that you can never get lost, but you can never get to where you are going to. Hardly any of the roads are signposted and if you drive into the centre of the island, one acre of sugar cane looks pretty much like any other acre of sugar cane. This was going to be a magical mystery tour taking us into the heart of Barbados to find this elusive little clay furnace. You can imagine our disappointment to find that Earthworks was signposted almost from the beach right to it's front door. We got there in 30 minutes.

I'm not a pottery expert but you can tell that this stuff was good. The pottery barn is perched atop a hill overlooking the west coast of the island that meets the caribbean sea. Visitors are encouraged to walk around the barn as the stuff is actually being made, giving you a real insight into the beauty that is pottery. A restaurant and an art studio sit on either side of Earthworks, again with the artists working in full view of visitors. I really enjoyed my visit there. I know Barbados has so much more to offer than just great food and beautiful beaches and it was a pleasure to see something truly unique to the island being created in front of my eyes. The staff were polite and informative, processing the sale and gift wrapping the goods in fine tissue paper. Perhaps I could get the guys from Foam World involved with this lot?

[michael]

Thursday (Definately)

Went out with my sister to explore the east coast. We took in all the usual sights, such as the abandoned lighthouse which still had a fully working toilet ( I don't get it either) and Sam Lord's Castle. Sam Lord's overlooks the Atlantic on some very jagged rock outcrops. Legend has it that the residents of the castle would lure ships onto the rocks and loot the wreckage. All that stuff you read about pirates and skullduggery on the high seas actually took place here. At North Point, you can see the caves where pirates would hide their ill-gotten gains. Modern day sea-bound vagabounds don't get the same romantic treatment due to the Barbados Coast Guard being marginally more irritable than Cave Shepard Buffet staff and are armed with AR-15 assault rifles. We didn't see any around today but I remember a story from the last time I was here of a coast guard unit being tipped off of a drugs run inbound to the island. The bandits obviously made the fatal mistake of not answering the coast guard with an immediate response and the boat was sunk under several dozen rounds of rifle fire. The island's finest were not in the mood for arrests, interrogation and paperwok, so none of the crooks survived the gun battle, understandable as not one of them were armed. What weed that didn't sink was burned on site as a sign that the Barbados Coast Guard take shit from no one. The Barbados Coast Guard are the front line of the nation's safety. The Barbados Coast Guard need to spend more time on land as they forgot to check that Mapps College, a prep school for boys, was downwind of the gear. I suspect student attendance was excellent that season.
After North Point, we drove down to St Johns, the parish both my parents originated from. We saw the sugar cane fields my grandmother used to work and the tiny church she worshipped and is buried and also where my mother was born. Up the road is the beautiful St Johns Church, a majestic building at the top of a hill looking down on the sugar cane plantations. This is where the field owners and slave masters would worship. At the back of St John's church is the graveyard where these rich families were buried. There are huge vaults made of marble with the names and origins of the deceased engraved on them. A far cry from the humble church that played an important part of my family's history. I thought about the terrible conditions my forefathers endured and the extraordinary struggle they undertook just to be recognised as ordinary men and women. I contemplated my place in the fabric of the Taitt legacy and my contribution to our family's achievements and realised a twenty minute slot on Bravo TV and a 3rd place trophy for Dragon's Lair 1997 Novice Tournament isn't gonna cut it.

[michael]

Friday.

Decided to take it easy, so we drove to the southeast coast for a paddle. Just when you think you've seen enough beaches, you stumble across one even more beautiful than the previous. They all have wonderful names such as The Crane or Miami Beach, so when my sister drove us to Foul Bay, I prepared for the worst. However, it was stunning. It was a lot greener with than previous shores and also had it's fair share of caves. The sand and the the mainland rock shelf was separated by a collection of shrubbery and a type of grass that felt like carpet. It was here that I developed a new respect for nature as my sister introduced me to the Machineel tree.
It's hard to think of a tree as a threat to your existence and everything around it, but the Machineel tree is not to be messed with. The Machineel tree commands respect. The goverment goes to extreme lengths to warn people of the Machineel tree by ringing them with red boundary tape. The Machineel tree drops what appear to be baby apples. These are poisonous. Even touching the surface of these 'fruits' is dangerous. If it rains, you are not to stand under the Machineel tree as the sap can be tranferred through the water onto your skin, which will leads to severe blistering, or worse. However, it is still a part of the island's delicate ecosystem and so no attempt is made to remove them. You are not allowed to bring in or take out any plant of animal on or off the island, which is a real shame as I'm sure a couple of Machineel trees at Delta Force would make for some interesting game variations.

[womble]

FYI some info on the offending tree
Manchineel Tree

This post has been edited by womble: Mar 13 2006, 09:30 AM