BARBADOS
Some Facts about Barbados:
Barbados is a relatively flat island, rising gently to
the central highland region, the highest point being
Mount Hillaby, in the Scotland District , at
340 metres (1,100 ft) above sea level.
The island is located in the Atlantic Ocean, to the east of the other Caribbean
islands. The
climate
is tropical, with a rainy season from June to October.
In the parish of
Saint Michael lies Barbados' capital and main
city,
Bridgetown.
Locally Bridgetown is sometimes referred to as "The City", but the most common
reference is simply "Town".
Historically, the economy of Barbados had been dependent on
sugarcane cultivation and related activities,
but in recent years it has diversified into the
manufacturing and
tourism
sectors. Offshore finance and information services have become important foreign
exchange earners, and there is a healthy light manufacturing sector.
In recent years the Government has been seen as business-friendly and
economically sound. Since the late 1990s the island has seen a construction
boom, with the development and redevelopment of hotels, office complexes, and
homes.
Barbados has a population of about 279,000 and a population growth rate of 0.33%
(Mid-2005 estimates). Close to 90 percent of all Barbadians (also known
colloquially as Bajan)
are of
African descent ("Afro-Bajans"), mostly
descendants of the
slave labourers on the sugar plantations. The
remainder of the population includes groups of Europeans ("Anglo-Bajans" /
"Euro-Bajans") mainly from the
United Kingdom, the
Republic of Ireland, Chinese locally known as
Bajan-Chiney, Bajan Hindus from
India
and Muslims from
Bangladesh and
Pakistan, and an influential "Arab-Bajans"
group mainly of Christian
Syrians and
Lebanese descent. On the island are many people
of
Creole descent, a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and
European descent (Primarily British, Irish and
Portuguese).
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| Motto: "Pride and Industry" | ||||||
|
Anthem: In
Plenty and In Time of Need |
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|
Capital (and largest city) |
Bridgetown 13°10′N,
59°32′W |
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| Official languages | English | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recognised regional languages | Barbadian Dialect | |||||
| Ethnic groups | 90%
Afro-Caribbean, 4% European, 6% Asian and Multiracial |
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| Demonym | Barbadian (Official) Bajan (Slang) |
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| Government | Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||
| - | Governor-General | Clifford Husbands | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | David Thompson | ||||
| Independence | From the United Kingdom | |||||
| - | Date | 30 November 1966 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total |
431 km² (199th) 167 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | July 2006 estimate | 279,000 (174th) | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2006 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $4.9 billion (149th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $17,610 (39th) | ||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.892 (high) (31st) | |||||
| Currency |
Barbadian dollar ($) (BBD) |
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| Time zone | (UTC-4) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .bb | |||||
| Calling code | +1 (246) | |||||
23. July
We arrived this afternoon in Barbados. Clint picked us up at the airport and
offered us a ride back to the boat. We were glad to see our boat again, but
there was also some bad news. A bunch of things broke underway, so we have a
long list of repair and also maintenance. This will keep us busy for the next
days.
View from the boat to Port St. Charles
24. July
This morning I went over to the reception of the resort to get us access to the
WIFI internet here.
It took a while, but finally we got it and were connected.
While I was unpacking our many bags - we had 7 big bags and 8 carry-ons!-
Mathias and the boys started to clean the boat. Everything is so salty , this a
job a few days worth. The salt has eaten into the steel already so we really
have to scrub a lot to remove it.
here is our boat
In the afternoon Nick and I went to town, Speightstown, by dinghy. We parked the
dinghy on the pier and went on the hunt for the local supermarket. We found a
pub and a restaurant, a pharmacy, a video rental, dollar store, an ice cream
store, a fish store, a furniture store, some small market booths on the side of
the street and we finally found the supermarket. My first impression was " oh,
this is fairly large, we surely will find everything we need" ... hmmm, the
second impression was more like " and where are the fruit and the veggies - and
the sausages and the meat? "
There were apples and also grapes ( but they must have had gold seeds because
they were so very expensive!), there was one kind of lettuce, potatoes, onions,
and a few more indefinable veggies.
Moving on to the dairy section, we bought milk, cream cheese and cheddar cheese.
I guess the Barbadians really like cheddar cheese because this was the only
cheese there was in all varieties, mild, spicy, sharp, small pieces and huge
chunks, but no other hard cheeses! Yes, and actually -where are the cold cuts?
There was ham but nothing else.
Well, guess what - we bought ham and cheddar cheese!
There was no meat market and the meat in the frozen section did not really
increase our appetite: Pigs ears and chicken feet ( and I am not kidding!).
Our shopping spree was not as successful as I had hoped, not much fresh veggies,
no meat, no bakery. But at least we could fill our fridge somewhat. There is a
fresh market on Saturday, so there is hope.
25. July
This morning we were up quite early as the sun rises already at 5am, and at 7pm
it is already pitch black.
Mathias was in our cabin during the morning, he was working behind closed doors
and with the air-condition running. The boys did some more school work, they
still have a head start as the official start is not before next week.
Later we worked some more on cleaning and removing the salt stains on the
reeling. We got a smart tip from the internet: white wine vinegar! This helped
us a lot to get done more efficiently and quicker.
In the afternoon the boys wanted to go sailing with the Walker Bay. Tim set it
up. Unfortunately he didn't do a good job, so it ended in a small catastrophe
and they didn't really sail a lot.
Tim is setting up
the Walker Bay
... they are sailing a little bit
... before they have to be towed !!!
So they rather go kayaking.
26.
July
This morning Mathias and I got a ride from our boat's neighbor to Holetown to go
to the Supercenter, a large supermarket. After the last grocery shopping being
less successful we were quite positive surprised about the variety offered
there. Still not as many veggies and fruits as we hoped, but certainly we could
stock up on meat and bread.
The rest of the day we relaxed. The boys did some schoolwork.. don't you see the
excitement in their faces?
Later Mathias, Tim and Nick took the dinghy to the close-by wreck for some
snorkeling while I took an afternoon nap.
In the evening we had dinner at the Yacht Club next door, it was very delicious.
27. July
After nicely sleeping in this morning and enjoying a fresh banana shake we were
invited by a friend of us to a sports club in the middle of the island. We met
him there, along with his family, he has 3 kids. We had a very nice afternoon.
On the way back home we got a small sightseeing tour through the northern part
of Barbados. The island is very green, mountainous and well vegetated. You will
find the pictures in the Photo section, or just click here on
PHOTOS .
28. July
After the regular work in the morning, Mathias
on the computer and the boys doing some school work, the afternoon was reserved
for some boat repair.
Clint stopped by and Mathias and he fixed the
the dinghy davits.
Later Tim, Niklas and Nicole went over to the reef
for some snorkeling. We saw lots of small colorful fish and a small eel.
In the early evening we went over to the fitness room for a small workout. Later
we played some cards - time for some serious poker !
29. July
This afternoon we went for a dinghy ride to Bridgetown. It was 10
miles one-way, so quite far.
Unfortunately we forgot to bring the chain and the lock to lock the dinghy in
town. Mathias stayed with the dinghy because we didn't trust leaving the dinghy
unlocked.
But he didn't miss much, it was crowded, quite dirty and the shops were not that
exciting.
Really I am not sure if we will go back there. We'd rather check out the East
and South coast where there are many nice beaches, mountains and vegetation.
30. July
Today was a rainy day. We didn't do much, so there is nothing to report about.
But stop - I would like to add the superb sunset we had, in spite of the rain.
And it was certainly some pictures worth:
31. July
The sun was shining again and we rented a car for a couple of days to explore
the island and its beaches on the South and East coast some more.
Unfortunately Mathias couldn't join us so the boys and I went by ourselves. Our
first goal was "Surfers Rock", a surfers' beach on the South coast. But there
were too many rocks on the beach and in the water so we decided quickly to head
to our goal No. 2 : "Crane Beach".
Crane Beach was paradise, so check out the picture so you understand what I am
talking about:
We were almost the only ones on that white wide dream beach. The high waves were
ideal for skim boarding and boogie boarding, and also just jumping or
bodysurfing the waves. We were there all afternoon and the boys did not want to
get out off the water at all.
Those pictures tell it all:
On our way home we stopped at a large supermarket and were happy to find many
different fruit and groceries we couldn't find in our little town.
After a few detours ( to be honest - we were totally lost because there are
hardly any street signs and the maps does not show all streets either!) we made
it back to the boat just before the sun set - full of sand and salt and dead
tired.
Tomorrow we want to go back to Crane Beach and the East Coast together with
Mathias. More in the August logbook.
