soki and sappho do barbados

the night before the morning after

2005-06-12T22:20:00.000-04:00

It's crunch time. Tomorrow I'm due to fly back to good ol' Amsterdam and leave the Caribbean behind. So tonight is my last evening on the island...

Earlier on, I drove over to Bath, and then inland slightly to a local rum shop/pool bar called Sea Breeze. There was a young guy (about 14, I guess) waiting for someone to come in and play pool, so I was his salvation. Shawn (as I discovered his name to be) lives locally and is deaf, and incredibly hyperactive, but also rather a good pool player. So we left the sparse congregation in the bar to watch a movie (with astonishingly cinematic sound) while we outdid each other playing ridiculously ambitious shots on the pool table. Actually I ended up winning every game, but was 'coached' a great deal by Shawn throughout, who was only marginally less interested in my shots than his own, and was itching to advise me on shot selection for every play.

Just got back to the apartment at Bathsheba (it's 10:30pm) and looking forward to a morning of packing, clearing out and then finally heading to the airport. Unless of course I 'accidentally' miss my flight. Watch this space.

harrrisonssappho

2005-06-09T09:10:00.000-04:00

harrrisonssappho
Originally uploaded by soki.

Sappho in Harrison's cave, deep in the bowels of Barbados

lindsayart

2005-06-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

lindsayart
Originally uploaded by soki.

Art on the walls of the Dover beach apartment - all original designs by Lindsay, the other Caribbean queen ;-)

skc_southapt

2005-06-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

skc_southapt
Originally uploaded by soki.

Me having just woken up, sitting in the apartment on Dover beach, South coast

bathsheba_trees1

2005-06-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

bathsheba_trees1
Originally uploaded by soki.

view back from the beach at south end of soupbowl, bathsheba

beach_collage

2005-06-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

beach_collage
Originally uploaded by soki.

sea egg shells, a sea coconut, little crab, shells, etc. on driftwood, on rock, on bathsheba beach

bathsheba_sky

2005-06-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

bathsheba_sky
Originally uploaded by soki.

a calm day at Bathsheba

seau_balcony

2005-06-08T23:01:00.000-04:00

seau_balcony
Originally uploaded by soki.

From the first week: my balcony with hammock at Sea-U! guest house, Tent Bay

frogjewels

2005-06-08T22:59:00.000-04:00

frogjewels
Originally uploaded by soki.

found this poor dead little tree frog and shot it with bracelet and earrings

harrisonscave

2005-06-08T22:58:00.000-04:00

harrisonscave
Originally uploaded by soki.

stalagmites and stalagtites in Harrison's cave

the sun strikes back, but the comeback is short-lived

2005-06-08T18:06:00.000-04:00

Yes, yes, yes! Finally a day that dawned without that ominous pattering sound on the roof. I spent the morning back over on the South coast on Miami beach (or Enterprise beach, if you're local) which is notable for its lack of beachbums and beachchair vendors. Out to sea from this beach is a line of buoys and oildrums which make a perfect swimming course, and the sea today being calm and current-free, I struck out to see if I could swim to the Grendadines (teehee). If it weren't for the lifeguards spending almost the entire morning trying to fix a mash-up waverunner (noisily), it would have been a perfect scene of tranquility... ah well, you can't have it all.

So then it was back to Bathsheba for a lunch of banana, cheese cutter with peppersauce, cassava pone washed down with a bottle of Banks, just before the resurgence of the rain. Joe's river literally flooded the sea with mud just up from the Soupbowl - rather an impressive sight with a delta of mud separated distinctly from the clear blue beside and beyond.

Blogging may be rather infrequent over the coming days, as I'm likely to be doing lots of nothing and much of the same, so unless my brain decides to ferment some astonishing wisdom due to lack of physical activity, I think I'll refrain from publicising my continued laziness.

On that note, so much not looking forward to coming back to the dry, cold, dusty air of Europe. Sorry all, but the new plan is to metamorphose into a fish and hide out at the Folkstone marine reserve here and get fat off the reef pickings... gulp!

sappho leaving and flood warning

2005-06-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

I have a complaint to make. I have discovered why Sappho walks so quickly. Evidently the girl has a peculiar ability to speed up time, which means she has to walk at a near run to make sure she keeps up with her own time-manipulation sickness. Although the evidence would suggest that Sappho has been here for two weeks, I can reveal that the actual real time has been only around 10 days, or a week in Bajan time. Bummer. And although I'm sad to see her go, I'm looking forward to another two weeks' worth of vacation in the six days that I have left here, as I have changed my plans and am heading back East instead of West, and will be slowing right down to Bathsheba pace. Nice.

Having said all that, the weather forecast for the foreseeable future is still rain all the way. It's so bad that a flood warning was issued at around 5pm yesterday, to remain in effect until 8pm tonight, or longer if the rain continues. And it shows every sign of being here to stay.

Yesterday we celebrated Sappho's last full day on the island by going sailing with Brian Parravicino again on Sinbad. After 20 minutes of humid haze and the lightest imaginable breeze, we spent the rest of the day in torrents of liquid sunshine and with the motor on. Quite possibly the worst day 'sailing' I've ever had. Swimming in the rain and seeing yet more turtles and huge friendly fish still made the trip worthwhile, and Brian's cooking was as delectable as ever. Shame about the 11 others on board who started drinking gin, rum, vodka and everything else they could lay their hands on from about 10.30am, and making not-so-intelligent observations about the rain, etc., and then repeating the same platitudes and subtle-as-a-brick innuendoes as often as possible on the offchance that some poor bugger aboard had escaped hearing the first, second or third time around... well, they were from Wales, so maybe that's an excuse.

We left the jolly sailors on board and got a ride to shore from the Fox (Brian's crew) at around 3:30pm, just in time to catch another liberal dousing and to do a bit of shopping in the West coast mall opposite Surfside beach bar in Holetown, grab a coffee and hang out for a bit waiting for the rain to ease up. All of this faffing about saw us finally setting off for home around 4:30.... perfect timing to catch not part but all of the daily rush hour (exacerbated by the rain) and enjoying a particularly pleasant 90 minutes travelling about 100 metres in the Cheapside market area of Bridgetown. Oh joy.

Today will be filled with packing, trips to the airport and a move over to the East coast for me, where I hope to ignore the rain and finally accept the many offers of surfing lessons from the dudes down at the Soupbowl, as wet will be the only way to be, so I might as well get wetter.

Fly safe, Sappho, and thanks for all the fish (and turtles).

rain, rain, rain and more rain

2005-06-03T17:15:00.000-04:00

Guess what? It's raining... and raining... and raining. Anyone interested in checking out the 5 day weather forecast on Yahoo or similar will see that the next few days promise a delightful medley of showers, thunderstorms, 'thundershowers' (sic) and more showers. So if we come home without the trace of a tan, it's not because we've been hanging around in bars the whole time, honest guv.

Faced with the not-so-dazzling start to the day, we reacted in typically opposing style - Sappho heading out to the mall and me making a beeline for the beach. I just love swimming in the rain! Down on the South coast, the surf is usually small to medium, but because the weather's stormy the waves were big, boisterous and booming, perfect for diving through and resurfacing into the pelting freshwater from above (Bajans like to call it liquid sunshine). On what is usually a busy South coast beach, I had the sea to myself - no swimmers, no soakers, no jet skis... even the beach bums were sheltrin' (another word for limin' when it's raining outside and you're under cover.. Bajan dialect has about 50 distinct words to describe the delicate art of doing nothing, but limin' is the most common catchall) back up the beach under the trees.

Other nice bits of dialect that have been coming back to me as my ears become reaccustomed: win'in' (or winding) which is the circular motion of the hips when moved separately from the rest of the body, used a great deal in soca and calypso dancing... if the dance is between a couple, then win'in' is often accompanied by grin'in' (no translation necessary). The usual soca custom is for the woman to stand in front of the guy, back towards him, and to gyrate her ample behind into his groin. Calypso (for the traditionalists) tends to favour the face-to-face approach, but the technique is pretty much the same. Dancing like this (alone or with a partner) is also often described as walkin' up, so when I tell you that Sappho and I will be heading over to Harbour Lights (popular nightclub on the beach near Bridgetown) for a walk-up this evening, you'll know what I mean ;-).

The best time to start the evening here is around midnight - things don't really pick up until then. We'll be heading out for an early dinner with my friend, Lindsay, who owns the apartment we're renting at the moment, at a local rum shop. None of yer fancy restaurants - this is the real Bajan deal, where the menu will offer a choice of fried chicken and some more fried chicken (maybe some fish if we're extra lucky). The alternative would have been to go to Oistins, the main town in the middle of the South coast, which has a fish fry every Friday night with the day's freshly caught haul. The only catch (no pun intended) with Oistins open-air fish fry is the rain, and the thousands of people who go to what is little bigger than a fishing village, making parking a sort of extreme sport... so I'm wimping out of that one - maybe next week.

As the rain's been falling, it's hit me that I only have 10 days left on the island. Time flies when you're limin' it up...

All Roads Lead to... Bridgetown

2005-06-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

Over here bus stops have one of two signs; to the city or away from the city. I can understand the "to the city" - pretty obvious... it is going to Bridgetown but the away from the city?? There are lots of places away - how do you work it out?

The mating game... Bajan style

2005-06-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

So today we left the beach behind to travel a little inland in the St Andrew province. First stop was Farley Hill which has great views over the north coast. It was a little overcast but still great to look out from a height (after suffering much elevation withdrawal in Amsterdam). In addition there was a great ruin of an old house - very tempting to climb through though big red signs indicated it was structurally unstable so we resisted and just took photographs on the periphary.

Next stop was the Grenade Hall forest, signal station and Barbados Wildlife Reserve. The forest did have paths but was somewhat confusing and we were feeling hot and bothered so just had a little mosey around (seeing a cool old cave where I am sure we heard bats that were about to fly out and attack our faces) before heading over to the wildlife reserve. Here, on entry, we were greeted by two tortoises doing the deed in the middle of the footpath - it seemed somewhat rude to walk around them (and even ruder to take a photo but hey I am a nature lover). Subsequently I realised that this was not such a rare event as tortoises were everywhere and more often than not, they were mating (sometimes even orgy style). You really had to watch your step so as not to squash one and boy do they move slow as well as taking up the whole footpath! Apparently this is the best tortoise collection in the whole of the world (and there are more tortoises here than the rest of Barbados)... Other than that, there was a bloody big snake, some cool iguanas and some other animally things which I cannot identify (and some which I can but am too lazy to write down)...

One somewhat related point: you may know that larger ladies tend to be more popular over here (hey I feel too skinny for the first (and probably last) time in my life). One local's theory was that this is purely because Bajan men are lazy and think that the fatter the women are, the easier they will be to satisfy in bed (not being so fit, they will tire out easier). Not sure if it is true but thought I would share...

Tantrums, trimarans, and turtles

2005-06-01T19:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had a lazy day; bikini shopping (score sk 1 - sappho 0), reading and some swimming (well by the more active half of our pair aka sk) before heading off in the evening for a caribbean buffet at the waterfront restaurant in bridgetown. This was an all you can eat event which sk and I failed dismally at (really you have to be a serious feeder to get your full moneys worth at these events) but nevertheless it gave me the opportunity to samply a few caribbean dishes in one sitting with a background of a steel pan band (and a brief interlude of olly hiccuping from amsterdam ;-) ).

We managed to roll back to the car and head back home but were reluctant to head out for a night on the town due to our stuffed stomachs and subsequent early morning departure. Therefore we decided to sample the delights of the The Gap Bar which had the benefits of being two doors away, a pool table and karaoke (hmmm... benefit??). After SK continuing her success on the pool table (I myself promise to beat her before I depart) with a wide variety of tourists and locals alike to the background of various strangled cats (and okay there were some good singers) performing karaoke, sensible she went home to bed while I stayed for one more drink (yeah right for anyone who even vaguely knows me) and a little more pool - not one of my smarter moves considering subsequent events which involved coked-up person throwing a tantrum throwing the pool balls around and smashing a beer bottle against the wall before someone else getting hit from behind with a plank of wood or something on the way home. Was a little shaken by these events and luckily two people escorted me the long (two door) distance home. Things like this can happen anywhere though so no point in dwelling... (therefore this entry is dedicated to TA for subsequent phone support x ;-) )

Today was a brilliant day though so wiped all memories of slightly bad evening away. SK had organised for us to go out on the trimaran of a friend from when she lived here (highly recommended: Sail with SinBad (246) 432 8470 if you are in the area). We set off at 11am or so with the boat to ourselves and sailed along the coastline... very relaxing. Better was to come - our first stop was a well known turtle hang out so we jumped in to search for them. After not such a long wait and some cool fishies I came face to face (literally) with my first wild turtle. They are very cool animals with an aged and wise face. We even got to feed them some fish - tip: just put the fish in front of you, do not hold on or you might get nipped ;-) We saw a couple more before hopping back on board (we were thoroughly happy with the relative peace on our boat after seeing the party boats filled with 60 odd people screaming and drinking). Then we got back on the boat for an extremely delicious meal (equal first place with SK's meal from the other day) including dolphin (not of the flipper variety as they say on all the menus here but a fish mahi mahi). Again thoroughly stuffed (hmmm.. common theme of this entry), we sailed on to do some snorkelling with a great variety and huge number of fish before getting totally drenched (okay we were in the water so already drenched) with a brief but intense bout of rain. Then after long drive home (they still have traffic jams here), we relaxed the evening away (well actually are currenly relaxing the evening away with some wine ;-) ).

Lady in red and pool comp update

2005-05-31T14:53:00.000-04:00

Well not quite a day to day update but not too much of a delay this time ;-) We did make it up to Harrison's cave (http://harrisonscave.com/) on Sunday and it was spectacular - though you get driven around in a little train and are not allowed to touch anything (I just wanted to check some of the stone cause it looked all squidgy like you want to touch clouds cause they look like cotton wool even though you know they are not). There were amazing stalagmites and stalactites everywhere (though they had removed some of the really cool ones to fit the train passage in - go figure ;-) ). Also there were great inland pools (with a balmy water temperature of 25 degrees) but we could not swim - apparently they are redeveloping it and will make it more interactive so maybe I will have to come back and check it out in oh... 2010 or something! Afterwards we went down the west coast (the richy rich area) where I had not been yet - I have to say I prefer the east coast which is a lot wilder but the water on the west coast is very tranquil and we did see some great fish while swimming by the shore line (black and electric blue ones, long silly ones, littles schools of tiny ones, great big ones)...

We decided to stay in on Sunday night (after becoming a bit too regular at the reggae lounge - what can I say boys don't like being beaten at pool over here ;-) ) and had a lovely picnic on the balcony with a bottle of red to celebrate the end of SK's antibiotic course. Just chilling while listening to music and singing along in very bad harmony (and in my case with very bad memory of the words - those familiar with me will recognize this trait).

Yesterday we decided to spend the day at the beach - just relaxing (as opposed to the hectic days we have had the rest of the holiday). We chose Crane beach on the east coast which is just by an amazing hotel; The Crane. We hired our beach chairs and umbrellas and spent the day reading, applying sun screen and periodically swimming in the crashing surf. This was also the exciting location of our first photograph (what can I say - we keep forgetting the damn disposable camera). After successfully resisting getting burnt for the last half week or so, I decided to get a bit of colour so toasted my legs for a whole 4 minutes on either side... big mistake! I now have some fetching fluroescent red burn to go with my 40 or so (I am serious - I counted them) mosquito bites. All I can say is I hope red and white are in this season!

In the evening, SK cooked a great seafood and cous cous meal (the best meal I have had so far on the island) - my mouth waters just thinking about it. Before we headed out to... play pool (hey why break with tradition now). I played crap, SK kicked arse and remained undefeated at the first place (McBrides) before we moved onto (you guessed it) the Reggae Bar where she pretty much was undefeated too. It was all you can drink for 25 BBD (about 12 euro) so we partook in various alcholic beverages (hey they ran out of soft drink so what is a girl to do ;-) ) before heading home for well deserved sleep...

stream of consciousness

2005-05-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

isn't it amazing how when on holiday even updating a blog can become a major task? last few days filled with beach, sun, tropical rain, sappho as mosquito-food, sokisappho as local pool-hustling combo, the reggae lounge in st lawrence gap, and the multiple rasta conversations... here's an example:

ras - "hello darlings... "
s or s - "hi"
ras - "where you beautiful ladies from?"
s or s - "amsterdam, the netherlands"
ras - "(giggles) oooh, so you smoke then... i got some great weed"
s or s - "thanks, but not really interested"
ras - "you can be my frien' while you're here in barbados"
s or s - "(laughter) we seem to be getting many offers of friendship"
ras - "are you single"
s or s - "yes" or "no"
ras - "be my girlfren' and i'll love you so sweet"
etc. etc. etc.

escaping the crazy south today to go up and inland to harrison's cave... if one of us is impressed enough, we might just get back online and tell you all about it.

At last, an update

2005-05-23T12:46:00.000-04:00

I'm now ensconced in the apartment on the South coast where I'll be staying for the next two and a half weeks. Thanks to Sappho, we have a dial-up connection here, so blogging should be a little more frequent from now on... unless of course the beach and partying become more important...

Lots has happened in the last few days. I spent quite a lot of time at Bathsheba reading on the beach, or swinging in the hammock on my veranda, scribbling notes. I had made a habit of walking quickly past the gang of surfers on Bathsheba beach, muttering a quick 'Hi' in response to their daily greetings and swiftly moving down the beach. But eventually I was accosted by one of the guys who accused me of being antisocial, and I discovered that most of the guys were actually lifeguards... I had assumed they were just hanging out. So I got chatting to the manager of the Barbados lifeguards, who failed to persuade me to learn how to surf, but found out I was keen on swimming. The following day I was taken around the West coast, where he had to check on several different lifeguard posts and deliver paperwork, and at each beach we got out and swam a sort of race with one of the lifeguards on duty. I ended up swimming about 3 miles in total, getting back to Bathsheba around 4pm completely exhausted and sunburnt, but having acquired the new nickname of 'Olympic swimmer'!

On Wednesday evening last week I went back to the Roundhouse and met a Belgian jazz performer who's been living here for 10 years with his Bajan wife, and is building a house on the South coast. We spoke a little Dutch, but his was very rusty because he's been over here for so long.

Thursday and Friday evenings I went to some local events which make up part of the 'Calypso Cavalcade'. This is a nationwide calypso competition, with bands competing over the course of about 6 weeks for the top spot. The competition travels around the country, going to each parish in turn, and the events are always on a local playing field. There are tents with food, drink and music to buy, and tons of local people, but no tourists! I have to say the most amusing part of each evening was the Karaoke competition, where members of the audience were hauled up on stage to murder the newest Calypso hits. One of the most popular songs from St Joseph has a repeated lyric of "I can't fin' me brother", but the Karaoke victim trying to sing it couldn't see the words on the TV screen, so the MC decided to change the lyric to "I can't fin' me glasses"... I guess you had to be there...

Since Saturday, I've had a really nasty throat infection which has kept me out of action. I went to the doctor's this morning and got some antibiotics and powerful painkillers which are thankfully just kicking in. Hopefully the worst is now over and I'll soon be out and about again and able to post some more news.

Here at last - and finally online

2005-05-16T20:32:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a couple of days, and the lovely people at the Roundhouse in Bathsheba have let me use their facilities to get online and make this post..

First few days have been a slow introduction to relaxation, the rediscovery of hammocks, what it's like just to stroll along a beach, without any notion of time, or appointments needing to be kept. Woke up at 5am today, went jogging along the beach, then back to the guesthouse for a slowy lazy breakfast, and eventually back again to the beach.

Today was overcast - the evening brought a swarm of rainflies, which means that rain will come tomorrow.... but for tonight it's still, calm and sticky.. and I'm going back to the bar for another Old Gold and ginger :-D

2 days to go!

2005-05-12T05:45:00.000-04:00

Have decided to wing it and not book any accommodation for the last week of my trip. Seems to be a lot of availability at different places around the island, as summer is low season, so if I need to find a place while I'm out there it should be no problem. Also I have a half-formed intention of taking a boat or a plane to some neighbouring islands for a few days, so I may do that for the last week. By the way, I've added a new link to a site with a pretty detailed map of Barbados - the best one I've found online so far. Car hire is also now arranged - we have a jeep for 25 days. Will see Sappho this evening at my Dutch lesson and will be able to gloat about being there a full 11 days before her (evil cackle). In the meantime, I'm off to buy beach clothes!

Thanks

2005-05-08T06:50:00.000-04:00

btw. a big thank you to SK for organising the accommodation xoxo

sappho finally signing in

2005-05-08T06:44:00.000-04:00

Well I thought I would finally get off my lazy a*%$ and contribute... Just over 2 weeks and I will have my first taste of the Caribbean :-) All I have to worry about is what to pack and do I have enough bathers! I am really looking forward to two weeks of not thinking about work and life in general - just relaxing, reading and more relaxing! Even thinking of leaving my computer (shock) and mobile phone (horror) at home - though probably will not manage to go thru with it ;-)

Accommodation!

2005-05-05T03:49:00.000-04:00

The plan is crystallising...

I'll be staying at the Sea-U! guesthouse for the first week. This is on the East coast of Barbados, overlooking the fishing community at Tent Bay, just a short walk down the coast from Bathsheba. Sea-U! is great! It's best feature is the garden with that special, springy, slightly spiky Caribbean grass that cushions the feet. The garden and the veranda are dotted around with colourful hammocks - perfect for doing absolutely nothing in, and for gazing out over the Atlantic ocean.

After May 21st, I'll move South to Dover Beach, staying at the lucidly-named "Barbados Vacation Apartments". These are two privately-owned apartments, owned by a friend of mine, beautifully furnished and well managed, but available at very competitive rates, especially for an extended stay... thanks, Lindsay!

Two things still to do: book accommodation for the week from June 7th to June 13th, and book rental car...

You can check out the accommodation mentioned here just as soon as I get round to updating the links.

Welcome Sappho!

2005-05-04T10:13:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, small detail I forgot to mention... Sappho will be joining the barbadothon from May 25th for a couple of weeks. I really must get around to booking the accommodation...

What's it all about?

2005-05-03T12:56:00.000-04:00

Well, at the moment it's all about the uncomfortable wind-down from dizzyingly hectic company life to a picture of the Caribbean sea on the horizon. Dip a toe into my more recent history and you'll discover why I'm taking this vacation (a rather unhealthy relationship with work). Plunge into the more distant past and you'll find the reason I'm going to the Caribbean, and more precisely to Barbados. I spent several years in Barbados as a young child, and nearly all of my first memories are from here. Although I've been more or less thoroughly anglicised, and then less or more thoroughly hollandaised since that time, there's a part of me that never quite leaves it behind. I remain a Bajan at heart.

La Pelee de Martinique

2005-05-03T09:04:00.000-04:00

La Pelee
Originally uploaded by soki.

last erupted in 1902 and in 1929

All Martinique photos from November 2004

Also from Martinique

2005-05-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

Nanarama
Originally uploaded by soki.

'nanas in a bag

All Martinique photos from November 2004

From Martinique

2005-05-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Waterfall
Originally uploaded by soki.

just to get into the holiday spirit...

All Martinique photos from November 2004

11 days to go

2005-05-03T07:44:00.000-04:00

still festering in amsterdam, but about to head off for a month in the caribbean, soki launches the barbadoblog...