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]

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.