Welcome To Barbados!

My trip to Barbados was decided about a year ago. As a destination point, this was a no-brainer. Having lived in Guyana from age 3 to 11 1/2 years old, I had visited Barbados and it was one of my destination points on my honeymoon cruise. And we had the added bonus of having friends who live there.

Once the tickets were booked at a time when the prices were fluctuating and not in the right direction, I landed a reasonable price and hit the BUY button. Then it was time to think about a place to stay. Because one of our friends was having a family reunion, I couldn't use their beach house. However, I did manage to get a beach house two houses away on the same street. Now air and board were taken care of.

Next on the list was the car. I wasn't thrilled about driving in Barbardos. I wanted to arrive, survey the situation, and then make my determination. However at my brother's urging, he advised that we couldn't fit in one car. The cost for taking a taxi everywhere would be prohibitive. Finally I agreed to get a rental car.

Getting to the island was not a direct shot. I went to Atlanta and then to Barbados making it a long trip. And let me not go into the food that was served. :-P We landed on the island around 2:30 p.m. Unlike the U.S. terminals where the gate is manipulated to the plane's door, in Barbados, we had to walk down the stairs that are rolled to the gate onto the tarmac. Then you boarded a bus for a quick ride to the entry door.

We made it through customs with no issues and then officially started the holiday. I signed so many forms, handed over credit cards, signed more forms for the rental car. My hope was that I would get out of the airport parking lot without incident, especially since the sales rep was standing there.

Now driving on the left side of the road wasn't a problem. The narrow road wasn't a problem. However, driving on that narrow road, with a high curb, and a bus barrelling toward me was enough to make me slam on my brake. And so I was the driver who accelerated and braked all the way down the road as the blue buses, yellow buses, and heavy duty trucks came at me.

I got to the beach house and was pleasantly surprised. It looked fairly decent on the website, but those photos were old. The place had been updated, beds had been replaced, rooms painted. I really liked my two bedroom beach house. And Beach being the operative word, I literally went out on the patio, then walked a few feet to a small gate that opened onto the beach.

And so my first day in Barbados began.

As promised, I have to declare the winner of my Barbados treats. Photos of the prize were to be posted, but I'll have to do that on tomorrow's blog. The winner is Beverly - "Beachlover." You win a small watercolor and a sample set of Barbadian rum. Enjoy!!