The beer of Barbados is Banks, missed out on a tour of the brewery when they didn't respond to my calls or emails for reservations. Anyway, Banks is a special kind of place filled with imported hops and barley. Their beer is great, thanks to the awesome water which they use to brew. The fresh water supply has been naturally filtered through coral, and although slightly hard, it is good for brewing. An interesting thing about Banks is that they have license from Guinness to brew Foreign Extra, a 7.5% Stout, rich in hops bitterness. I love Guinness and this is very different from what we have state side.
That same water makes a great pizza dough. We ate some really good thin crust at Mama Mia's west of Accra along the coastal road.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Rum
Our Island Safari tour guide told us that if something seemed backwards here on the island, you can blame it on the rum. I guess anything is a good idea when your drinking rum- like agreeing to paint your house pink =)
Sugarcane farming/rum distillery is probably the second biggest industry here next to tourism. And they don't play. The rum here is serious. The very first day here we went to a popular Friday night hangout- Oistins Fish Fry. They have open air craft stalls, food stalls, music stage, and people- lots of people. I got knocked on my ass by the rum punch. And it wasn't even a properly made rum punch, but just the stuff from a mix. I skipped my usual drunk phases and went straight to the head-on-the-table phase. I was sweating like a crazed maniac and all of the sudden I decided I should go to the bathroom to break the seal. On the way to the bathroom a strange thing happened. My vision suddenly turned negative. Like, remember those old photo negatives you got with your one-hour prints? Yeah, like that. Black was green and white was red. It was the weirdest thing, but not to worry, after a trip to the bathroom I was totally back to normal.
Those rum punches are clever. They don't taste strong but they are. Cocktails made here in the states would probably taste and smell like liquor and burn the whole way down your throat. Not the case here. I don't know if it's the warm weather or some kind of island magic, but it seriously could be all rum and just a splash of juice and still taste like Hawaiian punch from start to finish. One drink is worth two here in the states, so take caution or else you'll be seeing in negative and painting your houses pink too!
RUM PUNCH
amber rum
lime juice
simple syrup
orange juice
Angostura bitters
grated nutmeg
Mix and serve on ice.
Sugarcane farming/rum distillery is probably the second biggest industry here next to tourism. And they don't play. The rum here is serious. The very first day here we went to a popular Friday night hangout- Oistins Fish Fry. They have open air craft stalls, food stalls, music stage, and people- lots of people. I got knocked on my ass by the rum punch. And it wasn't even a properly made rum punch, but just the stuff from a mix. I skipped my usual drunk phases and went straight to the head-on-the-table phase. I was sweating like a crazed maniac and all of the sudden I decided I should go to the bathroom to break the seal. On the way to the bathroom a strange thing happened. My vision suddenly turned negative. Like, remember those old photo negatives you got with your one-hour prints? Yeah, like that. Black was green and white was red. It was the weirdest thing, but not to worry, after a trip to the bathroom I was totally back to normal.
Those rum punches are clever. They don't taste strong but they are. Cocktails made here in the states would probably taste and smell like liquor and burn the whole way down your throat. Not the case here. I don't know if it's the warm weather or some kind of island magic, but it seriously could be all rum and just a splash of juice and still taste like Hawaiian punch from start to finish. One drink is worth two here in the states, so take caution or else you'll be seeing in negative and painting your houses pink too!
RUM PUNCH
amber rum
lime juice
simple syrup
orange juice
Angostura bitters
grated nutmeg
Mix and serve on ice.
Beach Culture
Beaches in Barbados are varied- from calm waters great for swimming to big waves for surfing.
Accra Beach is on the south shore and is said to be the most popular with tourists and locals alike. It has very calm and clear water almost as if you are standing in a pool. The water is so comfortable, I could have spent hours wading and playing in the ocean. This probably surprises many people who know that I don't like to be more than knee high at the New Jersey shore! You can't see more than a few inches deep in NJ, but in the Caribbean I could be neck deep and still see my toes. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas for a very small fee and there are food/drink/craft kiosks right on the beach. There are also restaurants and stores across the street to give relief from the hot sun.
We also took a full day trip to the Malibu Beach Club and Visitor Centre. You get about a 5 hour visit for $40US per person and includes a rum distillery tour, lunch, full use of the beach and amenities, 5 complimentary drinks, and shuttle service. Strangely enough, they don't make Malibu rum at this distillery (even though it's branded Malibu), instead they make Cockspur rum. But we'll get into the rum in a later post. The distillery happens to be at Brighton Beach- which is on the west coast. The water is still calm and clear and there are a lot of jet skiers and boats of all kinds passing by. We even saw horses taking a walk on the beach. There are some vendors selling crafts and dudes selling trinkets or finding riders on their jet skis. But the nice part is that they don't harass you like you would expect. If you kindly tell them no, they say that it's a nice day for whatever you do and leave you alone for the rest of the day.
As a side note, the rum distillery has a quality control laboratory that tests for the purity of the rum. When the tour guide embarassingly fumbled through the words "gas chromatograph", Joe and I took some sideways glances. He's got job options on a tropical island!
Our hotel stay was at Silver Sands beach which is on the southeast coast. Tour books recommend this beach more for the watersports and not so much for the swimming. The water here is more like Jersey, a little choppier and the sand gets whirled around from the waves. You definitely get sand in your shorts if you swim here! Some dude named Brian "DeAction" Talma owns the beach shop on the shore and offers kite surfing and wind surfing rentals and instruction. We watched all the surfers catch air from our cabana and soaked in the lively action.
Accra Beach is on the south shore and is said to be the most popular with tourists and locals alike. It has very calm and clear water almost as if you are standing in a pool. The water is so comfortable, I could have spent hours wading and playing in the ocean. This probably surprises many people who know that I don't like to be more than knee high at the New Jersey shore! You can't see more than a few inches deep in NJ, but in the Caribbean I could be neck deep and still see my toes. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas for a very small fee and there are food/drink/craft kiosks right on the beach. There are also restaurants and stores across the street to give relief from the hot sun.
We also took a full day trip to the Malibu Beach Club and Visitor Centre. You get about a 5 hour visit for $40US per person and includes a rum distillery tour, lunch, full use of the beach and amenities, 5 complimentary drinks, and shuttle service. Strangely enough, they don't make Malibu rum at this distillery (even though it's branded Malibu), instead they make Cockspur rum. But we'll get into the rum in a later post. The distillery happens to be at Brighton Beach- which is on the west coast. The water is still calm and clear and there are a lot of jet skiers and boats of all kinds passing by. We even saw horses taking a walk on the beach. There are some vendors selling crafts and dudes selling trinkets or finding riders on their jet skis. But the nice part is that they don't harass you like you would expect. If you kindly tell them no, they say that it's a nice day for whatever you do and leave you alone for the rest of the day.
As a side note, the rum distillery has a quality control laboratory that tests for the purity of the rum. When the tour guide embarassingly fumbled through the words "gas chromatograph", Joe and I took some sideways glances. He's got job options on a tropical island!
Our hotel stay was at Silver Sands beach which is on the southeast coast. Tour books recommend this beach more for the watersports and not so much for the swimming. The water here is more like Jersey, a little choppier and the sand gets whirled around from the waves. You definitely get sand in your shorts if you swim here! Some dude named Brian "DeAction" Talma owns the beach shop on the shore and offers kite surfing and wind surfing rentals and instruction. We watched all the surfers catch air from our cabana and soaked in the lively action.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Barbados day 4
Today we took an Island Safari tour, recommended by Rihana, "Rasta Man", and numerous websites. It's a 5 hour Range Rover ride across the Island. The vehicle fits 11 tourists and one driver/tour guide. Not sure why we didn't get a picture of it.
We started out with a long drive north through the heart of the island toward Little Bay. We were guided past the old and impressive churches built from coral and concrete.
Little Bay was formed when the most recent portion of the island emerged from the Atlantic Ocean as the tectonic plates beneath the island converged. This convergence formed the island over three massive shifts. The land mass consists primarily of coral.
This is a great shot showing three distinct layers of the earth that formed under the ocean and then rose to create the island of Barbados.
The island is technically not in the Caribbean as it lies east of the West Indies, a chain of islands that creates the boundary of the Caribbean Sea.
The tour continued south along the eastern coast of the island. The roads were a mix of narrow blacktop and dirt.
They say this is what Scotland looks like, I don't see it.
This is the oldest Dutch made windmill still in operating condition. Unfortunately the sails were in need of repair and missing when we visited.
The east coast has dangerous undercurrents and is not safe for swimming. On the drive along the coast we drove past Cattlewash and the best surfing spot on the island, the "Soup Bowl" on Bathsheba. The tour guide claimed Kelly Slater owned a house at this beach. Along this portion of the coast there are a bunch of mushroom shaped rocks sticking out of the beach. This is the beach at Martin's Bay.
Mmm, brain coral....
This is a shot northward from south of Martin's Bay up the long coast with Little Bay fading into the ocean spray. This would be a great place to hike.
Same view a little further down the coast but on top of the second land mass shift which formed the "highlands". This is a tall cliff, I didn't get close enough to the edge to attempt to figure out how high we were.
We stopped for lunch at the Sunbury House. A former plantation house that now caters and hosts events. They served a good Bajan lunch. At this point I could really have enjoyed a beer but there was none to be found. After lunch we were dropped back at Jess's and took a nap before making some dinner. This picture explains how entertaining the stop was.
We started out with a long drive north through the heart of the island toward Little Bay. We were guided past the old and impressive churches built from coral and concrete.
Little Bay was formed when the most recent portion of the island emerged from the Atlantic Ocean as the tectonic plates beneath the island converged. This convergence formed the island over three massive shifts. The land mass consists primarily of coral.
This is a great shot showing three distinct layers of the earth that formed under the ocean and then rose to create the island of Barbados.
The island is technically not in the Caribbean as it lies east of the West Indies, a chain of islands that creates the boundary of the Caribbean Sea.
The tour continued south along the eastern coast of the island. The roads were a mix of narrow blacktop and dirt.
They say this is what Scotland looks like, I don't see it.
This is the oldest Dutch made windmill still in operating condition. Unfortunately the sails were in need of repair and missing when we visited.
The east coast has dangerous undercurrents and is not safe for swimming. On the drive along the coast we drove past Cattlewash and the best surfing spot on the island, the "Soup Bowl" on Bathsheba. The tour guide claimed Kelly Slater owned a house at this beach. Along this portion of the coast there are a bunch of mushroom shaped rocks sticking out of the beach. This is the beach at Martin's Bay.
Mmm, brain coral....
This is a shot northward from south of Martin's Bay up the long coast with Little Bay fading into the ocean spray. This would be a great place to hike.
Same view a little further down the coast but on top of the second land mass shift which formed the "highlands". This is a tall cliff, I didn't get close enough to the edge to attempt to figure out how high we were.
We stopped for lunch at the Sunbury House. A former plantation house that now caters and hosts events. They served a good Bajan lunch. At this point I could really have enjoyed a beer but there was none to be found. After lunch we were dropped back at Jess's and took a nap before making some dinner. This picture explains how entertaining the stop was.
Barbados days 1-3
On our first day in Barbados we took a catamaran tour up the west coast which provides calm water for snorkeling and spectacular views of the island.
The boat departed the port of Bridgetown under motor power. Sails were hoisted once out of the port and we enjoyed two 15 minute periods of sailing with two 20 minute snorkeling excursions. I wish I had an underwater camera. On the first excursion we swam with sea turtles and on the second we were guided around a nature sanctuary filled with coral and schools of fish.
We were served lunch in a picturesque cove. Anyone want to go in on a house with us?
Sophie had a great time enjoying the views from the boat.
From left to right: Casper, a captain on a different catamaran, reserved our cruise and got us the local rate. Jess, Sophie's cousin, provided lodging, transport, and suggested activites. Jamal, Jess's man, informed us of local customs and insight about how to really enjoy his country. Sophie planned our vacation.
On the second day we went to one of the most popular beaches on the south coast called Accra. Pictures weren't that great due to the sun but it was a good time. That night we took a 3 hour guided hike in the "highlands" and caught some really good views of the southern and western coasts. To avoid sun burn we went inland on the third day. This view is looking north from Flower Forrest, a botanical garden near the center of the island.
It was, as some other tourists said, "like Jurrasic Park".
The next stop was Welchman Hall Gully, formed when a cave collapsed and home to some rare native plant species. This day was a real adventure as we travelled into the least populated areas by public bus without any real idea of where we were going our exactly how to get there. Thankfully the locals pointed us in the right direction. We bummed a ride from Flower Forrest to Welchman Hall Gully, many thanks for that one.
The gully is an important niche environment for many native species. A gully is characterised by 15-75' walls with a relatively flat floor ~20-40' wide. The Welchman Hall Gully has many stalactites hanging from the tops of the walls as testament to its origins.
Back on the bus system left us in some unknown spot of Bridgetown where we had to ask at least 10 people for directions to the correct bus terminal. There are a bunch of small terminals each servicing a specific region of the island. When you don't know your way around it gets stressful but if you remain calm and keep moving you can get to where you need to be. The locals talk fast and their directions aren't very clear. The trick is to keep moving and asking for directions. Taxi's aren't cheap. We paid a taxi $7.50 US for a 1.5 mile drive at the end of this day, a bus fare of $.75 US will get you to most places on the island but you have to know where your stop is and be willing to walk a little. We ended our day on the brand new south coast boardwalk that extends westward from Accra beach. We had a great happy hour at Tappas on the boardwalk and then watched the sunset.
The boat departed the port of Bridgetown under motor power. Sails were hoisted once out of the port and we enjoyed two 15 minute periods of sailing with two 20 minute snorkeling excursions. I wish I had an underwater camera. On the first excursion we swam with sea turtles and on the second we were guided around a nature sanctuary filled with coral and schools of fish.
We were served lunch in a picturesque cove. Anyone want to go in on a house with us?
Sophie had a great time enjoying the views from the boat.
From left to right: Casper, a captain on a different catamaran, reserved our cruise and got us the local rate. Jess, Sophie's cousin, provided lodging, transport, and suggested activites. Jamal, Jess's man, informed us of local customs and insight about how to really enjoy his country. Sophie planned our vacation.
On the second day we went to one of the most popular beaches on the south coast called Accra. Pictures weren't that great due to the sun but it was a good time. That night we took a 3 hour guided hike in the "highlands" and caught some really good views of the southern and western coasts. To avoid sun burn we went inland on the third day. This view is looking north from Flower Forrest, a botanical garden near the center of the island.
It was, as some other tourists said, "like Jurrasic Park".
The next stop was Welchman Hall Gully, formed when a cave collapsed and home to some rare native plant species. This day was a real adventure as we travelled into the least populated areas by public bus without any real idea of where we were going our exactly how to get there. Thankfully the locals pointed us in the right direction. We bummed a ride from Flower Forrest to Welchman Hall Gully, many thanks for that one.
The gully is an important niche environment for many native species. A gully is characterised by 15-75' walls with a relatively flat floor ~20-40' wide. The Welchman Hall Gully has many stalactites hanging from the tops of the walls as testament to its origins.
Back on the bus system left us in some unknown spot of Bridgetown where we had to ask at least 10 people for directions to the correct bus terminal. There are a bunch of small terminals each servicing a specific region of the island. When you don't know your way around it gets stressful but if you remain calm and keep moving you can get to where you need to be. The locals talk fast and their directions aren't very clear. The trick is to keep moving and asking for directions. Taxi's aren't cheap. We paid a taxi $7.50 US for a 1.5 mile drive at the end of this day, a bus fare of $.75 US will get you to most places on the island but you have to know where your stop is and be willing to walk a little. We ended our day on the brand new south coast boardwalk that extends westward from Accra beach. We had a great happy hour at Tappas on the boardwalk and then watched the sunset.
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