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]

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.