Bridgetown, Barbados
Today, we arrived at our final port on the Caribbean leg of our voyage; Bridgetown, in Barbados.
We’ve been here several times before, and knew long before we got here that we really didn’t want any tour escorting duties. Our plans were diabolically simple… find a beach…
The cruise terminal in Bridgetown is always a busy place. With Fred Olsen’s Braemar and a huge Royal Caribbean floating block of flats (Anthem of the Seas), in residence, today was no exception.
Since Barbara, one of the other craft tutors, had also managed to get out of escorting duties, she decided to join us as we fought our way through the crowds, past the ever-hopeful gaggle of taxi drivers, and into town.
The walk to Carlisle Beach takes about 30 minutes. It’s a public beach, acccessible by anyone for free providing you use the right access points. Other options are available, however; several establishments await the arrival of cruise ship passengers with barely-disguised glee.
‘The Boatyard’ is probably the most popular, or, to be more precise, is the one that seems to be able to generate the greatest amount of publicity, with everyone at the cruise terminal apparently on the payroll, recommending it above all the others as the place to be and be seen. As we rolled up to the door of The Boatyard, I swear the woman who greeted us was wringing her hands in anticipation. Her first question to us was ‘Are you from the cruise ship?’. In retrospect, the best answer to that particular question is probably ‘no’, but we said yes anyway, and with barely a beat, she annnounced that entrance would be $20 per person. For that we’d get a free drink from the bar, use of a sunbed and parasol, and a free taxi ride back to the port.
When we came here last year, I’m pretty certain they weren’t charging as much, and when we asked if there was a discount for not having a free beer and not having a free taxi ride home, she shook her head; nope… the price was $20, all-in, however or whichever facilities we use is up to us… take it or leave it. Three of us would mean $60! In unison, we all slowly shook our heads, feeling that we were being exploited even before we’d handed over any money, and left…
Next door, we discovered ‘The Pirate Cove’. Access to the beach costs absolutely nothing at all, and when a man approached us and informed us that use of the sunbeds and facilities would cost the princely sum of $23 for all three of us ($15 for two + $8 for one), we snapped his hand off.
We lazed on our sunbeds, took the occasional swim, made use of the free wi-fi and bought a meal in the restaurant along with a couple of drinks at lunchtime, then spent the whole afternoon doing more of the same, until it was time to pack up our belongings and head back to the ship, satisfied that we’d done the ‘When in Barbados’ thing in style.
So that’s it for the Caribbean. We now head off into the North Atlantic Ocean towards the Azores, hoping that the sea behaves itself. Tomorrow, it’s back to work for me…
