BARBADOS 20.-21.9.2009 Voisiko ero kahden saaren välillä olla suurempi kuin mystisen, tunteellisen, aistillisen, hulvattomasti eri kulttuureja sekoittavan mutta köyhän St. Lucian ja erittäin englantilais-keskiluokkaisen Barbadoksen! Kuten kuvista näette; täällä on aika minimalistisen litteää ja laakeaa; tyystin eri tavalla kaunista kuin St. Luciassa. Geologisesti Barbados ei kuulu lainkaan Karibianmeren saariin, vaan se on pelkkä korallisaari. Poissa ovat tulivuoret ja sademetsät - englantilaiset uudisasukkaat hakkasivat metsät parissa vuodessa 1630-luvulla viljelystensä tieltä pois. [View Full Entry]

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All that snow was getting us down (well, not really, but the season had drawn to a close), so for the first May bank holiday weekend (plus a couple of extra days) we decided to head to the warmth of the Caribbean for a few days in the sun. So, what is there to know about Barbados?: * No one heads there for 'just a few days'. Some people are there for 'only a week', but the majority for 12 - 14 days. They look with compassion on the inexperienced who book for a shorter time. * Barbados means 'bearded' - [View Full Entry]

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A BARBADIAN GEMSTONE A lush and verdant niche of singular positioning on the Barbados east coast is where I spent a delightful evening, entranced by a precious piece of property and its people. Standing on a risen platform, gently graded upward, I was at one with the panorama that surrounded me and engaged with its sweep of nature. In quiet nascence, it spread a blanket of vegetal green over muted mounds of lightly sun-braised virgin land, touching, hesitantly, in all its innocence, the raging Atlantic, breeze-swept and strong, offering frantic, frothy embraces to the myriad shoreli [View Full Entry]

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Went to Barbados for a week to relax before heading to California for thanksgivings. Barbados is a small island where everyone knows almost everyone. I did the tour around the island and visited a few top 21 beaches according to the travel channel; Crane Beach with a fly fish sandwich at Cutters among others. As normal in the caribbean I layed around and kept the rum flowing while enjoying the beach. I was all relaxed up by the time I left. [View Full Entry]

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My plan for the day was a relatively modest one. While some of the days in my past involved neck-breaking tours of cities or sites, I was in the Barbados for a four day weekend, that I had more or less taken spontaneously in November. A few years previous I had acquired my SCUBA diving license and finally I was eager to give it a try. A refresher course in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium brought back those basic skills which I would need to dive. I did remember some more personal things about diving though. I knew that more [View Full Entry]

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postando.... [View Full Entry]

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6:45AM We landed around 1:30pm yesterday. The flight to Bridgetown - Grantley Adams airport was much more comfortable than the flight from New York to Miami and just as quick. The customs process was equally painless. I changed $40 USD into $80 BDS (not enough) and we were soon looking for a taxi, which we found as soon as we walked outside. Our driver, Kelvin, gave us some tips about the island, mostly about public transportation and money. As it turns out, he was RBPF (Royal Barbados Police Force) for 40 years before retiring and at one point spent several weeks [View Full Entry]

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10:52AM I'm sitting poolside with Alice underneath an umbrella table. She's ordering things online now that we've had breakfast at the hotel buffet. Hardly "going native." 11:58AM It's our final full day before we leave and we've finally made it to the beach at our hotel. I ordered a few books from Amazon.com after we went back to the room. What can I say? I just can't resist a little modern convenience. We grabbed a couple of lounge chairs and posted up in the shade of a short palm-type tree with long, sharp leaves and a few medium-sized, unripe looking fruit [View Full Entry]

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12:26AM I'm lying in our hotel bed practically falling asleep as I write this so excuse me if its not interesting. I met with a rather unenthused young woman (about 25 years old) from the car rental agency at a little after 8:30 this morning. We signed some papers and shortly thereafter we were the proud temporary owners of a 2008 Suzuki Spirit 4-door hatchback, silver in color, and only 12,000 kilometers on the odometer! It was really much nicer than either of us expected. Immaculately clean on drop-off, I hope they realized it would not be returned in the same [View Full Entry]

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The following entries are a reposting of my handwritten journal that I kept during the trip. 9:13AM - Miami Airport The flight here was horrible but quick. Are plane seats getting even less comfortable? The adjustable headrest only serves to put your neck and back out of alignment. We still slept through most of the flight. I thought Alice would wake up with the worst aches from the way she was sleeping, but she ended up being ok. I hope the next flight is more comfortable. I can't do another 4 hours cramped up like that again. [View Full Entry]

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