Barbados

Just after graduation we headed out for 10 fabulous days in Barbados! For those of you who don't know where it is, it is one of the southern most islands in the Caribbean and is considered part of the West Indies. It is about 12 degrees North of the equator so the sun is very intense. However, there is ALWAYS a nice breeze because of the trade winds that hit the island. Most days it was 85 degrees or so, but it was never miserably hot because of that fabulous breeze! We had perfect weather everyday. I think it rained once for like 5 minutes the entire time we were there!

A lot of people have asked, why Barbados? Well, my parents and their friends started going back in the mid-80s. They had seen a National Geographic piece on the island and decided that is where they wanted to vacation. Needless to say, they went once and fell in LOVE and I can definitely see why. My parents have been 11-12 times now. I have been once before when I was in the 6th grade. I was amazed at how much I remembered about the island even though its been so long since I last went.

This time, we stayed on a different part of the island than where my parents usually stay. The area was called St. Lawrence Gap and it is full of restaurants and plenty of night life. It was the perfect place because all restaurants were within walking distance of our apartment! However, we still did a lot of exploring.

As you can imagine, taxi rides (along with everything else, especially food) are very expensive. So over the years, my parents have figured out the "local" mode of travel. There are "mini buses" that are basically mini vans that drive all over the island and pick up and drop off at certain spots. They are great because you can go anywhere you want for like 75 cents!! The funny part about these is that the driver will stick tons of people in these vans. I think one time we had like 18 people in a mini van! Hilarious! And to add to it, you drive on the wrong side of the road in Barbados, just like England and the rest of Europe (Barbados is an old British colony), so that made travel even more interesting!

At our apartment, we had our own little private beach which was sooo nice, but we also had a great beach just a few steps away with beach side bars and restaurants, so we spent a bunch of time there. Like I said, we also went on a few exploring trips as well. We went into Bridgetown (the "town" area) one day to shop and then went to a place on the bay called "The Boatyard", to hang out for the day. We went to the part of the island where my parents used to stay to have breakfast and to hang out on the beach. One night, we went to the local fish market called Oisten's. They have a fish fry every Friday night where restaurants from around the island come and cook tons of yummy food! There are tons of locals and tourists at this thing every Friday. It was really fun and a good taste of the local culture! We also went out on a sail boat one day to go snorkeling in the coral reefs on the west side of the island. The west side is the "wealthy" side of the island and is where the "sexiest beach in the world" (according to the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) is located. We actually had lunch on our sailboat in front of Sandy Lane (that is the name of the beach and resort). This is also the place where Tiger Woods got married. It was absolutely gorgeous!

My mom celebrated her birthday and my parents celebrated their 29th anniversary while we were there! I know it was special for them to be in their favorite place on Earth for their anniversary!

I have so many pictures, so I will post some today and then some later. Enjoy!

Views from our balcony

Cam and I in front of the bay at St. Lawrence Gap

Mom, me, Dad, and Erik at the Boatyard

Views of Carlisle Bay at the Boatyard

Linds and I at the Boatyard

Erik and Linds at the Boatyard

At Oisten's

Dad, Cam, and Lindsey at Oisten's

Mom and Cam

Bub and I on the balcony

Just lounging....our favorite thing to do!

View of our private beach

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation full of lots of sun, great food, fun, and lots of family time. I am so glad I got to spend this vacation with my wonderful family. I hope we get to go back soon!

Hope everyone has a great week! Will post more pics soon. ~BSD