Barbados Photo Adventure Tour with Ronnie Carrington: Do It!
Yesterday morning 9 a.m., my husband Greg and I, cameras in hand (ahem, well, I had my camera; Greg came along for fun) met photographer Ronnie Carrington at Pelican Village for a day-long and most pleasurable photographic excursion through the lesser-known parts of Barbados. Fifteen of us were on the van for the one-day Photo Adventure Tour, including a woman from Wine World carrying precious cargo for our lunch.
My interest in photography exceeds my talent, so I'll be taking Ronnie's six-week course.
From the harbour in Bridgetown to Jack in the Box Gully to Cove Bay in St Lucy (more on Barbados geography here), we traveled through rugged country and quaint villages dotted with brightly painted chattel houses — and rum shops and churches, in equal number, and usually next door to each other. Which is convenient: there is a rum shop in Barbados for every 150 adults; men go there to socialize as much as to drink, while Barbadian women tend to use the church as their social outlet.
Throughout the day, we laughed, learned, shot photos, and saw parts of the island off the beaten path. Oh, if only school had taught its lessons so pleasurably.
Hey, did you know that Barbados was once two separate islands?
Or that this limestone coral island rose up from the sea some 500,000 years ago from the movement of two tectonic plates (giving rise to the question of which plate – and therefore which hemisphere – does Barbados belong to)?
Cruise passengers consistently rate the day trips they take with Ronnie Carrington their favorite activity.
Or that the rivers in Barbados flow underground through the limestone that comprises this island?
Or that Barbados has one of the best natural water supplies in the world?
(If you’re interested in the history of the island’s geography, climate, slavery, parishes, its status as the “foremost colonial possession of the Western Hemisphere,” and more, check out this classic tome, all 700+ pages of which are here as a free Google book: History of Barbados, by Robert Hermann Schomburgk, published in 1971.)
A Barbados bull with a knowing look … yep, he's seen a tourist or two in his day.
In between photo-op stops, Ronnie regaled us with photo tips and amazing-but-true stories about Barbados history as we drove. My favorite was a wonderful narrative about Winston Hall, a prisoner at Barbados’ prison who became a sort of folk hero because of his numerous escapes from prison lasting years at a time and facilitated by his excellent knowledge of the island’s 300 miles of gullys.
On his final imprisonment, the warden of the prison proclaimed that, with the improvements he’d made, “only Houdini could escape this time.” When Hall did escape, he became known as Hall-Dini and the warden was fired. An article about Winston Hall’s last stand, in 2006, is here.
In wonderment of Barbados' beauty, Greg and I study beautiful Cove Bay.
Ronnie Carrington’s photography/island tour … a first-class way to spend a day in Barbados. $60US per person, including buffet lunch and plenty of great wine. Find out more here. If you’re interested in an all-inclusive photographic holiday with Ronnie, go here.
3 Responses to “Barbados Photo Adventure Tour with Ronnie Carrington: Do It!”
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Sounds like a great way to spend the day. And will make a perfect birthday present!!! Thanks muchly. I was beginning to get desperate.
Yes, I agree, esskaym, it’s the perfect gift. When I first heard that Ronnie offered these outings, I said to Greg, “If you ever want to give me a gift, please let it be this!” (And then I mentioned it repeatedly ………)
Let me know how this b’day gift goes over; I’d love to hear.
The next one is May 2nd, I believe.