“Welcome home!”
The text from Christine startled me. Everyone else, when I’d messaged that we were in Barbados again, had said “Welcome back!”
Yet from the moment we landed, it felt like we were home again.
Scott and I lived here for most of 4 years over the worst of Covid. It was the first place we’d taken our long distance relationship to cohabitation, and the townhouse we are staying in now was the one where we spent 18 months. When the owners wanted to start using it again we simply moved down the street, two houses, and when that was booked for owners and their friends we went one house the other way.
We were back now for 5 weeks. After leaving Barbados somewhat reluctantly, due to medical and family issues, I thought this was one last visit to say goodbye properly, for closure. Five weeks is a long time for a holiday, but apparently not long at all when you are going “home.”
We easily fell into our routine of checking the surf cams and reports when we woke up, to see if we would have coffee or go on the water first. We watched the turtles and the sunset. We knew where to shop, had our favourite vegetable stalls and stores. Even though we’d been away for almost two years, the neighbours’ dogs remembered me, as did the lady who collected returnable bottles, and the surf instructors who hung out at our beach.
Jaana and I restarted our Thursday night dinners, and although we’d kept in touch when I was gone, we still had so much to talk about when we were together.
Scott and I went out for breakfast after surfing to a few of our favourite places, and of course our first and last meals were both at the magical Café Luna, where we’d had our wedding brunch. We went for Italian dinner with the Bajan friends who visit us in Canada every summer. We dined at a few more of our favourite restaurants, but cooked at home a lot as well.
We had friends over for dinner and drinks many times, and I happily cooked an Indian feast with local ingredients and limited spices. I made flying fish and cou cou, the national dish of Barbados that I had learned to cook our first year here. This last week I had friends over to help empty the fridge and cupboard, with a rather unauthentic, but delicious, paella. I sent everyone home with leftovers.
We made it to five runs with the Barbados Hash House Harriers. It was good exercise, served up with laughter, liming and joy. We spent time with our Hash family, and continued our tradition of introducing people we met at the Oistins Fish Fry to this crazy group.
My sister Cindy and her husband spent a week with us, and our neighbour from Canada another week. It was a delight to show off our island to them.
We made it to quiz night at the Brew Pub a couple of times with our old team, and came in second once!
I thought this would just be a visit, perhaps our last one. After all, Barbados is a long way from the West Coast of Canada. We’d looked for other tropical spots for surfing that were closer: Mexico, Hawaii, Bali. Yet somehow none of them came close.
Scott has permanent residency in Canada now, so it is our home— yet, somehow, so is Barbados.
I don’t know when, but we’ll be back.
Brave Travels 