Barbados

When we were planning our visit to Trinidad to attend my sister-in-law’s wedding, Ed and I decided to do a side trip to another Caribbean island with Sophia as our family get-away. We looked into going to Aruba or Margarita Island in Venezuela but we eventually decided to go to Barbados. It would be a direct flight from Trinidad and the airfare was reasonable. I picked a hotel on the southwest coast since it was more affordable than the ones on the famous west coast of Barbados. (Famous, as in, Tiger Woods got married in one of the hotels on the west coast!)

I have been to several Caribbean islands and I put Barbados in my top two, with Aruba. Barbados is developed but not too developed. The vibe of the Caribbean can still be felt quite strongly on the island. The Bajans are very friendly and warm, and we felt safe everywhere we went on the island. The food was delicious (and quite similar to the Trinidadian cuisine) and the beach was amazing. We stayed at the Bougainvillea Hotel and I give it a thumbs up! We really enjoyed our stay there.

Sophia liked the pool a lot and enjoyed playing on the sand with her toys. However, she did not want to go into the ocean. She said that the waves were scary. This is a change from previous visits to beach destinations where she showed no fear of the water or the waves. She is developing fear now and I wondered how much of that is from my admonitions to “be careful” during our interactions. Nevertheless, she still seemed to enjoy being at the beach as long as she kept her distance from the ocean.

Dining out is easier, now that Sophia is a little older. I don’t have to cut up her food too much now and she’s quite happy to feed herself. Her table manners are coming along nicely, too, and we need to remind her of manners only once in a while. One night, we ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, which is a bit posh, and Sophia was fantastic. We were so proud of her! 

We stayed for four days and it was too short! Barbados is a place I want to visit again. There is so much more to see and the feel of the place is really relaxing. We will definitely be back someday soon.

Here are some photos from our visit to Barbados.

Barbados, Jan 2013, a set on Flickr.