Sam

Saturday morning, Gary and I head back out to our favorite beach - Bottom Bay.  Forecast for the day was scattered showers, clearing as the day wore on.  A lot of times it will rain everywhere on the island, except on the east coast - where Bottom Bay is located.  So,we were hoping for a miracle of sunshine, but we didn't get it.  It stayed cloudy all day, but we still had a great time and ended up getting to experience something new.  It was quite different from the normal, and I have discovered that I enjoy differetness (new word I just made up).  I don't enjoy doing the same thing over and over.  We enjoyed just sitting in the chairs with the wind blowing on us from the ocean, eating our picnic lunch, talking about what we thought the future might look like for us, helping tourist take pictures of themselves on the beach, walking in the sand, etc.  When we were packing up to leave, Sam came up and asked us if we wanted to see a new beach that we had probably never seen before.  Sam is one of the local guys that hangs around the Bottom Bay area making money off the tourists.  He can climb a coconut tree in no time.  He sells jewelry, and as we were about to discover is also a tour guide on occasion.  We have talked with him many times in the past and so we felt comfortable letting him ride with us to this new beach.  Here is a picture of Sam walking on the beach at Bottom Bay and I was taking the picture from the cliff above.

So, Sam rode with us and showed us the way to another beach, and he was right - we had never been to this beach.  Truthfully, I'm surprised - because I thought Gary and I had found them all.  I don't think there would be any way that we would have found this beach on our own.  We had to go through pastures and go between houses, cows, and sheep.  But, there was a nice set of steps leading down to the beach - and folks, it was awesome!  It was low tide and there were shells everywhere.  I can not wait to go back and collect a bunch of them.  I want to make some shell Valentines, art work, and picture frames with these shells.  This is the first look at the beach after we walked down the stairs. Sam said that he comes down to this beach fairly often to bathe in the mornings.

Here is a picture of Sam and Gary:

We walked up on this pile of shells.  Sam said it is from people breaking open the conch shells to get the meat out of the shell and then the people leave the shells behind.

Up close picture of some coral and small sea shells lying all around

Here is an upclose view of a shallow pool where we could get into the water without fearing a wave crashing down upon us from the very harsh waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Here is some kind of critter that Sam said was really good to eat.  I can not remember the name he called it. But, yes, I would try it after it had been cooked if ever offered to me.

Age is just a number!

Here are some black bellied sheep that I passed on my way to the gym this morning.  Thought it could give you a little more flavor for this island that I currently live on.

There were actually 3 babies behind this mother

I titled this blog entry "Age is just a number" because my gym instructor said it in class today and it just sounded good to me.  He was actually trying to motivate the older ladies in the class that they could be just as fit as the younger ones and not to give up.  I really liked the expression.  I want to remember that one.  Another one he said a few weeks back was, "You have to keep working, ladies, you do not want any unwanted guests."  Everyone started laughing - unwanted guests meant extra fat in unwanted places.  :-0!

There is an agrafest this weekend being held at the Queen's Park - where the local animals will be on display as well as a lot of good vegetables/fruits from around the island.  I would like to scope out the vegi's and fruits - but, I don't really understand the need to go see more sheep and cows.  Do you?  

One last thing I will mention today is from a conversation at my Tuesday morning ladies bible study.  There were two ladies referring to their childhood days.  One of the ladies grew up in Barbados and the other one grew up in St. Lucia.  They were laughing about the fact that towards the end of the summer, before they could go back to school, they had to take senna in order to clean out their bowels really good.  And the one from Barbados had to also drink some type of chip that was put into water - said it tasted awful - but was to get rid of any worms.  They were laughing about it - but could never really understand why they had to clean out their bowels really good before they could go to school.  Interesting isnt' it?  

Low Tide

Low tide is a good thing.  I have finally found a website that accurately posts what times the tide will be low each day.   We went back to Harris Smith Bay/Beach on Saturday when it was low tide.  This was such a good thing, because I was able to find many, many colorful sea shells!  I want to collect these shells in order to make gifts such as valentines or picture frames.  I have just gotten this bright idea - and we may be leaving in May, so I need to start collecting them!  The problem is - that there are only certain beaches where you can find the shells. I think it has to do with the reefs that are off the coastline.  But, Harris Smith has some great sea shells.  The picture above was taken at low tide - you can see all the brown coral in the foreground - that coral is not visible at high tide.

Most all of the shells that I was finding were small shells, but as I was returning from the beach - walking with my feet right at the edge of the cool splashing water - out of no where this shell just landed right in front of me - it was my gift from the sea.  It is the biggest one I have ever seen and it is perfect - no chips or broken parts.  It is my treasure and I just wanted to share it with you:

This is a small shell that Alisha and I find when we go to Port St. Charles on the west coast.  I am hoping to find enough of them to make her a bracelet (shh, don't tell her :-)).









Back to Harris Beach, anyway to my surprise, we also had some company at the beach this last Saturday.  This was the first time that Gary and I had visited this beach during a low tide, but there were four other Bajans there.  A husband and wife were collecting sea eggs and sand roaches.  Both of which are used as fishing bait.  They were very proud of what they had caught that morning and were very happy to show me their finds.  Two other older ladies were walking towards me with buckets as well - I thought maybe they had more sea eggs, but no - they had mussels and clams - one of them described to me what she was going to do with those mussels.  She was so happy with her catch - you could just see her eyes dancing - she was also toothless!  She was so pretty to me and she explained to me how she was going to boil them and then she made some special pickled relish to go with them.  Yes, I bet that was a fine meal indeed - no tourist will ever get that sampling of food on this island - can not be found in the hotels or markets.  I really enjoy anytime that I can get into the country side and talk with the real people of the island - they are very lovely, special people.

This is a rare shell that I have only found 3 of so far - but, it is purple!













This is the typical shells that I am finding at Harris Beach, but they should work very well on picture frames and some valentines.








Well, the tide started rising and the rain came down - so, we left Harris Beach and went next door to Bottom Bay to spend the rest of the afternoon.  Turned out to be a great day.

I will make a side note about one particular local Bajan that is always at Bottom Bay - Gary and I have nicknamed him Grouch.  He seems to always be in a bad mood.  But, he also seems to be the owner of the beach chairs that are down at the bottom of this bay.  He offers the use of these beach chairs for 20.00 BBD (10.00 USD) which we always gladly pay him.  It is his way of earning an income.  But, funny enough on Saturday, Grouch was at the top of the cliff overlooking Bottom Bay, and he was giving the what for to someone standing at the bottom.  And the tirade went on and on and on, I didn't think he was ever going to stop yelling.  Something really bothered him that was for sure.

Gary and I had a good laugh as well - watching some newbies to the island - trying to get into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  There is a specific way that a person can make it past the wake and into the ocean waters, but just walking in and bracing for the onslaught of waves - is not that way!  There were 6 of them - they looked like Southern Americans (you'll have to ask me offline - why I think that) and they marched down into the water.  Two of them crashed immediately and after being rolled over and over with the waves that are harsh and the sand going everywhere - they crept back up to the beach and didn't return.  The other four braved it a while longer, and I'm sorry to say that we laughed at them - but, it was quite funny - because we knew exactly what was going to happen to them before hand.

One last note for today.  I went this morning to my morning workout class and was hugged by one of the ladies - Sidi.  I can not tell you the feeling of gratitude that came over me for getting that hug.  So, if anyone is out there that is single and feels like you need affection from a spouse - let me tell you, having gull friends is quite nice as well!  Have a good day, my friends!  Love, Vickie

Porter's House

The Barbados National Trust had an open house today of the Porter's Great Home.  I met Susan and her mother Trudy - and we went to visit this great home.  I really was not impressed with the house itself.   I was impressed with the gardens around the house, though.  It had a chapel and a swimming pool area which were both beautiful.  It also had a gazebo that was built high on a hill with many steps to walk up to get to it.  In the picture below are Trudy and I - you might can see the gazebo in the distance.  It was roped off for no one to climb up to it - but, I can only imagine what the view looked like from that gazebo, since it was so high up!

The traffic was terrible today around the island.  It makes me want to give up driving and just stay at home.  Very frustrating to just sit and sit in traffic that is not moving.  I heard two different people state that they believe the traffic problems were because of the early morning rain.  I, personally feel that the government should quickly intervene and fix this problem - otherwise, the island is going to find itself in a traffic gridlock.  

One final note on the Porter's House - it reminded me so much of the home that Gary and I remodeled on 23rd avenue in Meridian, MS - old home, first glance is awesome, but wouldn't want to live there!  :-)

PS -  A lot of these older homes (plantations) have the big, magnificent palm trees lining the driveways up to their dwelling place.  Absolutely beautiful/stunning in appearance.  

Garfield Sobers Complex

Gary and I are finding it difficult to travel by car these days to get him to work!  This island has a huge problem with traffic control and flow.  Nor do they have a bus system that is effective.  I wanted to get to Garfield Sobers Sports Complex by 9 am for a workout class - and Gary needed to be at work.  We got stuck in traffic and were near the Sports Complex at 8:50 - but hadn't even gotten half way to the way to his work, much less getting me back over to the Sports Complex in time.  Gary suggested that he drop me off at the complex and that I could take a taxi back home.  I thought that was a great idea!

After the workout, I asked a lady that worked there if there was a way to catch a bus back to Maxwell Beach.  She said, "Yes, just walk a few on the ABC highway and when you get to Top Rock, I could catch a bus the rest of the way."  So, that is what I did.  It really didn't hurt to walk and the sun felt good, but it ended up taking me a good 30 minutes to walk at 10:00 am - so the sun was getting hot, I didn't have on sun screen or lip screen.   But, I did make it to Top Rock and I think I will start doing this each time instead of me keeping the car.  It makes sense.  But, next time I will pack an umbrella, sun screen and lip screen for the trip.  I did get to stop and buy a quart of fresh coconut water - as I passed by the coconuters.  (That's what I call them.)

The Blue Busses of Death

This is what Gary and I have affectionately started calling the buses that drive around the island.  They are huge buses and they are blue - and they don't seem to mind taking up more than their fair share of the road.

We have avoided using these buses for the past year that we have lived here.  I don't know why, actually!  If you look back at Gary's and my backgrounds - where we were raised in rural Mississippi - I in Tupelo and Gary in Meridian.  We didn't ever use a bus back then.  In fact, there were no bus routes (and still aren't) in our country settings.  If we wanted to go - "to town" - we drove our car to town.

In 2008, when we moved to an apartment in Stockholm, Sweden - we were suddenly placed in a metroplex with no car.  We were fortunate enough to live right by a train/bus/subway terminal - and we literally could walk a few hundred feet and catch any of the three.  We marveled at how accurate the Swedes were.  If the bus schedule stated it would be there at 1:00 pm - it would be!  Very punctual and organized.  But, of course - the people wouldn't look at you in Sweden.  Everyone was either listening to their MP3 players or reading something - but, never - no never - would they look you in the eyes!

Now, advance forward to the year 2010 and we are now living in Barbados.  Barbados does have bus transport - but there really isn't a set schedule and the people are very, very friendly.

Now, saying all that - I have found myself this week in a predictament.  We have only one rental car here on the island, which most of the time is OK, since I no longer work outside the home.  But, this week - I was to be in a golf clinic every day in the afternoons - and Gary wanted to drive to the golf club after he got off work to hit some balls at the driving range - and then he and I could ride home together.  So, I needed to get a ride to the golf club everyday.  If I took a taxi, it would have cost me at least 15.00 US dollars a day, so I decided to try out these blue buses of death.

The first time that I went to the bus stop - and a blue bus came up with a sign that stated Fairy Valley - so, I asked the bus driver if this would take me to the Barbados Golf Club - he said yes - I got on the bus - and arrived within 10 minutes at the golf club.  No problem.

The next day, I went to the bus stop - and a yellow bus came up with a sign that stated Sam Lords Castle - so, I asked the bus driver if this would take me to the Barbados Golf Club - he said yes - I got on the bus - and arrived within 5 minutes at the golf club.  No problem, this is a piece of cake!

So, on the next day - now totally confident that I knew how to ride these buses, I went to the bus stop - and a blue bus comes up with Fairy Valley on it.  Well, I acted really cool - and stepped on board and paid my fair and sat down like I did this all the time.  Notice that I didn't ask the bus driver if it was going to the golf club!  Life suddenly took a turn for the worst, when at Oistens, the driver should have turned left at the Y, but instead he went right!!!  Oh no!!!  I asked some people sitting around me and turns out that this bus would EVENTUALLY get to the golf club - in about an hour!!!  It was going the opposite direction on Fairy Valley.

OK, in a situation like this - you can either get all bent out of shape or just sit back and relax and laugh about it.  I chose to laugh about it.  It really turned out to be a great adventure.  It was fun to watch all the people get on and off the bus.  The bus driver stopped at one house so that Mary Sue could run in and tell her auntie so and so.  And then at another place, he stopped to let Geraldine stop and give a cake to Matty Lou.  Getting the picture?  :-)

I was an hour late getting to the golf lesson - they went on without me - but, I wouldn't trade that adventure in for the right bus if I had to do it over again.

Redland Farms

Yesterday I went to a place on the island called Redland Farms.  Someone had told me that you could get fresh vegetables and fruits there and that they were a lot cheaper than the supermarkets.  So, I looked up the number in the phone book - called them - asked for directions.  OK, here are the directions I received,"up ABC highway to the Clyde Walker Roundabout, take a right turn there and then take the next right turn, and then go straight a ways, then go through the next roundabout, then go straight some more and when you get to the W - go straight through and then the Farm is about 1500 meters on down - can't miss it!"

Well, folks - I got there!  I am actually proud of myself for doing this.  I actually didn't get lost until the W and that was because they failed to tell me at one fork in the road that I was to stay right towards Bathsheba.  I am beginning to get the hang of directions around here.  When they say follow through - it means go straight, or to go right when there is a decision to make.  :-)

Anyway, I got to this Redland Farms - it was absolutely beautiful there.  It is in St. John parish.  It is in the countryside - with big palm trees and other large trees that have been there for a long time.  I would love to be able to tour that facility sometime.  There was a shop that said "Redland Shop Store" - so, I figured that was where I needed to go into to get the vegetables.

It turns out this place only sells what is grown by their farm or on the island.  I learned

tomatoes don't grow in the rainy season

Hackleton's cliff

Just another Monday

There is some type of tropical depression that is hovering over Barbados right now.  We had rain ALL last week and this weekend - and it is still raining today!  Actually, Gary called this morning, after he had arrived at work - stating that the schools are closed today because of this rain.  That might sound unusual to someone who lives in the United States, but it makes perfect sense to me.  This island has a big serious problem right now with drainage systems.  So, there are lots of places where people's cars get stalled out.

Annette

I have made a new friend here on the island, her name is Annette.  She was born in Guyana, but grew up in England.  She met her husband - Devron - in England.  Devron has now retired and moved back to his homeland of Barbados.  So, therefore, Annette is now living in Barbados as well.  I met Annette while visiting with Sharon Bharti.  Sharon is an expat from Canada who is living here in Barbados for the next five years.  Sharon is here with her mate - Tom - who works for the Royal Bank of Canada.  I met Sharon while taking a golf lesson. Hopefully, that is clearer than mud.  Anyway, the point is - that here we are - three friends from different parts of the world and different backgrounds - but, we have formed this friendship that is good.  We meet at each other's homes usually once a week and just sit and talk.  Might sound boring to some, but it is quite fun, actually.

Annette offered to take me around the island today to show me places good for buying food.  We went to Cheapside, Dora's, fish market, and Hotel Supply.