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.

[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.