I rushed my frazzled self into my nail appointment. I was on time, but the nail tech wasn’t. I fidgeted a bit, paced the shop, then sat down and flipped through a magazine and pretended to wait patiently. Even after she began working on my nails my thoughts were rushed, focused on all I still had to get done. A human doing, not a human being. I never even took off my sunglasses.

Before the first coat of polish, the fruit man came into the shop. The fruit man is old. He sells small baggies of grapes, strawberries, cashews, and peanuts as well as whole oranges, pineapple, grapefruit, and a few veggies. I am always happy to see the fruit man and buy his yummy offerings.

I surveyed the items in his box and asked the fruit man if he had any pineapple that was cut up. He took his small box of items and left the shop.

Oh, no, I’d offended the fruit man! I felt horrible. I castigated myself, Why can’t you ever ever learn???? Just accept life on life’s terms. Why do you need to demand other/different/”better”???  You want cut-up pineapple?! Cut up your own darned pineapple!

My second coat of polish was drying and I was making a mental list of all my to-do’s for the afternoon when the fruit man re-entered the shop.

As I was blowing on my nails, he walked over to me and presented his box of fruits again.

Alongside the other offerings and beautifully cut into tall, slender chunks and packaged in clear bagggies was juicy pineapple.

The fruit man had gone outside not in anger but to cut pineapple for me.

My brain stopped for a second. I took a deep breath; behind my sunglasses, tears stung my eyes. A spirit of calm came over me. Another human being had reached out and patiently, kindly offered the Type A lady in the sunglasses what she asked for.

I bought grapes, cashews, and pineapple. My bill was $5.

The Type A is learning, adapting … and maybe, with enough time and enough fruit men, changing.

I’ll also take this opportunity to promote the St Lawrence Beach Condos on the south coast (here on TripAdvisor), which is smack dab in the center of the south coast Restaurant Row, featuring the amazing Pisces Restaurant, Bellini’s Trattoria – where a guest told me the other day that she had Cajun mahi mahi to die for – and many others.

Foodies love Barbados! Consider staying at the St Lawrence Beach Condominiums on the south coast of Barbados on Restaurant Row in the St Lawrence Gap. Photo copyrighted Jane Shattuck 2011, all rights reserved.

Here’s the Barbados portion of the article from the piece from the Telegraph (click here to view the entire article mentioning other islands):

Best for foodies

Splashing out

… Barbados is probably the best Caribbean island for gourmets. Wherever you stay, do so on a room only or b&b basis so you can eat out as much as you want in the many good restaurants. The food at The Cliff and Sandy Lane, the west-coast luxury hotel, is excellent (Michael Winner wouldn’t keep coming back to the latter otherwise), and from May to October, Gourmet Indulgence packages are on offer that include wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres making, cocktail mixing and a cooking demonstration class – booked through Caribtours, £3,266 b&b. (020 7751 0660, www.caribtours.co.uk)

A pizza Greg and I shared at lunch today. We ate at Mama Mia, one of my favorite south coast spots. The crust is soooo thin, with lots of chunky tomatoes, goat cheese, & basil on top, and baked in ovens from Italy. SO good!

On a tighter budget

There are lots of great, affordable places to eat on Barbados’ south coast. Popular with Bajans are Just Grillin’, a share-a-table, open-air grill in Rockley, and the long-established 39 Steps Bistro and Wine Bar in Hastings for international/Caribbean dishes. On a Friday evening, head to the fish town of Oistins for its no-frills “fish fry” – a platter of fried or grilled fish and a beer from the stalls should cost you well under £10. Stay at Little Arches, a chic little hotel just outside Oistins with a well-regarded (though not cheap) Mediterranean/sushi restaurant on its rooftop called Café Luna – through Caribtours, £1,125 b&b. (020 7751 0660, www.caribtours.co.uk)

Rosey Chan, classical pianist and performance artist, performed in Barbados at Holders Season 2011

Last night’s performance by Ms Chan mesmerized.  Greg and I returned home around 11pm and I was up all night listening to recordings of her playing.  Considered one of the most exciting new musicians of her generation, Sting produced Ms Chan’s first album, “One,” a captivating blend of classical and jazz.

Visually, Ms Chan is a star: beautiful in five-inch stilettos with a piano keyboard motif.

In its 18th season, Wendy Kidd and Stewart Collins still work magic with the artists they bring to the small outdoor stage in Wendy’s beautiful backyard garden at Holders House.

Here’s a link to my YouTube channel where I posted a small bit from a Mike Haggis film of Rosey Chan performing, shown during her extraordinary performance last evening at Holders:   Rosey Chan

Wendy Kidd, doyenne of Barbados Holders Season, and her son Jack.

NOTICE OF APPROVAL OF STATUS.

I am an American. I married Greg, a Barbadian citizen, two years ago and applied for citizenship six months ago.  I was excited to keep reading  ….

Greg and me, almost-a-Barbados-citizen, on Crane Beach, February 2011.

The letter read, “Under Section 6 of the Barbados Constitution ….. I am directed to inform you that in the interim, the Minister responsible for Immigration proposes to grant you the status of Reside and Work, under Section 13(7) of the Immigration Act.”

I danced around my apartment and called Greg at work to share the happy news. Yippeeeee, I was on my way to becoming a Barbadian citizen!  “Reside and Work” status allows me to stay in Barbados instead of requiring me to leave every 30 days; it also allows me to get a job here.

Waiting for Greg to pick up my call, I continued reading the letter: “However, prior to the grant of this permission to Reside and Work, you are required … to pay a fee of $1000 … within twenty-eight (28) days of this Notice, otherwise the grant of this status will lapse.”

As quickly as I’d been elated I was crushed. The 28 days had already expired! I had been required to pay the fee even before the letter had been sent out!

Me, loving life amongst the banana crop - and everywhere else - in Barbados. Jan 2011, photo by Sharon Steenveld.

Greg said, “Don’t worry.”  I was, though.  I got off the phone with Greg and called Immigration …. the phone rang and rang. No answer.  I tried again and again and finally someone picked up. (They’d been at lunch.)

A very nice person at Immigration told me not to worry, to just bring the thousand bucks.

Ahhhh, government agencies .. gotta luv ‘em.

I am now in possession of a lovely piece of paper with a big stamp on it noting payment of the fee and granting of Reside and Work status in Barbados.

I am happy.

I’m glad citizenship isn’t easy. I’m glad it’s not a given. If everyone who wanted it was granted it, there’d be 10 million citizens of this paradise.

I am honored. (Hm, with my new status, will I have to start spelling this honoured?)

Have you ever tried to sit outside in the dead of winter, watch the sunset, drink wine and eat delicious appetizers on an outdoor deck?  If you’re Canadian, you probably have tried, and been successful after donning your long undies, snowmobile suit, balaclava, heated snow-boots, thermal gloves and of course your jaunty winter tuke!  You probably arrive at the sunset location of choice via a snow machine, complete with heated seats and heated handles and perch yourself on the rocks beside one of our many frozen lakes, or on the deck of your winterized cottage.  Some of you may even ice-fish through the long cold winters, there’s nothing like fresh sushi in the middle of a frozen lake.

Not 30 below in Barbados; view from St Lawrence Beach Condos jr penthouse, Barbados. All photos by Debbie Grant

Most of us though, pass the winters dashing between heated garages, navigating underground tunnels to the office, or scurrying through the heated sky-walks from meeting to meeting.  We all have car starters here and we plug our cars into the outdoor garages and parking spaces so that our cars won’t be dead hunks of going nowhere metal at the end of a busy day.  The snow-banks are as high as we are, and even in the worst of snowstorms, we make it to work – and on time!

Sunset in Barbados in February at the St Lawrence Beach Condos jr penthouse.

It’s outrageous to think then, that just two weeks ago today, I was sitting along with my family on a gorgeous wrap-around deck facing the Caribbean Sea, drinking wine and eating delicious appetizers in only a swimsuit.  The only thing to worry about was where to eat dinner that night, and whether or not to go for another swim in that beautiful azure blue sea.

For those of you out there reading this, and considering a stay in Barbados, don’t hesitate to book now!

We stayed at the St Lawrence Beach Condos on the south coast in the St Lawrence Gap (other accommodation options, here). We had our choice of dining at one of the numerous restaurants within walking distance such as Josef’s, Pisces and Harlequin, the new Waterside (where South Seas used to be), and many others.  For more casual options, we ate the fantastic street vendor food: wonderful cheeseburgers, bbq chicken and macaroni pie.  Delicious! Other nights we bought still-wiggling-fresh fish at the local fish market (Oistins) and dined in.

And if you want a very special treat, jump in a cab – cabs are plenty and very easy to secure in “the Gap” – and take a ride to Tapas, situated on the south coast boardwalk.  We took Jane’s recommendation and got to the boardwalk around 5:30 to watch the magnificent sunset, and had pre-booked a seaside table.  The menu is extremely varied and mouth-wateringly delicious!

Tapas Restaurant, Barbados south coast.

Tapas' menu (halve these prices to get the US equivalent).

It is difficult to make a choice, which means you do need to go back more than once.  It is also a lovely lunch location, and if your plane leaves later in the day, it is a good way to wrap up your trip.  If you are a red wine drinker, try Chocolate Block from South Africa, and the tapas and main courses were absolutely scrumptious.  The seared tuna in particular is one of my all time favorites.  The setting is gorgeous, and all of the tables are draped with white linen, and fresh orchids.  Service was excellent and we wish Tapas were here in our city, mind you the view would not live up to the expectation that has now been set.

Well, according to my ipod it is a balmy -12C in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and a beautiful 27C in Barbados.  Given that it is 5:30 pm in Barbados, right about now I would be sitting facing the setting sun, with a glass of red wine and some crackers and cheese.  And I wouldn’t be wearing a ski suit or donning my six layers of clothing in order to do so.

This little poem was written in Barbados as I sat facing the sea not wanting to ever leave, and it sums it all up nicely.

Vacation

Cut this into your memory

startle of blue sea

salt on the tongue

shimmy and shake of light at the surface

a rise of street music

plaintive call of a Mourning Dove

smell of bbq fish at Josef’s next door

and the way your skin feels

when it relaxes into the surf.

All that lovely sun.

A heat rash may later prickle -

to remind us of there

when we are back here.

Debbie Grant is a poet and principal at Grant Design Group in Manitoba, Canada. She and her husband Dave are returning to Barbados this Christmas. Our warm sunsets await.

I just returned from Nassau, where Greg and I stayed at the Hilton. Beautiful hotel; I took the photo below out our room using my iTouch.

View from the Nassau Hilton; lovely. I would have felt better about my stay had they be absolutely clear in advance of our stay about what the room really costs.

Our room was $254US per night. On top of this, each day of our stay we paid:

“energy surcharge”: $4.00

“room attendant gratuities”: $5.00

“room tax”: $25.40

“resort levy”: $20.32

“internet”: $19.95

Each local phone call was $1.50

This means that our $254 room at the Nassau Hilton was, in fact, $254 PLUS $74.67, or $328.67 per night.  Plus local phone calls.

I would have felt far better paying $328.67 a night for a room that included everything than $254 plus a bunch of add-ons that came as a surprise at check-out.  The forced gratuity for the housekeeper irked me the most – not because she wasn’t worth it (she was) but because I wasn’t sure she really received the five bucks each day; also, isn’t a gratuity earned through superior service?

Greg and I had a wonderful time in Nassau; the staff at the Hilton couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. The room was spotless. I’ll even stay there again.

It’s just that next time I’ll know to budget an extra 29% for my stay …. because I’ll know I can’t trust the per-night rate they give me up front. It’s not the real cost.

The music of the waves and gentle wind in the palms as you sip your rum?  Awakening each morning to the mind-blowing blues of the sky and sea?  Or perhaps the windsurfing, surfing, cycling, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and sailing?

Greg and I had dinner last night with an American family who has lived in Barbados for three years and is now moving back to the U.S.  They’ve become good friends of ours. I will miss them so much, particularly Sharon, who’s become such a dear friend.

Sharon taking photos in Barbados: never enough.

We’ve been crowding in a lot of togetherness as they count down their last few precious days in Barbados. Last Monday they came over to our place – we live in the St Lawrence Beach Condos in the St Lawrence Gap (where I rent out Barbados vacation rentals) – and strolled down the colorful Gap to the casual Southern Palms restaurant on Dover Beach.  The family is a regular at Southern Palms on Monday nights, when a band called the Redmen plays country music.

Peter came to Barbados on a 3-year contract as an executive with an international firm. Sharon, a physician, took a hiatus from her practice to be here.  Their son was 11 when they arrived; no longer a kid, he’s a mature 14 now with a deepening voice and young man’s confident gait.

As we sat in the warm evening air next to the Caribbean Sea dangling over rum drinks while awaiting dinner, I asked each member of the family what they’ll miss most about Barbados.

Peter said he has valued the business environment in Barbados because he’s been able to form relationships with people that in the States are far more difficult to form because of the more competitive corporate culture that prevails there.

Sharon said she’ll miss our day-to-day friendship, which included excursions through the island together.  She and I have prowled this island in her Subaru, fooling ourselves we were taking the “scenic route” when actually we were hopelessly lost; visiting an illegal “suitcase merchant” for party dresses; indulging our shared penchant for new cleaning products at Carter’s hardware store; and taking photos of the mind-blowing physical beauty all around us, which we land-locked Yanks can’t get enough of.

Oh – and the American holidays; only a fellow Yank understands the tender childhood memories triggered by a roasting turkey and cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.

The son said his favorite part of Barbados is his friends at school.  He’s formed deep attachments at his all-boys school in Barbados, where, by the way, he’s far ahead his equivalent grade in the US educational system.

Even though they’ve enjoyed other aspects of Barbados, including sailing in Barbados, none of them mentioned those things. It’s the friendships they’ll miss most.

Warm breeze enveloping our table and the Redmen crooning, dinner arrived.  I guess I wasn’t surprised by their answers. When it comes down to it, what matters more than the people we treasure?  It’s as true in a tropical paradise as anywhere else.

I want comfort, luxury, and pampering when I travel — and more.  I go to Inhabit’s site and dream of staying in this treehouse home or mountaintop vineyard cottage, both in  California wine country north of San Francisco. And didn’t I read about staying in a yurt on Inhabit’s blog? Beats the Hyatt any day.

A kitchen is a prime selling point for travelers when they decide to rent a vacation rental instead of a hotel room.

My problem with other vacation rental sites is that schlocky properties co-exist with beautiful ones and I have to wade through to find the flowers amongst the weeds.  I advertise the vacation rental properties that I represent here in Barbados on these mish-mash sites but only because Inhabit doesn’t yet include Caribbean properties in its listings. It’s the notion of curating properties that sells me on Inhabit.  I suppose one reason I like Inhabit is because I myself “curate” the properties I represent — my feeling is that if I wouldn’t myself stay there I’m not going to promote it to travelers who contact me about Barbados rentals.

A full living room: another benefit of a vacation rental over a hotel room. (Both photos are of vacation rentals I represent in Barbados.)

Vacation rentals is a fairly new option for travelers. Inhabit’s latest blog post discusses the trend toward travelers choosing vacation rental properties over hotels. I thought it interesting and asked Rebecca’s permission to use it as a guest-post here on PlanetBarbados. With thanks to Inhabit, here you go:

5 Vacation Rental Trends for 2011

By Rebecca Rosenfelt

The travel review site TripAdvisor released the results of its annual survey this month. After tallying results from over 1,400 travelers who responded, here are 5 key trends that can help us all better prepare for the year ahead.

1. People are falling in love with vacation rentals

In 2010, 33% of respondents had stayed in a vacation rental. A full 40% plan to stay in a vacation rental in 2011. The US vacation rental market, already estimated at $24 billion, is clearly set to expand in the coming year.

2. Elbow room and amenities matter more than price

While travelers love the value vacation rentals offer, they prioritize things like the extra space and convenience of having a kitchen. Specifically, 28% of travelers cite space as the main draw of vacation rentals, compared with 13% who cite the lower cost compared with hotels. Price matters, but it isn’t what matters most.

3. Photos, photos, photos

The biggest determinant of whether someone rents a particular property is the photos. In the survey, 42% of respondents cited photos as the biggest influencer, compared with 27% for traveler reviews, and 13% for price.

4. Internet is king, but friends matter too

A whopping 70% of travelers found their vacation rentals on a vacation rental site; 55% found their rental on a travel site. Word of mouth still counts for a lot, as 25% found their vacation rental through a friend or family member.

5. Opportunity knocks

Perhaps the most poignant finding from the survey is what a large opportunity still awaits this industry. While some savvy travelers have rented vacation homes for decades, out of the 2/3 of travelers who did not stay in a vacation rental last year, 22% said they simply hadn’t thought of it. Another 14% said they felt they had a better idea of what they were getting from hotels. A big opportunity exists for us all to tell travelers about the world that awaits them, once they let vacation rentals unlock the door.

As a little addendum, another trend some Inhabit hosts are noticing is that travelers are booking more during the low season to take advantage of off-season rates.

Note from Jane: Thanks, Rebecca and Inhabit. Anyone wishing more info on northern California vacation rentals, please stop by Inhabit Vacations.

PlanetBarbados blog readers, have you rented a vacation rental property anywhere in the world? If so, what did you like best? What did you not like?

So happy to be home! Flying into Barbados (I took this Jan 2, 2011).

All Sentimental on My Third Barbados Anniversary

This month marks my third anniversary of having moved to Barbados from San Francisco. I wasn’t forced to come to Barbados – I came for love. But some of my less-pleasant early culture-shock moments include being passed over at the fabric store while everyone else in line got waited on, a clerk at a sandwich shop who made me cry, sand flies feasting on my ankles, and the good strawberries looking like boxer Frazier’s face in ’71 after Ali finished with him.

Today, far more comfortable in my new home, it makes me laugh to remember sand flies or crummy strawberries or rude clerks.  Newcomers to a place stand out like raisins in pudding; never do they fit in at first. My vulnerability called out to clerks with a sadistic streak. My reference point was San Francisco. No wonder I was dissatisfied with the produce.

The Caribbean Sea outside my Barbados home.

The route to fitting in is almost like a hazing – an initiation rite: you have to suffer through all manner of discomforts before you fit in.

What I’ve learned in these three years is that culture shock matters in the moment but doesn’t matter at all in the longer term.  That’s because culture shock isn’t about the culture, it’s about us and our not yet knowing the ropes of a culture or having a place in it.

Even with his frustrations, the protagonist of Northern Exposure steps out of his cabin each morning and gasps at the majestic work of Mother Nature. Likewise, I awaken to the brilliant blue Barbados Caribbean Sea. This, forming a few relationships that matter, and satisfying work … this is what ultimately ties us to a place.

I fit in. Happy Anniversary, Me! I’m grateful.

Thanks for reading; I appreciate it and I adore your comments. If you would, please, visit me (and “like” me) on Facebook?  I post little 20- to 60-second video “beach reports” and other fun things … thanks!

By the way .. Happy New Year! I wish you a wonderful – happy, joyous, and free – 2011.

Please, come with me on a tour of a few Barbados roundabouts … I had a ball taking these photos for you last evening (and am hoping Santa will bring me a new tripod for Christmas!).

The merry displays make me smile ... and help assuage the frustration I still feel by being forced to drive clockwise around the circle when counterclockwise would feel so much more natural to this Yank. This is the Everton Weekes Roundabout, aka First Caribbean roundabout, with a lively tuk band celebrating Christmas 2010. Sir Everton is a famous and beloved Barbados cricketer.

A lighted depiction of a man playing a steel pan. Each roundabout in Barbados is named after an important historical figure in Barbados and each is sponsored by a Barbados company. In our commercial world, is it any wonder that Barbadians generally refer to the roundabouts by the sponsors' names?

The Gary Sobers Roundabout, aka the Sagicor roundabout. Sir Gary is another Barbados hero, a cricket legend. Designed to organize and slow the flow of traffic, Barbados roundabouts pay tribute to all major holidays in Barbados: Independence Day, Crop Over, and, of course, Christmas.

The Norman Niles roundabout (aka Harris Paints) honors the working man and woman. (Can anyone tell me who Norman Niles was?)

Round & round we go .... merry Christmas from Barbados!

Now, let’s stop at a Shell station for a nice cuppa java! As I’ve said before, we’ve got no Starbucks here in Barbados, but we get by …

What do you see when you drive around at night in your part of the world? I’d love to hear from you what in your world says “Christmas.”

Thanks for stopping by!  Merry Christmas from paradise!

xox Jane Shattuck

The photos on the site are eye candy for diving enthusiasts as well as regular folks like me who are fascinated by the exotic world beneath the sparkling blue Caribbean Sea.

The cover of the debut issue of Blue Caribbean magazine.

The magazine is the creation of publisher Solomon Baksh, who combined his diving passion with business. He is a PADI master instructor and renowned underwater photographer.  Mr Baksh told BajanReporter, “We did not have a publication in the Caribbean that promoted diving or ecotourism, beyond what individual countries were doing … it was obvious there was a need for a combined regional approach to presenting our diving sector to the international audience.”

The magazine will be distributed in North America, UK and throughout the Caribbean, showcasing the region’s most alluring dive destinations, blending culture and other activities related to nature or water.

In the current issue, the drama of Dominica’s volcanoes above and below the water makes for a lively read of culture, history, topography, and life above and below the water line with photos that bring the diving experience alive. This issue also features diving in Tobago and Grenada.

Each issue features at least three destinations, exploring not only the dive sites but also other aspects of ecotourism and indigenous culture, taking readers off the well-trodden path. The magazine explores the mainstay of the countries’ economies and includes general tourist information and destination maps. The “Postcards” section captivates readers with exquisite land-based scenery and wildlife.

I am asked fairly often about diving in Barbados and warmly welcome the debut of Blue Caribbean magazine and wish it much success.  Blue Caribbean is available online at http://www.bluecaribbeanmag.com.  Take a look and marvel at a world as exotic as exists anywhere in nature.

Aunt Sallie & Uncle Sam

Aunt Sallie represents fertility (and fun!!).

Barbados Food & Wine & Rum Festival

I took these photos at Barbados first annual Food & Wine & Rum Festival that took place in Barbados Nov 19-22. This particular festival event took place at the historic George Washington House. Aunt Sallie & Uncle Sam were in attendance to celebrate Bajan chef Peter Edey and Texas chef Tim Love who were in a spirited (and yummy!) Texas-Bajan cook-off.

George Washington would approve. Happy Birthday, Barbados!

But with Barbados’ perfect Groundhog-Day climate, Christmas felt no different from Memorial Day from Independence Day from First Day of School from the Day Big B Grocery Ran Out of Diet Coke.

Mary J. Cozier's gorgeous Christmas balls were on display at Barbados' Christmas Bazaar.

However, after three years, Christmas in Barbados actually feels Christmas-y to me. Why? Because Christmas no longer means what it’s always meant to me: c-c-c-ccold; lavishly decorated store windows; winter boots, scarves, and ear muffs; malls.

Christmas now means Barbadians who live abroad coming home; a subtle cool breeze beneath warm days; the Caribbean Sea dropping a degree or two (but still warm!); festive lights strung up; Barbadians re-painting their homes (a charming annual national obsession); and foods like sorrel, ham, jug, and pigeon peas.

Beautiful hand-made jewelry at the Christmas Bazaar

This morning friends joined Greg and me at a Christmas bazaar on the south coast of the island where craftspeople sold wreaths and Christmas tree decorations; children’s clothing emblazoned with familiar cartoon characters themselves dressed in holiday-themed clothes; beautiful hand-made jewelry; and foods such as ginger-spiked fudge and rum-spiked orange marmalade.

It’s nearly Christmas and I’m in the spirit!  How about you??

We swim almost every morning and almost every evening in the brilliant blue, very warm Caribbean Sea that is our backyard here at the St Lawrence Beach Condos.

And that’s what I blame some of our conversations on: the salt air of the Caribbean Sea. It gets into our brains and, um, scrambles things.

Saturday evening Greg’s son Dean sent us a photo of himself dressed for a Halloween party he and his wife Erin were throwing at their home in Toronto.

In discussing Dean’s Halloween costume it occurs to me that Greg and I must’ve drunk swum quite a lot that day ….

Gainsborough's "The Blue Boy" and Dean as gladiator. Hm, maybe Greg's and my conversation made some sense after all.

Me: “Greg, who is Dean dressed as?”
Greg: “An English painter.”
Me: “An English painter?”
Greg: “Gainsborough.”
Me: “People are supposed to know this? Dean’s dressed as an 18th-century English painter who was … what? A superhero on the side?”
Greg: “Who?”
Me: “Gainsborough!!”
Greg: “What about Gainsborough?”
Me: “Dean’s costume! He’s Gainsborough?”
Greg: “No, Dean’s one of those guys who went into an arena to fight.”
Me: “A gladiator.”
Greg: “Right. A gladiator.”
Me: “Where’d Gainsborough come from?”
Greg: “I thought you asked me who Gainsborough was.”

Yes, that’s our problem … the salt air.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Happy Halloween, all.

]]> http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/10/say-what-if-you-love-me-a-my-life-in-barbados-story/feed/ 0 http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/10/trying-to-go-to-the-movies-in-barbados/ http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/10/trying-to-go-to-the-movies-in-barbados/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:19:21 +0000 Jane Shattuck Hoyos http://planetbarbadosblog.com/?p=2807

Greg and I thought we’d take in a movie last Sunday.  The Social Network was playing; I was impressed it had reached Barbados just 2 weeks after its opening in the States.

We arrived at the movie theater precisely at 3:15, the scheduled start time. By the time we bought popcorn and sodas, we thought previews would be playing … but, no, the screen was as empty as a rum closet after the painters had left*.

We munched popcorn and chatted with friends who had the same idea of a nice Sunday afternoon matinee.

At 3:35, the movie still hadn’t come on. So Greg got up and went to find an employee and find out what was up. He returned and reported to all of us hopeful (I almost wrote “pathetic” but we didn’t know yet that we were) movie-goers that there was a “technical problem” but that he’d been told the movie should be starting soon. He said he also asked them to turn on the air-conditioning.

AC went on. A small “yay” from the crowd. Back to popcorn and socializing.

At 3:55 the big white movie screen was still glowing ominously .. and blankly. I glanced up at it. As empty as a whore’s heart, that big ol’ screen was.

Then, just as we were wiping the last bit of salt from our fingertips, the AC went off.

Greg, who’d become the de facto leader of the audience, left again on his third reconnaissance mission (where oh where does my sweet husband find the patience?).

He returned a few minutes later.

The technical glitch was still going on, he reported to all of us, but at least now he knew what it was: The projectionist hadn’t shown up for work.

Ahhhhhhhh …. I never could have imagined that going to a matinee could pose this (or any) risk. Now I know better.

Lesson Learned: In Barbados, don’t go to the matinee showing of a movie.

Nice seeing friends, though!

P.S. Can’t help but wonder if the employees of the theater ever would have come in to let us know or, it it had been up to them to inform us, we’d all still be sitting there in the empty, silent, hot theater ….

P.P.S. Yes, our money was refunded.

P.P.P.S. “Cheerfully,” you ask? Ha!

* Thx to Mark Twain for allowing me to riff on his simile.

Greg and I are in Anchorage visiting family. The ways Alaska differs from my home of Barbados are stunning, stretching far beyond facilities in the loo.

Obvious differences below, yes. But the extremes of difference are stunning:

1.  Size. Barbados is 14×21 miles in size, the 14th-smallest country in the world.  The state of Alaska could cover 20% of all the rest of the United States, twice the size of Texas. If Alaska were a country, it would be the 18th largest in the world.

2. Height. Barbados’ highest point is 1,000 feet (just).  Alaska boasts the highest mountains on the globe, when you consider the rise from base, at sea level, to peak. Mt. Everest starts on the Tibetan Plateau, which is sort of like a kid on a ladder saying to his dad, “Hey, look, I’m taller than you!”  (Alaska trivia: What’s the name of the Alaska’s tallest mountain? If you answer “Mt McKinley” then you, like me, are out of date. Mt McKinley was renamed Denali in 1975. It’s over 20,000 feet high.)

Alaska differs from Barbados in very large ways. I took this photo at Alyeska, Alaska.

3. Size & height of animals. Our largest animal in Barbados may be our green sea turtles, which grow to 4 feet in diameter and weighs around 300 pounds. Our sea turtles are gentle and magnificent creatures.  And very petite when compared with the female moose and her calf I came nose to nose with yesterday in my aunt’s front yard. A baby moose reaches 300-400 pounds by its first winter. Its mum is around 900 pounds. If its pop had been there he’d have weighed in at 1200 pounds. Or so. They can be as hefty as 1800 pounds. My cousin John killed a moose recently; there’s enough meat to feed his family of four for two years.

Sarah Palin country; the Palins live on this lake in Wasilla, Alaska.

Ways Barbados and Alaska Are Similar

The lion and the mouse have more in common than I could have imagined:

1. Colorful characters. Some individuals are as much a part of the landscape in Alaska as the rugged mountain backdrop – namely, the “mountain men,” with long beards, flannel shirts, work boots, and Leatherman multi-tool hanging from a belt loop. My aunt Jean tells me that the women who come to Alaska because “the odds are good” need to be careful because sometimes the “goods are odd.” In Barbados, we have our Rasta guys – no beards, but very long hair. Individuals, although I’m not sure they’ve earned a colorful saying.

2. Amazing fresh fish. The Alaska salmon is the deep color of – well, of salmon, and absolutely delicious. I’ve also eaten moose and reindeer sausage here in Alaska, both way better than I might have imagined, although if I lived here I wouldn’t make a habit of eating Rudolph. The local food in Barbados that was wiggling just moments before their expert preparation includes mahi mahi, barracuda, flying fish, red snapper, more … ahhh!

3. Folks are just plain nice. I needed a memory card for my camera; the place I went didn’t have one but the salesperson went to the trouble of finding a place I could get one. (He sent me to Stewart’s Photo, an amazing camera shop where I could have spent way too much money. Wait — Greg is reminding me I did spend way too much money there.)

4. The setting is mind-blowingly beautiful.

Today, my last day in Alaska, I’ve come to feel that the two are as different and yet as similar as two siblings in a family.  Alaska is cold, vast, majestic, defiant. A magnificent giant. She’s held court for some 150 million years and looks down on man patronizingly.

Barbados is warm, small, and intimate. Cozy. And young, just 1 million years old.  Barbados needs man to protect her.

Alaska and Barbados are a David and Goliath who co-exist peacefully and offer their natural gifts to us freely. It’s up to us not to mess up God’s magnificent work.

Enjoy life, all. Thanks for your comments. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Along the road to Alyeska, Alaska.

Sharon wrote me, “I was with my mom at Tapas for lunch. We were seated upstairs.  My mom looked down at the sea and asked me to take a photo of one of the many crabs hanging out on the rocks.

“I looked and spied a really big crab. I aimed, adjusted for light, focused, then shot.  When I zoomed in to show her a close-up of the shot I knew something was not right about this crab. It had too many legs and 4 eyes.”

Realizing she’d caught the crabs in flagrante delicto, Sharon blushed. “Oh mom,” she said, “I’m sorry; these crabs must be on their Bajan honeymoon.”

Mom, who’s seen plenty of life, was unruffled. ‘Yes, it appears so …’”

Ahhh, yes, without question our beaches in Barbados are beautiful. And they do inspire love. Or at least lust.

Cheers from paradise

xox Jane

Crab love: getting it on in Barbados.

The couple books accommodations (I hope here!), take time off work, fly across the globe, and pass through all the hoops required to marry in Barbados.

The morning of her wedding, the bride carefully unpacks the most beautiful dress she’s ever owned, an elegant white creation straight out of a Disney movie.  She does her make-up cover-girl-perfect.  She fastens her veil “just so” into her perfectly done hair.

She’s nervous and excited.  She and her groom, so handsome in his tux, are ready to legally make their commitment to one another on a beautiful beach in Barbados.

Alas, it’s September. And even in fairy-tale-perfect Barbados, it rains in September in Barbados.

It’s their wedding day and the beaches are wet, the sky is dark, the sea is deep blue, not turquoise. The bride and groom panic: What to do??? What a disaster! The day is ruined!

What to do when it rains on your wedding day in Barbados

You know what you do? You stomp your feet and shake your fists at how unfair it is that your wedding should get rained on. And then you pick yourself up and go right ahead without missing a beat — not to stoically endure your wedding, but to take utter and complete joy in it and each other.

Your future happiness and your memories of a beautiful wedding aren’t dependent upon perfect weather. Indeed, rain on a couple’s wedding day can be a beautiful symbol of life itself.  In a life well-lived, we allow ourselves to emote during the inevitable hard times in life … and then we get on with things with a smile and deep gratitude for life and love.

As the couple looks back on the momentous day that they formally celebrated their love on a beach in Barbados, the newlyweds remember not the September rains but rather the fun of throwing off their shoes and running down the beach in the rain, laughing and playing like children.

It was their day. Nothing could dampen their love and their celebration of their new life together.

This beautiful couple traveled from the U.S. to marry in Barbados. Here, they're on the jetty just behind St Lawrence Beach Condos. I took this photo of Barbados photographer Leslie St John photographing this couple's beautiful day, in September, in the rain.

The fairy-tale wedding of the same couple ... on a Barbados beach, in the rain, in September. Was this wedding absolutely perfect? Without question. Photo by Leslie St. John.

Leslie St. John photo. This was taken on our jetty, just behind the St Lawrence Beach Condos in St Lawrence Gap, on the south coast of Barbados in Christ Church parish.

Other notes regarding marrying in Barbados:

1. Hire a fabulous wedding photographer.  No matter what befalls your wedding, having a great attitude – and an experienced and excellent photographer! – are essential. You will probably not own any photos in your life that are looked at more frequently than your wedding photos.

I met Leslie St. John on the jetty in the rain while he took photos of this couple. I was impressed with his cool head and warm personality. His experience and talent are reflected in the resulting photos. Here’s how to contact Leslie:

Leslie St. John

leslie@lesliestjohn.com

www.lesliestjohn.com

Tel: 246 231 3509

http://www.facebook.com/lesliestjohnphotography

2. Know Barbados Marriage Requirements (from Barbados.org)

It is very easy to get married in Barbados as there is no required waiting period or minimum length of stay. Application for a marriage licence must be made by both parties in person at the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the capital city Bridgetown. You will require:

• Valid passports or birth certificates.
• Return tickets.
• If either party was divorced, an original Decree Absolute or a certified copy of the Final Judgment.
• If either party was previously married and widowed, a certified copy of the Marriage Certificate and Death Certificate in respect of the deceased spouse.
• For a Roman Catholic ceremony, the relevant documents must be sent by your bishop to the bishop of Bridgetown.
• Where necessary, all documents not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation.

You may contact the Ministry of Home Affairs at tel: 246-228-8950, fax: 246-437-3794.

]]> http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/10/when-your-fairy-tale-barbados-wedding-gets-rained-on/feed/ 11 http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/09/things-i-thought-id-never-tolerate-for-a-second-in-barbados/ http://planetbarbadosblog.com/2010/09/things-i-thought-id-never-tolerate-for-a-second-in-barbados/#comments Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:08:57 +0000 Jane Shattuck Hoyos http://planetbarbadosblog.com/?p=2756 Good morning!  Such a lazy girl I am, husband Greg at Westmoreland playing golf and me lying in bed after a lovely morning solo swim in the sea .. my bedroom windows are flung open wide, warm breeze wafting through. How I adore the rhythmic sound of the gentle waves kissing our little beach!

My room with a view ... ahh Barbados! (Um, I haven't made the bed yet ...) (Photo taken with my iTouch.)

Don’t be too jealous. There are many, many things you have that I don’t nor may ever see on our Caribbean paradise of Barbados. Indeed, I never would have imagined I’d learn to tolerate some things that I tolerate quite well, such as:

Gekkos

Two nights ago Greg called out from my bathroom, “Janie, you have a gekko in your bathroom.” Normally, I would have raced in with a broom and urgently requested (nice word that, “requested”) my he-man husband inch it out through the window.

Instead, I didn’t get up from my laptop. I called back, “Where is it exactly?”

Greg: “Um, right now it’s above the Holly Trew painting.”

Me: “How big is it?”

Greg called back: “I’d say about 3 inches.”

Me, thinking, “Awwwwwwww … how cute, a baby!”

I got up and went to the bathroom to see for myself. Poor little guy was petrified of us; he was turning the bright pink of my bathroom walls. I was so, so glad I didn’t bring in the broom; I would have given him (the gekko) a coronary.

I didn’t shoo; I cooed. And I left the bathroom window open all night so the little fellow could come and go as he pleased.

Progress: After nearly 3 years in Barbados, I can co-exist with a 3-inch gekko.

Weird cheese.

I love cheese. Stores devoted to bringing in cheeses from every corner of the world are some of my favorite haunts in San Francisco. A cheese I dream about is Manchego … sheeps’ milk cheese from Spain.Gosh I love that stuff. A thin slice of Serrano ham paired with a slice of Manchego cheese … ahhh!

In Barbados, Anchor rules. Anchor’s a brand name of cheeses imported from New Zealand. They’re good. The problem lies in the lack of variety … uh, How do you like your cheddar?

So my darling Greg brought home a cheese he saw at Big B grocery the other day, hoping it would delight his cheese-y wife. It’s Pepper Jack-flavored “pasteurized process cheese food alternative with jalapeno & red bell peppers.” Seven long lines of type contain words describing what it’s made of. Slices are individually wrapped.

After it sat in our fridge for a few days unopened, Greg picked up the package and mused, “I wonder … Where do you think does that stuff come from?” He couldn’t find info re its origin on the package. My guess? A chemical factory, same place they make FunYuns et al.

This morning, after a week in our fridge, I dared unwrap one. (I didn’t need to worry about it going bad; this stuff could easily surpass my lifetime.)

I unwrapped a slice, put it on a plate … it’s very thin; it’s shiny. The product is sticky to the touch and stretches like those thera-bands you do exercise with. I peeled it off the plate, rolled it into a curl, and took a bite.

It’s delicious. Completely delicious. Standing in the kitchen, I ate two stretchy squares of something akin to cheese.

Progress: Life does not begin and end with Manchego.

And that’s all from paradise, everyone! Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading.

xox Jane

P.S.  Okay, they’re not much … BUT, if you love Barbados or are curious about Barbados, or if you just want to burn through 3 minutes of time, please check out my little videos on my YouTube channel.  I’m covering my favorite spots on the island first … and will branch out from there. Any requests, please let me know and I’ll add it to my list of places and activities to make videos of.  (I’ve recruited one of Greg’s sons to help me shoot Barbados’ Aerial Zipline … Me do it? There’s no way, no bleepin’ way …)

Caribbean = warmth, blue sky, sparkling blue sea, gorgeous beaches

Lest future visitors think otherwise, the image of warm, blue sea and beautiful beaches must be reinforced again and again and again in the region’s marketing. I mention this because I was reminded this morning of a Caribbean marketing expert I heard speak who extolled many virtues of the Caribbean but failed to mention any of these.  Goes to show that we have difficulty appreciating the characteristics that are to us same-ol’ same-ol’, forgetting that to a visitor these things are W-O-W.

Barbados' beautiful beaches, this one Carlisle Bay (Browne's Beach). Feels good to remember this slice of heaven exists at the end of a relatively short plane ride.

I’m an “outsider” – a Yank married to a Bajan – and I hope that when it comes to my perspective of this beautiful paradise of Barbados I long remain so.

Have a grand day … and enjoy Carlisle Bay (aka Browne’s Beach).

Thx for watching,

xox Jane

A few bites in, I hear Greg yell from the bathroom, “Janie, quick, go brush your teeth!”

I try to recall other recent behaviors indicating my husband had gone bonkers. Can’t think of any.

I keep eating.

Again he shouts, “Go! Go now!” This time he pokes his head around the corner as he says it. He waves his arms to demonstrate urgency.

I take another bite. He reads my face: it says my husband had gone nuts.

He slows down and explains, “The water pressure is diminishing rapidly. Soon we will have no water at all.”

Ah, now I get it.  I bolt to my bathroom.  I brush. (“I’m Jane and I’m addicted to freshly brushed teeth.” Don’t judge; what’s the one thing you’d do if you knew the water would be off in five minutes or less?) I am just in time. I watch the water from the tap slow during the very long two minutes of my electric toothbrush.  For my final rinse, the tap barely trickles. Then, nothing.

The taps have been dry ever since.

Water going off is a very rare occurrence in Barbados. We (the whole island) is not prepared in any way for this. The water has gone off exactly twice since I moved to Barbados nearly 3 years ago; each time it was off less than an hour.

The Caribbean Sea behind the St Lawrence Church next door to where I live, on a usual day. Calm. Peaceful.

Same area during today's small storm (I took this at 4:30pm). Safely on my patio, I love witnessing the Caribbean throw a hissy fit.

It’s now 5:00 in the afternoon and still no water. The Barbados Water Authority offers no explanation, gives no estimated time of repair. The radio says two-thirds of the island is without water. Greg arrives home from work and hauls buckets of sea water into the apartment to flush our toilets.

A few guests in the building are angry.  “What,” I think to myself, “they’ve never had an upset they can turn into a little adventure?” I mean, hunkering down for the duration – banding together to get through and all that – it’s kinda fun. It’s not like we’re in any danger or anything. Hunkering down while watching the roiling sea from the comfort of our patio is a blast, and even more fun with a rum punch and pizza ordered in.

I text a guest arriving today into Apt 11; I want her to know the situation the moment her plane lands.  “Terri, hi. Welcome to Barbados,” I text. “I’m sorry but we have no running water; most of the island is without. However, I called the Hilton and they do have water; if you would like to stay there instead, I understand (and will refund your $).”

Terri’s plane lands. She reads the text and calls me; she wants to stay here, water or no, she says. We welcome her with open arms. And a rum punch.

If you're not used to right-hand-drive cars, then it's a triumph simply to get into the car on the correct side.

Still, what is the expression … ? Something about what matters in life is not the destination, but the journey….

So, what are we waiting for?! Let’s start ours!  (4-minute video below)

I moved to Barbados – St Lawrence Gap, on the beach — in January ’08 and was fascinated by the Caribbean Sea right outside. I was also fearful of it.

Each morning I began my day by checking the sea outside, then, as though it were a sleeping newborn, I’d check in on it throughout the day. I still begin my day by throwing open the windows to the magical sea and imagine I always will; as Greg says, God does nice work.

Happily swimming, in the Caribbean Sea in Barbados

I’d look — but I wouldn’t go in. I’d watch Greg go in, but I stayed in the pool. I was scared.

My feelings about the Caribbean Sea roused conflicting feelings:

First, fascination: Its color is mind-blowing blue — or what I call Barbados Blue; Crayola should have such a color, at least in the 32-pack. It’s a blue that sparkles and shimmers in the light. On a sunny day it’s as clear as a glass of water.  When a storm threatens; it turns grumpy and dark.  Very cool … when I’m inside looking out.

Second, fear: Animals live in the sea. The sea moves around. And, it’s huge … there’s so much water.

I wanted to go in; I envied Greg going in …. I was like a child who wanted to play with the new family pet but fearfully backed off whenever I felt too close.

When I finally did venture in, I dressed for the occasion: I wore high-collar, long-sleeved zip-up jacket and long pants and water shoes. This was so that the animals couldn’t touch my skin. As I ventured in very slowly, Greg, whose hand I gripped, commented, “You’re a bit of an eccentric, aren’t you?” (No argument there.)

Gradually, I went into the sea more often. My progress was slow – I always I gripped Greg’s hand getting in and getting out, but at least I was giving it a go.

Then I started going into the sea wearing a swimsuit with just the long pants over it – no long-sleeved jacket zipped to the neck.

I graduated to wearing my swimsuit and shorts. Not sure what I was thinking – that the sea animals could nibble at my shins but my sacred thighs were safe? Truth is, I’ve never had a fish or any animal in the sea come anywhere near me.

About two weeks ago — two years and six months after moving to Barbados — I called Greg at work, asked if he’d come home early. I told him I was ready. And when he got home, I got on my swimsuit and only my swimsuit and went into the sea.  I loved it! Since then, I’ve been in, with Greg, every day.

This morning, I called Greg at work and told him I was Going in Alone. He said, “Great! Call me when you get out.” (Ha … so, if he doesn’t hear from me, he can come fish me out me later on…?)

I went in without fear. I breathed in a deep breath of the sea air, marveled at the warmth of the sea, and took the plunge.  I couldn’t believe how much fun I had, paddling around in the Caribbean Sea outside our home, all by myself! I felt free and happy and as proud as a school kid with a great report card. Who can finally play with the family pet.

….   xx Jane

It’s so not easy for me to get around that I allow an hour to get to most appointments. An hour’s driving in San Francisco, where I moved to Barbados from, would take me from San Francisco to San Jose (45 miles) on a low-traffic day.  Getting to my destination in California looks like this:  Take 101 south; west on the Bascom exit; right on Johnson, left on Clift …  you know, directions. Directions that are so easy that I can simultaneously drive, listen to the radio, and reapply lipstick.

Driving in Barbados: "Round and round she goes, where she ends up, nobody knows." Map image copyright http://justcaribbean.com

In Barbados, an hour’s drive gets me from the south coast to Royal Westmoreland (10 miles). An hour’s drive gets me from the south coast to Round House in Bathsheba (8 miles).

Signs are rare (or rarely helpful).

Why? Because directions involve terms like “left at the third coconut tree” and “up the hill at Chicken Rita” and “left at the roundabout” (Left? There are maybe five roads shooting off a roundabout; what’s “left?”) and “You know the road at the green fence? Don’t turn there.”

Sometimes directions involve terms I think I know but don’t. When I first moved to Barbados, for example, I was told that the house I was looking for was the one on the street with a gallery. I drove up and down that street for 30 minutes looking for an art gallery before the home owner came out and flagged me down. “I thought I was looking for a gallery,” I said. She pointed at her front porch … “Aah, I seeeee,” I said to myself, making a mental note, “In Barbados a front porch is called a … gallery.”

Was this the rum shop where I was supposed to turn right?

Or was it this one? Or was it one of the 1500 other rum shops in Barbados?

So.  In today’s e-mail I received instructions on how to get to my photography teacher’s new Photoshop class. I cut and pasted the directions below (maybe you can help me out). In the States, directions this lengthy could get me from San Francisco to downtown Chicago.  Here in Barbados, to successfully reach my destination I must use diligence, patience, and supreme concentration; lacking any of these will get me lost faster than you can say “Girl, you need a drink.”

Fortunately, I’ve lived in Barbados long enough that I know what I need to do. Before setting out to class, I will stock the car with plenty of food and water, make sure my gas tank is topped off, and leave extra early.  Also, it wouldn’t hurt to load up on ginko biloba to goose my mental faculties. Still, I worry … what if I sail right by the third bus stop on the left next to 3 coconut trees that he refers to? (Tricky; I mean, there are many, many coconut trees here in Barbados). I’ll definitely leave my lipstick at home.

Oh, wait a minute. These directions begin not from my home, but from Lester Vaughn Secondary School. Which I have no idea the location of.

Best set out the night before.

-Driving from Lester Vaughn Secondary School and going towards Harrison Cave:

-Pass Lester Vaughn School playing field on left

-Pass another paying field called “Bridge Field playing field” on left.  This field has a Pavilion.

-Drive through small village called “Bridge Field”

-After passing through Bridge Field village, continue until you reach a small triangle in the road.

-Take the right at the triangle.

-After taking the right at the triangle, skip the first left turn (Hopewell Tenantry) and take the second left turn, up a very straight long road called “Ashford Long Road”.

-Continue on this main road.  Eventually, you will pass Holy Innocents primary school and church on left

-After passing Holy Innocents primary school and church you will see a small round about.  Take a right at the roundabout.

-After taking the right at the round about, the St. Thomas Post Office will be on your left.

-Continue along this main road and begin to count the bus stops ON THE LEFT.

The first bus stop on the left  is just beyond the Post Office, next to the recreational park also on the left.

The second bus stop on the left is beside a blue, 2 story building. (Steve’s Building works)

As you continue, the main road will begin to veer to the left and up a small hill.

You will then meet the third bus stop on the left next to 3 coconut trees.

-When you have reached the 3rd bus stop on the left you may begin to slow down.

-Slowly drive to the top of the hill.  As soon as you reach to the top of the hill you will see the 4th bus stop on the left.  At this point, you may pull your vehicle over to the left and stop.

The building that you are looking for is opposite the 4th Bus Stop on the right hand side of the road.  The building, is finished with a coral stone finish.

Please feel free to contact us if you are uncertain or if you think that you are on the wrong track.

I can’t do that. If I’m not inside at my computer, I’m off the island altogether or out with friends.

A recent six weeks of nonstop travel/social/family drove me to add whining to our wining and dining.  I needed to time to “reset.”  I needed to practice the fine art of Doing Nothing in Barbados.

Doing Nothing in Barbados: An Art

I got my chance this weekend.  If you haven’t done nothing in Barbados, then you need to know that doing nothing in Barbados is different from doing it — er, nothing — in other places. In Barbados, even when I’m doing nothing, the beauty around me is working overtime. Here in Barbados, I’m doing nothing wrapped in warmth and beauty. And when I do nothing, I take time to admire what a great artist god is – and how busy (s)he is!: the Barbados sun is brilliant, the sky a rich blue, the sea sparkling and serene.

My camera as constant a companion as my sweet husband Greg, I chronicled this weekend of Doing Nothing:

Friday night: Rum, the perfect accompaniment to Doing Nothing, at the Barbados Yacht Club

Saturday: For a nanosecond, Greg and I considered attending Pan in the Sand this weekend, featuring some 20 steel bands playing at once (lots of fun!), but instead did nothing. Took all I had to wander down the Gap and get a bite of lunch at Southern Palms on Dover Beach and laconically marvel at the brilliant blue sea...

...followed by a slow amble down Dover Beach.

Saturday afternoon: I leaned over the railing of our jetty to check in with the crabs on the rocks.

Saturday night: An early dinner at Barbados' popular pub, McBride's. No rum, just some mellow people-watching along the Gap. In bed before 9.

Sunday morn: A wind surfer sails by our window, free as a bird. I watched him for over an hour zip up and down the south coast.

An incidental shot I took, of the fence behind the St Lawrence Church next door. I shot this when shooting the wind sailer. Which smart person said beauty lies in the details of life?

Sunday afternoon: Greg watched the British Open and I organized photos, this one a detail of Cafe Luna at Little Arches Hotel in Barbados.

Sunday night, 9pm. The sea was so quiet, I set up my tripod on my patio, opened the shutter for 15 seconds, and took this photo. It was pitch black out but with a long exposure, the camera picked up the absolute serenity of the sea.

Sunday night, 9:05pm: Another photo of the sea outside, taken from our patio. I heard the quiet of the sea, and with a long exposure was able to see it as well.

10pm: The weekend was over. Such a busy weekend of Doing Nothing in Barbados.  Bedtime!

In the late 1800s, my ancestors traveled across the U.S. in a covered wagon and settled just outside Boulder, Colorado, where they homesteaded 160 acres of land. They and subsequent generations ceaselessly worked the land and today the acreage gives back in abundance in terms of verdant beauty and richness of soil. My aunt and uncle own the farm now; they grow organic vegetables. My uncle also operates a knife-sharpening business out of the barn and at the Boulder Farmers Market; my aunt keeps a beautiful flower garden; together they rise with the sun to tend to the never-ending chores that come with running a farm.

I just returned from visiting my aunt and uncle on the farm over the 4th of July. Just as I awaken to the music of the gentle waves here in Barbados, on the farm I awaken to the soft rustling of the breeze ruffling the old oaks’ leaves. Just as my first stop each morning here in Barbados is my bedroom window to check the ever-changing Caribbean Sea, in Colorado my first stop is my window where I gaze out over the expansive fields, framed by the rugged Rocky Mountains.

Greg, my native Barbadian husband, is as entranced by the magic of my Rocky Mountains as I am by the magic of his Caribbean Sea.

I took all (except two) of the images below in the past five days. These vistas swim around in my head and I can’t decide which corner of god’s world is more beautiful: my family’s farm in Colorado or the beautiful island of Barbados. Fortunately, it’s a most lyrical and lovely debate and I feel privileged to have it. I was honored to be able to visit beloved family in this beautiful place in Colorado, as I was deeply appreciative to be able to return to the paradise of Barbados, my new home.

View of (and from) my family's farm in Colorado, just outside Boulder.

View of the Atlantic Ocean from Bathsheba, Barbados

A tractor at my family's farm in Colorado.

A fishing boat at Tent Bay on the east coast of Barbados.

My uncle Duane runs his knife-sharpening business on the farm from the barn.

An old hotel operates in Tent Bay, Barbados; the new Atlantis Hotel is next door.

My family grows organic vegetables on their farm.

Barbados fishermen clean just-caught mahi mahi in Bathsheba, Barbados.

The sun sets over the farm.

The sun sets over beautiful Barbados.

A friend of our family jokes that in his next life he hopes to come back as one of my aunt Shirley's dogs on the farm.

I guess it wouldn't be too bad to come back as a dog in Barbados, either!

What are the people of the Gulf of Mexico in the US going through? What does it feel like and look like to have one’s beautiful beaches defaced? “If It Was My Home” gives a good idea.  Scroll down …

What if this:

Don't take a stroll along Carlisle Bay for granted. Barbados' pristine beaches are one of our country's most precious resource.

Looked like this?

To put the sheer size of the BP oil spill into perspective, the guys at “If It Was My Home” have created a program to let you measure it against the land mass surrounding any place on earth. Click on the link below (the word “Barbados” and then give it time to load) to see the size of the spill relative to our small and idyllic Caribbean country.  Then check it out next week – watch the black glob grow. Very instructive. Damned scary.

(Of course, you may also enter your town, and province (or state) in the location box top of page, then click on ‘move the oil spill.’)

Visualizing the BP Oil Spill Disaster

(in Barbados)

Everywhere in the world, citizens decry the increase in crime. This is true here in Barbados as well. But, overall, this is a kinder society than most. Witness what occurred last Thursday, the last day of school.

This Barbados officer tells schoolchildren to tuck in their shirts.

The Nation newspaper reported  that it’s become a tradition on the last day of school for the older schoolkids to descend into Bridgetown and hang out. Some of the kids looked, according to the paper, “most unkempt.”

The paper said that personnel from the Royal Barbados Police Force were “hot on their heels, in an attempt to keep them on the move, ensuring there would be no liming and blocking of store entrances.”  (Liming is hanging out with friends drinking.)

“The officers made sure they brought a sense of discipline to the children,” the paper reported, “many of whom were made to tuck in their shirts, take out earrings, remove excessive jewelery, take off hats, and be appropriately attired in their school uniforms.

“Some students heeded the call instantly, but there were those who attempted to walk away from the law, and had to be given a stern word or a ‘hands-on’ approach to get the job done.
‘Excuse me, push in your shirt for me, please,’ was a frequently heard call on the street that evening.

“Bridgetown store owners welcomed the law’s approach, while sentiments such as ‘I’m glad to see you making them look tidy; you right to make them push in dem shirts officers’ were expressed by parents on the scene.  … At the end of the day,” reported The Nation, “kudos must go to the Royal Barbados Police Force for a job well done on Thursday in The City.”

Kudos indeed.