CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE – PART 1

Most peoples’ fondest memories of Barbados are likely of luxurious all-inclusive resorts, pristine beaches and free rum punch.  Mine are of hurtling through the streets of Bridgetown in the company of nineteen others shoehorned into a twelve-passenger bus, ear-splitting reggae and calypso music on the radio, sweat pouring off me as I wonder where the hell we’re going!

Elva and I decided to travel and eat like the locals on our eight-country, seven-week Caribbean adventure.  To experience something beyond the Caribbean cliché.  The $2 buses that take you all over Barbados proved a splendid introduction to this very interesting country.  In addition to the twelve-passenger versions, larger private and public buses ply the busy, narrow, winding roads that criss-cross the island.

The food is delicious.  Some of the dishes have their origins in Africa.  Wherever we went, we opted for the place where the locals eat and were not disappointed: cou cou (a mix of corn meal and okra); patties (a baked turnover filled with chicken and a spicy sauce); macaroni pie; and my favourite, rotis (a soft tortilla filled with a mix of meat and chickpeas, and flavoured with a curry sauce).  And we ate at the Oistin’s Friday night fish fry, a “must-do”.  The grilled swordfish was to die for.

From our home base, the Coconut Court Beach Resort, we visited several of the major attractions and saw as much as we could of the island in the six days we were there.  Although Barbados is less than 10% the size of our island at only 439 km², it has double Prince Edward Island’s population.

The country has an interesting past, similar to the history of many of its Caribbean neighbours.  Amerindians were the first inhabitants but left little trace of their presence.  The first European settlers arrived from England in 1627.  Sugar cane became the dominant crop after 1640, completely transforming society and the island’s economy.  African slaves, 50,000 of them by 1700, did the work while their English masters reaped the profits, some of them not even bothering to live on the island.

Emancipation in Barbados dates back to 1834, 31 years before the United States passed the 13^th Amendment to its Constitution, abolishing slavery.  While 92% of Barbadians are of African origin, they didn’t gain the right to vote until 1951.  We learned that the struggle for self-government was a long and difficult one, with the country declaring its independence from Great Britain in 1966.  The photo below shows the Parliament Building.

While sugar cane is no longer the dominant crop, the economy is quite healthy.  Per capita GDP is $16,700, making Barbados the 53^rd richest country in the world.  Economic ties with Canada are strong.  RBC Royal Bank, Scotiabank, CIBC, and TD Bank branches are everywhere.  The UN’s Human Development Index ranks Barbados 55^th, just behind the Bahamas, and just ahead of Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago.  People are healthy-looking, hard-working, and very friendly.  The literacy rate approaches 100% and school children look very smart, dressed in their immaculate and colourful uniforms.

From our home base on Hastings Beach, we toured the capital, Bridgetown, visiting the Barbados Museum, the Museum of Parliament, several markets, and the beautiful Cathedral Church of Saint Michael’s.  We strolled the waterfront and ate where the locals have lunch, Mustor’s, where I had my first taste of the national dish, cou cou.

We travelled north to Speightstown one day on the $2 bus, walked around for a while and hired a taxi to drive us to Barbados Wildlife Reserve and Grenade Hall Signal Station.  Many of Barbados’ native species became extinct due to extensive land clearing.  The small reserve is home to brocket deer, tortoises, iguanas, snakes, birds, and the Barbadian green monkey.

Next on the agenda was a short visit to St. Nicholas Abbey, a 350-year-old sugar cane plantation which survives quite well these days on revenue from tourism and the famous Barbados rum.  Back in Speightstown, we again ate at a local joint, Carlo’s, where I sampled delicious cassava, heavily seasoned with garlic.  Yum!

One morning, we walked to the nearby Hilton and sat in the lobby watching the rich folks come and go while I nursed an americano.  For lunch, we tried Cuzz’ Fish Shack, another highly-recommended local institution, where we sampled fish cutters, fried marlin stuffed into fresh salt bread, garnished with tomato, lettuce and cheese.  Delicious!

The east coast of Barbados is wilder and less developed.  We’d been told that the town of Bathsheba was worth a visit, so we made our way there early one morning.  We walked along the beach and found a trail that took us to the nearby hamlet of Tent Bay.  This little building on the Bathsheba waterfront is an example of either desperate poor planning or galloping coastal erosion; maybe both.

The photo below shows a 'chattel' house in the traditional Barbadian style.

On our last full day, we took the bus to Oistins and walked along the beach, encountering a couple of fishermen with fresh-caught barracuda.  Locals lined up to buy and we watched as the fish were expertly prepared.  We’ve learned that the best experiences happen when you have time to just sit and be in the moment.

We then boarded the bus to Sunbury Hall, another of the fine old plantation houses that dot the island.  With more time to linger and explore, we found the place to have several very interesting and eclectic collections.

We have nothing but fond memories of our time in Barbados: breakfast every morning on the patio outside our room, bathing in the warmest water I’ve ever been in, listening to live music at the Coconut Court, and strolling the beautiful boardwalk along Hastings Beach.  It’s a great place to spend a quiet vacation if that’s what you’re after, and an interesting country to visit if you want to learn and experience more.

Trinidad and Tobago, the second country we visited, is made up of two very different islands and lies just 11 kilometres off the coast of northeastern Venezuela.  Geologically and ecologically, Trinidad is more like South America than the other Caribbean islands.

Trinidad and Tobago became part of Britain in 1802 and obtained its independence in 1962, becoming a republic and member of the Commonwealth in 1976.  It is the third richest country in the Americas, as measured by GDP per capita, after the United States and Canada; about double Barbados’ per capita GDP.  Unlike most of the Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.  The country's wealth is based on large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas.  Residents enjoy free health, dental and vision care, and free prescription drugs.  And post-secondary tuition is subsidized according to income level.

A more multicultural society than the other countries on our itinerary, one-third of Trinidad and Tobago’s residents are of East Indian origin, one-third of African origin, and the remainder a mix of cultures.

Taken together, both islands have an area just slightly smaller than Prince Edward Island.  The country’s population is 1.3 million, making it by far the most populous of the countries we’ll visit.  The terrain on both islands is a mix of mountains and plains.  The capital city, Port of Spain, boasts a slew of modern office buildings.  Tobago is much quieter and more like the other Caribbean islands we’ve visited.

We strolled through Port of Spain, enduring the 34C heat and high humidity.  There’s something about the city that didn’t quite feel right.  For a country on the move, we would have expected a more attractive capital city.  While there are nice areas, especially around Queens Park Savanna and the embassies and consulates, many important public buildings show signs of serious neglect.  The most extreme example is the old parliament, called Red House.  A protective structure hangs over the top of it like some oversized umbrella, but the interior has been gutted and the site is eerily quiet.

The magnificent and massive National Academy for the Performing Arts looks very much like the Sydney Opera House.  Opened in 2009 after many years of controversy, design flaws and cost overruns, it seems totally out of proportion to other buildings around it.  We’d hoped to tour the building but it was closed.

Our best day in Trinidad was courtesy of a tour provided by Island Tours.  Jenelle, an effervescent twenty-something part-time university student, picked us up at the hotel and spent the next eight hours with us, explaining everything we wanted to know about the country and taking us to the rain forest in the mountainous northern part of island.  Along the way, we stopped to sample "doubles", a popular roadside snack consisting of spicy chickpeas in fried bread.  Yum!

The Asa Wright Nature Centre, set high up in the Arima Valley rainforest, is a birdwatcher’s paradise.  We took a walking tour with Caleb who introduced us to a number of colourful species of birds, some mammals and reptiles, and the many flowering plants in the forest.

We drove through a downpour worthy of the Grand Déluge on our way back down the mountain before visiting St. Benedict’s Monastery.  Here, we observed a priest blessing vehicles driven to the site by their owners.  Maybe a profitable sideline for Elva’s brother, Father Albin?

The day of our departure for Tobago, we sampled local cuisine at the Chalet des Femmes, a local institution on the Port of Spain waterfront.  Breakfast was so good that we came back for lunch!

The Trinidad to Tobago ferry is an adventure.  Though very cheap ($10 return each), it's an exercise in frustration and inefficiency.  Tickets must be purchased in advance and foot passengers must arrive at the terminal two hours in advance of scheduled sailing time.  Although the ferry left port on time, it took 90 minutes longer than forecast to reach Tobago.  We learned later that the service used to be maintained by our own Northumberland Ferries, but things have gotten worse since the contract ended.  Only one of two ferries was running and the one we took was on half power.

We arrived at Bacolet Beach Club late in the evening after a very long day and decided we’d fly back to Port of Spain rather than take the ferry.  The next morning, we walked into Scarborough, the largest city on the island and explored on foot before climbing to Fort King George.  The hilltop redoubt affords a magnificent view of Scarborough and the coastline looking east along Bacolet Bay.  For dinner, we sampled excellent pizza at Ciao’s Café.

Natasha, the hotel receptionist, booked us a tour with a local taxi driver she said was better than the tour companies.  Stafford "Beardie" Taylor picked us up at 9:00 and drove us around the eastern two-thirds of Tobago, showing us all of his favourite places.  A wealth of knowledge, friendly, and courteous to a fault, he proved the highlight of our Tobago visit.

Tobago is a place we’d come back to.  It’s very laid back; the people are mellow and friendly; the beaches are beautiful; and the scenery is magnificent.  Grave markers don’t say “Born” and “Died”.  Instead, they say “Sunrise” and “Sunset”!  Damned civilized if you ask me.  There are high-end resorts here if that’s what you’re looking for, and monthly rentals can be had for a reasonable price, especially in the low season.  Next, we’re off to the third and fourth countries of our Caribbean adventure: Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Stay tuned for more!