Barbados report (Part 1 & 2)

Barbados 2004 trip report



Liz and I set off from Manchester (UK) on June 13th. Our flight was on time
and it was as relaxing as an 8 hour flight could be as we’d pre-booked some
good seats with a bit more leg room. I thoroughly enjoyed the bottle of rum
which I’d purchased at the airport on the plane, so time went quicker than
usual.

On arrival at Grantley Adams airport we managed to get through customs a bit
quicker than normal which was definitely appreciated. We got our luggage and
boarded our bus to Casuarina. En route someone received a text message
saying that England were beating France in the football, so spirits were
high.

The bus made it’s first stop and as we had made good time Liz didn’t mind me
leaping off the bus to go and watch the rest of the match whilst she
travelled alone to the hotel to check in. I tried the Whistling Frog but
they weren’t showing the match, so I walked to the Ship Inn where many were
watching it. After a ten minute wait at the bar I then watched the final ten
minutes or so of the match, squinting through the wicker white wooden fence
at the tiny screen in the distance. That meant as the two French goals went
it I had moments of uncertainty before the reality of throwing the game away
became apparent. A depressing start to the holiday not made any better by
the Bajans in French shirts driving past singing and shouting as I trudged
in the searing heat to the hotel.



On arrival I was queuing behind a man who was recognised by a fellow guest
as Tottenham Hotspur (English Premiership Football team) player Rohan
Ricketts. I had a chat with him and had the task of telling him England had
lost (he is English). Surprisingly he seemed pleased with the result!

The lady on the reception desk seemed to think that I would be in trouble
with Liz for leaving her to check in alone, but I assured her that this had
been agreed beforehand and that she was only joking.

I made my way to our hotel room and was pleased to see that we had been
upgraded to a one bedroom apartment. Things were looking up!



We went down to the beach for a swim and to have a good relax after the long
journey and then returned so that I could unpack and get ready for our first
night out. We chose Bubba’s as usually on a Sunday it’s pretty quiet
everywhere and I knew Bubba’s would be a good location to eat and get into
the swing of things straight away. Unfortunately I hadn’t realised that
Sunday is a big night for US sport and the place was packed with Americans
watching various sports. Not that I would have a problem with this, but it
was a bit too busy for our first night. After eating we made our way back to
the hotel and spent time have a few drinks on the balcony listening to
music.



We’d hired a moke for a week so the next day we drove to get some shopping
in for the room and then went for a drive. Liz drove this time and apart
from nearly wrecking it on a high kerb she got used to it fairly quickly. We
drove to the South Point lighthouse and took some amazing photos of the aqua
sea that is around there. Then we headed up to The Crane Hotel in order to
take some of the wonderful beach. Before we got there I’d come up with a
plan to avoid the charge that they make for entry to the Hotel by saying
that we had come to view timeshares. We had previously decided we would look
at some on this holiday so this seemed like an ideal opportunity. It worked
a treat and we were allowed in without any fuss and therefore saved some
money. However this was to prove not to be the case later on…

We saw the timeshare lady and were shown one of the one bedroom apartments.
It was awesome. Top quality throughout, the décor was marble and mahogany
and was complete with a four poster bed and all the top utilities that you
wouldn’t normally expect from a holiday hotel such as dishwasher, washing
machine and dryer, US style fridge/freezer with ice maker, DVD player, two
large TV’s, internet connection, two three piece suites and much more. We
then looked at one which had it’s own pool and this was the icing on the
cake. We knew we had to have it! Over the next few days we discussed it with
a friend of ours who used to work there and it got the thumbs up. We were
even advised that once the final stages of building and landscaping work
currently going on there is completed, the price should rise quite
significantly. This was good enough for us and before the week was out we
had returned to complete the deal. We now have our own place in Barbados for
a week each September for life! Not only that, but as it is the highest RCI
rated hotel out of the 4000+ worldwide hotels that it features, it can be
swapped for most other hotels in the world for 2 weeks. This includes the
very impressive Bougainvillea. So, although we usually do manage to get to
Barbados each year, this now confirms it. We can even go this year but are
going to carry this week forward to September 2005 where we can have 2 weeks
at The Crane. So much for my plan to save money! We are very pleased with it
though.



Monday night we went to the Harbour Lights beach party, and overall it was a
bit of a letdown. First of all, it was busier than normal, plus we were
still tired from jetlag and ended up getting the scheduled bus home at
10.30pm for the first time ever! We usually end up staying and getting a
taxi home at about 1am. On arrival back at the hotel I found that I’d left
my digital camera and spent some time ringing HL to see if they could find
it. They couldn’t and this really ruined the night.



The next morning we went to Bridgetown and bought a new one. A very decent
price too thanks to the duty free, but despite it being a lot better than my
old one it was still money spent that could have been avoided. To cap it all
off, within 10 minutes of getting back to the hotel we received a phonecall
from the very helpful manager at HL who said that he’d made enquiries and a
camera had been found on the bus that brought us back the previous night. We
now have two cameras!



The following day we did our “round the island” car trip, which was as good
as ever. Going up the east coast first we stopped at the Roundhouse to find
it closed for renovations, and instead went to the Edgewater Inn, as our
second choice – The Atlantis Hotel, didn’t look that impressive. We then
went to North Point and immediately were stopped by the vendors on the road
leading up to it. We usually do buy something so we got out to have a look.
However, there was nothing that we fancied so we left and made the promise
that we’d stop on our way back. At North Point we noticed that some changes
had been made to the place. There were a few more vendors there and some
fencing had been put up near to the cliff edges. In general it looked a lot
nicer. One thing they have also built is a bench right on the cliff edge of
the previously barren wild rocks that lead out to the sea and built a hut
over it. It also had a fence on the edge protecting those who sat there from
accidentally falling as they climbed onto it. However, it was still so scary
to even get onto the bench that I decided against this manoeuvre and instead
chose to take a few pics of it and return to the safety of the bar!

After a stay at North Point we drove away and as we approached the vendors
we slowed down but then noticed that they were in discussion with themselves
and had not realised we were coming. Quickly I hit the gas and we sailed
through before they could react. We sped off to the shouts of “Come back!”
We laughed.

We drove down the West Coast and after a long wait in traffic due to an
accident (quite a bad one), we made our way to Mullins Beach where we had a
nice swim and walked along the almost deserted beaches alongside the
millionaires beach abodes.

After this we hit the highway and avoided Bridgetown at rush hour.
Unfortunately I believed Liz’s directions and we accidentally ended up
heading in the wrong direction towards Bridgetown again. We eventually ended
up somewhere the other side of the Garrison which was quite a way out of our
way but at least we knew our way back from there. Overall a very good day
and we got plenty of sun!

We ate at Café Sol that night and it was as good as ever. Pity the service
was as slow as ever too!



The next day I went to watch England play Switzerland on the huge screens at
Bubba’s and thoroughly enjoyed England’s 3-0 victory along with numerous
pints of Banks beer! Back at the hotel we played football in the hotel
gardens and I had the pleasure(!) of being up against Rohan Ricketts. I’d
like to blame the alcohol for how I struggled, but I think I would have
anyway. I paid the price for this though as I’d failed to do any stretches
beforehand and I pulled a few muscles which made it uncomfortable for a few
days afterwards. I was pretty pleased with some of my performance though and
to be told I had “good technique” and be praised for a “wonderful pass”
(cross field – left footed straight to my team mate) by a professional
footballer made up for it.



The next night was Friday and that meant Oistins was the venue. We ate at
the Fish Net as usual and got there early. However, a lot of pre orders
meant we had to wait quite a while for our food. Whilst eating the meal we
got talking to a couple who turned out to have a timeshare at the next room
to us at The Crane. It’s a small world!

We stayed at Oistins till about 11pm and then got a taxi back after having
plenty of rum and coke overlooking the sea. A good night.



The Jolly Roger is a trip we missed last year so we had to do it this. It
now sets off from The Boatyard and on arrival we were impressed by the set
up. There’s a large colourful jetty made specifically for it and it looks
great. Plus we got to see Carlisle Bay for the first time during the day,
and it looks amazing! We had a great trip and met a nice couple who were
staying at Almond Beach Club – an Aussie called Nick and his girlfriend
Winnie (Juanita) from Essex (UK). They were a good laugh and we arranged to
meet them at Oistins the following week, but unfortunately we had to cancel
this so didn’t get to see them again. The Jolly Roger ship itself has
changed since last time, the top deck is half the size and not quite as
good, but it was still a great trip and we ended up doing it again the
following week.



The next day (Sunday) was the day we went back to the Crane to finalise our
timeshare purchase, and we got to stay for the day in one of their smaller
apartments. This was good as we got to use the main pool for the first time
as we were granted resident passes for the day. The pool is the best I’ve
been in in Barbados and has a 10 foot deep end which is nice. Very relaxing
and great views over the beach! We spent a lot of the day taking pictures of
the hotel and grounds and generally relaxing in the luxurious surroundings.



Part Two



The second week started with our wedding anniversary on the 21st June
(Monday). We’d decided to both go to Bubba’s at lunchtime for a meal and
then stay there so that I could watch the England v Croatia football match.
However, Liz preferred being in the sun so decided to skip this and have a
nice meal on the evening instead. So I went alone and had another good time,
drinking plenty of beer and enjoying the fantastic atmosphere as England won
4-2! I’d bought some sunglasses with the cross of St. George on and they
looked great en route to Bubba’s. However, they were a bit hard to see
through so I kept putting a normal pair on when noone was looking!

When I got back to the hotel I decided against having a sleep as I’d have
never got up again due to the excess amounts of alcohol consumed so I stayed
up and drank as many soft drinks and fruit juice as I could to sober me up
for the evening.

That evening we ate at Pisces and had a superb meal. The service was a
little slow again, but everything else was first rate. After this we were
both stuffed and decided against going out drinking (thankfully!) so we went
back to hotel to chill on the balcony.



We were on the Catamaran trip the next day and were looking forward to
getting some major sun. Unfortunately it was overcast for most of the day so
it wasn’t to be. Due to this many people were sat looking quite miserable at
the back of the cat, but we sat up front enjoying the trip regardless.
Although we did join them a couple of times when the heavens opened!

That night, on Leif’s recommendation, we ate at Josef’s. We got a seat on
the edge of the sea and it was a great experience. The service and food were
excellent and it is now a place we will visit each time in the future. I
even took the liberty of trying Sushi, which wasn’t what I’d try again but
it was good to try it. It did get a bit chewy towards the end and I had to
leave some of it. Plus Liz’s face of disgust didn’t help as I was trying to
consume large chunks of raw tuna!

After this we again didn’t fancy going anywhere too lively so we thought we’
d visit the locals bar called the Watering Hole. This is a small white hut
which is situated at the end of St Lawrence Gap across the main road. We’d
been briefly last year and found the cheap drinks to be a good enough reason
to return. We’re glad we did as we went there more than anywhere else this
time. The elderly lady who runs the bar by herself is very friendly and was
helpful in that she was telling the tourists about all the local scams and
dangers that can face them. Plus her drinks were very cheap – we tended to
buy a 0.2l bottle of rum, some Malibu, two 0.5l bottles of coke and a large
bowl of ice for about £8. After this we were rather drunk and had had a very
enjoyable evening. The only downside of going here is that you sometimes get
pestered by locals who want to chat with you, but ultimately just want you
to buy them drinks! But, the dear old lady doesn’t let that happen, so don’t
be afraid to tell them to go away if they start being annoying!



The next day we finally had a full day sunbathing at Casuarina. We’d not
managed to find enough time to do this so far, so it was good to relax.
Later on I played football in the gardens. This was SO much easier without
any alcohol inside me! However, once again I had a Premiership footballer on
the opposite side, so it wasn’t that easy! The rest of the players were
staff members at the hotel and it was a totally different game to what I
would experience at home. They were very skilful but relied on flair and
individual play rather than playing as a team. This wasn’t too good for me,
as I’d prefer to play as a team, and in turn conserve some energy! Good game
though and I managed to score a few.

We ate that night with our friend Sandra at a new restaurant called “The
Jungle Tree house” (or something). It was situated just around the corner
from Casuarina and is where Blakey’s used to be. It was a themed restaurant
which had an Australian surfing/outback type of décor with hammocks and
various other relevant features. It was a nice place and we’d recommend it.
I even had snails for starter, which was more pleasant than I’d expected.
Liz didn’t seem to want to try them though!



Thursday I went to Bubba’s again as England were playing Portugal in the
quarter finals. I set off earlier than usual to ensure a good seat and got
one on the front bar again. I had lunch and passed the time chatting to
others and watching the sport on the big screens. The game was going well
until the last 10 minutes. I had drunk about 7 large beers and had decided
that I would have no more. England were winning 1-0 and I was thinking of
the semi finals. Then Portugal ruined it all by equalising! Not only did
they go on to win on penalties, but the 30 minutes extra time and the long
wait for the penalties meant that I had more to drink and ended up going
back in a depressed and very drunk state. We did go out that night but there
’s no photo’s to remind me where so I can’t report about that bit! I do
recall sending some emails around midnight though, whinging on about the
defeat!



Friday night we would usually go to Oistins as it’s our favourite night, but
Sandra had invited us to her father’s 60th birthday meal at Splash. Needless
to say we were honoured to be invited so gave Oistins a miss. It’s not like
we won’t be back to go there again! So, we ate at Splash which is the
beachside restaurant previously linked to Club Rockley. We’d never been
before so didn’t know what to expect. That night was a trial night for their
new menu and they were keen to know what we thought of it. It was the best
meal we had during the stay. Really excellent top quality food, and very
reasonably priced too. Maybe the prices will go up when the menu is
finalised, who knows? The service was a little sloppy though, with them
twice getting our orders wrong. Thankfully the wrong order I got turned out
to be better than the one I wanted, so it all turned out well in the end.
But, that aside Splash was great!

Just remembered – prior to going out that night I had a stroll on the beach
at sunset and there were a lot of drug sellers about. Nothing too unusual in
being offered it over there, but this time I even got offered a woman! I
declined, honest!

We left Splash and still had time to get down to Oistins for an hour or so.
Half in the hope that Nick and Winnie had got our message telling them we
would be late and that we would see them. We didn’t so we bartered for some
souvenirs and went to sit by the sea with some rum again. One thing I felt
this time was that as we were sober it felt a lot more unsafe to be going
through the crowds with valuable items on our person. We were glad to sit
with the rest of the tourists by the sea enjoying the atmosphere. Needless
to say we got a bit drunk again!



The final full day was Saturday and we were set to go to the Garrison
Savannah for the horse racing. But we changed our minds this year and opted
for the Jolly Roger again. The lure of having a good time in the sun,
dancing away with loads of rum punch inside us was too strong and the horse
racing got left out. The weather was a bit patchy and we had a heavy
rainfall at one point which cleared the top deck. Well I say cleared, but
that wouldn’t be strictly true, as Liz and I were still there! We were wet
from the sea already so we didn’t see the need to shelter. Funniest bit was
when it actually hailed! Hail in Barbados?!! We were sailing along, the sea
was choppy and the hail was lashing us and a few others as we clung to the
main mast, rum punch in hand, laughing away!

We got back to the hotel and I remember going to the TV room to watch some
football and not being able to focus on the screen. The Jolly Roger
certainly gets you drunk!

That night we chose Josef’s again as it was our last night and we had
enjoyed it so much before. Again it was great.



Our final day was short as we left the hotel around 2pm. Prior to this we
had time to chat to Rohan (the footballer) and his girlfriend who were also
leaving. A very nice couple and nice to know that footballers aren’t all big
headed and full of themselves. I wished him well for the following season
and we had a few photos.

Then Sandra came to see us off and we thanked her for her advice about the
Crane and her hospitality in inviting us to her father’s birthday meal. Then
we were off and Barbados once again became a distant but very pleasant
memory.



A few extra things to mention…



Barbados departure lounge has been renovated and is now a pleasant place to
be in. If you’ve been before you’ll recall how horrible it was. It’s now
about 4 times the size and is modern, spacious, cooler, and more importantly
has windows looking over the runway so you don’t feel confined like before.



There are extensive roadworks at the Casuarina end of the Gap road. This is
a continuation of the drains project that was occurring at the Gap the other
year. It’s not a major inconvenience though as there’s nothing around there
where you’d go on an evening, but driving is often diverted and it can get a
bit muddy. Should be done for the next visit though!



Casuarina hasn’t changed much. Hetty is still there (Liz got here hair
braided again), Reggie still does the activities and the rest of the staff
are pleasant and always say “hello” as you pass them. The gardens are as
immaculate as ever and the hotel in general is as well maintained as ever.



That’s about all I can remember. Hope I haven’t waffled on too much. If you
need to know anything, get in touch!



Cheers!



Richard (& Liz)