Next up on The Wirld hit list was the beautiful island of Barbados, in the Caribbean, located a 5-hour hop from the Big Apple…sure that’s nothing!
Friday
Another redeye flight was on the cards for this Boy in Green, so I made my way towards JFK on Thursday night with the crazies on the subway and rocked up around 10pm. As everyone knows, there are 3 guarantees in life: Death, Taxes and a 45-minute security queue at American airports, so I made it to the gate just in time for boarding. With an apparent weight imbalance issue on the plane, JetBlue managed to bribe two people to take the next flight with $500 and we were on our way. I’d imagine if that was back home, and Aer Lingus offered a free pint you’d have about 20 people biting your hand off for it.
I landed at 5am and was quick enough through immigration, before killing an hour or two in the airport, as nothing was open until 8am in the city. After enough fluting around, I grabbed a cab and made my way to St Lawrence’s Gap on the south coast for $15USD and about a 20-minute drive from the airport. You can also take the local bus for $1 that is great craic too.
I walked around the area before making my way down to Worthing Beach where my AirBnb was. I munched away on a Jamaican patty…Christ they are lovely, before getting an early check in at the AirBnb opposite the beach. Lovely spot! After a quick unpack, I thought a run along the beach would be a good idea….poor call with the heat! So after 30 minutes of huffing and puffing around the town, and pretty red from the midday sun I made my way back.
I rustled up some eggs after my shower and then hopped on the next bus down to the Bridgetown racetrack with my drone to grab some aerial shots there and at the George Washington house. I then walked down to the main part of Bridgetown to check it out for 30 minutes, before making my way back up to the beautiful Pebble Beach for some more drone action. Pebble Beach is truly gorgeous, and well known for it’s snorkeling among the shipwrecks and turtles.
After a bit of messing with the drone, I didn’t notice the battery level going critical, upon which it went AWOL and kept rising. As a full-grown man, it is definitely the closest I’ve come to shiteing my pants on the spot. I managed to get it to come back towards where I was before grabbing it out of the air and getting thoroughly soaked in the process too. So with wet socks in toe, I made my way back to the apartment for a quick change before going down to Rockley Beach nearby for a quick dip. Lovely!
Once cleaned up with a lick and a promise I went for some dinner in Mojo’s beside the apartment and a few Banks beers, which are absolutely delish. Friday is well known for its party in Oistins, so I grabbed a bus and headed across for an hour for a fish sambo and a few beers in the street. It was a bit touristy, so I scarpered after a while for a well-earned kip.
Saturday
I came out of my 10-hour sleep coma around 10am and headed down Worthing Beach for a Hiit workout, which got the day in full swing. Sweating like a director in Hollywood, I had a quick dip and jogged back to the apartment for some very smelly scrambled eggs. After a quick shower and change, I was on the road up the west coast towards Speightstown on the bus to meet a friend. The trip up takes around 45 minutes but it’s a lovely drive through some typical Bajan towns. I was surprised to see a rake of Guinness bars spotted around the island. The Bajan lads love the black stuff!
And it no surprise they do either. Not many people know but Barbados has a lot of Irish history that can be traced back as far as 1620s, when the British forcibly moved up to 12,000 Irish to Barbados and made them indentured servants. This terms has courted a lot of controversy as some claim the Irish were moved there are slaves, while others say the Irish benefited from the real slavery of African people. You can see cool phots of modern day Irish-Bajans here.
That afternoon I met up with my friend on the beach at the Sandpiper hotel, which is located in Holetown. We chilled on the beach with a few beers and tunes before swimming out to a float to get some rays in for the day. One thing that I found pretty amazing is the Bajan accent. It’s a mixture of English, Welsh and Irish. A few words, you’d swear your chatting to someone from Kerry.
We headed to the local gas station for some more Jamaican patties (obsessed) and with some other friends went back to their place in the mid part of the island for some beers by the pool as the sun set. Beauts! A few Banks’ beer turned into local rum and a late night belting out Westlife. Seems like they made it in Barbados too!
Sunday
I awoke with a very heavy head late on Sunday and went straight to the beach beside the fancy Sandy Lane on the West Coast for a morning dip and the cure…a Jamaican patty and a couple of beers. Sandy Lane is supposedly the hot spot for celebs, but unfortunately not a sign of RiRi. It was without doubt the most stressful beach trip with a combination of crazy tourists and a bad hangover so it didn’t last too long. After a couple of hours I ended up heading back to the house to chill for the late afternoon as sun burn threatened! Wise choice!
I had heard rave reviews about the broasted chicken at Cheffette from locals so that was on the cards for late lunch. Absolutely delish! I also had a chicken and potato roti, which was a carbs bomb but decent. A nap was on the cards after a truckload of food, so I went back to the apartment for a late afternoon chill and a new layer of after sun! A quick shower later I was out and en route to St Lawrence Gap for some food at IRISH BAR, along with a quick Guinness, which wasn’t too bad at all. I had one more in Hals car park bar, which was good craic and then made my way back to the ranch for a big bar of Dairy Milk…getting old!
Monday
I was up bright and early for another run down the boardwalk, which was much better in the early morning heat. A quick shower later, I was on the bus to Pebble Beach for some snorkeling…or so I thought. Turns out you can only buy the snorkel gear, and not rent, so it was just a paddle for myself and some stung eyes while trying to see the ship wreck. With some red eyes, I grabbed a famous flying fish sandwich at Cutz on the beach and made my way back to the flat.
I dropped my gear and then went to Worthing Beach for some drone action, without the drama of the previous time. I managed to soak up another hour or so worth of sun, before going to pack back at the ranch. With an hour or so to kill, I went to Coast bar on the beach for some lunch and a few more Banks to end the trip, before hopping on the jam packed bus and arriving at the airport 30 minutes later.
Without a doubt Barbados is one of the most beautiful islands I’ve been to. Gorgeous beaches, super friendly people, safe and lovely beer, its no wonder its so popular. It can be a little pricey in the main tourist areas but great craic nonetheless. Defo be back! RiRi!
Friday
Another redeye flight was on the cards for this Boy in Green, so I made my way towards JFK on Thursday night with the crazies on the subway and rocked up around 10pm. As everyone knows, there are 3 guarantees in life: Death, Taxes and a 45-minute security queue at American airports, so I made it to the gate just in time for boarding. With an apparent weight imbalance issue on the plane, JetBlue managed to bribe two people to take the next flight with $500 and we were on our way. I’d imagine if that was back home, and Aer Lingus offered a free pint you’d have about 20 people biting your hand off for it.
I landed at 5am and was quick enough through immigration, before killing an hour or two in the airport, as nothing was open until 8am in the city. After enough fluting around, I grabbed a cab and made my way to St Lawrence’s Gap on the south coast for $15USD and about a 20-minute drive from the airport. You can also take the local bus for $1 that is great craic too.
I walked around the area before making my way down to Worthing Beach where my AirBnb was. I munched away on a Jamaican patty…Christ they are lovely, before getting an early check in at the AirBnb opposite the beach. Lovely spot! After a quick unpack, I thought a run along the beach would be a good idea….poor call with the heat! So after 30 minutes of huffing and puffing around the town, and pretty red from the midday sun I made my way back.
I rustled up some eggs after my shower and then hopped on the next bus down to the Bridgetown racetrack with my drone to grab some aerial shots there and at the George Washington house. I then walked down to the main part of Bridgetown to check it out for 30 minutes, before making my way back up to the beautiful Pebble Beach for some more drone action. Pebble Beach is truly gorgeous, and well known for it’s snorkeling among the shipwrecks and turtles.
After a bit of messing with the drone, I didn’t notice the battery level going critical, upon which it went AWOL and kept rising. As a full-grown man, it is definitely the closest I’ve come to shiteing my pants on the spot. I managed to get it to come back towards where I was before grabbing it out of the air and getting thoroughly soaked in the process too. So with wet socks in toe, I made my way back to the apartment for a quick change before going down to Rockley Beach nearby for a quick dip. Lovely!
Once cleaned up with a lick and a promise I went for some dinner in Mojo’s beside the apartment and a few Banks beers, which are absolutely delish. Friday is well known for its party in Oistins, so I grabbed a bus and headed across for an hour for a fish sambo and a few beers in the street. It was a bit touristy, so I scarpered after a while for a well-earned kip.
Saturday
I came out of my 10-hour sleep coma around 10am and headed down Worthing Beach for a Hiit workout, which got the day in full swing. Sweating like a director in Hollywood, I had a quick dip and jogged back to the apartment for some very smelly scrambled eggs. After a quick shower and change, I was on the road up the west coast towards Speightstown on the bus to meet a friend. The trip up takes around 45 minutes but it’s a lovely drive through some typical Bajan towns. I was surprised to see a rake of Guinness bars spotted around the island. The Bajan lads love the black stuff!
And it no surprise they do either. Not many people know but Barbados has a lot of Irish history that can be traced back as far as 1620s, when the British forcibly moved up to 12,000 Irish to Barbados and made them indentured servants. This terms has courted a lot of controversy as some claim the Irish were moved there are slaves, while others say the Irish benefited from the real slavery of African people. You can see cool phots of modern day Irish-Bajans here.
That afternoon I met up with my friend on the beach at the Sandpiper hotel, which is located in Holetown. We chilled on the beach with a few beers and tunes before swimming out to a float to get some rays in for the day. One thing that I found pretty amazing is the Bajan accent. It’s a mixture of English, Welsh and Irish. A few words, you’d swear your chatting to someone from Kerry.
We headed to the local gas station for some more Jamaican patties (obsessed) and with some other friends went back to their place in the mid part of the island for some beers by the pool as the sun set. Beauts! A few Banks’ beer turned into local rum and a late night belting out Westlife. Seems like they made it in Barbados too!
Sunday
I awoke with a very heavy head late on Sunday and went straight to the beach beside the fancy Sandy Lane on the West Coast for a morning dip and the cure…a Jamaican patty and a couple of beers. Sandy Lane is supposedly the hot spot for celebs, but unfortunately not a sign of RiRi. It was without doubt the most stressful beach trip with a combination of crazy tourists and a bad hangover so it didn’t last too long. After a couple of hours I ended up heading back to the house to chill for the late afternoon as sun burn threatened! Wise choice!
I had heard rave reviews about the broasted chicken at Cheffette from locals so that was on the cards for late lunch. Absolutely delish! I also had a chicken and potato roti, which was a carbs bomb but decent. A nap was on the cards after a truckload of food, so I went back to the apartment for a late afternoon chill and a new layer of after sun! A quick shower later I was out and en route to St Lawrence Gap for some food at IRISH BAR, along with a quick Guinness, which wasn’t too bad at all. I had one more in Hals car park bar, which was good craic and then made my way back to the ranch for a big bar of Dairy Milk…getting old!
Monday
I was up bright and early for another run down the boardwalk, which was much better in the early morning heat. A quick shower later, I was on the bus to Pebble Beach for some snorkeling…or so I thought. Turns out you can only buy the snorkel gear, and not rent, so it was just a paddle for myself and some stung eyes while trying to see the ship wreck. With some red eyes, I grabbed a famous flying fish sandwich at Cutz on the beach and made my way back to the flat.
I dropped my gear and then went to Worthing Beach for some drone action, without the drama of the previous time. I managed to soak up another hour or so worth of sun, before going to pack back at the ranch. With an hour or so to kill, I went to Coast bar on the beach for some lunch and a few more Banks to end the trip, before hopping on the jam packed bus and arriving at the airport 30 minutes later.
Without a doubt Barbados is one of the most beautiful islands I’ve been to. Gorgeous beaches, super friendly people, safe and lovely beer, its no wonder its so popular. It can be a little pricey in the main tourist areas but great craic nonetheless. Defo be back! RiRi!
