Cruise 2011 - Day 4 - BARBADOS, LESSER ANTILLES

Port of Bridgetown, Barbados

Well, the ‘slacker’ vibe started hitting me on Day 4. I didn’t get out of bed until almost 8am. I picked up some tea but no reading or yoga. I was in a foggy stupor and just sat on the bench beside the jogging track and watched Rebecca go around…and around…and around. At least someone was energetic!!

It took awhile for the ship to clear as Barbados is also an embarkation/debarkation point for this cruise and all of the passengers who were leaving the ship that day had to debark. The ship was not cleared until the last debarking passengers went through customs. They kept paging one particular guy and we figured that we should get a group together and hunt him down so we could all get on with our day : - )

Since there were five ships in port that day, our ship was located quite a distance down the pier from the terminal. We got off the ship around 10am and caught a free shuttle bus to the terminal building as we weren’t up for the rather long walk – probably 15 minutes?? Once there, we walked through the shops and out of the port area. The local bus station is located about a 7-8 minute walk down the road on the left hand side. We paid for tokens at the wicket ($1US each way) and waited for the Speightstown bus that would take us up the west coast to Mullin’s Beach. A short five minute wait and we were on the bus and on our way out of Bridgetown. We met a British couple on the bus who had been married for 54 years and had a great chat with them about their home city of London. They were definitely adventurous travelers who liked to do things that got them out with the local people and culture. We asked a couple of locals to let us know when we were getting near Mullin’s Beach and they rang the bell for us to stop the bus. The bus ride out was through heavy morning traffic and it took almost an hour.

Mullin’s Beach is one of the more popular beaches on the island. Mullin’s has a restaurant, beach bar, loungers/umbrella rentals, jet-ski rentals, banana boat rides and just about everything else you might want to do on the water. We had been there a couple of times before but it has definitely grown over the years. We used their facilities but our goal was the next beach down the coast – Gibbes Beach. On our way to Gibbes, we hit the mother-lode of beach glass. For those who know me, you know that I am a ‘rabid’ beach glass collector. No matter where I go, I am on the lookout and, man, did I hit the jackpot on this beach. There was so much green beach glass that I stopped even picking up white or brown glass and ignored really small greens, which I would never do at home. In the end, I think I collected about five pounds of green beach glass and I could have kept going. I knew our luggage was well under weight so I had room to haul the glass back home.

Mullin's Restaurant

Mullin's Beach

A five minute walk down the coast took us to Gibbes Beach which is pretty-much deserted as there are no beach bar or touristy offerings. I think there may have been, at most, ten other people while we were there….and, no, we did not feel unsafe in any way. Some beaches may be located quite far from ‘civilization’ and it isn’t a good idea to be out somewhere by yourself however Gibbes is right beside a posh resort and in an area with pricey vacation rentals so you aren’t isolated in that way!


Gibbes Beach

 

There were lots of shade trees along the beach so we found a nice, shady spot and made camp for our visit. I don’t think we waited a couple of minutes before we headed into the water. The water on Barbados is one of my favorite things. It is your picture-perfect Caribbean crystal clear turquoise water with white (or even light pink) sand beaches…no matter which beach you go to. We have been to several beaches on the island and you really can’t go wrong, no matter which you choose. I have to say that we will definitely return to Gibbes as it was so quiet and peaceful and the facilities at Mullin’s were just a short walk away if we needed anything. We spent a few hours swimming, hunting for beach glass and feeding the birds on the beach. It was quite a let down to have to head back out to the main road and catch the bus into Bridgetown. The return bus trip took a little over a half an hour as we headed back before schools let out and traffic increased.

A bit of info for you if you are ever on Barbados and decide to take the bus. There are two types of buses: blue buses with yellow stripes (gov’t owned) and yellow buses with blue stripes (privately owned). The yellow buses can be…um…adventurous!! Let’s just say that they drive very fast, stop very fast and you can see passengers sometimes hop on or off the bus while it is still moving. We have used the yellow buses a couple of times without incident but, if I had kids with me, I would probably stick with the blue buses : - ) Both blue and yellow buses will stop at the bus stops. If you want to wait for another bus, just wave them on and get on the next one as there are buses coming by every few minutes.  We took a yellow bus and it was aptly named "Full Turbulance".  Each time the bus came to a stop, the door slammed open...and that was when the guy who took the money/tokens wasn't standing in the open door.

We exited the bus at the bus terminal and walked back to the port area and were back on the ship around 3pm, just in time for a shower and a nap. Supper was French Onion Soup, Proscuitto & Melon with Parmesan Crisps and Farm-raised Chicken with mushrooms, olives and tomatoes. Dessert was a Fig, Date and Cinnamon Cake with Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Tip – you can have as many appetizers, entrées or desserts as you want. I once had an entire supper made up of appetizers because they all looked so delicious! 

Proscuitto & Melon with Parmesan Crisps

After, we went to check out karaoke, then the juggler show, then a bit of relaxation in the Serenity Club area and on to bed!  Yet another stellar stop on our cruising adventure!  If you want to find out more, you can check out my detailed Barbados blog posting for a summary of beaches, excursions, etc under 2010 posts.