APRIL 2017 - OOOH, WE'RE GOING TO BARBADOS

Next stop: a 40 minute hop to Grantley Adams airport, just south of Bridgetown. Barbados - nearly 100 miles east of its much older, volcanic neighbours - is a coral island, pushed up between 600,000-700,000 years ago.  The coral is the reason for its much-vaunted pink sand beaches.  We're starting off on the eastern, Atlantic coast, where the waves crash and the undertow is tricksy, and it's much less touristy.  

First impressions on the way from the airport, the east (Atlantic) coast was certainly not as manicured and perfect as you might expect from the holiday brochures!

We popped into a supermarket for some provisions...

and unexpectedly encountered some familiar brands

and perhaps more obvious warnings given that sugar is the raison d'etre of the island

and onward to Bottom Beach, talcum-soft sand but fearsome waves

Our lunch spot was 1743 Codrington College, a theological establishment named for its founder, Christopher, son of a once-governor

before passing the first of the island's many parish churches (split, as it is, into 11 parishes)

And then our first sight of beautiful Bathsheba - and home for two nights,

the 'Little Sea See' apartment

with its gorgeous view from the patio

and two minutes down for a close-up of those rocks we'd seen earlier from afar, up the hill.

Next morning, we mooched the wild east coast, via another parish church (St Andrew's)

and some tropical gardens

Across the island, the west coast is where all of the cruises visit -  very different from the wild Atlantic east. Calm waters where turtles approach the shore to nest,

there are coral reefs and large hotels have commandeered the shore.  We found, however, another super spot for lunch

and stopped at the country's oldest church in the parish of St James

before crossing into the capital, Bridgetown

which last year celebrated 50 years of independence (30 November 1966).

Our next apartment, a mile or so south, along the coast, was in Hastings.  The garden opened onto a beach

on which we found this little chap (and​many others of his kind - larvae of the frangipani moth - the black 'tail' is the back end)

Next morning, past the Central Bank,

we stopped briefly (tricky to park for too long) of the capital's own Nelson's Column (which predates London's by 30 years),

the ecclesiastic-looking Parliament
 

and the UNESCO Heritage Site Garrison (next to what is now the race-course).  It was established in 1780 for forces stationed here until 1905 and now houses the country's Defence Force and National Armoury.

One of the national dishes, unsurprisingly, is fish - especially flying fish.  The bustling market smelled very tempting at lunchtime when we arrived

and the small, sharp filleting knives flashed as the fresh catch was prepared and bagged.  

We tried to patronise one of the 'fish-fry' cafes

but (despite being in a fish market within sight of women diligently filleting), the waitress claimed she had no flying fish fillets!  In exasperation, we quit the place, walked ten paces back to the 'filleter' and bought our own!  The cafe's loss and we had a most excellent lunch.

Having eaten, it was time to think about drinking, and (my having accidentally wandered into the bottling plant) secured ourselves a personal tour ofthe Four Square bottling plant

by the friendly site manager.  On the way out, we also passed this little chap enjoying his own, beetle lunch.  

Five nights in Barbados already over, last stop, St Lucia

MARCH 2017 - TWO NIGHTS IN TRINIDAD

First stop:  friendly Trinidad (but not Tobago).  

A few stats in case you're​ entering a pub quiz anytime soon.  At 1,841 sq. miles, Trinidad comprises 93% of T&T, and sits the closest of any Caribbean island to South America - 11 miles to the coast of Venezuela (apparently visible on a clear day).  Tiny Tobago (united to form one colonial entity in the late 1890s) is 120 sq. miles, 5.8%, and there are a few smaller islands. The population, 1.34m, are properly 'Trinbagians'.  Because T&T lies on the continental shelf of South America, it's considered geologically to be within that continent and its oil and natural gas reserves make it the third richest country by GDP, per capita, in the Americas, after the US and Canada.  It was settled by the Spanish in the early 1500s (though, not being rich in silver and gold, was of less interest than other colonies).  A British colony from 1787, independence came on 31 August 1962.

On the way in from Port of Spain airport, we passed the 1842 lighthouse (it was initially situated at the end of a 120ft jetty leading from the seafront, but has been stranded on dry land since the waterfront reclamation at the end of the 19th century)

and then the temporary Parliament - the permanent building, "Red House" as its known, is being refurbished so this looks to be the seat of government for the foreseeable future.

First morning, we went two minutes' walk around the corner to the Savannah gardens (basically, a large common, around which runs what last nights's taxi driver assured us is "the world's biggest roundabout" - a 3 mile one-way street).  Along one side of the Savannah sit the 'Magnificent Seven', buildings built around the turn of the last century in a game of one-upmanship between various plantation owners.  The first is Queen's College (dedicated to VR, even though it dates from 1903 when she was well and truly dead...!)

an archibshop's Palace which looks spookily Tudor, like Lambeth Palace,

a rococco meringue,

and the last one - which apparently was modelled on Balmoral!

As you can imagine, it's quite a long street but happily, as well as coconut vendors,

 

there are benches all along the pavement, adorned with tiles

A cab dropped us downtown, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 

very peaceful and lovely inside 

and then a good wander around town - along Independence Square...

the Holy Trinity Cathedral,

the moorish-looking Central Police Station Museum

and City Hall 

Next day, we walked across the south edge of the Savannah, admiring several fine restored houses 

BP’s interesting deco-like office

the now-closed stands from the big Carnival festival

and past the Bond-villain lair-esque 2009 NAPA – academy for performing arts; sadly the design was grossly deficient so it's now a mothballed white elephant. 

Nearby is the T&T National Museum and Art Gallery 

where we spent a few hours viewing local artefacts

(including an large blob of bitumen [apparently-static but Duncan's theory was that it's oozing its way to the exit!] from the Pitch Lake - the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world at La Brea in SW Trinidad - and original posters from the House of Angostura (distilled in Venezuela from 1824 until the plant moved ito Trinidad in 1875), history and art (nice painting below of the police station)

 

Outside, it was baking hot so we flagged down a cab to go up to Fort George for a nice breeze and to admire excellent views across Port of Spain and the coastline

And so farewell Trinidad