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Cuba, the Caribbean Islands,
and Central America in 2001

Barbados

Bec
2004-09-17 17:44:41

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on the west and south coasts that are protected from the strong Atlantic winds. Upscale resorts are mostly on the west coast north of Bridgetown while budget accommodations can be found along the almost uninterrupted succession of beaches south of the capital as far as Oistins.

Barbados is not cheap. I settled for a basic room in the "Angle House" on Upper Bay Street some distance from town, for 25$US which was the cheapest I could find.

Bayville
Between the Angle House and the nearby Barbados Museum is an area called Bayville where I took several pictures of "chattel houses" so characteristic of the Caribbean islands. Here is the first one.

Oistins
The vast majority of Barbadians, also called Bajans, live on the west coast between Oistins in the south and Speightstown in the north. I started my exploration by Oistins. This is Oistins' beach looking south towards the hospital.

Oistins is the island's principal fishing centre. There is a fish processing plant just next to this large fish market.

Flying fish is a delicious speciality but cleaning these small fish is a lot of work.

Speightstown
After Oistins I enjoyed a very interesting evening at the home of an Internet friend, Ed Brandon who teaches philosophy at the University of the West Indies. We debated the pros and cons of tourism and solved all the world's problems but I forgot to take pictures.

The next day I went around the island by bus, stopping at Holetown, Speightstown and Bathsheba. Here is a shot of Speightstown's church taken from the town pier.

The Fisherman's pub is a lively spot well located between the beach and Speightstown's main street, Queen St.

Bathsheba Bay
Here as in all the Antilles, the east coast is much more windy and exposed to sea swells than the west or leeward coast. That is excellent for surfing but it is dangerous for all but the most expert swimmers. Anyway, it's nice to look at and meditate.

And the terrace of the Bajan Surf Bungalow on Bathsheba Beach is an ideal place to enjoy a beer while watching the big ones roll in.

The beach was deserted except for Joanna, a barbadian writer, and her friend Debbie, a girl from Toronto who moved down here permanently to get away from the cold.

Barbados was the last island on my route this year and this beach picture is appropriate to close this chapter before going on to Central America

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