The Natural Side of Barbados - A Trip Underground, Running from Killer Coconuts and Tripped by a Turtle

Before I left home, I booked a Natural Wonders Sightseeing Tour through Expedia. It included a tour of some caves and visits to a tropical garden and a wildlife reserve. Not only do I like to see the scenery and experience the culture of the places I travel to, I also like to explore the natural wonders and see the wildlife.

I awoke very early, met Chandra at the restaurant for another delicious and filling breakfast, watched the dogs and monkeys have their morning turf war and waited by the gate for a bus from Glory Tours to pick me up.

Quammie was quiet at first, not saying very much like most tour operators do when you first board their bus. However, once all passengers were onboard and seated comfortably, Quammie was all talk! Like every guide I met on my trip, he knew everything about the island, including the things you don’t read in guidebooks.

We drove through many of the scenic areas I’d seen on the previous tour but I was glad to be seeing them again, especially Bathsheba. It wasn’t as crowded on this day because it was a Monday and I was able to get some better pictures without anyone getting in the way.

After a short but refreshing stop at Bathsheba, we drove for a little while until we arrived at Harrison Caves. These caves, which are naturally formed by water erosion in the limestone rock and are considered to be the top attraction in Barbados, were the number one thing I wanted to see on my trip (besides the Animal Flower Cave in St. Lucy that I, unfortunately, didn’t get to see) and I was looking forward to exploring the caves…except the “exploring” didn’t happen in the way I thought it would.

Bathsheba, Barbados

After a brief introduction, a video and a walk around some exhibits, we met our guide and were taken underground on a tram. “Wait a second, a tram?” was what I was thinking but didn’t say out loud. I thought we were going to enter the caves on foot and walk at our own pace with the guide leading. This is the way I have always done guided tours in caves. To me, a tram tour seemed impersonal and boring and too orchestrated but I boarded anyway. After all, the tour was already paid for.

The first thing I noticed that was wrong with this tram was 3 or 4 people were seated in each seat which meant the people sitting in the middle seats would have a hard time seeing and wouldn’t be getting very many good pictures. I ended up in a middle seat and I was not happy about that! The second thing I noticed about the tram was it traveled too fast for anyone to actually get a good look at anything and when it stopped for us to get pictures, it stopped once and only the people in front, who were stopped right in front of the picture-worthy sight, had the advantage.

Harrison Caves, Barbados

 

We did stop a few times to get out and walk around in some of the bigger caverns but the stops weren’t very long. The caves were spectacular with some very large caverns and underground lakes (one of those lakes looked so inviting…the crystal clear, calm waters would have made for a nice swim but that was not included in the tour). Overall, I did enjoy seeing the caves and don’t regret taking the tour. However, the next time I am in Barbados, I will be doing an independent tour. I didn’t know independent tours were available but we passed some people who were walking around in the caves exploring on their own and I confirmed that they were, in fact, allowed to do that and that option is available.

Harrison Caves, Barbados

After a too-long jaunt around the souvenir store (I always hate that part of any guided tour), we boarded the bus and headed onto our next stop, the Flower Forest. Located on the grounds of a former plantation, the Flower Forest is 53 acres of beautiful flower gardens and tropical trees. On this tour, we were allowed to wander about freely and I started with a leisurely stroll through a forest mostly consisting of enormous palm trees. The others in my group went in one direction and I walked in another, solo through the maze of paths and enjoyed the serene sounds of leaves blowing softly in the wind and birds chirping until suddenly, that peacefulness was shattered by a loud, crashing thud followed by shouting. I thought I was alone in that area but on the other side of the trees to the right of me, a couple from my tour was enjoying a leisurely stroll, just like I was, when a coconut came crashing to the ground about a foot away from the man’s head. Because falling coconuts are a fear of mine when traveling in the Caribbean, I became very frightened by this experience and those peaceful looking trees suddenly didn’t look so peaceful. I half walked, half-ran through that maze of trails trying to find my way back to the entrance before another one of those lethal coconuts came crashing down.

Flower Forest, Barbados

Back at the meeting place, Quammie mentioned the incident to the staff and they seemed to take it quite seriously. Maintenance men were sent out right away to make sure there were no more ready-to-fall coconuts along the trail (I’m not sure how one knows if a coconut is ready to fall or not) and the victim of the near-miss brought the crushed coconut back to home-base for all to see. It was quite shocking to see the size of it and the damage it sustained in the fall. I can only imagine the damage it would have done to someone’s head. Rum punch was served to soothe our rattled nerves while we sat around listening to that poor man talk about his near-death experience before we drove to a small restaurant where we had yet another delicious lunch and headed to the wildlife reserve.

Before we got off the bus to wander around the wildlife reserve, Quammie asked us to let him know if we didn’t see the famous green monkeys by a certain time. He said it was necessary that everyone see them before we leave. A half-hour into our exploring, it was evident that we wouldn’t need to have someone coax the monkeys out for us because they were already out in full force.

At one point when I was walking, I tripped on something and nearly fell flat on my face. I got up and realized I had tripped on a poor little turtle who had been trying to cross the trail. I don’t think I hurt him but I gave him quite a scare because his head was in his shell. Curious to see the little guy, head and all, I waited a few moments for him to relax and come out and, very slowly, his head poked through his shell. He looked up at me and I swear if he could talk he would have said “listen lady, watch where your going next time!” I gave a friendly little tap on his shell and let him continue his slow but sure attempt at crossing the trail. A little while later, I came upon another one of those turtles…parked right next to a hare! Not a word of a lie, I even have the picture to prove it!

The tortoise and the hare

For the next hour or so, I wandered around the trails, catching glimpses of various creatures. Deer, snakes and, of course, those little green monkeys. By the time I got to the end of the trail, the monkeys were already gathered and waiting for their afternoon meal. They were swinging from branch to branch and giving passerby high fives. I accidently got a little to close to one as I rounded a bend and he gave me a hiss that I presumed meant “back off”.

The mischievous little green monkeys at the wildlife reserve in Barbados

 

Our last stop was Earthworks Pottery. Visiting pottery shops is not usually my thing but this pottery shop was different. Not only were we provided with a tour of the shop and the area where the pottery is made, we were given the opportunity to watch some pottery being made. I watched as a man carefully molded a beautiful bowl into shape and watched as others carefully painted the designs onto finished items before they were placed on the shelf to be bought. I did some Christmas shopping while I was there. After all, how could I not buy something that was made right in front of me? I stocked up on keychains, coffee mugs and ashtrays and other little pottery trinkets that could be given as gifts.

A short time later, I was dropped off at Angler. It was almost dark by that time so I stuck around my room for the evening and thought out a rough plan for the next few days. All I knew for sure was the next day would be spent at the beach and my last day was reserved for a hike to Holtown. The two days in between were still up in the air.

A Introduction to Barbados, Falling in Love with Bathsheba, a Meal Fit for a Queen and a Caribbean Sunset

Barbados is a very Christian country with many people still attending church every week and treating Sunday like a holy day spent with family but I was still able to find a tour provider that gave tours on Sundays. The tour I chose was one that took me to every parish (in Barbados, areas are separated into Parishes rather than Counties) and every coast on the island with stops at a number of scenic areas. It seems that a lot of tour guides on the island are not familiar with Angler Apartments because it is off-the-beaten track and away from the touristy resorts. Although the person who answered the phone when I booked assured me that the driver would find it, I was getting nervous that they forgot about me as I waited at the gate well past my scheduled pick-up time. Sure enough, the driver was lost and did call to get more directions. A few minutes later, the driver, Kenmore, and a bus load of other travelers pulled up.

We turned onto the main stretch and headed towards Holtown. Along the way, we passed Sandy Lane, one of the leading hotels of the world and home to Rihanna’s $22M condo and the site of Tiger Wood’s wedding. Not that I care but I did take note when the tour guide reminded everyone that all beaches in Barbados are public and anyone can access this exclusive beach with a little creativity, a knowledge of tides and a backup plan to get off the beach another way if the tide does come up and you cannot access the way you came in.

We continued along that stretch and stopped at a little coastal village where we got out to stretch our legs and enjoy some rum punch by the sea. I usually don’t drink a lot of booze when I am traveling but Bajans really love their rum punch and love to share it with tourists. It’s very hard to turn down free rum punch when a friendly Bajan is twisting your arm and practically begging you to share in such a revered tradition and symbol of friendship.

We drove along that same road for a while, eventually moving into more rural areas of the island and stopped on the north-east coast at a place called Little Bay. The scenery of Little Bay reminded me a little of home because it was so rugged and natural. I walked to the top of a hill to get a good view from the top of a cliff out into the bay where there were blowholes, which are basically sea caves that open to the surface and the pressure from the pounding sea causes water to push out of the top much like that of a whale’s blowhole.

The Blowholes at Little Bay, Barbados

We continued on through a little village. For a while, the road was very windy and at times, it felt like the bus would tip over and roll over the side into the ocean. I didn’t see any guardrails, ditches or even a shoulder on this road for that matter so that is exactly where we would have ended up had the bus left the road and apparently, buses in Barbados do this quite frequently and yet, no safety measures are put in place to prevent it from happening again…and again.

I fell in love with the Bathsheba area of the island before we even got off the bus. The area is much like what Ingonish is to Cape Breton – a place where families go on weekends to get away from the city and enjoy the scenery and relaxing atmosphere. It being Sunday and Barbadians being very Christian, the area was crowded with people of all ages dressed in their Sunday best, eating ice cream, combing the beach for lost treasures and having picnics on the grass. And when I say they were dressed in their Sunday best, I mean like you see in those old movies where the men are dressed in suits and top hats and the women are dressed in beautiful, long flowing dresses and large fedoras.

Bathsheba, Barbados

Vendors set up shop just above the beach. One, in particular, had some colorful towels hung on a line. This might sound like something the average person wouldn’t even take the time to notice, but the way those colorful towels blew in the breeze with the beach and ocean behind them was almost breathtaking. The picture I took doesn’t do the real thing any justice but hopefully you can try to envision it the way I saw it that day. I stood above the beach watching the children play in the surf and noticed they were doing something very strange. They were playing in an area that just looked like regular, ankle-deep surf when one of them dove into the sand and disappeared! I found out later that there are deep pools, also known as tidal pools, close to shore. If I ever go back to Barbados, I think I’ll stay somewhere in the Bathsheba area and explore that part of the island some more. There seemed to be more to do and it wasn’t as crowded as other areas of the island. As I was about to board the bus to leave the area, I noticed a man sitting on a bench with one of those little, mischievous green monkeys. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the monkey was sporting clothing and jewelry that matched the attire of his master. Some people take their relationships with their pets to a new level!

Some colorful towels blowing in the breeze at Bathsheba, Barbados

We kept driving along the coast and passed through an area with houses with cliché million-dollar views like the ones you see on those TV shows that spotlight the homes of the rich of famous in tropical places around the world. We drove by a beautiful beach where dozens of surfers were braving some rough seas to catch some rather large waves.

As we continued along, I spotted a number of people at a baseball field (unlike the ones at home that are going to waste because no one goes outdoors anymore) but noticed as we got closer that they were playing cricket and not baseball. Did I mention Barbados is very British? I don’t watch soap operas nor do I have any interest in them whatsoever but everyone else on the bus was excited to discover that a little, colorful shack we drove by was featured in a scene from a poplar soap (I can’t remember which one – perhaps the Bold and the Beautiful?) where two of the main characters were married and there was something about a helicopter rescue or some weird thing. I noticed some peculiar-looking fruit in many of the trees and learned that they were breadfruit trees and that anyone lucky enough to have one of these trees on their property would never go hungry because the fruit is very versatile and can be eaten in many different ways. Along the way to our next stop, I learned a few more things from the ever-knowledgeable Kenmore. I learned that Barbados is the only Caribbean island made entirely of coral with no volcanic rock like the other islands. I learned about the versatile, hurricane-proof Chattel Houses that could be taken down, moved to another location and set up again in the same day. I also learned that Barbados has a very high unemployment rate and many of the young people leave for the United States, Canada and other Caribbean islands to find work and there are more Bajan-born people living outside of Barbados than there are on the island. Sounds familiar.

The little building that was supposedly used in a scene from a famous soap opera

When I think of lunch on a guided tour, I think of tea, sandwiches and sweets, not a four-course meal fit for a Queen. That’s what awaited us at the Sunbury Plantation House. After a tour of the plantation with some background history, we sat down to a delicious meal that included a variety of drinks, appetizers and several choices of main courses and desserts. One of the items served was macaroni pie and I learned that, besides coucou and flying fish, Macaroni Pie was considered to be one of the island’s national dishes. This may sound strange to you because, lets face it, macaroni pie doesn’t sound all that special but I swear to you that the macaroni pie in Barbados is like no other macaroni pie you have ever tasted.

We continued on and passed through another scenic area except this time, we were more inland and the area was characterized by valleys and fields with the ocean in the distance. The bus rolled to a stop on top of a hill with a spectacular view. Some vendors were set up there and I did a little bit of shopping. I don’t really shop for myself when I travel. I shop for the people at home who always ask “can you bring me back a keychain” and for my dad who collects baseball caps and has caps from about 30 different countries that my sisters and I have traveled to. Me? I might buy a keychain but usually just keep a handful of local currency as a souvenir. Trinkets and T-shirts with cheesy local sayings on them don’t do much for me. I thought the prices for the keychains seemed reasonable and thought it strange (and kind of rude) when a fellow traveler said I should haggle the price even lower. I know many travelers like to haggle and there are numerous articles written on the topic of “how to become an expert haggler” but I rarely haggle (if the price is absolutely outrageous for what I am being sold, I will occasionally negotiate a fairer price). The way I see it is these people are trying to make a living at a job that is hard enough and when the prices are already so low, I don’t think it’s fair to try and bring them lower. This is especially true of handmade items. I will never haggle an item that someone made with their own hands. A lot of time and love go into those items and they are usually worth the price tag that is on them.

Purses for sale

By 3:30PM, I was back at Angler apartments. There was still enough daylight left for me to get to the beach and catch a beautiful sunset before nightfall. I was warned not to go near the beaches at night but I couldn’t spend a week in Barbados and not experience a sunset at the beach. I walked in the direction of Holtown looking for a public beach access where there were other tourists so I wouldn’t be alone. I found the perfect spot near the fish market about half a kilometer down the road. There was a little boardwalk with some stairs that led to a section of beach and I found a nice spot in the sand under a Manchineel tree (while being careful not to touch any part of the tree because its toxic) where I could see the whole bay complete with sailboats and the lowering sun. There was a man fishing from some rocks a few meters away and he looked so peaceful and content as he sat smoking his cigarette and waiting for a fish to hook his line. A police officer approached me and stopped and stared and smiled and kept going. I don’t know what it was about him but something told me he wasn’t a real policeman or perhaps he had had a little too much rum punch at one of the beachside bars on his rounds. A man selling aloe plant leaves approached and gave a desperate speech about how my sunburn and bug bites could use some healing aloe. He tried to send his message home by actually dabbing some of the aloe on a bug bite on my leg. Gotta love a salesman with a personal touch! I stuck with my usual story and explained to him that I don’t bring money to the beach.

A sailboat in Payne's Bay at sunset

The sun went down and yes, it was beautiful. I love sunsets no matter where I am in the world but sunsets in the Caribbean are magical. I left the beach while there was still a bit of twilight left and while walking along the road back to Angler, I learned another Bajan national pastime; catcalling. Not that catcalling is unique to Barbados but these catcalls had a little added touch. Following the usual marriage proposals hollered from moving cars “hey sexy, I love you, will you marry me” were unmistakable kissing sounds. I swear, the same thing was hollered out of every second car that passed me. Yuck. I just rolled my eyes all the way back. Sometimes it’s best to keep quiet when trekking on someone else’s turf.

The warm air of the early evening and the sound of the cicadas and distant Caribbean music had me not wanting to call it a night just yet. I raided the mini bar in the fridge and sat on my step with a Banks beer and relaxed to those sounds that only grace my ears once a year when I travel south for a week.

Survived my First Full Day in Barbados (Barely) - A Gas Leak Scare, a Pounding by the Raging Surf, A Dangerous Trek to the Store and a Close Call with the Sun

Before I left home, I checked the long range forecast for Barbados and was disappointed to see that the weather was calling for thunderstorms and rain all week. I got out of bed and opened the curtains expecting to see storm clouds but was greeted with clear, blue skies.

Another thing I noticed upon awakening that morning? My hair. Yes that’s right. I have very healthy, longish hair but the hard water at home makes it look dry and brittle and unmanageable. The only time I can wear second-day hair at home is if I have no plans to go anywhere. Otherwise, it has to be washed everyday to make it look somewhat presentable. On this morning, my hair was soft, wavy and looked like it had just been washed and styled despite the long sleep I had. I was told that the water in Barbados was very safe to drink right from the tap because of the limestone that was abundant on the island that acts as a filter to clean the drinking water. Apparently, this makes the water good for washing hair too! I was pleased at not having to shower again since I was heading to the beach anyway and preferred to shower after taking a dip in the ocean. I was also pleased to know that I would not be having a repeat of the water-borne illness I acquired when I was in Mexico.

I walked outside into the hot, morning sun to take my seat at a table at the Garden Bar and Restaurant where Chandra was already preparing breakfast. As I sat there waiting and catching up on world news flashing across the TV screen that hung over the bar, the dogs, who had been quietly resting, suddenly became very excited and ran in the direction of the trees. It didn’t take long to figure out what got them going – the mischievous little green monkeys were closing in on the grounds. I spotted several of them swinging from tree to tree and inching closer and closer in preparation for their ambush. I watched this comical display for a few minutes when I noticed one of the monkeys picked a round fruit from a tree and held it above his head as if threatening to throw it at poor Jake who backed up, whimpering with his tail between his legs! This is something some transpires almost every morning at Angler and it usually ends with the monkeys successfully winning over the territory. These little monkeys look cute and cuddly but trust me, they are pure evil!

Little green monkey

After yet another delicious breakfast consisting of fresh fruit, toast and scrambled eggs mixed with various spices, I returned to my room and was just grabbing my beachwear and towel when there was a knock at my door. When I opened the door, a gentleman who I hadn’t seen before and claiming to be from maintenance quietly asked “Miss, do you smell gas” except I didn’t understand what he said the first time because he had a heavy Bajan accent. He repeated his question again a little louder and slower “Do. You. Smell. Gas?” Confused at his question, I turned around in every direction, smelling the air. “Um no, I don’t think so. Should I be smelling gas?” I was alarmed by his response “oh you didn’t know. There is a gas leak in this room” is what I thought I heard but, thankfully heard wrong. He just wanted to check my stove to make sure it wasn’t leaking as was protocol when a new guest arrived. Way to play on my fears of gas-operated appliances. For the rest of the day, whenever I was in the room, I frequently smelled the air to make sure there was no gas smell and carefully listened for any hissing sounds that could indicate some kind of leak.

After the little gas leak scare, I grabbed my beach towel and headed towards the entrance to my very own section of private beach. Of course, it wasn’t really private because there are no private beaches in Barbados. Anyone can access any beach at any time whether you are a tourist or a local.

The beach was only a 2-minute walk away. I was provided with a key to unlock the gate that led to my “private” section of beach. I wasn’t sure how it could be considered private when anyone could walk onto the beach from any of the public accesses along the road. I unlocked the gate, walked down the long corridor and down some stairs to the beach and realized how this is possible. While anyone could walk right onto the beach, there are some obstacles to doing so, especially if the tide is high. On this day, the tide was high but I attempted to get access the other parts of the beach in both directions and failed miserably. I could only get so far in each direction before the pounding surf, sharp coral, slippery rocks and deepening water made it too difficult. On that afternoon, I had that entire section of beach to myself and with the gate locked behind me, no one could get to it that way either. After I spent a good hour being battered by pounding surf and nearly loosing my shoes to a giant wave, I decided to leave the beach-exploring for another time and surrendered to a quiet spot on my little beach, laid out my towel and enjoyed the warm, breeze coming off the sea. I made sure not to lie under a coconut tree. I made that mistake in Cuba and was near killed when one fell from a tree and smashed only a mere few feet from me. I once read that the thing that kills the most tourists in the Caribbean is falling coconuts. I believe it. Those things are lethal!

My own little stretch of Beach at Payne's Bay, Barbados

That little piece of beach was just like those beaches on deserted islands you see in movies where airplane-crash and shipwreck survivors end up. There was a town behind me and many people wandering around on the other section of the beach but all I could hear was the sounds of the waves crashing onshore and all I could see was that blue-green water and some seabirds milling about.

A few hours later, when the sea wasn’t as choppy, I was able to safely climb over some rocks to another section of beach. I was able to see the rest of the area and hear the sounds of a typical day in paradise. The sounds of a steel band and loud cheers at what must have been a beach wedding and the smell from a barbecue at one of the beach homes that lined the shore filled the air.

By mid-afternoon, I felt lightheaded and thirsty so I made my way back to the main street, picked a direction at random and set out to find a convenience store that sold bottled water. Only a few minutes into my trek, an Esso Station appeared in the distance. This little walk was my first real taste of what it is like to be a pedestrian in Barbados and it’s quite scary. Not only are there no sidewalks and cars drive along at very high speeds, I literally had to grab onto tree branches that were hanging down to keep myself from falling into traffic! Cars whizzed by only millimeters away from me, honking their horns at this crazy woman who was hanging on for dear life. When I reached the gas station, I had to cross the street to get to it and that took more than ten minutes. I made several attempts at running across but was forced back when cars came careening around the turn at full speed, honking their horns instead of stopping to let me cross and I was on a crosswalk!

I finally made it across, grabbed a bottle of water…and remembered I didn’t bring my money. I’ve made it a habit to never bring money to the beach so I have an excuse when the vendors selling giant seashells (that they claim are the result of an early-morning dive offshore) approach me with their not-very-convincing speeches about how I should buy one since they went through so much trouble to get it for me.

Once again, I repeated the dangerous feat of crossing that street and made my way back to Angler. Dehydrated and lightheaded, I downed the bottle of water in the fridge, turned on the air conditioner, collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. I know the symptoms of heat stroke. I had it in Mexico and it was apparent that a bout of that dreaded affliction was coming on. I came down with these symptoms a few times on trips down south and I knew that hydration, sleep and air conditioning were my best friends when trying to ward it off in time. Fortunately, I awoke a few hours later with no symptoms of it…caught in time so the rest of my vacation wouldn’t be spent in bed or in a hospital. For those of you who are not familiar with the symptoms of heat stroke, I assure you, you will know if you ever come down with it. First, you will get light-headed, than you will stop sweating no matter how hot it is, next you will begin to feel like you are going to fall over, your head will feel like it is going to explode and it will feel like your body is going to spontaneously combust…and finally, you will pass out. The sickest I have ever felt was when I had heat stroke in Mexico and I cannot compare the feeling to any other sickness I’ve ever had. It’s just horrible and deadly if not treated. Just remember, if you ever come down with any kind of heat sickness in Mexico, do not believe the bartender when he or she tells you the best thing for it is tequila shooters no matter how convincing they are. It’s best to leave these kinds of emergencies in the hands of the hotel medic.

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to stay indoors for the rest of the day…at least until after sundown. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walked by, I noticed I had a sunburn. So much for repeatedly slathering on the SPF 75. The sun in Barbados is strong. I guess being so close to the equator has a lot to do with it. I made a mental note to bring a hat and cover-up with me to the beach for the rest of the trip. I’m fair-skinned and like to get a bit of a tan from time to time but not at the expense of my health. From a gas leak scare to getting pounded by the raging surf to nearly being run over by cars and almost coming down with a bout of heat stroke, I managed to survive my first full day in Barbados.