Faded

Now that my tan has faded (of course I'm still darker than everyone else I know), Christine has returned to England and I'm finally back on my normal schedule, I now have time to sit down and post all about our holiday in Barbados. First let me say it was wonderful, fabulous, relaxing and extremely well timed.

The resort where we stayed had an absolutely gorgeous beach with beautiful fine pink sand with virtually no rocks or coral. About 150 yards off the beach was a reef where the waves broke and then they came to shore as nice swells. It was easy getting in and out of the water as it was nice and smooth with no drop-off or coral encrusted hills to deal with, as my Aruba friends all know about. The water was warm but refreshing and so clear that you could see right to the bottom.

Eammon and I would have happily spent our days relaxing on the beach, bobbing in the ocean and enjoying the abundance of excess that all-inclusive resorts provide, but we did actually do some touring and I did just a little shopping. It was amazing because 95% of the guests were Brits, we still somehow managed to hook up with three other American couples. Two are from the Atlanta area and one is from North Carolina. It was really fun spending time with these other couples, they were good fun and we shared lots of drinks and laughs. Speaking of drinks, I introduced everyone to banana daiquiris with Poncha Kuba and WOW, did we go through a lot of those!! I don't even remember the last time I had alcohol so the daiquiris hit me hard. Eammon thought I was drinking all of mine and wondering why he was feeling no pain and I was still OK. Then he realized that I was pouring my drinks off into his glass. It was all-inclusive so I really tried but after about 1 1/2 drinks per day I just couldn't keep up and by day six I had switched to virgin coladas. I know, I'm a wimp!

Other than the breakfasts which got monotonous the food was really good and I had some wonderful Bajan curries that I just loved. Lunches were buffet style and there was always plenty of selection. At dinner they did a different theme each night, Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, I forget the others but it was all good. In the afternoon they served tea with a nice variety of sweets and of course there was always the snack bar which served sandwiches and salads from 10 am till 10 PM. Needless to say, we were never hungry or in need of a drink.

My big shopping excursion was to the Earthworks Studio where I purchased beautiful handmade place settings for us. Three years ago when I was at the studio, I only bought a couple of pieces which I love and use whenever possible. I've been wanting new dishes so when we planned this trip, I knew where I'd be going and what I'd be buying. We'll have to keep these out of Baby S's hands for many years as I love this pottery and would hate to see it broken...hmmm, that would mean we'd have to go back again though, beaches and pottery, yeah!!! In the picture to the right, I've picked out my plates and bowls and they're boxing everything up for me.

I decided to have each place setting be different, so here you can see the eight patterns that I picked out. Now that I'm thinking of it, maybe I should have purchased 12 place settings and I know that they have at least four more designs...Maybe a return trip is in the works!!

Located right next to the pottery studio is the Treehouse Cafe where you can sit, have a wonderful little meal whilst enjoying beautiful views of the island.

One day Eammon and I joined with two of the other couples and we visited Crane Beach which according to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was beautiful with its pink sand and it was lots of fun as the waves were quite large and we all had fun getting knocked about by the waves.

We then headed off to the Ragged Point Lighthouse which which is located on the eastern point of the island. The lighthouse is an 85-foot tall coral stone structure which was erected in1875. Both the lighthouse and the residence are in a sad state but it would be an incredible site if it were ever to be restored. The views of the eastern side of the island from the 60-foot cliff which the lighthouse stands on, are absolutely beautiful.

The picture at the top of this post was taken up at the lighthouse, so you can see some of the spectacular view. The picture to the left is of us at the lighthouse, showing how much work needs to be done to restore this beautiful structure.
Eammon thinks this picture is funny because he says all he can see are my teeth and t-shirt...He's just jealous!

Our last stop of the day was Codrington College which is the oldest Anglican Theological College in the Western Hemisphere. It was established by the will of General Christopher Codrington who died in 1710 and was opened in 1745. The coral-stone buildings and grounds are on a cliff overlooking Consett Bay.

On our penultimate day we went on a catamaran trip and because two other couples were going along, Eammon decided to join us too. I usually go alone as he tends to get quite sea sick so it was a huge leap of faith on his part to embark on a five-hour cruise. I'm very proud of him though because he chewed on crystallized ginger, drank ginger ale and didn't feel or get sick at all. We all had a blast because we got to swim with sea turtles, we snorkeled around two different wrecks and we got to float around and relax near a calm beach. The lunch on board was filling and delicious and though the alcohol was free flowing, I had already had my fill for the year and Eammon didn't want to risk the possibility of getting sick.

We had an easy flight home, even with all the restrictions on what you can bring on board the plane. By the time we got home it was close to 1:30am and Christine arrived before noon so as I said in a previous post, it's really only now that things are settling down and are back to normal.

How long normal will last now that we're next for referral? I'm ready, bring it on!!!