Codrington College the Perfect Picnic Location
I finally managed to pay Codrington College a visit during the course of last week and I must admit it was long overdue. For some inexplicable reason I have never visited the college, even though I have driven past it many times.
Each time I have past by Codrington College I have been impressed by the long drive, lined by those huge palm trees and the impressive historic looking building at the start of it. I wish I had a good reason for driving past it so many times without paying it a visit, for I get a real buzz out of visiting such places.
So on Thursday I finally drove down that incredible beautiful driveway of Codrington College and ventured forth and to the Theological College of the West Indies. For those interested in what the college is all about and finding out about its history visit the web site, Codrington College.
When I was there on Thursday afternoon the place was virtually deserted and their wasn’t one single tourist in sight. It is of course the holiday season at the moment so there wasn’t any students kicking around. It really amazes me, why so many tourists are scared to venture off the beaten track to go and see what Barbados has to offer apart from the popular Caribbean side beaches and the well known tourist attractions.
Codrington College is a truly beautiful place to visit, the college building itself is a grand impressive looking building and the grounds are a wonderful place to stroll around. There are plenty of benches to sit on and enjoy the views of the large fish pond, the various trees, and the amazing views.
It was good to be at such a beautiful place and not see one single piece of litter or rubbish spoiling things. Oh how I wish I could have said the same thing when I visited nearby Bath Beach!
Codrington College is a fantastic place to visit in Barbados and have a picnic with the family, I loved sitting at the back of the building sitting on a bench marvelling at the views of Barbados and the mighty Atlantic Ocean.
For those of you that don’t know how to take your rubbish with you and how to conduct yourself in a place of religious learning, it isn’t the place for you!
5 Simple Steps To Improve Tourism In Barbados
I keep reading in the local newspapers about how the tourism minister isn’t too worried about cutting back on flights from certain airlines in the UK and USA, I however think that he must be privately worried about the posiblity of a big decline in tourist numbers over the next few years.
The world is in a recession and believe me the UK is going to be hurting real bad in the not too distant future, possible even worse than things are in the USA at the present time. When I first moved here at the end of June, the exchange rate was $4.00 BDS to £1.00 GBP; it is now around $2.80 BDS. If that doesn’t have a massive effect on the amount of UK tourists coming to Barbados on holiday or buying properties, I’m not a handsome looking guy!
The British and Americans are the two biggest visitors to Barbados and if both countries are suffering, it is bound to have a big effect on how people spend their money. It won’t just affect Barbados it will obviously affect every country that is a major tourist destination.
I keep hearing that Barbados is a top end tourist destination and to certain extent it is. But it is also has huge amounts of people coming to the island that aren’t rich; you get plenty of normal hard working people. You will find thousands of them staying in the hotels along the Gap and around that area, hotels full of them. I could just imagine how big an effect it would have on the moderately priced hotels, the many bars and restaurants if the lower end of the market took a big hit.
I also keep reading about all the efforts that are being made to attract more tourists to visit Barbados and that is the way to go. I wonder if they are targeting places other than in USA and Canada. Are the tourism authorities making efforts in emerging countries, which are starting to have real spending power such as Russia, China and some of the Middle Eastern countries. Having worked in tourism for a period of time I know the importance and the huge growth in tourists from these regions. Sometimes you need to look way outside of the box for the way forward.
Before I moved to Barbados I had been here numerous times on holiday and was well aware of how beautiful an island it was, that it had some of the best beaches in the world, amazing food and friendly people, even though you have to wonder who trains some of the people in the service and tourism sector, some of them haven’t got a clue. You need to take a look at the USA and Canada and you will see a massive difference as to how people treat tourists and customers!
The Government spends millions of dollars every years tying to attract tourists to come to Barbados, I personally feel that more should be done to make them want to come back again and go home and recommend the island to all their friends, family and rave about it online.
I came up with 5 Simple Steps To Improve Things for Tourism
1. Do something about the state of the roads, you want tourists to come here and spend lots of money hiring cars. The potholes that you find on virtually every single road are real scary and since I got here they seem to be getting worse. It doesn’t give a good impression of a well-run country does it?
2. Erect proper sign posts to all the tourist attractions and beaches; there is nothing worse than driving around aimlessly trying to find somewhere. Do you think tourists find it fun to drive around lost trying to find places?
3. Encourage and give incentives for people to start quality and innovative tourist attractions, I personally feel there is a severe lack of quality places to go and visit in Barbados. I read the other day that there are more tourist attractions in Jamaica than the whole of the Caribbean put together! Don’t get me wrong there are some amazing places to visit in Barbados, such as Harrisons Cave and the various historic sites, the many beaches, however there needs to be more. I heard there is a 10 pin bowling alley in the pipe line, that is gong to make so much money, it will be rammed at night with people looking for something different and fun to do.
4. Improve customer service within the tourism sector all over the island, in the hotels, bars, restaurants, tourist attractions etc, in fact everywhere that serves or deals with people. I have heard numerous people complain about the attitudes and bad manners of people working in the service industry in Barbados. It isn’t a problem that is unique to Barbados, for I see the same thing happening to a certain extent back home in Scotland and throughout the UK. The Americans and Canadians are masters of customer service; they really know the importance of properly training staff and installing the correct attitude into their staff.
5. Do something about the litter problem in Barbados, especially on the beaches, rid the island of all those rusty cars that are all over the place and do something about all those overgrown building plots, that are a haven for bugs and vermin.
I feel if the above 5 simple steps could take Barbados on to a whole new level as a tourist destination and the island will reap the benefits. If David Thomson PM is reading this, it isn’t a failure to listen to the common man and the words of wisdom that he has to offer. I feel my simple steps will also benefit not only the tourists but the good citizens of Barbados as well.
Is It Really the End of Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary In Barbados
Today I paid a visit to Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, as today is seemingly the end of the road for it. I would call it a criminal act against the people of Barbados if this wonderful place is aloud to close on a permanent basis.
The last time I was at Graeme Hall was last August when I was having my marquee wedding reception at the centre and an amazing occasion it was too. I would recommend it as a venue for anybody thinking about celebrating a special occasion, but today it is all over for the Sanctuary.
I know there were plans to turn the 35-acre Sanctuary into an 240-acre National Park, which would have created a badly needed and amazing place for the people of Barbados and all visitors to the Island to relax and enjoy.
Hopefully the Barbados Government will come to its senses and do everything it can to create a truly amazing place of environmental preservation and recreation. It would be a national disgrace if the developers were allowed to get there hands on any of the 240-acre, Graham National Park.
As the leaflet handed out at Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary today states, the Sanctuary is as important to Barbados as Central Park was important to New York in the 1800′s. Central Park only happened because of visionary and ahead of their time people. Is the Prime Minister David Thomson and his DLP party capable of making the right decision for the long term benefit of Barbados? I for one certainly hope so!
For further reading on the plight of the Sanctuary I would recommend reading the following articles Nature Sanctuary in Barbados forced to Close – Lapwings and other migratory birds now at risk and Graeam Hall Nature Sanctuary Closing .
Night Time Fun at the Harry Bayley Observatory
Last night I finally had the chance to spend an evening at the Harry Bayley Observatory here in Barbados, doing a wee bit of stargazing as well as getting the opportunity to see the moon close up.
The Harry Bayley Observatory is located in the Parish of St Michal; it is fairly easy to find, fortunately the directions we were giving over the phone were very accurate, if you head down Observatory Road you cant really miss it.
The observatory is named after Harry Bayley who founded the Barbados Astronomical Society and was built in 1963. We arrived early at about 8.45pm but things didn’t really get going until 9.30pm. The observatory is only open to the public on a Friday and obviously it is only open, weather permitting.
The entrance fee was $12BDs for adults and $6BDS for children, which in my opinion was money well spent. The Harry Bayley Observatory is the only one in the Eastern Caribbean and the telescope used is a Celestron 14 inch telescope. I know they Society has long-term plans to upgrade their equipment and hopefully they will eventually raise the funds to do so.
This was my first trip to an observatory and I had been looking forward to it all week and I had been constantly checking the BBC weather forecast online to make sure the weather was going to be dry and clear. The excitement really started to kick in for me as I climbed the stairs as to the top of the observatory. As soon as I reached the top of the observatory I witnessed my first ever shooting star, what an amazing site.
Once at the top of the Harry Bayley Observatory the first thing you notice is the great nighttime view of Bridgetown. It was sure was fascinating learning about the various stars and constellations, which I have being seeing in the sky above Barbados since my arrival on the island.
I was looking out for little green men on the surface of the moon, but all was quiet and they must have been in their beds. The guys of the astronomical society are all very knowledgeable and passionate about astronomy and make it a really enjoyable and informative experience.
What I had originally thought was a satellite, was in fact Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, which is in fact the brightest star in the night time sky. Sirius appears so bright because of its closeness to earth and its luminosity. Did you know that Sirius could be seen from almost every inhabited region of the Earths surface, with only those living north of 73 degrees unable to see it.
The Harry Bayley Observatory is a fun and enjoyable evening out for all members of the family, it is something different and I will be back again in March when things will be a wee bit different up in the sky above Barbados.
Recently I have been amazed by the amount of stars that I have seen in the sky above Barbados, Star Struck In Barbados.
Barbados Wildlife Reserve, Stopping Selling The Monkeys
The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is one of more popular tourist attractions on the Caribbean Island of Barbados and last weeks visit was my second time there. When you buy your ticket to the reserve you also get entry to Grenade Hall Forest & signal station, which my family and myself thoroughly enjoyed, you can real all about it by clicking on the following link A Fun Day Trip – To Grenade Hall Forest & Signal Station
The Wildlife reserve is a slightly misleading name for the place because it is really quite a small place, but never the less the kids will love it. The Barbados Wildlife Reserve is a tropical haven to a variety of exotic animals which most of are compatible and free to roam out with the reserve anytime they wish.
The animals you will see in the reserve which is located in a natural mahogany wood, will include the Barbados Green Monkeys, brocket dear, agouti, caiman, tortoises, iguanas and armadillo’s. You will also see a variety of birds including parrots, peacocks and brown pelicans. There is also a collection of snakes in a Serpentarium that are fortunately not allowed to roam freely.
A real treat for the kids is watching the monkeys getting fed, which we watched on our previous trip, so we didn’t bother to hang around to see it this time. The best time to see the monkeys’ being fed is supposedly around about 2pm. Just when we were walking over to Grenade Hall forest and Signal Station we witnessed all the monkeys walking through the car park heading to the reserve for there food, which was at around 2.30pm.
I must admit I kind of enjoyed my trip to The Barbados Wildlife Reserve until I started to read more into what they actually do at the centre. Unbelievable the owners of the reserve supports vivisection and they have a building only a few meters from the reserve, where they have hundreds of monkeys, which are bread in order to sell the young ones to pharmaceutical companies for research. What the owners really mean in there advertising about how great a place the reserve is, that some of the monkeys are free to roam, apart from the ones that are going to be brutally tortured in the name of beauty! I don’t know about you, but I’m living in the 21st century and I do not believe such things should be allowed to happen to the monkeys. I for one will never be returning to a place that supports vivisection and profits from it.
If you are not bothered about such things as poor wee monkeys being bread to be tortured in the name of beauty, your kids will enjoy spending a hour or so at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, but don’t spoil there day by letting them read any of the press cuttings about the monkeys and the breeding program!
A Fun Day Trip – To Grenade Hall Forest & Signal Station
I started work real early on Monday, well it was early for me, it was 4am. The neighbours pesky rooster had once again woken me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep, so what could I do, apart from wake up and make good use of my time. As a result of my early start to my working day, I felt like I had earned an early finish, so I called it quits and stopped work at 1pm.
I felt like it was time to go and be a tourist for the afternoon, so we headed off to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve and Grenade Hall Forest and Signal Station. We had been to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve on a previous trip, but on that occasion we were not aware that you could also visit Grenade Hall Forest & Signal Station as part of your admission, In fact we never even knew about it. I suppose that could be blamed on the tour company, which we had paid to take us on there idea of an island tour, they didn’t even tell us Harrison’s Cave hadn’t reopened at that particular time.
I wont mention the Barbados Wildlife Reserve in this particular article because I feel it deserves it’s own space, as I have a serious issue with how they choose to run that part of their business!
So what is Grenade Hall Forest and Signal Station you may ask, unless you have been before, then you will know all about it! It is basically a 2 kilometres of coral pathways, which take you through a gully full of an amazing amount of different species of tree’s, shrubs, vines and herbs.
I found the walk along the paths fairly easy, even though there are some slightly steep hills and the paths are a wee bit slippery due to the climate, so you have to walk fairly carefully. If you are extremely unfit you may struggle a wee bit on this walk. There are various informative signposts along the path ways telling you about the huge variety of trees and plants. There is even a cave to go and explore but I wasn’t brave enough to into it without a torch.
The walk through the gully takes you in a loop back to the where you started. We then went up another wee hill and visited the Grenade Hall Signal Station. The signal station is a very important historic part of Barbadian history. It was built in 1819 as part of a group of signal stations all over the island. Signal stations were used to quickly relay information around the island, such as to warn of approaching ships or of slave rebellions.
My family and myself really enjoyed this adventure and getting the opportunity to experience some of the historic past of Barbados. I also enjoyed getting the opportunity to see the various different trees and plants of Barbados and learn about them and there importance. The negatives I would say about this trip is that there were some fallen trees blocking parts of the pathways and the audio system at the Signal Station wasn’t working. I also feel that the owners of this attraction could do more to make it an even better and more rewarding experience. They should possible look into doing group guided tours every hour or something along those lines.
So all in all, I would say that improvements could be made to Grenade Hall Forest & Signal Station, but that is a very worthwhile tourist attraction to go and visit. I would advise you to wear footwear that are good for walking in, if you ever visit Grenade Hall Forest & Signal Station.
For some great pictures of Barbados you should visit The Barbados Photo Blog.
My First Drive In Movie Experience, Courtesy of Barbados
Drive In movies were something I use to see cropping up form time to time in bad American movies. I had never previously been to a drive-in movie theatre before or even had the opportunity to watch a movie at one before. Last night July 29th of July in Barbados I was to experience my first ever drive in movie when I watched Batman – The Dark Night.
The movie was due to start at 6.45pm and just as we were preparing to leave, the heavens opened and it started lashing down. A friend had told me, that if the rain was real heavy and prolonged that the movie would be cancelled. Fortunately the rain went off as quickly as it went on, and it was a normal warm evening again in Barbados.
The Globe drive in theatre is located in the Adams Castle area in Christ Church and was only 10 minutes drive from my house, which makes it nice and handy for us.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from my first ever, drive-in movie experience. As I drove up the road leading into the Globe, I must admit I felt like a wee excited kid. The theatre are itself was as big as I was anticipating and the screen was huge. We found a near perfect viewing position directly in the centre of the screen, and tuned our car radio into the correct frequency so we could listen to the movie.
For me a trip to the movies isn’t just about turning up and watching the movie and then heading home, I see it as being a fun and enjoyable night out. Watching a movie just wouldn’t be the same without getting some supplies to eat as it plays. We headed over to the concession area and the choice of food and drinks was good. I personally bought some, fishcakes, large french fries, popcorn, large cup of Mauby and a nice surprise was that they also sold beer. I of course had a couple of wee cans of cold Heineken, which went down a real treat. It sure wasn’t this good watching a movie back home in Aberdeen.
The drive in movie experience for me is certainly a unique night out, I would personally say it is a great way to watch a movie. The whole ambiance of watching a movie in an open-air theatre, with the warm air and the starry sky was a fantastic experience. I will most certainly be back again the in the near future, such as when they show The X-Files, I Want To Believe.
I suppose I probably should say a little bit about the movie, I had read all the hype prior to Batman – The Dark Night and was expecting it to be a great movie, I would personally say it was a fairly good movie, but it wouldn’t say it was a great movie. Is it the best Batman movie ever, I don’t think so, was Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker, the best ever portrayal of a baddie in a Batman movie, I don’t think so.
My favourite quote from the movie just has to be this one by said by Alfred Pennyworth speaking to Bruce Wayne.
Bruce Wayne: Then why steal them?
Alfred Pennyworth: Because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
A clip from Batman – The Dark Night
Saturday Night At Oistins Fish Fry
Oistins Fish Fry is an institution in Barbados, and is frequented by hundreds of locals as well as tourists alike. Oistins was originally a weekend affair, but nowadays you will find it buzzing every night of the week. For those of you that have never been to Oistins Fish Fry in Barbados, it is an open-air fish fry, where you will find over 50 stalls selling virtually every variety of fish that you can imagine, cooked in every possible way.
I have personally being to Oistins Fish Fry countless times, and I have never had a bad meal once. Friday night is the busiest night of the week, with Saturday night being ever so slightly quieter.
Oistins is better than ever, as it has now returned to it’s original home after being upgraded. This was my first trip to Ostins since I moved here at the end of June. I was intending to go on Friday night after I had enjoyed a few cocktails, but just as we were about to leave, visitors arrived and our plans were changed.
We headed down to Oistins about 7pm and parked over at the huge car park across the road from it, just beside where Ostins was when it was being upgraded.
I knew where I was heading to first and that was for a wee appetizer, I had driven or walked past Oistins numerous times, since I arrived and had noticed the stall for one of my favourites. I just had to have a few fish cakes from The Legendary Fish Cakes stall and believe me they are delicious. The only downside to the fishcakes is that they are so hot, that you have to wait about 10 minutes until you
can eat them.
Finding our next port of call wasn’t going to be so easy, we wondered around for about 10 minutes searching for our regular stall, without any luck. We then bumped into my wife’s cousin who dragged us into a rum shop and bought us a few Banks beers, which washed down the fish cakes perfectly.
I must admit the Banks Beer in this rum shop were chilled to perfection and were sliding down real good. So I bought one for the road and it only cost $14 for 4 bottles of banks, a real bargain. Just as we were about to leave the bar, a local good looking young girl dressed up to the nines, walked into the bar for a few seconds and brought loud cheer from the locals as she left.
As soon as we stepped out of the Rum Shop, we miraculously arrived at the stall we had been looking for called Uncle Georges. It was only about 8 o clock and the queue wasn’t too big, which was good news, because those beers had built up an appetite.
As usual they had 3 different fish to choose from, Kingfish, Marlin and Swordfish. During the 10 minutes it took to get served I managed to changed my mind 3 times as to what fish I was going to be having. I eventually settled on Swordfish, which was served with baked potato, salad and tartar sauce. I just wish they would share the secret of the marinade that they use on their fish, because it is unbeatable. It is maybe a simple meal, but for me it is as good as anything you will get in one of the many fancy restaurants that you find in abundance in Barbados. The best thing of all is that it only cost $25 and the amount of Swordfish that I got was huge, there was more than enough left over for my lunch the next day.
We eat our meals on a table facing the stage, so we could watch the very talented band playing, as we appreciated the ambiance and buzz of an evening at Oistins. It is truly an unforgettable and truly enjoyable Bajan experience, which I shall be attending on a regular basis. I ended the evening with a Pina Colada, which was made to perfection and was so much better than those I had to suffer at a fancy hotel I was staying last year!
Further Reading:
1. Harrison’s Cave Barbados, It Was Finally Open, 3rd Time Lucky!
2. It’s Friday, and It’s Cocktail Evening in Barbados
3. Roasted Bread Fruit Bajan Style, A New But Delicious Experience
Harrison’s Cave Barbados, It Was Finally Open, 3rd Time Lucky!
The first time I tried to visit Harrison Cave in Barbados was in November 2006, when it was closed for renovations, I tried again in August 2007 but it was still shut. I wasn’t holding out too much hope of it being open June this year, when I arrived here to begin my new life in paradise. I appreciate the fact that I’m in the Caribbean and that things take a lot longer to happen here in Barbados, compared to in the UK.
I was amazed when I found out it was finally open, I knew they had being upgrading things to improve the Harrisons Cave experience for visitors. It was going to be 3rd time lucky for me; I was finally going to get the chance to visit the supposed number 1 tourist attraction in Barbados.
Harrison’s Cave is almost located in the centre of the island in the parish of St Thomas. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the caves from Bridgetown, which is the capital of Barbados.
It was relatively easy to find the caves. But I do hope the new government improves the road signs to all the major tourist attractions in Barbados. I think it is an absolute disgrace, how poor the road signs are to many of the tourist attractions and beaches in Barbados.
On our arrival at Harrison’s Cave there was fairly small queue, it took us about 40 minutes to gain entry, 
which wasn’t too bad. A chilled bottle of Banks Beer helped to pass the time. I couldn’t believe the two moaning Americans behind us, complaining about how long it was taking to get into the attraction. I couldn’t help but wonder what planet they were living on. I have queued up for longer in America to buy a can of Coca Cola!
What can I say about the Harrison’s Cave experience? Before we entered the cave, we watched a very interesting and informative video presentation telling us how Barbados was first formed. We were then driven around the cave on an electric tram; I would estimate that there are around 40 people in each group.
The tour lasts for around 40 minutes and you get off the tram on two occasions for a closer look at some amazing natural wonders. The tram travels fairly slowly and stops at various points for photo opportunities. A tour guide provides running commentary throughout the tour, which I again thought was very interesting and informative.
At times as we were driven through Harrison’s Cave I couldn’t help but feel like I was almost in a Indian Jones movie. I found it totally amazing looking at the Stalactites and Stalagmites on the cave roof and floor. I would love the opportunity to go exploring off the tourist road, within Harrison’s Cave. I felt like sneaking off the tram and going for a wee wonder myself, but I didn’t want to bring shame to my family. 
The only gripe I would have concerning the Harrison’s Cave experience, is that I feel it would have been an even better tour if they let us walk about a bit more. I feel that they should consider creating a walking path out of the caves to finish the tour off with. That would add something extra special to a very special tour.
Harrisons Cave was a tour, which was very much enjoyed by myself, and family. This is a tour that both the adults and kids will thoroughly enjoy. If you only go on one tour in Barbados I would recommend that you go and visit Harrison’s Cave. I feel sorry for those stupid Americans in the queue that couldn’t be bothered waiting for another 10 minutes to get in.
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