Barbados, January 27, 2018

We decided to do something today we don’t usually do, take an organized tour.  In past visits to Barbados we walked from the cruise terminal into Bridgetown.  Its a nice town with pleasant people.  But today we boarded a bus for a five hour tour.  The weather was, as is frequently the case, changeable, going from cloudy to sunny with a little rain thrown in for good measure.

We started north along the Platinum Coast which is home to the rich and famous.  We passed some magnificent hotels and properties en route to our first stop, the St. James Parish Church.  It is located in Holetown on what is known in Barbados as “God’s Acre.”  It was so named for the fact that the St. James occupies an exact acre of land.  The baptismal font dates to 1684.  The church has a cemetery attached but it has not been used in well over a hundred years due to the fact that the building, which is built from coral blocks, is only four feet above water.

The church was set for a wedding that was to take place in the afternoon.  The flowers set on the pews were lovely as were the decorations around the altar.

Here are some additional shots of the church and its grounds.

From there it was back on the bus for a ride to Speightstown for a visit to the Arlington House Museum.  The house dates back to the time when sugar was king and Speightstown was a major shipping point for sugar and rum.  The museum provided a glimpse into what life was like on Barbados during the 18th century.

I liked this staircase in the museum as well as the display of lasts for the resident cobbler.

Here are a couple of other shots of the Speightstown area.

Our next stop, as we worked our way in an easterly direction was to be Bathsheba beach.  On the way we drove past one of the only working Dutch windmills on the island (no photos were possible from the bus so you have to conjure an image of one in your mind).  At one time there were over 500 windmills working to crush sugarcane and extract the juice.

The northeast coast of Barbados is strikingly beautiful from the beaches to the mountains that rise up over 1,000 feet.  Bathsheba is breathtaking and a photographer’s delight.  Take a look at this beautiful beach.

From Bathsheba we were driven to lunch at the Atlantic Hotel.  Lunch was very nice and we had the opportunity to sit with two couples, one from the Villas in Florida and the other from South Carolina.  Both were pleasant and the conversation was interesting.

Here are a couple of shots of homes near the Atlantic Hotel.

Tomorrow is a day at sea and a day to relax.  Then it is on to Bonaire.