Barbados Crop Over Carnival 2012: Faces & Feathers

Barbados Crop Over Kadooment day was marked by dancing in the streets, lively music, many feathers, sequins, laughter, and smiles of celebration. I noticed a bit of alcohol flowing as well … but that goes with the territory. I snapped a few photos and put together the short video you see...

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Barbados’ Chattel Houses Find New Life...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jun 29th, 2012

Chattel House: Barbadian slang for a small , movable house made of wood. The term harks back to the country’s plantation days when a plantation owner housed slaves in these houses, which were designed to move from one property to another. Today, the island is...

In Barbados, Tourists Aren’t the Only Ones Having a Wh...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Apr 25th, 2011

For the past few weeks, Barbadians have been staring out to sea. However, it’s not boats that have caught their attention, but the antics of one of Mother Nature’s biggest marine creatures frolicking in the island’s waters. The article below is from...

Type A in Barbados...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Apr 16th, 2011

You can take the girl out of a Type A culture but can the Type A ever, ever be vanquished from the girl? After living in Barbados for three years, I wonder. I’m not one iota more mellow than I ever was. Fortunately, here in Barbados I am blessed with frequent...

Barbados “Best for Foodies,” according to the UK...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Apr 2nd, 2011

This morning’s Telegraph has a great “Best of” article about the Caribbean, naming Barbados “Best for foodies” … I’ll add TripAdvisor links to the places the Telegraph recommends. I’ll also take this opportunity to...

Rosey Chan: Extraordinary in Barbados...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Mar 29th, 2011

Barbados’ Holders Season gave its audience an extraordinary gift last evening: Rosey Chan, a young British woman who plays piano like a goddess. She’s called a classical pianist but she’s actually a performance artist whose rich fabric of classical...

Almost a Bajan...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Mar 27th, 2011

Recently I received a letter from Barbados’ Immigration and Passport Department that reads in boldfaced type – underlined – all in caps – NOTICE OF APPROVAL OF STATUS. I am an American. I married Greg, a Barbadian citizen, two years ago and...

Barbados At 30 Below...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Mar 9th, 2011

Guest Post By Debbie Grant 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,...

Barbados Vacation Rentals: What You Pay Is the Full Cost...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Feb 6th, 2011

Guests at the St Lawrence Beach Condos appreciate that the stated price of their vacation rental is the whole price. A two-bedroom, two-bath is $240US per night during low season and $370US nightly during high season. Period. There are no other costs associated with...

Barbados Friendships & Departures...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jan 29th, 2011

If you could leave your current life behind for three years to live in Barbados, what do you think you’d treasure most about being on a paradise Caribbean island? The slower pace, smaller scale, and easier lifestyle? The warmth of the sun? The music of the waves...

Vacation Rentals for the Non-Tourist...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jan 18th, 2011

Inhabit Vacations offers vacation rentals that are hand-picked by “curator” Rebecca Rosenfelt, herself a vacation rentals owner and life-long traveler. Inhabit’s properties are infused with local character and chosen to join the Inhabit network...

Bad Berries in Barbados? Doesn’t Matter...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jan 11th, 2011

Are you familiar with the TV show that aired in the early ’90s called Northern Exposure? It’s about a New York Jewish doctor who is forced to be a physician in Cicely, Alaska, for four years. His culture shock includes moose wandering the streets, coping...

Christmas in Barbados: Round & Round We Go!...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Dec 17th, 2010

The roundabouts in Barbados are dressed up for Christmas, looking like colorful confetti strewn around the 14-by-21-mile island as a welcome to all who fly in at night. Please, come with me on a tour of a few Barbados roundabouts … I had a ball taking these...

Barbados Featured in Blue Caribbean Dive Magazine...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Dec 7th, 2010

Divers rejoice! The approximately 3 million divers who travel abroad for a diving vacation will thrill to the new print and online publication called Blue Caribbean, which focuses exclusively on diving in the Caribbean. Blue is the first print and online magazine...

Cheers, Barbados Turns 44 Today!...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Nov 30th, 2010

Barbados celebrates her independence from Britain today with a parade at the Garrison, the day off from work, wearing of the colors of the Barbados flag, beach-going, and much discussion over whom the Queen knighted today (congratulations, Sir Branford). Across the...

Christmas Spirit in Barbados: No Snow Req’d...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Nov 20th, 2010

When I moved to Barbados nearly three years ago, Christmas felt like an unnatural act. To a Yank from northern climes, Christmas is supposed to feel like … Christmas. But with Barbados’ perfect Groundhog-Day climate, Christmas felt no different from...

In Barbados, Say “What????” If You Love Me....

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Oct 25th, 2010

Greg and I are a happy couple here in Barbados. We laugh, we play, we talk (and usually communicate). 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...

Going to the Movies in Barbados is Not Without Risk...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Oct 21st, 2010

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...

The Opposite of Barbados and Just As Enchanting: Alaska...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Oct 16th, 2010

I sat on a heated toilet seat yesterday. It wasn’t the highlight of my Alaska vacation but, coming in from the cold, it was memorable nonetheless. Greg and I are in Anchorage visiting family. The ways Alaska differs from my home of Barbados are stunning,...

Crab Porn in Barbados...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Oct 5th, 2010

When she snapped this photo, my friend Sharon didn’t realize she was peeking into the bedroom of two Barbados crabs. 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...

When Your Fairy-Tale Barbados Wedding Gets Rained On...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Oct 3rd, 2010

With love and hope and great anticipation, the bride and groom gaze into one another’s eyes and decide to have a storybook wedding on the beach in Barbados, the “Jewel of the Caribbean.” Sparkling blue sea, beautiful white beaches, brilliant sun...

Things I Thought I’d Never Tolerate for a Second .. in...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Sep 25th, 2010

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...

Barbados Beach: Sink Your Toes into Heaven on Earth at Carli...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Sep 16th, 2010

Granted, not all Caribbean islands have sugar-white sand like Barbados, but even so, the first image any visitor with any awareness at all of the Caribbean thinks of is (and should be) Caribbean = warmth, blue sky, sparkling blue sea, gorgeous beaches Lest future...

In Barbados, Brush Your Teeth — Quick!!...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Sep 9th, 2010

I awake this morning a couple hours after my early-bird husband Greg. I check the sea as I always do. The sea is full and it is raining. The usual serenity of the water has devolved to major upset with waves crashing. I stumble into the kitchen, put two Weatabix in a...

Come, Take a Ride With Me in Barbados! (Video)...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Aug 31st, 2010

Barbados driving can be a challenge for a North American like me who’s not used to driving on the “wrong” side of the road. Add a gear shift and the uninitiated has got double-trouble. And then there is the problem of road signs – or lack...

Barbados Sea Swim: No Adult Supervision!...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Aug 22nd, 2010

I grew up in land-locked Colorado and more recently hail from San Francisco, where beach-walking in lieu of -swimming is the norm. I moved to Barbados – St Lawrence Gap, on the beach — in January ’08 and was fascinated by the Caribbean Sea right outside. I...

Barbados Beach Vacation Rentals & the Caribbean Sea: A ...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Aug 16th, 2010

Situated on the south coast of Barbados in the lively St Lawrence Gap on a beautiful little beach, St Lawrence Beach Condos is smack dab in the middle of many wonderful restaurants but also offers the peace and quiet of the Caribbean Sea and our private pool. Take a...

“Left at the Coconut Tree” in Barbados...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jul 22nd, 2010

Getting around the 14- by 21-mile island of Barbados by car should be easy but it’s not. At least for me. Never mind the whole driving-on-the-other-side-of-the-road thing; I’m talking basic things like Directions (convoluted). Signs (Signs? What signs?)....

Doing Nothing in Barbados...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jul 19th, 2010

Barbados is a fabulous place to do absolutely nothing. I admire the guests in our Barbados vacation rentals on the beach in St Lawrence Gap who lie in the sun all day, breaking occasionally to cool down with a swim in the sea or pool, then going to dinner at night. ...

Colorado or Barbados: Which is More Beautiful?...

Posted by Jane Shattuck Hoyos on Jul 12th, 2010

I live on the beach in Barbados but am a 4th-generation Coloradan. 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...