Today we arrive in Barbados after six days at sea.

Spotted another dolphin but too slow for a photo again.

That's why this trip to Barbados, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. We (my wife Simone and I) will stay on each island for 5-6 days, have a rental car each, and stay in apartments with locals.

The planning was quite elaborate. For example, we need a local driver's license in Barbados and St. Lucia, and we have to fill out online entry forms for both islands. We will fly from Barbados to St. Lucia on a propeller plane, then take a ferry to Martinique, and again fly with a propeller to Guadeloupe. Often the maximum baggage limits differ. The rental cars are supposed to have fully comprehensive insurance without a deductible, and in Barbados and St. Lucia, they drive on the left. What vaccinations are required, are there dangerous animals (e.g., the St. Lucia lancehead, whose venom can be deadly). What sights/landscapes do we want to see, where can we eat well and affordably, what are the traffic regulations, how can we pay, and how does it work with our mobile phones? And so on and so forth, I think you can tell I was a civil servant, and everything has to be precisely planned :-D . But now everything is prepared, and slowly a pleasant anticipation/nervousness is setting in. It's likely not everything will go as planned, but we'll manage. Since many acquaintances were very interested and wanted to see pictures, I will report here about our experiences.

To avoid spending the entire day at the airport, we booked an island tour as our transfer.

From the cruise terminal, we initially headed north through the towns of Holetown and Speightstown, but unfortunately, we did not stop there.

Our first stop was “Farley Hill National Park.” The old mansion was restored in 1956 for the filming of the movie “Island in the Sun” with Harry Belafonte.

However, a lot of wood and flammable materials were used during the restoration, leading to it burning down to its foundations in a fire several years later.

Later, the area was designated as a national park, featuring forest and a viewing point surrounding the mansion.

The journey continued to the east coast of Barbados, where the climate and waves are somewhat rougher than in the west.

We made a stop at a beach with water-shaped rocks.

Also on this trip, we experienced “Caribbean hospitality,” enjoying a rum punch at a hotel on the coast, from the terrace of which we had a scenic view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Our final stop was the Anglican Church of St. John's, built on a cliff high above the sea.

The original 17th-century church was destroyed in a hurricane.

The current fourth church at this location dates back to 1836.

Behind the church is an old cemetery with many large family tombs.

Here lies the Prime Minister of Barbados, who passed away from cancer during his term in 2010.

After this, we proceeded to the airport, where we had to wait four hours for our flight to London.

On board, we were greeted with music and cocktails and first explored the ship on our own and with a guided tour.

After a lavish dinner with nice table neighbors from Thuringia, we went on deck to watch the sails being set with a glass of champagne.

To escape the dreary German weather and the constant drizzling rain, we set off for the Caribbean shortly before Christmas. The very early flight went via London to Barbados, where we were greeted by sunshine and 30°C.

On the first evening, we briefly explored the surroundings of the hotel to do some shopping. For a little water and some bread with toppings, we paid a whopping 40 USD...

After trying the typical 'Rum punch', which consisted mainly of sugar and rum, we went to bed early after a long day with a four-hour time difference.

The next morning, we were picked up for the 'Barbados: Trail, Tram & Rum Experience' at the hotel.

Taking a bus that stopped at several other hotels in the area, we headed to “Harrison's Cave Eco Adventure Park”.

Here, a huge cave system has become a tourist destination, where you can also visit a high ropes course or go zip lining.

We opted for a guided tour through the cave, which proceeded calmly in a small “train” that drove us through the wide tunnels.

During the trip and at the two stops where you could disembark, there was a guide providing many explanations about the formations and the history of their exploration.

Afterwards, we took a short walk to a bird aviary.

Here, there were many chickens and doves, which looked somewhat different from the breeds at home.

In cages, there were also colorful parrots and budgerigars to admire.

The lady who had accompanied us up to this point would not reveal the time for our next activity, even when asked. She simply said we should take our time and then go for lunch.

We did just that, only to find out that our next tour was supposed to start in five minutes.

However, the guide said we could eat in peace first. Start times seem to be optional here...

After a quick “eco-friendly” lunch with disposable cutlery from a cardboard box, we proceeded to the “Rum experience”.

After an introduction to the history of rum and how it is made, we were allowed to taste three varieties.

During the explanations, we learned, for example, that the name “Grog” derives from an English admiral. He wanted to curb the drunkenness of sailors paid with rum by diluting their liquid wages with water. This naturally led to protests, and the drink was named after the admiral’s nickname, “old grog”.

Feeling slightly tipsy, we looked around in the souvenir shop before the bus took us back to our hotel.

A short walk through the town took us to the “Koala Beach”, which attracts vacationers with palm trees and white sand.

I went ashore early to look around the harbor area and wait for the bus tour I had booked to start. The bus left on time and took us through Bridgetown and sugar cane fields to the plantation and the former mansion of the manufacturer of "Mount Gay" rum. We were able to taste two delicious rum cocktails, and later we had a rum punch to quench our thirst. The manor house now serves as a museum; you can see the old furnishings, antique work and household tools and clothing from bygone times.

We then continued across the island to a historic church with some interesting grave sites.

We went back through the area where the world star Rihanna, who was relatively unknown to me, grew up.

Back on board, after a breather and dinner, an impressive concert by violinist David Klinkenberg awaited us. One cocktail later I had the necessary weight in bed.

The island, 34 km long and 23 km wide with about 280,000 inhabitants, was discovered in 1536 by the Portuguese Petro Campus and was part of Great Britain for 360 years. Numerous dream beaches and a beautiful landscape characterize the island!

Plan: Pack up the cabin, have a good breakfast, search for turtles and then relax and fly back at night!

After feeling like we have taken 50 pictures of turtles, we decided today to only go ashore for departure. In addition, there were a total of 4 ships in the harbor! The cabin must be vacated at 9:00 a.m., check-in for the flight at 10:00 am (at 10:05 am we were back in the whirlpool), and at 2:00 pm we will be picked up and taken to the airport - departure is at 5:15 pm!

Finally, another post from us!!!

I haven't even finished visiting Katharina and in the meantime so much has happened.

But one thing at a time!

Here you can see the wonderful pictures from our visit to Harrison Cave in Barbados! A must-see on the island. It is so well done and it is really impressive to see what there is underground. We took a small train down, about 25 meters below ground, and looked at the amazing caves, truly breathtaking!

The day was beautiful, afterwards we took a little walk through the area, before we passed by Coco Hill Forest and Flower Forest (unfortunately we didn't have time to go inside) :-)

In the afternoon we enjoyed a nice time at the beach and in the evening we had a real candlelight dinner right on the beach.... how romantic that was, you can see it in the great pictures too! We had the entire restaurant and the beach all to ourselves! Oh, it was wonderful and a fitting beautiful last evening in Barbados!!

Because the next morning we had to make our way back to St. Lucia!

With that being said,

Many greetings

Vanessa and Katharina

This morning, moving to our new accommodation was on our agenda. Since our return flight, which was supposed to be today, didn't take place, we had to find a new place to stay. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay at our old accommodation, so we found another AirBnB. It looked wonderful in the pictures, it was newly built and up to date. But what we didn't know beforehand was WHERE the new accommodation was.

So we drove there and were initially a bit shocked because it was more precisely located in the middle of the ghetto. The garbage collection hadn't been there for a while and some of the other houses around only had one room and not even a front door (you could look straight into their bedroom/living or whatever room).

After the initial shock, we actually felt quite comfortable in the accommodation because besides a fenced area, we also had:

- two big guard dogs

- a guard cat, and

- a guard bull at the door!!

That reassured us and we were able to start our day well.

Today, we visited the Historical Museum of Barbados. Hmmm, what should we say. It was okay! Most of the rooms were closed due to renovations, and the other rooms showcased the history of Barbados. The funniest room was the last one, the playroom for children. You could do crafts there, learn about the environment, examine leaves with a microscope, and learn everything about spatial thinking.

We had a lot of fun and tried everything we could. We had a great time, but as it usually happens after a visit to the museum, we were really tired afterwards.

Of course, we had to eat our delicious cookies first and then we went to a beautiful beach to end the afternoon.

In the evening, we had dinner for the first time in a proper restaurant and took advantage of the cocktail happy hour twice :-))

The food was great and full as we were, we confidently returned to our accommodation in the ghetto and ended the evening on our 'terrace'.

In this spirit,

Take care

Your Vanessa and Katharina

today we visited a beautiful botanical garden called Andromeda Garden. If you're looking for a recommendation, we definitely suggest this place. The garden is stunning and meticulously designed, and the staff is very friendly and helpful from the moment you arrive. It's not a tourist hotspot, but rather a peaceful and lovely location. The garden was created by Iris Bannochie (1914-1988) in the 1950s and features over 400 different plant species. Even today, the garden is well-maintained and cared for. The plants come from all over the world and were collected by Iris from various countries. We had a great time there, especially because we could understand everything with the help of an app that provided information about the plants in German. So, in our opinion, it's a hidden gem among the many gardens on the island.

After enjoying the beautiful morning in the garden, we continued driving along the east coast and made a stop at Bath Beach. It was recommended to us, but it wasn't really that great. The east coast is simply not suitable for swimming, as the Atlantic Ocean is quite rough. The only interesting experience we had there was encountering a local who insisted that we should visit a cave nearby. Of course, we decided to check it out, and it turned out to be a little thrilling adventure. It was partially pitch black and the water and waves came dangerously close to us... However, the view made up for it, and in the end, we were proud of ourselves for sticking it out until the end.

But we eventually headed to the south for a swim, as the south and west are much better for swimming. We went to Miami Beach and enjoyed the evening there.

In conclusion, another very enjoyable day.

Take care,

Love,

Vanessa and Katharina

today we drove to the east of the island, more precisely to Bathsheba. There were several things to see at once. First, we went to the famous spot, The Soup Bowl, which can be seen on almost every postcard from Barbados. It is an absolute hotspot for surfers from all over the world, even though we were the only people there that day... :-) I think there was just too much wind and the waves were huge. It's not fun to surf or go into the water.

Nevertheless, we really enjoyed our time there. We found a little swing in the middle of the sea, tied to a rock, and just let our souls dangle there for a while.

Later on, we went to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve. And let me tell you, it was quite a spectacle. There were loooooots of turtles, monkeys, and especially chickens. But the absolute highlight was the feeding of the animals at 2:30pm. We had never seen anything like it. A wheelbarrow full of food (mostly fruit and vegetable scraps) and the fight for food began. All the animals ran like crazy towards the mountain of food and helped themselves. The chickens were especially eager. But even the turtles suddenly moved at a speed that no one had ever seen... We had to be careful not to be overrun by any of the monkeys in all the commotion.

After this highlight, we started our journey back and stopped at a beautiful beach in the south to process the experiences a bit more.

And so, a beautiful day came to an end.

Best regards,

Love,

Your Vanessa and Katharina

Today, after having our cappuccino at the gas station again (this time it only took 13 minutes) and buying our cookies and fresh FRUIT, we started driving towards the northeast of the island.

Our destination today was St. Nicholas Abbey, a beautifully restored and really cute place. St. Nicholas Abbey is an old mansion of a sugar plantation. Colonel Benjamin Berringer built it between 1650 and 1660 (so now you also have exclusive Wikipedia history information :-))))

First, we took a tour of the house, of course not without tasting the rum produced there. It wasn't delicious, but it was very exclusive (a bottle of rum can be bought for a mere 400 euros, ok, the rum is also 22 years old....).

Afterwards, we took a ride on the associated train. The owners have done a really great job and it's really worth a visit. The train ride takes about 20 minutes one way, then it stops briefly and you can take many great pictures at the CherryTree Hill viewpoint and of course we couldn't resist drinking a delicious coconut. While the train stops, it has to be turned 180 degrees to start the return journey. Many diligent helpers are needed for this. When we returned, we started the return trip and went back to a beautiful beach where we lay until sunset and took great pictures.

A wonderful day came to an end, once again wonderful and beautiful impressions on this day.

In this sense,

With love,

Your Vanessa and Katharina

a first beautiful day that has already shown the island from a great side.

It was important for us to see a lot of the island, but also to have beach and relaxation

So we always used the mornings to see something and in the afternoons we were always at the beach and rested.

Today we drove far to the north of the island, we even went to the northernmost point of the island.

But first we had our obligatory breakfast, we got a cappuccino at the gas station (we should have ordered it the night before, then it would have been ready in the morning too).... after 15 minutes we finally got it and then we went to the supermarket and got delicious pastries and COOKIES. This ritual should remain the same in the next few days :-))) The cookies will certainly be imported to Germany soon, because Katharina can't imagine anything else anymore :-)))

Finally, we could start our way to the north. We stopped along the way to take pictures or just walk around.

In Speightstown we made our first longer stop. It is an old fishing village, which still lives from it today.

Then we drove further to the Animal Flower Cave, a beautiful cave in the far north of the island. It was breathtaking and nature just has its own laws there. A great place with a great atmosphere. Too bad I can't post videos here, because the power of the sea is indescribable there. A truly great place that you have to see. Thanks to the good guide, we were able to learn a lot about it, for example, the cave exit looks like the map of Barbados when it is lying sideways, take a look at the pictures!

The view of the ocean at this place is also very beautiful and you could sit there for hours and listen to the sound of the sea.

But after all the sightseeing, we deserved a beach stop and landed in the beautiful place of Port St. Charles. That was one of the most beautiful beaches on the whole island. Just look at the water, the palm trees and the sand. Just like you imagine the Caribbean.

In the evening we were naturally very hungry, of course the cookies were good, but luckily we found a nice stand where we could still eat delicious freshly grilled chicken and freshly grilled fish with tasty side dishes. And we were once again entertained by the stand owner, a funny Jamaican who warned us about the Barbados guys. :-)))

A great day came to an end, but luckily we knew that the next day would be just as great.

In this sense.

All the best

Your Vanessa with Katharina

What a long time without an entry... Oh man, it's going to be exhausting for you now when I post a lot of entries at once that you can read 😁😁.

Phew, where do I start?

Yes. The passports. We naturally got the passports back in time and I was able to fly to Barbados as planned.

There I met up with Katharina and we had a wonderful time there.

We arrived there on Saturday and immediately got our car and drove to our accommodation. A beautiful, small apartment very centrally located. I surprised Katharina with my plans for the coming days, because we also wanted to see a lot of the island, we only had 6 days (at that time we didn't know yet that we would have to stay two days longer - Caribbean flights can be cancelled just like that.... ).

So on the first evening we went to Food Village for dinner and spent the first few hours together exchanging all kinds of news.

We were definitely both looking forward to the next few days...

Tired from the flight, we didn't stay up late that evening and went to bed very soon...

In this sense.

Look forward to great pictures from Barbados.

Yours, Vanessa (without Hasi, because he was at home and had to work)

Letzter Tag auf dem Schiff, Rückreise.

Sailing from Barbados to St. Johns / Antigua

For the second week in Barbados, we had chosen a hotel closer to the center of the action. However, a day before moving to the new accommodation, we realized that someone, whose name will not be mentioned here, had made a mistake with the booking and we had not booked accommodation for one night. But not a big deal, there's always booking, so we quickly booked another hotel for the forgotten night.

Our new hotel, Yellow Bird, was located right at the beginning of the party strip, St. Lawrence Gap. On the way back from the beach in the afternoon, there were happy hours in some of the bars, so we had to make a stop every now and then. In the evenings, we only went from one happy hour to the next, just to end up at the end of the party strip participating in karaoke. And singing is not exactly our strength.

On the first day at our home beach, Dover Beach, we splashed around in the sea and could hardly believe our eyes. Turtles kept appearing in the water around us every now and then. So, in the following days, we always set out on the turtle patrol and simply drifted in the water for hours, hoping to spot more turtles.

When you're on an island like this, you also want to try a really typical dish. As we were strolling back to the hotel from the beach, we passed a grill stand. At first, we walked past it resolutely, but the delicious smell lured us back. They were serving pasta casserole, grilled chicken, and something that looked like a tasty currywurst. And the nice lady also said that it was a typical Barbadian dish. Only after I had already ordered the delicious 'currywurst', we took a closer look at it. Somehow, it didn't look so much like currywurst anymore, and didn't the lady say something about pigtail? When we cautiously asked again, it turned out that the sausage was actually pig tail. It took a bit of courage, but it actually tasted good.

So, the second week in Barbados mainly consisted of beach, pool, and a lot of cocktails...

After 5 eventful and yet active months in South America, it was time for some relaxation on the beach, specifically in the beautiful Caribbean. From Miami, our first stop was Barbados. However, I wouldn't be exploring the island alone, no, my best travel buddy, my sister Cat, had also made her way there.

Barbados is the easternmost island of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean and is about the same size as Bremen, 36 km long and 24 km wide. In the east, you can find wild, rugged coves, and on the protected west side, the Caribbean dream beaches.

We spent the first week in a beautiful beachfront apartment away from the tourist hustle and bustle. With a rental car, we explored the entire island in surprisingly relaxed left-hand traffic. It took us through streets riddled with potholes, passing through small villages with colorful houses and sugarcane plantations, to beautiful little coves, sometimes calm and sophisticated, sometimes with wild waves. The Barbadians (mostly with dreadlocks) are a pretty relaxed and friendly bunch. Every Friday, the fishing village of Oistins holds Fish Friday. Tourists and locals come together here to eat the grilled catch of the day and drink the Barbadian beer Banks or rum punch. In addition, the Barbadians also celebrated their Independence Day on Friday (30th November), so there was quite a lot going on.

So far, we've had a great time on the island and have been able to enjoy the setting red sun of Barbados more than once. The clocks tick a little differently here; everyone seems to be simply relaxed. Barbados offers everything you would expect from a Caribbean island: dream beaches, turquoise water, sun, palm trees, rum, beer, coconuts, plenty of fish, and a relaxed rhythm...

Since we were running late again, we hurried and left the ship quickly. The men from Calypso Cruise were already waiting at the gangway and took us the 2 km to the marina. We were truly the last passengers. We were warmly welcomed with cool drinks and introduced to the ship. The English-speaking crew consisted of 3 people, where probably two were father and son. Including us, there were 14 guests on board. They immediately set sail and we didn't have much time to relax on the "sun deck" since we arrived at the first stop fairly quickly. We all jumped into the water with our snorkeling equipment and immediately saw the first turtles in front of Carlisle Bay. They were lured with food and swam beneath us. The water was simply fantastic and allowed us a good view of various schools of fish and the slightly nervous turtles. Another stop was nearby and offered us a view of two sunken ships covered in coral and swarmed by some fish. Although we had some minor difficulties snorkeling in the beginning, we really enjoyed the water adventure. Back on board, there were cool cocktails and finger food served directly to our seats. We cruised along the coast of Barbados to the sound of good music, enjoying the salty breeze and the warmth of the sun on our skin. It is a truly fantastic holiday feeling and just one day after Christmas. :-)

For lunch, we anchored in front of a beach where Rihanna is said to have bought a villa. But I hardly believe that, since the beach in front of the guarded property is open to the public and anyone can look onto the balcony. After a delicious lunch, we swam to the beach and walked along it for a while. Back on board, we joined the two American children and jumped from the board. :-) Unfortunately, time passed too quickly and we had to start our return journey, which was now windier than before. But we also enjoyed this very much and were delighted by the refreshing splashes of water. Back at the marina, we decided to walk back to the ship through Bridgetown. Unfortunately, the shops were still closed due to the staggered public holidays of the Commonwealth, which Stephan was surely very happy about since they also had Tiffany :-) after about 30 minutes of walking, we reached the port terminal. Here, I was able to satisfy my shopping lust. I bought my postcards, a sign for my wall at home, a shirt, and rum. We will eventually have to test the differences between the best rums in the Caribbean ;-), provided we get it back. Unfortunately, it was taken away from us every time at the entrance of the ship. Upon arriving at our cabin, I realized that I had gotten sunburned and that the sun had left its mark due to the alcohol. I fell asleep relatively quickly and dreamt of sailing :-) in the early evening, Stephan tried out the fitness area and I listened to music, wrote, and watched the sunset from the balcony. After Stephan finished his workout or was shortened by me :-), we got ready for dinner. Before that, we looked at the photos from the gala evening and visited the theater, where a play about the Adams Family was performed. We are probably already very spoiled in this matter, as we didn't particularly like the performance. Before we went to dinner, we had our first cocktails on the ship. Just in time for the start of dinner, Danny and Franka reappeared and we exchanged our experiences from the day. This time, we didn't like the food options as much, but since I was very tired, I didn't mind. We went to bed around 23:00 and fell asleep.