Visiting Bridgetown: An Endless Return of Seas

“There’s a very special color of water which drifts around the rims of Caribbean islands, a tropical teal which lends itself to the restoration of souls.” – Old Sean

Pause in the Pivot

A week ago, I was finishing up my writing session in Cartagena, Colombia. Afterwards, I took a series of extended layovers, spending time in Bogotá in Colombia, Willemstad in Curaçao and Arouca in Trinidad. This extended hop-scotch period culminated in landing in my destination location: Barbados.

My friend Lionel has spent the last few years striving endlessly at completing his medical academic career, finalizing the last few testing periods needed to earn him a place on rotations in the United States. For the last year and a half, Lionel has made his home Barbados and when the opportunity allowed me to visit, I took it eagerly.

One of the odd things about traveling the world non-stop is the revitalization burst I get from visiting old companions. Most of my dearest friends are what I consider low-maintenance friendships, allowing me to drift in and out of geological regions and easily pick up relationships where I left them off.

This is a necessity of my lifestyle. Admittedly, even while rooted in a single location, this adaptable yet enduring comradery showcases itself. When living in and working in Dallas, where the majority of my lifetime friends live, I’m lucky to meet people individually once or twice every few months.

Perhaps trusting relationships to endure and have meaning even when a person can’t tend them directly is an aspect of our modern lifestyles. Technology gives the impression of availability and knowing that people would rise to help when they can generates enough goodwill to allow relationships to endure.

My time with Lionel was no different. Upon arriving in Barbados, he greeted me at the airport, brought me into his home in Coverley, introduced me to his roommate, shared meals with me and joined me on explorations.

The best people endure on their own merits. They build something strong enough to give to others and express admiration and respect easily. Lionel is one of the many people I have in my life who embodies this. So I arrived in Barbados to find an old friend who is just as reliable, compassionate and interesting as he’s always been.

My people are scattered throughout the Earth. And for ten years I’ve wandered. But I’ve never lacked a home or safety.

Blink the Morning

The following day, Lionel provided a small glimpse of life in Barbados. Though he’s currently still studying for the final segment of his academic requirements, he managed to put aside a few hours a day to show me around. I like to think that our time meandering gave his mind a much-needed break from the constant drone of effort created by studying.

On our first morning, Lionel and I visited a vibrant little shop called Bliss Café.

Now, I have some experience with Caribbean islands. The vast majority of them are heavily tailored towards high-income cruise ship Americans and Canadians who have no issue splurging money and settling into the slower pace of life.

That means that service is a powerfully tedious feature of Barbados, requiring a couple of hours to get drinks, menus, orders, plates and checks. For me, this is no issue at all. Technically speaking, I’m currently on a sideways version of vacation. But it means that guests to the island nation shouldn’t head out to eat if a time-crunch is a factor.

Likewise, this means that expenses are waaaay up. Barbados costs a pretty penny for every activity. Short taxi rides run around $20 to $30 dollars. Gas for personal vehicles is a whopping $2.16 USD per liter. Eating out is a thirty or forty dollar affair for a fairly mid-quality meal. Almost every museum, historical site, tour, boating trip, cavern, garden and reef demands between $20 and $100 USD.

Past the Party

So needless to say, our breakfast in Barbados comes with a couple of hits. The meal itself wasn’t too bad, with sugary pancakes being the theme of breakfast. But a mishap with a taxi app costed our trip an extra $25 USD or so when the driver gave a long, condescending speech about how the card payment failed to go through.

However, during and after breakfast, things improved substantially. Lionel and I enjoyed a meandering walk through Saint Lawrence Gap, a roundabout party-district that was uniquely nice to visit in the daytime. British colonial structures and Caribbean-Spanish influences pop up from time to time, making it a unique place to breathe. Occasional glimpses of the iridescent teal sea with bobbing boats framed the mini-trek nicely.

Naturally, without the thrum of music and island visitors running around for pub crawls and clubs, the district was quiet. But that suited Lionel and I nicely.

We ended up heading back to Lionel’s home for the rest of the day, doing some shopping and handling our respective tasks. Lionel studied and I handled my work for the week.

The highlight of the day was meeting Lionel’s longstanding roommate, also studying in the medical field. A Persian-Californian fellow named Iskandar became the centerpiece conversation for the evening.

To be fair, Iskandar is a character. He absolutely crackles with energy and insights. He loves tapping into the fabric of understanding the world and his place within it. For my own ego, he was the perfect audience, always asking about my stories and travels to other parts of the world.

So after work was done, we gathered around the small dining area eating steak tacos and I waxed poetic about a decade of road-dust. Driving motorcycles in Laos, taking on the Hải Vân Pass of Vietnam, evading jail time during accidents in Guatemala, tending elephants in Thailand, reminiscing about stone-walls tracing Ireland’s islands, laughing about the multi-layered mountain-city of Chongqing in China and touching upon miniature forays into the Amazon all became part of our evening.

On some level, nothing makes a person feel alive more than recounting all they’ve managed to live through.

The Urban Snakeslayer

The next day, I opted to take a little solo trip while Iskandar and Lionel were studying. I wanted to check out Bridgetown, the largest urban port city in Barbados.

My morning started out fairly slowly. The bus I needed was a bit far away, necessitating a long walk in the Barbados morning air. It’s worth mentioning that Barbados’ weather absolutely saps the will. Dense mugginess is only broken by infrequent rainstorms. During the rest of the day, visitors have to fight to keep their energy up. And locals also move with a note of lethargy in their steps.

However, I eventually caught a shuttle and zoomed into town. My first stop was the Richard Haynes Boardwalk, which is a long concrete walkway following the beach. This also passes the small artworks along the Barbados Boardwalk Art Gallery.

I continued my little jaunt as green lizards skittered past with impressive speed. Seagulls wheeled overhead while morning doves cooed endlessly. I even sighted the long, darting form of a mongoose ducking under some rocks.

A fun fact for my own amusement; Mongooses (yes, that’s the proper plural, like cabooses) were first introduced to Barbados in the 1870s as a biological control to handle the rat population. However, as most ecologists will tell you, the balance of nature is rarely so predictable and the introduction of invasive species rarely works out predictably. The mongooses invaders demolished the snake population of the island, which was already doing its utmost to tamp down on the rat population. And since mongooses and rats are active at different times of day, both still exist on the island.

As a result, the snake population lost out. In Ireland, there’s a legend which tells of Saint Patrick banishing the snakes from Ireland. In Barbados, it was the mongooses rather than Christians who did the deed. Interestingly, a mongoose crossing a person’s path is good luck in Barbados.

Bridgetown Plod

After following the coast for an extended amount of time, I managed to swing past another series of local attractions. The Needhams Point Light House is tucked behind a hotel on the beach. Nearby is the St. Ann’s Garrison, more fondly called “Garrison.” Garrison is a historic area known for it’s large green space and horse-racing loop, the Garrison Savannah. I also wanted to visit the famous George Washington House, but the price tags on entry caused me to veer away and continue my hike along the Carlisle Bay.

There’s something unique about the combination of British colonial architecture and Caribbean-influenced pseudo-Spanish buildings all packed into the same historical district.

Regardless, I continued my solo-walk. Sadly, the roads of Barbados aren’t entirely friendly to pedestrians. The sidewalks often narrow into mere curbs and the ground is often pocked with potholes and rubble.

This didn’t stall me overmuch. I eventually made it further north, into the Barbados downtown area. There was a lot more foot traffic here bustling around with several landmarks. The Barbados Independence Arch spanned the canal. The National Heroes Square stood with numerous sculptures and a series of artworks promoting Crop Over (a Barbados festival slightly similar to Carnival in Brazil). The Parliament Building stands oddly ornate over the surrounding buildings surrounded by a green fence. The upper stories of the Bridgetown Duty Free Broad Street serves a fairly nice range of smoothies. The Cheapside Markets hold a range of cheap products, most especially off-brand clothing and some nice snacks. The restored Jewish worship center known as the Nidhe Israel Synagogue and Museum often has the rare monkey perched on the nearby stone wall. Queen’s Park is home to an impressively vast ancient Baobab Tree with a oddly off-color plastic white chair underneath. The Jama Masjid Mosque is a surprisingly beautiful building in a country with a relatively small Islamic population. The Mutual Life Assurance Society is a stunningly beautiful structure against the sunset. And naturally the Rihanna Drive Monument is worth a quick, amusing visit.

In the end, I was completely winded from my little walk around Bridgetown. It’s an easy area to traverse, but the heat and humidity of the day absolutely winded me. I was happy to head back home for a long rest in the air conditioner.

Mini-Wheels

The following morning, Lionel and I planned a trip up the west-side of the country. Since Lionel had spent a large chunk of his time in Barbados studying, it was a true exploration trip for the both of us.

I headed to the airport in the early morning to pick up a car rental. The car granted to me was a tiny little Chevrolet Spark.

Now, the Chevy Spark is a fine little car. It handles smoothly enough. But in terms of Barbados roads, the Spark doesn’t have what it takes. Most of Barbados roads are fringed by crumbling edges and potholes are prominent. The small vehicle had a lot of trouble anytime I brought it off of the main highway, the Tom Adams Highway.

Additionally, I needed a bit of a learning curve while driving in Barbados. As an old British territory, I was driving entirely on the left side of the road, a habit I needed to consciously instill for the duration of the morning.

Regardless, Lionel and I managed. We piled into the tiny car and started our journey.

The Westerly Roads

Our morning started with a robust breakfast at Café Luna Barbados. The meal, which included plenty of pancakes, omelets and potatoes, was excellent. Our seats were turned to overlook a large ship resting in the teal waters nearby. The syrup for the pancakes were especially unique, a pumpkin-banana mix which immediately became addictive.

Upon piling back into the car, I accidently hopped into the wrong side of the vehicle while Lionel looked on, smiling until the realization struck me.

Another fun fact about the Bajan people (local Barbados folks) are their parking habits. They always back into parking spaces. Ironically, it’s generally safter for visitors to do the same to avoid marking their vehicle out as a tourist car.

Tangent on parking brushed aside, Lionel and I continued up the coast, eventually parking for a beachside walk at Batts Rock Beach. The idyllic coast was a charming little area, but Lionel and I also enjoyed browsing the unfinished hotel ruins tucked into the nearby jungle.

Eco-Barbados

While exploring the west side of the island, Lionel and I made a habit of taking short jaunts split by long rests inside our air-conditioned vehicle. To be frank, the AC was the only thing that lent us any energy, allowing us to continue along.

Our next stop was in the brightly colored miniature shopping area known as the Holetown Chattel Village. In full honesty, the village is a bit of a hit and miss. Some stores are lovely filled with accommodating staff members. But others are bit rude and stony-faced. One of the realities of the urban portion of Barbados is the tough economic situation. The cost of living is incredibly high and a significant portion of the island’s economy is dedicated to tourism. As a result, the west side of the island seems a little jaded to me. Its rare to find locals who are friendly and open with wandering foreigners.

Our next driving hop brought us to the bright little coastal community of Speightstown, where murals, artworks, thin canals, piers with minnows and challengingly winding roads were all apparent. Lionel and I took a long loop through drizzling rain, chatting deeply as we scuffed through concrete walkways.

After driving past Deadtreepoint, I opted to avoid visiting any of the major distilleries on the island. I’m not terribly interested in rum production and Lionel doesn’t drink. So visiting many of the famous tourist sites like Mount Gay Rum Distillery didn’t seem that compelling.

The Spire by the Sea

Our next stop was the true highlight of the day. Lionel and I followed backroads, dirt trails and patched concrete to the base of a famed, abandoned lighthouse known as the Harrison’s Point Light House.

The lighthouse is a white spire with a red-rust peak overlooking a stunning green-and-blue panorama. Lionel and I walked through the lower ruins nearby, pointing out Arabic scripts graffitied on the walls and bundles of plants growing through the cracks. We hiked towards the nearby overlook where a white bench offered views of the nearby seas.

When the only other group in the area descended the abandoned light house, Lionel and I took our turn hiking up the tight spiral staircase. Hundreds of little notes were scrawled on the interior, showcasing all the people who had previously visited. Once Lionel and I reached the top, we stood near the outer railing of the lantern room. The rotted wooden railings felt precarious but the view was stunning. Breathing in the upper winds of the Caribbean from an abandoned spire has its own kind of magic.

Once we eventually descended, Lionel and I wandered through backroads trying to reach the Catch-22 Restaurant. In a fun little foray on cell-phones spying on America, because we mentioned the Catch-22 Restaurant I started getting Catch-22 movie clips on my Youtube shorts.

However, Google Maps offline failed us. The roads we attempted to take ended in dead-end residential areas. So we eventually gave up on the restaurant and instead made our way to Animal Flower Cave.

The Sea-Carved Caverns

Animal Flower Cave is a famous tourism site which leads to several caverns naturally carved by seawater into stone cliffs. The caves are filled with sharp walls and rounded stones on the floor. The cave stands currently six feet above the high water mark but it was actually formed at sea level. This occurred because Barbados is rising at 1 inch per 1000 years.

The cave earned its name due to the sea anemones which sit within. Locally, these are named Sea Flowers. Visitors can find them sitting in numerous tide pools, small frills of animals anchored to shallow stones. Sadly, the recent passing of Hurricane Beryl wiped out the majority, so Lionel and I only sighted a half-dozen or so.

The cave is also home to a small swimming hole where visitors can quietly paddle around. It’s not very impressive and the twenty dollar entrance fee is a bit steep for the actual attraction. Additionally, the tour guides for the cave aren’t the best in the business and eagerly try to get people to buy souvenirs after emerging from the ground.

Lionel and I begged off from buying anything and turned to the east, walking along the cliffs to enjoy the coastal breeze. Underneath, large flat walks with rims became natural tide pools as waves crashed over them, waterfalls tumbling down the sides.

The stones here are rounded, but uncomfortably sharp. Often in literature, sailors note that there are “sharp rocks ahead.” When this is translated into movies, the directors show large spears of stone jutting up from the sea, ending in points. However, true “sharp rocks” at sea are texture-sharp, not shape-sharp. The stones around the northern point of Barbados are difficult to grip and nearly impossible to climb without cutting deep into fingers.

Iskandar Dine

In the end, the heat started to eat away at my energy. Lionel and I veered away from the coast and hopped back into the car. We then began the long drive back home, hitting a fair amount of rush-hour traffic on the way.

Despite the long day of road tripping the island, our evening wasn’t done yet. We picked up Iskandar from the house and immediately drove back out, angling towards the sunset.

On that evening, we visited Sea Shed Restaurant, where I ordered a Blue Cheese Pasta. We dined under a small canopy area as rain patterned around outside. Afterwards, we started driving to Limegrove for ice cream.

Pop Goes the Weasel

Now, as previously mentioned, I was driving everyone around in my rental car, a Chevrolet Spark. This is a perfectly acceptable vehicle, but it’s simply not up to the rougher roads around Barbados. Potholes were hitting hard and I was constantly nervous about causing damage. When I eventually veered into a curb, there was a dejecting bumping noise and driving suddenly became much harder.

We had managed to score a flat tire.

Such is life. Wearily, I veered into a well-lit parking garage and started raising the car on a jack, spending the next half-hour or so replacing the wheel. The bolts were firmly attached, requiring a lot elbow grease to get them loose. When I finally replaced the tire, it was clear that the spare was a bit on the small side. Indeed, the car would drive at a sloped angle for the time being.

Meanwhile, Lionel went to pick up ice cream while I handled the tire. Iskandar went around checking to see if anyone had a better jack, since ours wasn’t the best model. But eventually, the tire was replaced and we walked around the Limegrove Lifestyle Centre Mall for the next half hour or so.

Eventually, we piled back into the rental spark and started driving home, eager to get to bed. But I felt a difficult dragging as I steered and quickly entered another parking lot, sighing slightly.

The spare tire was also flat. The rental company had managed to give me a useless doughnut.

Slightly jaded, I used Iskandar’s phone to call 24 hour roadside assistance. The rental company had someone one standby who made their way out to us in about forty-five minutes with another spare (not a full replacement) tire. Unfortunately, the woman who brought us our tire didn’t actually know how to change it, so I changed a second tire that night. Fortunately, there was a man with her (her boyfriend) who did know how to change a tire. He handled jacking up the car, which saved us a good chunk of time.

Finally, we arrived at home where everyone in my little crew promptly fell asleep.

Drive Day Dos

The following morning, I drove the struggling Chevy Spark to the airport. The rental agency there didn’t have a replacement tire to provide but they were extremely accommodating about the entire ordeal. They offered a full replacement vehicle, a Nissan X-Trail. The upgrade to a full-blown SUV was a godsend. Nothing else could’ve easily handled the backroads I would soon be driving.

New car fully prepped, I returned home to gather Lionel for our second and last day of road tripping. Instead of revisiting the west side of the island, we opted to explore the far less-densely populated eastern portion.

That day, Lionel and I drove north towards a breakfast restaurant I’d heard about online. On route were several minor tourist attractions.

The first of these attractions was the Sunbury Plantation Great House. This was a large 17th century estate with gardens, courtyards and impressive antique furniture.

Sadly, the Sunbury House costed a whopping $30 USD to enter, which would’ve been a $60 dollar visit for Lionel and I. Barbados has a recurring problem where a lot of moderate interesting tourism features cost a hefty sum I’m unwilling to pay. After snapping a couple of photos of the local scenery, Lionel and I decided to continue onwards.

Rampant Scenery

Despite the initial fluke tourist stop, the eastern portion of Barbados was gorgeous. Mountains rose in small curves, densely packed with jungle foliage. Old plantation farms were alive with tall waves of sugarcane growing into the distance. Caribbean cows picked their way across fields and herds of brown goats trotted back and forth on narrow trails. Best of all were the red flowering trees that caused the landscape to captivate and flourish.

These trees are known as the Royal Poinciana (Delonix Regia). It’s also called a “peacock tree” or a “flamboyant tree” for obvious reasons. Strictly speaking, it’s not native to Barbados, but instead hails from Madagasacar. Despite this, the brilliant flowers of vermillion and canary-yellow were a constant source of appreciation during our drive.

Our next tourism stop proved far more fruitful. Lionel and I soon arrived at the lovely St. John’s Parish Church, a gorgeous stone structure on a high rise overlooking the lower island. While the original church was created in 1645, it was crafted of wood and sadly burned down. The replacement was crafted of stone in 1680, but hurricanes destroyed it in 1675, 1780 and again in 1831.

Lionel joined me for a quiet walk through the pews, enjoying the quiet wooden interior and glinting pipe organ. We wandered outside as well, wandering past modern and old gravesites, brushing our hands across bright pink flowers.

Lionel and I spent a few more minutes gazing across the overlook where the sea made tiny traces of white over sheets of blue. Dense jungle and bright little houses dotted the lands beneath us.

After our meditative gazing session, Lionel and I drove past a couple more small tourist attractions.  We checked the Clifton Hall Great House, but they were clearly setting up for a wedding as we passed by. We also visited Codrington College, an active college community with an odd spread of old and beautiful buildings, ringed by wild monkeys and ducks. Unfortunately, it costed a few dollars to visit, so Lionel and I opted to skip this as well. 

Fortune of Feasts

At this point, Lionel and I were getting extremely hungry. We drove up several steep hills to our next location, a restaurant known as The Farm House (also called PEG Farm & Nature Reserve). The restaurant is a farm-to-table venue with open seating and wide windows overlooking nearby farmlands and rolling hills.

Though it was well-past breakfast hours, the chef did us a favor by allowing us to order several brunch options. And upon receiving our food, it became apparent that the Farm House would become my all-time favorite restaurant on the island. I ordered a new specialty dish, something called the Pulled Pork Pancakes.

I cannot stress the quality of food enough. Everything tasted exquisite. The meals are artfully prepared. The coffee and drinks were fortifying and appreciated. The freshness of the farm-to-table menu was fully apparent with every bite. The meals are locally sourced. By this point, I’d spent a several  of vacation eating at restaurants all across Barbados and this place was still the absolute best.

After finishing our meals, Lionel and I hopped back in our car and started coasting slowing towards the east coast, food digesting pleasantly in our stomachs. We soon arrived at my favorite scenery on the island, the long line of parks and beaches which included The Soup Bowl (a famed surfing site) Bathsheba Park (a lovely seaside greenspace) and Cattlewash (a delightful swimming area). 

True Barbados

This side of Barbados is far more beautiful than the western portion. Low mountains rise up from the shores and the beaches are picturesque with white sands. Massive boulders perched on narrow pedestals endure the crush of the incoming ocean while brambles of green plants give these structures a cropping of hair. Further along are broad, flat stone structures with elevated rims, creating bathing tide-pools that guests lounge within. The people and shops of this part of Barbados are far more friendly and jovial than those found on the west side.

Lionel and I spent hours marveling at the scenery and walking along the coast. There was so much beauty in this narrow patch of the world, it boggles the mind. Even old, shut-off buildings were painted with bright (if slightly fading) colors, mash-ups of interesting hues like greens and oranges.

Lionel and I continued to point out little quirks of the region. Mongooses scampered along the same paths as scuttling crabs. A giant boulder hosted an impossible bench atop its sheer, rocky walls. Houses were protected by slanting pine trees cultivated to serve as wind-breaks. Beach houses took on a mystical quality when tucked into tiny, private groves.

I adored everything about this part of the world and my thumb was busy taking photos the entire time.

After our drive and hike along the beach, Lionel and I made our way further north, hopping past a series of tourist attractions. We tried to visit the Walkers Reserve Ecological Park, but once again the sheer cost of entry deterred us from doing a self-guided drive-through tour.

A lot of Barbados is really only good if you have heaps of money to burn.

A History of Sweets and Slaves

Afterwards, we stopped at a lovely little bar where we each purchased water from the wonderfully friendly local crowd. At this point, we steered our way uphill until we reached the completely unique Morgan Lewis Windmill.

The Morgan Lewis Windmill is a wind-powered sugarcane mill created in the 1700s, still in amazingly good condition. It remains the only fully-intact sugar-windmill found in the Caribbean. Much of the interior has grinding technology developed in the 1800s and 1900s. Also interesting are the rubble walls which are made from shaped boulders. These are mortared together with a mixture of egg-whites and coral dust, as cement hadn’t been invented in this region at the time of construction.

The modern windmill’s blades have been torn off due to storms, but the actual structure is still soundly intact. There was a local man overseeing the windmill who was lovely enough to provide plenty of information, despite the fact that we didn’t have the cash available for a tour. Lionel and I learned about the slave plantations which fed the mill sugar cane. I read later on that a week of good winds would result in 200 tons of sugar cane being crushed, which could produce 5,500 gallons of sugar-syrup. This sugar syrup would be taken to a boiling house and processed into cisterns where impurities would be heated and ladled out until a final product was ready for shipping.

After our mini-visit to the windmill, Lionel and I drove down the nearby hill, eventually turning on a rugged dirt road leaning to the Morgan Lewis Beach. The beach visit wasn’t very eventful, but it’s a totally empty patch of beautiful shore with a nice, sheltered camping space. I adore learning secret little things like that.

Southernly Soulsought

After visiting the beach, Lionel and I started heading south once more. We made a brief stop at the gorgeous overlook and ruins at Farley Hill National Park before continuing on our way. The quite groves and commanding panorama was a restorative moment in our drive. The altitude was so high, the natural mugginess of Barbados faded away. The sky had a sense of crispness I hadn’t felt anywhere else on the island. Wild cats picked through the grasses and plants thrived in the ruins of old structures.

By this point in the day, Barbados had begun shuttering many of its tourism sites. Most things in Barbados (aside from bars and restaurants) usually close around 4:00 PM or so. Therefore, despite my mild interest, Lionel and I had to skip the Flower Forest Botanical Gardens, Welchman Hall Gully, the Harrison’s Caves and a personal interest of mine, Hunte’s Garden.

But such is life. Lionel and I managed to squeeze in one last touristy-photo op by driving down a forest tunnel to see the white form of the Gun Hill Signal Station’s Lion Statue. As rain pattered around us, we walked back to our car to return home once more.

The Last Return

Yet again, our night wasn’t over. We picked up Iskandar for a drive to Le Shack, an upscale steak-and-burger place I enormously enjoyed. There, we enjoyed a last meal and sought out a gas station.

Turns out gas in Barbados is a nightmare expense. I was horrified spending nearly fifty USD on a quarter tank, but that’s the price of touring the island. I won’t be saddened when I finally depart Barbados’ hefty expenses culture.

Finally, Iskandar, Lionel and I returned the rental car at the airport and caught a ride with another friend back home. There, we took our night of rest, happily sleeping late.

The next day was my last full day in Barbados, but I only utilized it a bit. Mostly, all my previous adventures had tired me out. I spent time reading and catching up on work. I washed my clothes and packed. Much of my evening was spent writing and enjoying funny videos from friends. A Moment in the Life of Me by Dax Johnson played on a loop on my laptop while I napped. I followed lizards around and lounged on the back porch sipping tea and munching on chips.

In the evening, Lionel brought another of his friends over and we had a fun, clean little D&D game at the kitchen table. I recycled the game I’d played with Hank up in Mattoon, Illinois earlier this year, so it was a smooth playthrough. Overall, I would consider it a restoratively peaceful day.

There are times like that in life worth savoring as well.

A Distant Dot in the Sea

My final day in Barbados was peaceful enough. I woke up and finished the last two or three chores on my itinerary, packing everything as tightly as I could. I’ve noticed that Caribbean national flights tend to veer wildly between super strict luggage limits and general shrugs. So I’ve been careful to make my single backpack as small and dense as possible.

It’s a little funny to think about, but a single 40 liter Osprey backpack counted as a carry-on item for tons of flights back when I started traveling. It’s the real reason I selected the backpack, to make international exploration a cheaper and more financially stable option.

But it might be time to rethink that. Air travel has started to decay in all the worst ways. I’m not sure how to downgrade my luggage size any further, but a single carry on bag alone for this trip through the islands has costed me well over $600 USD.

Regardless, I did all I could to finish packing before Lionel’s friend Ibrar came to pick us up. From there, we went out to breakfast, enjoying a last meal on the island. I got a chance to recall my impressions of Barbados overall. The west side is filled with a wealth imbalance and tourism fatigue, making people unsmiling and practical. The east side is more sparsely populated with more vibrant nature and a far more friendly population. The entire island is a challenge to navigate despite its size, with roads in varying states of decay. Relearning to drive on the left side of the road takes a fair bit of practice. The weather in the summer is oppressively muggy, sapping the strength of people wishing to be active. But the highlands in the center of the island are cool and refreshing. Much of Barbados is shaped by foreign biological arrivals. Monkeys, mongooses, red-flowering trees, and African snails are all invaders which have substantially shaped the island, even to a tourist’s eye. The color of the Caribbean seas around island nations is an unbeatable hue for soothing a soul. And expense, expense and expense again is the most inhibiting factor for enjoying Barbados freely.

Then, it was the usual order of life. Airport, check-in, security, lounging and a flight. I scored a window seat and watched as Barbados dwindled behind us, an ever-shrinking blue-and-green shape fading into the ocean.

Onwards again. Until the next journey.

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written July 13th 2024

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