6th February 2020

The Magellan arrived early in Bridgetown, mooring at 6:00 am. Fortunately, she secured the closest berth to the port terminal, meaning passengers from the two cruise ships that arrived later faced a much longer walk into town.

Interesting fact: Chicken is by far the most popular meat on the island, with hens and cockerels roaming freely everywhere, making their eggs truly free-range! In 1990, McDonald’s opened a large restaurant in Bridgetown at a cost of 3 million US dollars. Just six months later, it closed due to a lack of demand. Today, the island has no McDonald’s outlets, though there are plenty of KFC takeaways. It seems Ronald made a bit of a clown of himself in Barbados!

This is our second visit to Bridgetown, so this time, we decided to explore more of the island and booked ourselves onto a 4×4 tour. Our vehicle departed promptly at 8:30 am from the dockside, carrying eight fellow passengers, a driver, and a guide. We were advised to fasten our lap belts tightly as the ride was likely to be a bumpy one, an understatement, as it turned out! The tracks we followed wound through sugar plantations and cotton fields, more suited to donkeys and carts than motorised vehicles.

Leaving the capital took some time, as we soon discovered that Barbadian rush hour is on a par with that of many British cities, a slow, stop-start crawl. Eventually, we left the city behind and began climbing through the lush countryside into the cool, fresh air of the Highlands. We never travelled far without pausing to take photos from the vehicle, capturing the people, crops, wildlife, houses, and breath-taking views. We had hoped this trip would give us the best chance to see the real Barbados, and it certainly did.

We followed the East Coast Road, frequently veering off into the countryside for a bone-rattling diversion to experience even more of Bajan culture. A particular highlight was catching a group of Barbadian Green Monkeys off guard as they squabbled in the trees beside an elegant plantation house. Whatever their dispute was about, it was serious enough for them to completely ignore the pale-looking humans clicking away with their cameras.

Not long after, our guide pointed out the ‘cowbirds’ trailing behind a tractor, searching for insects as the machine turned the soil in preparation for another crop of sweet potatoes. The little villages that whizzed past were charming by any standard, and the occasional ‘Big House’ was even more so.

We eventually stopped at the highest point (304m) to take in the stunning coastline far below. Lines of frothy white waves rolled onto sparkling beaches, seemingly striving to reach the island’s lush green vegetation, always just out of reach.

Here, we were treated to rum punch, a highly pleasant, intoxicating, and dangerously moreish drink. We eagerly downed two large glasses, but when offered a third, we all wisely declined. Clinging on for dear life at the back of a 4×4 would require our full concentration!

Our next stop was down on the coast at what must be one of the most picturesque beaches we’ve ever visited, perhaps only rivalled by those of Bora Bora. However, the undertow here is incredibly strong, so swimming is strictly prohibited, even for the islanders. There is one exception, though: as the surf is excellent, this beach is reserved for those with surfboards.

Being a popular picnic spot, a few stalls had set up shop selling trinkets and souvenirs. Some advertised their presence with washing lines strung with beach towels, enticingly flapping in the breeze as a lure. Sue took the bait, indulging in a little rustic retail therapy, and bought a lovely moonstone necklace. A great marketing strategy!

Our route back took us along the Platinum Coast, so named for the exclusivity of the properties there. Pleasingly, though multi-millionaires such as local singer Rihanna and X Factor’s Simon Cowell may own beachfront homes here, the beach itself remains entirely public, because that is the law in Barbados. What sensible people the Bajans are.

Back at the cruise terminal, we had lunch on board before venturing out again. This time, we took a taxi into Bridgetown and, after a brief wander around the shopping district, made our way to the town’s silver-sanded beach. Other cruisers were mingling with the locals, but considering its proximity to the city and the cruise ships (just a half-hour walk away), this stretch of Caribbean shoreline was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps most of our fellow seafarers had ventured off to one of the island’s many other beautiful beaches?

We were fortunate to find an empty double hammock beneath two shady palm trees idyllically positioned right next to a bar. Unsurprisingly, we settled in, swaying gently to our hearts’ content, watching the world go by and indulging in long, meandering conversations about nothing in particular. We suffered this terrible hardship for the rest of the afternoon. We had officially gone Caribbean!

Thoroughly rested and relaxed, we took a stroll through the open-air market, where locals gathered in small circles at the many shacks-turned-‘Rum Shops.’ Seated on plastic chairs, they sipped from long tumblers of rum punch, their conversations punctuated by bursts of raucous laughter. Smiles seemed permanently pinned to their faces as they enjoyed the moment, each in varying states of inebriation. They are Caribbean.

Though the fierce heat of the day had faded, leaving behind what felt like a hot English summer’s evening, we opted against walking back to the ship as we had done last year and took a taxi instead. Back at the terminal, we lingered for a while, making use of the WiFi to check the news. One story in particular caught our attention: two cruise ships in the Far East had cases of Coronavirus on board, and their passengers were being quarantined for two weeks. We couldn’t help but feel relieved that we had chosen the Amazon this year and not the Yellow River!