Millerweb - Galaxy

Tuesday, November 21, 2000

Another decision to take a tour with a Driver. According to Tourist Information is $20/hr/couple. Wrong. After a bit of a tough search I spied a driver that looked good. I just held out on the taxi stand until I felt good.

He said $75/couple flat fee for the "day". "After he laughed at what I was told, he explained that there are drivers that take you to a mountain top restaurant where you drink banana daiquiris for an hour and then you wind your way back to the ship… end of "tour".

What Roger Beckles (rosromeo@hotmail.com) (246-425-6360) did for us was a comprehensive well thought out tour that included "Sugar Hill Development" (our request to look), mountains, a drive down the windward coast, and The Andromeda Botanic Gardens. Roger said his company's mission is to "show you the real Barbados, however long it takes". He really was happy to make us happy. An absolutely great Driver.

Sugar Hill

One of many developments on the island.

Surprising how many we saw!

I think Roger thought we were crazy when we saw the "open house" sign. So we did the typical yuppie American thing and toured the property. These are single family homes, about 2000 sq.ft., 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath typical. The quality of the workmanship was impressive, and there was quality tile, counter and appliences. Then there was the view! Developer is Barbadian and UK. Average price US$500,000 as I recall. Market is US/International "snowbirds".

Travel up leeward Coast.

These are typical images of the coast and the towns we passed through.

This part of the island is apparently the upscale side. Protected by the mountains, it's lush and calm. Compaired to other Carribean islands, it reminded us of home with the architecture and stores available. Yes, still island centric, but you can see the influence of money. You begin to think, "do I want to move here?"

Cherry Hill

Left, road to the mountain.

Right, Vista of windward side of the island.

This is obviously a high point (literally) of a typical Barbados tour. You travel from the lee coast across to this mountaintop on the windward side of the island.

Roger took us here, two years ago the driver didn't. Drivers are important!

Left image... typical "bus" tour. Comment, these folks were at the mercy of the bus driver making sure "Martha" got the shot she wanted. We, on the other hand, got there, did what we wanted, and moved on. Important distinction between "bus tour" and hiring a driver.

Windward

Several shots of this windswept coast, dramatically different from the prior leeward coast.

Andromeda Botanic Gardens
As we began to loop back to Bridgetown, we stopped here, part of the plan we discussed with Roger. For $6 per this was enjoyable. It was the work of one couple, now deceased. It's impressive in its scale and diversity, hard to imagine how they could have pulled it off in their lifetime considering the sheer number on non-indigenous flora. I noticed many groundkeepers pruning, so the site is kept up well. Unfortunately, clouds rolled in so these images don't do justice.

St. Johns Church

Another "must-see" on the usual tours. Fairly interesting, very nice view on the coast, and there is a history to it.

Green Monkey

Me with "Green Monkey". One of Rogers friends had this really awesome monkey, much fun.

Tough to photograph, he looked you in the eye and then split. Immediate impression was that you'd like to have him as a pet. Intelligent creature, great to have had "contact".
Waterfront Cafe - Bridgetown
Again, recommended by our friends at RTC, this was a truely fun place to wind up the day tour. We had some cocktails and fingerfood (all excellent) after Roger dropped us off. Not shown in pix is the yachts tied up along side. We decided to hike the mile back to the pier. Taxi's are available.
Barbados - Summary

A great island. Beautiful and scenic, it is a mixture of old and new. It seems that it's emerging to become more.

The real estate development seems to underline this. As is usually the case on a cruise, and this is our second visit, there is much more to this or any destination.

It seemed very "relaxed". There was much less "vendors" than most other islands. Again, exploring with a Driver made it an experience worth while.

Feedback? Greg Miller, www.millerweb.com - greg@millerweb.com


Andromeda Botanic Gardens As we began to loop back to Bridgetown, we stopped here, part of the plan we discussed with Roger. For $6 per this was enjoyable. It was the work of one couple, now deceased. It's impressive in its scale and diversity, hard to imagine how they could have pulled it off in their lifetime considering the sheer number on non-indigenous flora. I noticed many groundkeepers pruning, so the site is kept up well. Unfortunately, clouds rolled in so these images don't do justice.

Green Monkey Me with "Green Monkey". One of Rogers friends had this really awesome monkey, much fun. Tough to photograph, he looked you in the eye and then split. Immediate impression was that you'd like to have him as a pet. Intelligent creature, great to have had "contact".	Waterfront Cafe - Bridgetown Again, recommended by our friends at RTC, this was a truely fun place to wind up the day tour. We had some cocktails and fingerfood (all excellent) after Roger dropped us off. Not shown in pix is the yachts tied up along side. We decided to hike the mile back to the pier. Taxi's are available.	Barbados - Summary A great island. Beautiful and scenic, it is a mixture of old and new. It seems that it's emerging to become more. The real estate development seems to underline this. As is usually the case on a cruise, and this is our second visit, there is much more to this or any destination. It seemed very "relaxed". There was much less "vendors" than most other islands. Again, exploring with a Driver made it an experience worth while.