Barbados

Barbados in January 2008

The balmy air was filled with the scents of the sea as I made my way from the airplane, through customs and out into the soft Barbados night. There are no freeways on the island and the two lane roads are uneven with lots of holes and torn pavement and my taxi bounced along to the Accra Hotel in Bridgetown. I was disappointed that my room didn’t have a view of the ocean from its balcony, but the room itself was spacious and beautifully decorated in an island theme. I slept soundly in the comfortable queen sized bed and awoke to a gorgeous sunny day.

The hotel’s breakfast buffet was a sumptuous array of appetizing looking temptations. Fresh citrus juices gleamed in the morning sunlight and I sipped a glass of sweet orange juice as I pursued the offerings. There were delicious smelling hot trays filled with crisp bacon, spicy sausage, roasted potatoes spiked with onions peppers, scrambled eggs and another tray was filled with fluffy pancakes. Along the other side of the buffet were huge bowls of gleaming prunes, pineapple, watermelon, bananas, mangos and a variety of other succulent fruit choices. Beside an assortment of dry cereals and yogurt, there was a wide selection of bagels, croissants, muffins and sliced breads, along with a toast-it-yourself toaster. The rather ordinary packets of preserves were a bit of a disappointment but the butter imported from New Zealand was absolutely delicious.

At the end of the hot food section was a friendly cook making individual omelets. She created a fluffy one for me topped with fresh mushrooms and cheddar cheese.

Armed with my omelet, a toasted bagel, lots of New Zealand butter and another glass of orange juice I made my way to a table located outside on the sun drenched patio with an incredible view of the sparkling blue sea lapping gently upon the glistening white sand beach.

As I sat sipping a fragrant cup of coffee I couldn’t help laughing out loud. It was the middle of January and here I sat in tropical Barbados where the temperature hovers around 87 degrees during the day and dipping to 75 in the evenings. It was 37 degrees when I left San Francisco.

I had come to Barbados for their Annual Jazz Festival and my schedule was jam packed with activities. The first excursion of the day was aboard a Range Rover Safari vehicle. My group bounded down the road and then making a sharp left turn entered a huge sugar cane field. We bounced around as the truck wound its way through the thick growth. The wheels splashed through giant mud puddles, over rocks, around stumps and gaping holes on the trail. Our driver, Jim, kept reminding us to hang on and keep all parts of our bodies safely tucked inside vehicle. When we finally made it through the jungle of sugar cane we stopped for a break, Jim broke out rum punch from a cooler and poured all of us large plastic glasses of his famous brew. It was sweet, cold and refreshing but packed quite a wallop. I was relieved to find he also had a supply of rum free punch for wimps like me.

Piling back into the safari truck, Jim once again turned into the fields for more bumps and grinds, finally driving into a beautiful forest of old mahogany trees and giant ferns.

Our safari truck let us off at a marina where we boarded a sleek, high tech catamaran and sailed off into the inky blue waters. We followed the coast to a beautiful bay, dotted with luxurious hotels and resorts. We dropped anchor and a hot lunch consisting of local Bajan dishes was laid out. There was traditional macaroni and cheese, crispy fried flying fish, oven roasted chicken, fluffy seasoned rice and a selection of salads: green, potato and cabbage slaw. The ubiquitous rum punch was in ample supply along with water and an assortment of soft drinks.

Wild sea tortoises make their home along the shore where we were anchored and after lunch snorkeling gear was brought out and several of my friends happily splashed into the water to swim with the tortoises. I remained on deck content to soak up the warm, golden sun, working on my winter tan.

Several times a year Farley Hill Park is transformed into a stage for musical and theatrical events, including the Barbados Jazz Festival, a weeklong festival featuring a variety of the worlds leading jazz musicians. The magnificent ruins of Farley Hill House make an ideal backdrop for the stage, which is set up under a magnificent canopy of mahogany trees. Picnic baskets are opened under the tall mahoganies and all ages and all nations dance, listen and enjoy superb music in an unforgettable atmosphere of joy, friendship and tranquility.

The best thing I ate on this trip was:

Coconut Ice Cream

4 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 (10-ounce) package frozen coconut, thawed
Pinch salt
5 egg yolks

Combine the half-and-half, sugar, coconut, and salt, in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the cream to the boiling point and scald it. Remove from the heat. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl. Add the cream mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, to the beaten eggs, whisking in between each addition, until all is used.

Pour the mixture back into a saucepan, and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and cool completely.

Pour the filling into the ice cream machine and follow the manufacturer's instructions for churning time.



Barbados Sightseeing: Scenic Lookouts: Farley Hill

Breathtaking scenery set in the grounds of the once regal Farley Hill house. A mansion in ruins, tucked away in a forest of mahogany trees, high up on a hill overlooking the rugged Atlantic coast, Farley Hill is an idea spot to picnic, escape into nature, hide in the shade of a comforting tree and to simply stare out to sea. It is also a spot favored by visitors for getting married!

Building of Farley Hill house began in 1818, with additional rooms being added over the next 50 years. It eventually grew to be regarded as the most impressive mansion in Barbados. In the mid-nineteenth century Sir Graham Briggs, a wealthy British planter and legislator, owned the property. Briggs improved not only the house, but also the gardens, importing many new plants and trees into the island.

In 1965, the house was used in the film Island in the Sun but was subsequently destroyed by fire. HM Queen Elizabeth II officially opened Farley Hill as a national park in 1966, the same year Barbados gained independence.