We took our friend Richard to the airport. We’ve been neighbours for a year and a half; we’ve shared a rental car for a year. We would walk into each other’s houses after yelling a token “knock knock!” would see each other almost daily on the water, surfing, and would get together for drinks and … Continue reading Coming Back to Barbados?
“Are we halfway up now?” I sat on the rough bench, and Kevin, our guide for the climb up Gros Piton, looked at me pityingly. “A quarter,” he said. To be fair, I had been living on Barbados for a year and a half. The highest hill there is 343 m, and it is in … Continue reading The Pitons of Saint Lucia: Long Hard Climb
“Saint Lucia dropped their entry test and quarantine requirement for vaccinated travellers!” “Let’s book it!” So this weekend we are heading to a different Caribbean island. We had originally planned to travel there in December of 2020. After three months based in Barbados, we were looking forward to exploring nearby islands. Covid numbers were low: … Continue reading Flying Back to “Normal”
Last night, there was a total eclipse of the moon. Two things come to mind every time I hear “total eclipse.” First, the 1984 Bonnie Tyler song, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Go ahead, click the YouTube link, I dare you. If you’re too young to remember, it is an astonishing example of what music … Continue reading Total Eclipse
The five of us walked into the beach bar after pulling our stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) above the waterline and digging face masks out of our dry bags. “Wow, we watched you come in,” said a man at the waterside table. “We’ve mostly just seen people falling in all day. You are impressive!” I was secretly … Continue reading Barbados Paddle Board Adventures
We were walking down the driveway, on our way to dinner, when Richard looked at me, startled. “Is that a CARDIGAN?” Simone, who was also carrying one, and I exchanged a men-don’t-really-understand glance. “I might get chilly.” Simone nodded in agreement. “But it’s still 28 degrees!” “But it might get down to 26 tonight. And … Continue reading My Barbados Evolution
I’m lying in bed at 6am, before my first coffee, and I reach for my phone. Not to check the weather— that’s going to be a high of 30 or 31C, low of 25 or 26C, every day, because it’s July. Predictions of rain are erratic— it could be pouring rain here and sunny a … Continue reading A Day in the Life, Barbados version
“We’re leaving tomorrow.” Kaity and François are going back to New York. I’ve watched their daughter Louise become a full fledged toddler as she traveled down our street over the last five months, with whichever parent wasn’t surfing. The semi-tamed cats on the street learned to move more quickly in tandem. Once it rains, no … Continue reading To Stay or To Go?
My position wasn’t quite right and instead of the long run to the beach that I’d been doing all morning, I came off the surfboard less than 5 metres from where I’d started. The water was chest deep, but knowing that one good wave is often followed by another I stood and looked back to … Continue reading Learning to Surf
Living in Barbados, I now understand the meaning of “a feast for the eyes.” Every day is a visual delight. I walk by this on the way to Oistins. It never gets old Years ago in BC, a visitor admiring our view of forests, mountain and ocean down Howe Sound told us we wouldn’t even … Continue reading The Colours of Barbados
Brave Travels 