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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) |
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