Let’s be honest, we all need a holiday. When the sun starts making an appearance for the first time, we Brits feel it a necessary treat to escape off into the hottest climate possible and strip right down into our t - shirts and shorts to reveal the ghostly white body that the UK’s winter unfortunately left us with.
In July, myself and partner landed ourselves in the Caribbean island, Barbados. After working round the clock to save for this luxurious and expensive holiday we felt fully prepared to chill out and allow lots of Rum to be poured down our necks.
The novelty of waking up at stupid o clock in the morning to get on an aeroplane always seems to excite me, despite the thought of travelling for over 9 hours to even get there. I still got that childhood buzz you get when you wake up on Christmas morning to find all the presents that have been left for you.
I guess the flight was something to look forward too as well, considering we were travelling upper class there and back to the Caribbean with Virgin Atlantic. Having champagne and cocktails handed to you on a click of a finger and dining in style by filling up on a delicious three course meal before turning the chair into a bed and snuggling up with a soft duvet wrapped around you, watching the latest films.
Holiday mode is one of those rare moments you get where all the worries and stresses seem to just go away and you can always count on getting that feeling of utter relief when you board the plane, the sort of relief that makes you want to shout: ‘Goodbye England, Hello holiday’
When we finally arrived in Barbados, we grabbed the nearest taxi waiting outside the airport which took us directly to our villa. With bob Marley, no woman, no cry playing subtly in the background of the taxi, I knew this was going to be a chilled out holiday.
Driving through banana fields and chatting to our taxi driver about cultural events happening throughout our stay in the country was making our spirits run high with things to do and places to see. Despite being thrown into the Barbadian culture so quickly after what seemed to be an eternity spent on the plane, the weather didn’t go unnoticed. It was absolutely pouring it down with rain when we arrived; something you don’t expect when you book to go away to a Caribbean destination.
Our 10 day stay was truly unforgettable; we woke up bright and early most mornings to make the most of our stay and generally kick - started them with a large and very strong coffee frappacino to kill the jetlag and keep us buzzing for the days adventures.
Waking up to the smell of bacon and eggs and hearing the banging and crashing from the kitchen where my clumsy partner was romantically cooking up a typically English fry up. Each morning, the pair of us would have breakfast on the porch, listening to the birds tweeting and watching the sun rise.
Hopping on and off buses was something we got very familiar with doing, after virtually travelling around the entire country on one epic day when my partner was on a true mission to find some good surfing spots. The buses out there are out of this world, you pay $2.00 for a bus ride to any location and when boarding the bus you are greeted by a true stereotypical Caribbean man, dreadlocks and all!
Inside the bus is beautifully artistic; covered with colourful graffiti clearly done by a professional; it came as a real culture shock to me, especially with the local music booming so loud that can be heard a mile away, I’m sure!
I heard several mixed reviews about the safest and type of people in Barbados before I left, which left me with negative impressionable ideas. However, I now couldn’t disagree more. I found that everyone I came into contact with were absolutely lovely and had so much time for myself and partner. I personally didn’t have any problems with security and I would even go as far as saying that collectively, Barbadians are the nicest bunch of people that I have been so fortunate to meet.
Throughout our stay, we learnt that when a Barbadian says: ‘That’s some good shit’, they mean that’s some good shit! But that’s a whole new different blog post.
All in all, Barbados was a great holiday destination for us, as there were plenty of things to keep us busy and at the same time there was always the relaxing side of the holiday, where we could put our feet up, read a book and just unwind by the inviting pool.
My partners never happy to sit and sunbathe all day, so for most of our days we were exploring the country and involving ourselves truly into the culture of the beautiful country. Swimming in the rough Atlantic Bathsheba Sea whilst my partner was surfing is only one example of the crazy and wild times Barbados exposed us to.
Culturally, we were tied into going to an all day drinking event to celebrate the ‘end of the rum season.’ This was an absolutely amazing experience and one which I will never forget. The streets were all closed off as buses with dancers on them, dressed in sequins and different coloured diamonds costumes were spraying the crowds with Malibu and getting everyone dancing with the loud music playing.
The event was so massive that not only the police on site, but also the army were present!
Barbados is an amazing country and I feel so privileged that I have visited and got so involved with the culture, people and different places to explore on my trip. It just goes to show that there is such an exciting and different life outside the UK to be appreciated. I hope you like my post!
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