THIS and THAT: Welcome to Barbados

To travel from Venezuela to Barbados is less than two hours by plane, but we spent most of the time at the airports on the first day.

I took my Bridge book and tried to improve my skills while we waited...in Venezuela

and in Trinidad and Tobago.

It was a pleasure to be met at the airport of Barbados by the chief of protocol, who is also an award-winning poet, dramatist and comedian. He explained how my husband´s visit was planned.

Delighted

The teacher asked a student to make up a sentence using the word delight. A student said : "Every night before I go to bed, my muddah does tell me to turn off de light".

Following instructions

My friend´s uncle will never get another invitation to a VIP dinner. His first invitation was to a company´s Anual Gala Dinner. As he was getting out of his car in the parking lot, two officers came over and arrested him for indecent exposure.
As he was being taken away from the hotel, he kept asking the policemen: "what did I do wrong?" One of the officers said "You are not wearing any clothes, sir". The man replied " I know but the invitation said black tie only".

in Bajan Cackles by Phillip H. St Hill

The Portuguese might have been the first Europeans to come upon the island of Barbados on their way to Brazil. The name Barbados is possibly the Portuguese word meaning "the bearded ones". It could also refer to the bearded Caribs who inhabited the island or...

the long, hanging roots of the bearded fig-tree, indigenous to the island

In 1966, Barbados became an independent state and Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state represented locally by the Governor-General of Barbados.

This house was purchased in 1736. It has remained the official residence of the Governor, and since 1966 the Governor-General.

It is very well decorated (the best I have visited) and has a beautiful painting of the Queen Elizabeth II. However the environment was too formal for me to take photos.

with this exception...

I also signed the book. Here I am still at the hotel

In the afternoon, before more official visits, we came to the hotel and walked by the sea. I took some selfies to see if I can look more natural without looking at the camera, like my children do...

and then started our visit to the city with rain...

Bridgetown, the capital, derived its name from the bridge that was constructed in the area by the original Amerindian settlers.

The country is celebrating its golden jubilee this year and there are flags and banners everywhere. At the end of the month there will be many events with Rihanna, one of Barbados' best-known artists singing the national anthem in the presence of Prince Harry, representing the Queen.

A speech by Prince Harry

This beautiful young girl is holding the "pride of Barbados", the national flower.

Lord Nelson (1758-1805), who once described Barbados as "that barbarous island". His statue has been removed several times from one place to another.

The cannon of Fort Carlisle, one of the largest in Barbados, now on the site of Hilton Hotel

I liked the bajan ( popular name for Barbadian) windows very much, like the fist time I visited the island

We planned to have dinner in the room and watch TV as our second night on the island coincided with election day in USA. I could not believe what I was seeing as Hillary Clinton lost Florida, Ohio and other states, because till the last minute I thought she would be the winner. In the morning I was in a very bad mood, sad and simply could not believe that Donald Trump had won the election after so many attacks on everybody. But that was the reality and I had to accept it... Wednesday was our only free day so we went on a small tour of the island.

The packages are ready to be exported. They weigh 220kg which can produce around 300m of cotton

We learned the West Indies cotton is of great quality. It was much appreciated by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and more recently James Bond only used this sort of cotton for his shirts. It is even softer than Egyptian cotton. After harvest and the separation of the cotton from the seeds in special machines, it is packed and sent to Italy to be produced into a fabric sold by the meter (it is very very expensive: a small baby blanket cost more than 300 US dollars)

Mahoganny Trees

Sugar cane fields

Breadfruit tree. Its name is derived from the texture of the ripe fruit when cooked, similar to freshly baked bread; it has a potato-like flavour. Potatoes are imported and expensive in Barbados.

The east coast is good for surfers

Limegrove mall is situated on the west coast. It is very modern and has beautiful shops but the prices are only for rich tourists.

We bought a beautiful painting (a market scene) by Catherine Forter Chee-a-Tow. It is packed to take home at Christmas.

On Thursday my husband only had a meeting in the afternoon, so we decided to enjoy the beach and swim in the warm waters of the Caribbean sea.

Historically, the economy of Barbados was dependent on sugar cane cultivation and related activities, but since the late 1970s and early 1980s it has diversified into the tourism sector. Although the island is much smaller than Madeira it has a big airport with a long landing strip. When we arrived a Boeing 747 had just landed full of tourists from Manchester, England and in the past the Concorde used to operate twice a week from England (only three and a half hours).