Barbados: Honeymoon #2 and a Wedding

Barbados, an island only 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, boasts the attitude of "Little Britain". We beg to differ, but we will get into that in another space. The history is rich, with stories of barrens, plantations, slave workers, and sugar cane. There is one of the world's oldest synagogues, and the land has much to offer in terms of wildlife and botanicals. The two oceans, Atlantic and Caribbean, offer swimming on one side and surfing on the other. One was calm and one very rough, or choppy. There are plenty of water sports, and activities are offered, as well as tours to get you out to see the island. I'll show you everything we saw in the other parts of this journal--ready for the ride??

Quick Tips:

Like in Aruba, take fold-up floaties with you. Here, though, they do not offer nor rent them.

Take a small fold-up cooler with you to use at the beach and plenty of sunscreen.

Your hotel should have a listing of local events.

Water sport rentals are available at the beach. If you get quoted a price from one guy, stick with him!! His so-called brother will try to steal you away and charge you something different. Their selling tactics are confusing, and none of these guys are really working together. Be careful!

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxis are expensive but easy enough to get. If you will use a taxi often, get the driver's card so that you can call him when you are ready to leave. Unless you are at a resteraunt that will call a taxi for you, it's best to collect numbers. This way, you have a reliable ride to get you back to your hotel.

Car rentals - Beware, as they drive on the opposite side of the road, just like in the UK. There is a bus system that is less costly and easy enough to use. Keep track of your time, because buses do not run 24 hours a day. I believe they stop at midnight.

I was thrilled to find what was considered to be a higher-end hotel with 3.5 stars in the area we needed to be in for the wedding we were going to attend. We booked our reservation and stated we were on our honeymoon. The pictures on the Internet looked good - they will fool you every time!

At check-in, the receptionist was friendly and appeared to be helpful. She stated a tray of food would be sent up to us since we arrived so late and the dinner service had ended. We had to call three times, and it took an hour for our food to arrive. Our room had a running toilet, a broken air-conditioner, and doors to the balcony that allowed for the constant flow of bugs. Nothing, however, compared to the musty, damp, stale odor that filled our room. The next morning, we went to reception to see about a room change, and the receptionist at that time stated there was nothing available--they were completely full, and we already had an upgrade since it was our honeymoon, which meant we got a four-poster bed instead of a regular bed.

That evening, when we inquired about checking out early to find another hotel, the manager all of a sudden found three rooms for us to look at if we wanted to move. Imagine that! The service ran hot and cold, certainly not what I would expect from a hotel who charges $300 for a nothing room per night. Yes, the island is expensive, but I still think that if you charge the prices, you ought to provide the service.

Excellent! Even though we had a limited menu due to a rehearsal dinner, everything was fabulous. We had Caesar salad, crab cakes, grilled vegatables, and shrimp to start. Main courses were kingfish, lamb, pork, and noodles with soya. Every dessert served was to-die-for: apple tarts, chocolate/raspberry souffle with chocolate sauce, and the phyllo-wrapped cheesecake. We all tried each other's dishes to see if one was better than the other, and hands-down, The Tides won. Each dish was different, flavorful, and melted in your mouth. There was not one complaint, nor a hungry belly when we were done. We were a party of 13, and the service was immpeccable. The wine and water flowed constantly. I don't recall one of us having to ask the waitstaff for one thing. They were available and working the table the whole evening. I highly recommend this restaurant. It sits on the ocean, so ask for a ocean view table. It's wonderful to listen to the tide as you dine. Oh, and try their rum punch--one of the best on the island!

This was one of our stops with Boyce tours. The Andromeda Botanic Gardens offers two different tours. "Iris", the shorter one, is about 30-45 minutes, depending on your walking and reading speed, and "John" takes over an hour, from what I understand. We took Iris since we were on a schedule. The gardens are beautiful and packed with many streams, arbors, ponds, rocks formations, and little bench areas for pictures and rest. The flowers and plants are wonderful and plentiful. There are orchids, heliconia, palms, and many tropical and exotic plants.

The quick history lesson: Horticulturist Iris Bannochi left this 6 acres of garden to the people of Barbados to be run by the Barbados National Trust in 1988. The blooms and exotic plants are from all over the world. If you love nature, this is a "must" on your to-do list.

Not much swimming happens here; this is mostly where the surfers are. The waters are rough and choppy. Most people either come for the surfing or to get married. It makes a wonderful backdrop for a wedding by the ocean.
There are no private beaches in Barbados--the government won't allow it. But if you are planning a wedding, a wedding planner can make arrangements for the ceremony and beach site.

There are no private beaches on Barbados. On the Caribbean side, it is easy to swim due to the calm waters. The hotels all have outside showers to wash off the salt water but ask that only hotel patrons use the beach chairs and towels, Understandably so. As I mentioned in another part of the review, you can hire a boat, jet skis, banana boat, or water skis on this side of the island. The salesmen are plentiful. If you strike a deal with one guy, stick with him. Some other guy will come by and try to take the sale right out from under his nose by claiming to be his "brother" or "cousin". It is confusing and annoying. Be warned and careful. There are actually a number of "beach" areas along this coast and through this hotel zone. The other one I know of is Mullins Bay. If you hire a catamaran from one of the tour operators, they will take you up and down this coastline.

St. Nicholas Abbey, which is not really an abbey, nor ever was, is a wonderful historical piece of Barbados. A sugar plantation since 1640, the house itself is said to have been built around 1650. It is one of three genuine Jacobean mansions in the Western Hemisphere. This wonderful tour shows period furniture, architecture, and photos of past owners and workers. You are told stories and tales of the past. Not that it is without drama or tragedy - Colonel Berringer lost a duel to Sir John Yeamans over Berringer's wife of all things. Yeamans and his new wife left Barbados in 1669 and went on to help find a colony that is now South Carolina. A film is played that shows plantation life in the 1930s. It is quite fascinating, as well as delightful. It is a must-see for the historian and architect.

An 18th-century plantation house, Sunbury is the only tour that allows you to see every room. Throughout you will find tons of historical pieces, furniture, artifacts, clothing, and everyday items from each family member. It is a wonderful trip back in time to see how people of that era lived and looked. This sugar estate was built around 1660 by one of the first island settlers, Matthew Chapman. On early Barbados maps, you will find it named Chapman's Plantation. It was later changed to Sunbury, after the England town, by John Henry and George Barrow. Like other historical properties, there have been many owners. Sunbury was opened to the public in 1984. Besides the tour offered, Sunbury has a restaurant, bar, and gift shop and hosts weddings.

Stiletto Tours did a great job. We cruised up the coast, stopped to snorkel, swam with the turtles, and made an extra swim/beach stop. They kept giving you beverages of your choice all day and served a wonderful buffet lunch. Music was played, and the attitude was that of fun, enjoyment, and relaxation. Throughout the tour, the captain filled us in on history pertaining to the properties we passed along the coastline, as well as any other factoids or Barbadian trivia. All in all, it was a great way to experience a catamaran, the local sea life, and the Caribbean.

This synagogue shows the beautiful architecture of its time. Built with an upper balcony (most likely for the women, if they were allowed in), the entrance to it is from the rear of the building. There is a cemetery, actually, several small cemeteries, outside the building. It’s a true site for historians and religious followers alike.

History Factoid:

There is currently only one synagogue situated in Bridgetown. Built in the 17th century (1654), it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1831, rebuilt, fell into disrepair, and sold in 1929.

In 1983, it was bought back by the Jewish community and restored to its present state, with its beautiful Gothic arches, and is now a Barbados National Trust-protected building and an active synagogue.

About 300 Jewish people of Recife, Brazil, persecuted by the Dutch, settled in Barbados in the 1660s. Skilled in the sugar industry, they quickly introduced the crop and passed on their skills in cultivation and production to the Barbados landowners.

With their help, Barbados went on to become one of the world's major sugar producers
It was the first synagogue built in the Western hemisphere. Built by the Jews who came here from Brazil to pass on their expertise in the sugar industry, the synagogue is now in use by the Jewish community in Barbados. It is a proud winner of the American Express Preservation Award.

We love to travel and see new places. As much history as Barbados has, it is lacking greatly in the friendliness and customer-service departments. Many of the Barbadians we came in contact with almost seem to repeat the same memorized script. It begins with "Is this your first time here on the island?" As much as the conversation starter would be appreciated, the attitude is dull, non-feeling, and lacking any enthusiasm. They continued to tell us how everyone was so friendly here. We had yet to see more than a handful of genuine happy islanders.

On the customer service side, the hotel was awful times ten. Tamarind Cove ran hot and cold all week. I can only believe this is normal practice. Where one receptionist wanted to help, the other could care less, and answering even a simple question seemed to be too much effort. When the security guard offered to help us in getting ice, he then refused to give us the full bucket in exchange for our empty one. They were identical. That interaction was plain weird. The Oasis bar next to the restaurant, allows a dinner menu, but ordering at 9pm meant dinner didn't arrive until 10pm. The kitchen is 20 paces away, and I know it doesn't take an hour to cook a hamburger. The rooms were okay--nothing special. The hotel is part of "The Elegant Hotel Group". I'm unsure who the people are who created this group, but Tamarind Cove is equal to a motel or lower-budget hotel. They are slowly renovating rooms, but I have no idea what the finished product will look like. I would think in the mean time, they should lower their prices to fit their service and older amenities. The in-room safe is archaic. It is a key on a chain that goes to a paperweight size lock. They state you have the only key, great for the single person but what about a couple and why make your beach guest carry one more thing down to the water? I haven't been in a hotel without a digital safe with personal key code in over 10 years. They have all the other modern electronics, Internet, cell phones, cable TV, why not in-room safes??

The island is a mix of new and old. There seems to be no zoning laws so the rich and poor live next to each other. The streets appear congested and cluttered which gives the appearance of unkept or dirty.

Our friends stayed in a couple of Villas in Holders Hill/Polo ridge. While these were beautiful and kept well. The staff was great and service much enjoyed, and I didn't understand the security. For an island that boasts safty and tourism, these very expensive villas became known as the compound. More than once, my husband and I had been there visiting past 11pm, when the security guards told us we should just stay since the doors were all locked for the night. Locked for the night? For what? We called a cab and went about our way. This we were unsure if it was too much for them to turn a lock or if we were in fact in danger and from what? No one could find an answer to the extreme security at the villas, compared to the lax security of our hotel one mile away.

We got a quick tour of "downtown" Bridgetown. We saw the parliament buildings (there is an east and west), and we saw the bridge, which is one of the most famous landmarks. It is a swinging bridge when fully operating. Currently, there are some repairs taking place. We saw the treasury building, which also serves as their version of the IRS.

Monte Gay Rum is in/near Bridgetown and offers tours. We understand it is quite nice, though we did not have the time to go ourselves.

Bridgetown is the major port of Barbados. That is where the cruise ships dock. During the summer months, they usually get two or three ships a week, whereas in the winter months, they get two or three ships a day! It can be a very busy port of call.