The Eastern Caribbean

March 2006

Spaceman recently took a trip with spacegirl to the Eastern Caribbean for a holiday and a friend's wedding.  These are some of the images of the trip to Barbados, Tobago and St Lucia (click on the picture above for a full sized map).

Barbados

We were situated right on the beach in Barbados at the Southern Palms Hotel in St Lawrence Gap, one of the more lively parts of the island located on the south coast (click on map for full size picture).

This was the view having taken a few steps from the door of our room, and then from the beach itself.

The England 'A' cricket side were playing West Indies 'A' in Barbados while we there, so we took the opportunity of popping along to watch (as did Michael Vaughan, apparently, but we didn't see him).  As the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown is being refurbished for the 2007 World Cup, the match was instead played at the University's pleasant-looking ground.

Going clockwise, these photos show a solid English defensive stroke, Lancashire's Saj Mahmood in full flow, the plaques showing all West Indian Test match centuries and 5-fors, and Glamorgan's Alex Wharf looking dejected on the boundary, having bowled a bit crap and been consigned to the field for the remainder of the match.

Even in the Caribbean during the dry season you can get rain delays...

In the end, England A's total was not enough and West Indies A closed out a fairly comfortable victory, knocking off the reduced target thanks to a century by captain Marlon Samuels.  England A, full of former and current England players (some of whom would join up with the England team in India following this series), were woeful in the field, with lots of wides, misfields, overthrows and dropped catches.  But a good day was had by all.

Oh and a special mention the number 3 "bus" that got us from the university cricket ground to Bridgetown.  It was cheap but very, very cramped.

This is the local beer in Barbados...

...and very nice it is too.

(The photo above shows what you get when you ask for two bottles of beer during happy hour.)

Later on, we got a little drunk (thanks to the happy hour) and pulled silly faces

As inevitably as rain falls in Manchester and a wee accompanies a poo, there was an Irish bar in St Lawrence Gap.  There we watched a band play some damn fine tracks (Franz Ferdinand, Weezer, the main tracks from the films Grosse Pointe Blank and Reality Bites).  They were called, a bit cornily, Driftwould, possibly one of the worst band names around.

One of the best things to do in Barbados is to take a cataraman cruise up the west coast, which is precisely what we did, goddammit.  Here some views from such a trip (yes, it was a bit cloudy).  On the first photo, you can see the fish in the water, enticed to the surface by bits of bread.  The snorkelling involved swimming near turtles, exotic-looking fish and coral reefs.

Here's a quick reminder of what happens if you have too much free rum from the bar.  Don't do it, kids...

Anyway, the time eventually came when we had to move on in our adventure, flying on the ubiquitous Caribbean Star airline via Grenada.  It was an eye-opener - both the size of the plane and the building work going on at the airport.  Here are some images.

Firstly, the phones were not quite up to scratch (click for a bigger picture).

This was the, er, departure corridor, and a view of the plane from the end of the corridor.

Finally, a view of the plane, although with the loading door open it looks like we are about to be subjected to some divine intervention.

Tobago

We were staying at the Hilton in Tobago, which occupies a significant proportion of the southern part of the island.  This is the island where the wedding took place and a lot of the guests on the groom's side were staying here.  (Click on the map for a bigger view.)

It was getting on a bit by the time we got to the Hilton, and with spaceman feeling a bit under the weather, it was decided to go with room service.  And here it is, ordered with a slice of tomato on the side.

It was difficult to really get a flavour of Tobago on the taxi journey to the hotel, which was provided by the helpful Mr Alfred Craig, who gave information on the place names on the route from the airport.  In the morning, however, the beauty of the view from the hotel room was all apparent (all rooms face the sea at the Hilton).

The pool was right on the sea front, as you can see from this picture.

Finally, the view up and down the coastline.

There was a bit of accessible beach too, just in case anyone fancied a dip.

We were a bit lazy on the first full day in Tobago, spending a day checking out the hotel and the pool, before retiring to the Robinson Crusoe pub to play darts, pool and order bar food.  Here are the highlights.

Where the darts are going, nobody knows.  Same thing with the pool balls, really.  Kapow!

And then the big day was upon us.  The wedding was being held at Stonehaven Villas on the west coast.  It was an idyllic setting...

Spacegirl looked on approvingly and, dare we say it, a little wistfully.  And the music was provided by a mini steel band.  Those boys could play.

The highlight of the ceremony, as the guy in charge regaled us with tales many and random.  Plus, the inevitable post-match photos.

The late afternoon stampede for food gets ugly.

Especially with (free) bar not yet open.

We didn't have to wait too long, however. The quiet word from the bride's father seemed to help matters along.  And so we turned to the local brew, Stag, which is 5.5% in strength, stronger than the alternative, Carib. 

As the sun sets, there is a photographic stampede for the perfect shot of the married couple.

It did make for a picturesque setting.

The traditional scramble for the bouquet was inevitable.

And we think this was where the groom removed the bride's garter with his, um, teeth.

And there was much dancing.

Meanwhile, spaceman looked on with a cool aloofness (or perhaps enjoying a brief sleep after copious alcohol and photos).

The groom later found himself in the previously tranquil pond thanks to the best man and others.  What a way to end the day!

After the late night partying of the Saturday, we were determined to get out and about in Tobago on the Sunday, but only if we could go in the afternoon.  Luckily, one such trip was available, run by Ali Baba's.  We were first taken up to Fort King George, which offered some good views of the island (including the Dwight Yorke Stadium in the first shot).

Next up was the trip to the Argyle waterfall, which was the highlight of the trip.  There was only us on the trip, which was a good job as the minibus wasn't the biggest.  Here was our guide for the afternoon, posing with a cocoa pod, as we strolled through the former cocoa plantations.

There had been heavy rainfall overnight and, as a result, the river and waterfall were stained orange, as the rain picked up mud on the way down from the mountains.  It was strangely reminiscent of the Bridgewater Canal, but without the tyres and shopping trolleys (etc).

It was a treacherous journey, especially in flip-flops, but eventually we got there.

And it was worth it.

On the way back, we engaged in a bit of a nature spot (thanks to our guide, mainly).  The first shows the crazy bamboo trees, with each bamboo shoot growing until it can no longer support itself and bends; the second shows, um, a bird (we forget the name, but it's not a kingfisher, which it kinda looks like).

Once we we had come out of the Argyle waterfall "park", we were taken on a long and winding road of much of the rest of the island (certainly the "up in the trees" parts).  He had signed the afternoon over to us and so Tobago was our proverbial oyster.  This was one of the views on our journey.  Of a bay.

With the sun coming down, we stopped off at Englishman's Bay for a bite to eat (food not shown).

We even had time to stop off for a peek at the guide's house (dammit, can't remember his name).

Later that night, we headed over to the event of the week, that everyone seemed to talk about it.  That's it, Sunday School.

Luckily this didn't involve learning our nine times table and Jesus's cookery skills (or whatever).  Instead, it was a street party with lots of food and beer.  (Mmmm.. food and beer.)  But first (well, after getting a couple of bottles of Stag), it was time to take in the steel band.

It certainly got the old men going, who danced their little (and perhaps slightly weak) hearts with any lady who entered their range...

We then took part in the most random casino-style game ever to have existed.  Random because the person who ran it made up the rules as he went along, basically until everyone had lost all their money.  We may as well have just stuffed all our cash into his pockets, but luckily spaceman only put in a couple of dollars, which you can just see at the bottom of the picture (motto: never bet heavily on a game you don't understand).  Still, it was fun while it lasted.

Spacegirl was temped by a shark sandwich, effortlessly and skilfully prepared by the gentleman below.  Apparently, it was gorgeous.

And then, in our whistle-stop tour of Tobago, it was time to leave and say goodbye to some beautiful scenery and views...

This was the view from the hotel lobby.  Sea, glorious sea.

In thorough contrast to the enjoyment of the past few days, the bride, groom and spacegirl manage to look thoroughly fed up with things at Tobago airport.  The plane was slightly late but the staff cared not.

And, having hopped on and off the island of Grenada on the way down to Tobago and on the way back again, it was only right that we got a shot of it.  Hello there!

St Lucia

So, on to our final destination of the trip, St Lucia.  (Click for a bigger view.)

We stayed in the north, in Gros Islet, at a small hotel from which it was a short (15 minute) walk to the beach, although, as in Barbados, taxi drivers were eager to offer you their trade.  However, we got there in the evening and so the first priority was to check out the local beer (Piton).  The restaurant we went to had masks, which we affectionately named "Eddie" and "Doylie".

The beach was a little strange in that all the sun loungers were lined up in three neat rows, and you were peppered with questions as to whether you wanted to buy anything (although, in their defence, you could get beers delivered to your chair).  It still offered a splendid view, though (even if it was slightly cloudy).

The second picture above shows, in the distance, Pigeon Island, which we were to visit later.  Meanwhile, we stop off at Spinnakers on the beach for a bite to eat, and a cracking steak.  Spacegirl attacks a burger with what can only be aptly described as gusto.

And, as the sun started to come down, the views became ever more spectacular.  More importantly, though, everyone cleared off in the late afternoon and left the beach empty and tranquil.

And so, on the next day, we ventured out to Pigeon Island...

And this offered some good camera opportunities looking back onto Gros Islet Bay.

Not content with sitting on our arses while over here, we trekked up the short-ish path to the look-out at the top of the hill, and it was worth it...

Next, views of the other hilltop, to which we never ventured, and our "ferry".

Early in the morning, we were subjected to a torrential downpour (and in the "dry" season too).  This was the view from our room.  The sheer force of the rain doesn't really come across in the photo, but the sky looks angry enough.

Our third full day in St Lucia and time to get busy with a rainforest tour.  We set off southward, heading to Castries, a town on the west coast, and a hotspot for cruiseliners, such as this one.

We wound our way up a hill in our open-top safari vehicle in order to get the following views...

We were also shown the gates of some political building or other.

We were driven further into the hills for a view of the surrounding mountains...

...whereupon we were offered to try fresh coconuts (the juice was a little like warm water with sugar added).  Meanwhile, spacegirl surveys the tour jeep.

This is a shot of the highest mountain on St Lucia, called "Jimmy", or something like that.

We soon left the jeep behind and trekked (although it was by no means onerous, except the slippery stepping stones over the streams).  One of our goals was a waterfall, which was somewhat less powerful and spectacular than the one in Tobago, but was scenic nevertheless.  This was also the time when the driver showed us how to look a bit scary with a machete and a coconut.

Next stop was a tranquil (at least, until we all jumped in), um, pond.

On we went, this time to a small, old-fashioned-looking village, with a great view of the sea with the sun coming down.

And it was a nice little bay

The next shots show just how "stuck in time" the village seemed.

The next day, it was time for our trip to the two Piton mountains, the sightseeing pinnacle of the island.  Our main vehicle for the day was again a catamaran, on what was a cloudy but occasionally sunny day...

Eventually, we get a long-range glimpse of what we came to see...

We then pull into the port near the mountains.

We make our way inland, first stopping at a park, which has the obligatory waterfall, which couldn't fit into a single shot with the range available...

Then it was time for the "drive-in volcano", which was not quite as it sounds.  Basically, the volcano had collapsed some time ago and it was subsequently possible to walk around on top of the flattened volcano.  Here is a shot of the bubbling, er, mud...

This was the mud pool that was named after a guide who fell in when the ground caved in while attempting to demonstrate how stable the surface was.  He suffered bad burns but is still alive (and fathering!) today.  The steam rising was noted as  good thing as it served to release the pressure underground.  Indeed, it is when the steam stops rising that there are potential problems.

On the second shot, you can just about make out the road on the right which we came in on.  Next up was the cocoa plantation and nature reserve garden place.

On the left are cocoa pods; on the right are some exotic-looking flowers.  There were arrays of cocoa beans baking in the hot sun...

We were then taken to the cocoa dancing shed, where a local employee showed us his moves in a big bowl.

After a tasty lunch, our inland journey was over, and it was time to head back to the sea craft.  The sun came out, emphasising the picturesque nature of the bay.

Here's a view of the Gros Piton.

And both of them together, and a view of the pirate ship in the foreground, shortly before we were boarded, pillaged and beaten to within an inch of our lives.  Not really.

We pulled into another bay for a bit of a swim, and the locals found ingenious ways of selling - this guy is selling sea shells that produce really annoying deep horn sounds.

As we approached home, we got an increasingly good view of Pigeon Island.

Although it was sunny, there were still some clouds on one side, which gave some interesting photo opportunities.

In particular, the second shot seems to suggest that someone up above wants a word.  Friday night and it's time for the street party.  It wasn't as genial as the Sunday School street party, however, and we didn't stay that long.  The plethora of taxi drivers made the task of getting back to the hotel very easy.

Our last full day in the Caribbean and, with spacegirl not feeling 100%, and after a couple of day trips, it was time to take it easy at the beach, with the key being to arrive there at around 3pm or so, once most people had cleared off to wherever they cleared off to.  It was time to get the last few scenic piccies...

Again, the sun started to come down, offering numerous photo taking opportunities...

We decided to eat at Spinnakers and watch the sun set.

A final view of Spinnakers.

We head back to the hotel, but not before stopping at a shop in which the assistant is trying to watch the cricket on a low quality TV.

We watch a bit of cricket back at the room, and manage to catch a highly comedic moment.  The picture shows two West Indian batsmen at the same end, and television replays were required to decide who was out, a completely unique experience.

We venture outside to catch a little of the distinctly average live band, and luckily we are sheltered when the heavens open.

The connecting flight from St Lucia to Barbados was delayed, enough to enable a few more camera opportunities (but not enough to miss the flight to England).

And then... the holiday was all over, as illustrated by the "fed up in Manchester" look (on the bus from the plane to the terminal).

The end.

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