Part 1 Island Tour - BARBADOS

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We were all looking forward to the day ahead with our guide Rose & driver Patrick. Our first stop of the day was not far from Bridgetown. A visit to Medford Mahogony Craft where we were greeted with another big Barbadian smile by self-taught artist Reggie Medford.

We heard how as a teenager, Reggie rejected an academic career to take up handicraft, having opted out of university, he started to create jewellery using the coconuts shells from his family garden which proved very successful.

After a few years he decided to try to create works of art using the roots of mahogany trees, many of these roots had been that discarded as unwanted rubbish!

It wasn't long before this business took off and now he was able to obtain mahogany trees from developers & his mahogany craft works developed.

Each Medford piece is individually hand crafted from local mahogany using a sanding process which was developed by Reggie. We watched as in just a few minutes a small block of mahogany was transformed into a small bird, but a lot more work was needed to obtain the high quality smooth finish that we saw in the studio.

Reggie was so passionate about his craft which was obvious the entire time we spent with him.

It was time to move on & as we passed through several of the parishes we could see the contrasts between expensive luxury hotels, condominiums & villas against wooden often brightly coloured chattel houses.

Our guide Rose explained that after Emancipation, the slaves were still landless, but former slaves were allowed to build their humble homes on plantation lands, paying very little rent. However, the plantation owners reserved the right to evict tenants at short notice in the event of a landlord-tenant dispute so the houses therefore had to be “chattel” - movable possession, and so these modest houses were built of timber on foundations built with coral blocks, and constructed so they could easily be dismantled in sections, put onto a cart and moved to another spot.

As we continued our journey we saw all types of flora, in beautiful colours dotted along the twisty and sometimes very narrow roads.

Next stop Cherry Tree Hill with spectacular views right down to the rugged coastline and it's on this rugged coastline at Bethsheba we had another photo stop. Huge coral rock formations seemed to just sit close to the shoreline, quite a sight!

We had a short time for refreshments but we were all eagerly wanting to move to our next destination Huntes Garden.

I'll post information and photos of this enchanted garden and tell you about our wonderful host Anthony Hunte.

So for now that all folks, tomorrow we have a free day so it's time to relax but I'll be back with wonderful images of Huntes Garden, our lunch stop at Sunbury Plantation House & more stunning views from Gun Hill Garrison.

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