Spending Christmas in a warm climate is antithetical to the typical Christmas scene; there is sand instead of snow, palm trees not evergreens, and the poinsettias are part of a large gorgeous bush not growing in a tiny pot. I’ll take 85 degrees over freezing anytime, and my happy place is under the water with the turtles and the fish. This was not the typical lay-on-the-beach-reading-books holiday people think of when Caribbean vacation comes to mind. At least not with Pablo.
Teresa is my oldest friend. She and her British husband Paul, aka Pablo, joined Steve and me for this holiday. His buzz phrase for this vacation was, “totally tropical”, whether referring to the color of the water, the beautiful beaches, or the copious quantities of rum punch. He has the metabolism of a hummingbird and the walking speed of a roadrunner, so let it be said that we did stuff. A lot of stuff. Every day was an adventure and Barbados had lots of beauty to share with us. Not to mention driving on the left is a hoot. Especially the roundabouts.
Barbados is an industrial island, with lots of commerce, a thriving financial sector, sugar, molasses and rum exports, and chemical and electrical manufacturing, but tourism is the main economic driver. It’s also large compared to some other Caribbean islands, 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, but small enough to get to anywhere fairly rapidly (even driving on the left). The calm Caribbean sea on the west and south has beautiful beaches, and the wild Atlantic coast to the north and east has waves, surfers, and high cliffs eroded by the surf. And both have water of the most amazing colors.
Click on image to view full size
Animal flower cave was created by this heavy erosion, and can be accessed by 25 steep steps into the earth. Wading through the water leads to areas where the surf still crashes in, and shallow pools where the “Animal Flowers” live. They are actually Fan Worms, or Feather duster worms, that retract when you get too close.
This area is on the northern tip of the island, and we enjoyed an excellent Christmas Eve lunch at their restaurant overlooking the cliffs.
Click on image to view full size
Other attractions include the rum distillery at St. Nicholas Abbey and the Nature Preserve where at feeding time there is almost a 100% guarantee of seeing monkeys as well as the regular residents of the preserve, the deer, mara, tortoises, cayman and peacocks.
Click on image to view full size
While snorkeling from the beach is available at many of the Caribbean facing beaches, we wanted to make sure sea turtles were in the mix, so we scheduled a sunset snorkeling cruise through Cool Runnings. Yes, it was a party boat. But the staff was excellent, the food and drinks were great, the scenery and sunset were beautiful and the turtles didn’t disappoint. My favorite spot was sitting on the net of the catamaran with the water lit below as we sailed back to Bridgetown.
Click on image to view full size
Our VRBO unit had a well equipped kitchen, so we actually cooked a turkey on Christmas day. It was lovely floating around in the Caribbean in the morning, relaxing in the afternoon to smells of roasting turkey while playing fierce games of cards, and then not only enjoying the feast, with a true English Christmas Pudding, but looking forward to turkey sandwiches the next day on the beach.
Click on image to view full size
The beach we found for our actual “beach days” was the beautiful strip at Reed’s Bay, home of Simone’s Bajan Kitchen. Simone and her whole family make this idyllic spot worth the trip. Her son Kevin greeted us warmly, helped situate our vehicle, and set us up with beach chairs and umbrellas in the spot of our choosing, then kept us in rum punch, flying fish sandwiches and snacks for the day. Simone’s daughter Faye was helpful and courteous, delivering our lunches on multiple days and filling us in on the goings on of the area. If you ever go try the Love Punch! It’s a passion fruit lover’s dream. It was reasonably priced for food, drink, and amenities and had great snorkeling just offshore plus a nice beach to swim and take a short walk. So nice we returned multiple times. Since we were there on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, Simone saved us some of her famous rum cake, but I gave myself a few hours before getting behind the wheel of the car! It’s rum in solid form, and oh, so delicious! Simone is a hugger, so if you ever go give her an extra hug from me!
Click on image to view full size
Boxing day is a huge holiday in Barbados, and “a bashment” was happening at Reed’s Bay. The fishermen take the day off, load their boats with more people than any sane person would deem safe, and raft up just off the beach.
Click on image to view full size
The drinking and partying were epic. I was glad for my binoculars! As Pablo would say, “Totally Tropical”!
Leave A Comment