Emerald Beach St. James

Barbados was great (we stayed in Holetown) – fabulous weather, a fully equipped apartment near the shops, bars and restaurants, in a great location with beach frontage.

We ate well, slept a lot, lay on the white sand beach, swam and snorkelled and went to the Cropover festival. We watched the amazing procession of floats, equipped with massive speakers, churning out reggae, as young (and not so ...

... in front of them, others staff members trying to use their benefits but falling short. The customer service of the AA representatives was horrendous enough to be worthy of its own blog, but it's not one I feel like writing right now. We were all trying different options. We thought about trying from different airlines - everything is full. Different islands, everything is full. We even thought ...

This is my third day trying to get out of the island on standby. I was 38/47 on the list earlier. So many families of staff members using their tickets for holiday.. It's insanity. It seems to be impossible to get out of the Caribbean right now! Hopefully I'll figure out something soon, otherwise I may have to cancel parts of my itinerary.. :(

... shack of a dive shop from yesterday), called Dread or Dead. Uh huh. Inside the shop we met up with Matthew, who appears to be the "Dread" (or "dred"?) part of the operation. Matthew has the kind of island accent that make you instantly sure that everything is going to be all right and there's no reason at all that you should ever worry - you should just be happy. Matthew sent us over to meet the instructor, Cain (Cane? Kane?), a 22-year-old ...

... The island is so beautiful with all of its tropical exotic trees and colours. One could stay here forever.

We were then driven through Holetown, where the island's first settlers landed in 1627. Upon our return, we passed in front of numerous luxury hotels and houses.

The island is purely marvelous. Our short stay here provided us with lots of memories that we will cherish forever.

Thankful for scenic drives.

Mo

Dear Blog,

"Welcome to Barbados!" as the sign said, "Island where rich tropical fields meet a glistering azure sea". Quite true! As the ship made its way through the channel, the view of the island was spectacular!!.

Barbados is 270 miles from the coast of Venezuela. The island is really small in size being 14 by 21 miles. The population however, is 279,000 and the capital is Bridgeport.

Barbados, Barbados momentsintime

... I pass through Immigration bpam bpam bpam (that's Thai) without a word, so who knows: do they not know that maybe I overstayed? Do they not care? I didn't want to ask for fear of getting the wrong result, so the mystery will remain so, at least until the next time. Still it's bothersome. The last thing a traveler wants to worry about is his Immigration stamp. But that's okay, since otherwise I'd feel pampered. If I admit to ...

... which had a small pergola under which is was dry. We had a pick up time of 14.30 but considering the Great Flood was on its way we doubted the cabbie would be there, so we started to hike back....under the pouring rain, and when we arrived to Mullin's bar he was there. I've never been happier to see a cab. Back to the cruise terminal, bought 2 liters of Mount Gay and off to the ship to dry out.

... We walked the narrow street (no sidewalks) for about two miles, as cars whizzed past us. We found the restaurant - a "hole in the wall" place really, made our order and took in the feel of the neighborhood. As we waited for our food, Arlette and Anita enjoyed some steel drum music, while Michael and David journeyed over to the watch some local men slice up a shark they had caught just moments earlier in the waters several miles off shore ...

... definitely be hung in my room once i get back to davis. in reflection, the hazing process was more than worth it, and i wouldn't have wanted to start off my semester here any other way. i made a lot friends, and people who i'm not yet friends with i at least already have something in common with. it was difficult and it sucked at times, but just like the super seniors told us, i can now look back at the experience and realize that it was a very meaningful one. with the end of the ...