Barbados Shenanigans

When we weren't trying all sorts of yummy food and meeting up with family, the gang and I found ways to entertain ourselves. One day we went tubing, which was nothing like the experience I had in Massachusetts, one evening was spent on a pirate party boat, and another day we went snorkeling and swimming with turtles.

I know what you're thinking. That's so cool! Why didn't you post about this earlier?  Well, the main reason is because Mike took some great video and pictures with his GoPro and I didn't bring the cable to hook it up to my tablet. Womp womp. And as cool as writing about it is, pictures really enhance the story. So I waited until we got home stuck in the Barbados airport for an eight hour delay, where we eventually ended up in the VIP lounge with a computer where I could hook up the camera and write about our adventures.  Thanks, American Airlines.  But not really.

Tubing
In June, Mike and I went up to his parents' to go tubing along the Quaboag River, where we slowly floated on down while shooting the breeze.  When Kim suggested we go tubing one afternoon, I thought it would be somewhat like that.  Oh boy, I was wrong.

These guys had huge inter tubes with the middle section covered up so that you could lie on them and had them tied to the end of their boat.  They then put the pedal to the metal and took sharp turns, trying to see how many people they could get to fall off.  It was so. much. fun.  Sadly, I don't have pictures, but Mike took some great videos that I'm going to edit and post on YouTube at a later date.  Keep a look out for it!

Jolly Rodger
If you ask my friends and family what sort of activities I'm not really into, I promise you that a party cruise would be a fairly popular answer.  When Kim suggested that we go on the Jolly Rodger, I was leaning towards skipping it.  But then Reggie and Linda decided to go as well, and it was hard to say no.  In the end, I am so happy that Mike and I did go.

Reggie, Mike, me, Linda, and James before getting on the boat.

Kim and Jerry.

The Jolly Rodger is a pirate ship that does lunch and dinner shows.  All of us went for the dinner show on Thursday and had a blast.  You arrive at the port in Bridgetown for pre-dinner drinks and a show.  They had a drag queen host and fire breathers, dancers, and more.

Kim with our drag queen Emcee. 

Crop Over dancers. 

After the show, you hop on the boat for dinner and, you guessed it, more drinks!  There is also dancing and another little show that they put on towards the end of the cruise.

The entire thing was admittedly a little corney, but we all had such a great time.  It was raining a little before and during our time on the ship, but towards the end it let up.  Nobody seemed to notice that the rain had stopped, which was fantastic because Mike and I went dancing on the top deck and no one else was there!  We were able to make total fools out of ourselves without onlookers.  Evenutally, we got Reggie and Linda to come up as well and they agreed that it was much nicer than dancing on the bottom deck like a bunch of packed-in sardines.

Even though this blurry, I feel like it perfectly captured our evening. 

Snorkeling and Turtles
You long time readers are already familiar with my past snorkeling adventures.  I have come to enjoy it so much that I am seriously entertaining the idea of becoming SCUBA certified.  Getting up close to these fish and other animals is absolutely amazing and I'd love to get closer.

I think it's a good look for us.

One morning, we got on a boat that took us out to a ship wreck where an artificial reef has been made.  We got to see all sorts of fish up close and personal.  I have never been so close to so many fish at once.  You could reach out and touch them (if you were fast enough).  It was nuts.

The reef on the ship wreck.

After we explored the ship wreck, we got back on the boat and headed over to see some turtles!  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  They even got close enough that you could reach out and touch their shells. 

So cool.

Now we can put turtles on our list of animals that we have swum with.  Hopefully we can add dolphins next!

These excursions were a lot of fun.  And being able to enjoy them with family that you don't get to see regularly made it even better.

Bajan Food

I feel like I am learning something new about Reggie all the time on this trip. One new fact I have picked up on is that he is a really good cook. 

Since food can get expensive here, Reggie cooked up a bunch of meals and snacks in Massachusetts, froze them, and brought them down with him. We have had the pleasure of eating all sorts of yummy things, such as fish cakes, curried chicken, and oxtail soup.  And it wouldn't be a Bajan meal without hot sauce. Mike and I are absolutely hooked on this stuff. I have bought two bottles of it at the grocery store to bring back with us. 

Look at all that spicy goodness.

The few times we have gone out to eat, we have tried to stick to ordering items off the local menu. Yesterday, I had roti for lunch. When I first heard of it, I thought of the Mediterranean restaurants in DC and Chicago, but I was kind of off base. Roti is spiced meat and potatoes wrapped in shell very similar to a tortilla. It's probably one of my new favorite foods. 

Roti!

Other delicious food that we have had includes macaroni pie and turnovers. On Sunday, we are going to meet up with Reggie's family for the afternoon and I'm sure there will be many more yummy things to try. 

We have also been drinking a lot of rum and the local beer, Banks. It tastes like water and it is easy to down a few without realizing that you have.  So we have been drinking mostly rum, with any sort of mixer we can find.  We also have bottles we are bringing home. :)

Now that I've written about food, I need to go find some. 

You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

The days leading up to our trip down to Barbados were a little busy, to say the least. It started with us seeing Billy Joel perform at Wrigley Field on Friday night (which was absolutely amazing), followed by going out to one of Chicago's suburbs on Saturday to photograph a wedding.  Then we got out of bed early on Sunday to fly to Miami, where we would spend a little under 24 hours before setting off again on Monday, finally to Barbados.  As someone recently said to me, we don't like feeling the grass grow beneath our feet. 

Billy Joel live at Wrigley.

Our layover in Miami was alright. I found a deal for us on Jetsetter at the Freehand hostel, which worked out nicely. We had a suite, which consisted of two rooms - one with a TV and couch and another with a bed. It was cool and quiet, which was nice. But I doubt the rest of guests were staying in those rooms as they appeared to be a lot of young Europeans on a gap year.  I felt a little old staying there because it seemed that everyone was in their early twenties and preferred to spend their Sunday evening getting sloppy at the hostel's cocktail bar while all I wanted to do was sleep.  But I will admit, that cocktail bar did make damn good drinks. 

We got to walk around Miami Beach and check it out. The portion we explored was somewhat underwhelming as the water felt lukewarm and there was seaweed everywhere. It was also a million percent humidity, which didn't help matters. But we eventually found a Cuban restaurant to eat at, so that was nice. 

When we arrived in Barbados, Mike's uncle, Reggie, and one of his family members met us at the airport.  We made our way to our hotel, where Mike's aunt, Linda, was waiting for us. There were hugs for all and you could immediately tell how excited they were (and still are!) to have us here. 

Our first view of the island.

Another fun part about this trip is that Reggie's grandson and his girlfriend are here as well. And they are hilarious and a ton of fun. Neither Mike nor I have met much of Reggie's family, so it's nice that we are able to now. 

On our first night here, we went out to watch some people sing karaoke with Reggie and Linda at a place called La Bouche in Speightstown. We had to take a bus, which was an experience. There are some government owned buses and there are some private ones. We hoped on a private one that was going a million miles an hour and blaring music. It was awesome.  The government ones didn't have music blaring, but they still drove like bats out of hell. Typically, that sort of thing terrifys me but I loved it here. 

I keep joking with Linda that we need to allow extra time when going places with Reggie because he knows so many people here and stops to say hi to them all. I feel like I am getting to know a lot of people here already.  And who knows what he still has in store for us. He has been a wonderful host so far and I am sure that he will continue to be. 

Family Fun in the Caribbean Sun

Before we went to Europe this past spring, I wrote that Mike and I are incredibly lucky to have friends all over the world.  I still stand by that statement and think that having friends who live and have ties to different places across the globe is fantastic.  But now, I want to change what I originally said to also include family.

For those of you who don't know, Mike's uncle, Reggie, is from Barbados.  Although he and Mike's aunt, Linda, live in Massachusetts, they still have strong ties to the island.  I love listening to Reggie talk about life there, and he is very well aware of that.  So a few months ago, he invited me and Mike to come with him and Linda to Barbados this summer.  It took us about two seconds to agree to that. 

Linda and Reggie at our wedding.

Part of the reason I am so excited for this trip is that we will get to see the island with someone who is actually from there and knows his way around, which, in my opinion, makes for a better time.  

An added bonus to this trip is that we will be going during Crop Over, which may sound familiar to some of you because Rihanna, who is originally from Barbados, sometimes takes part in it.  One of our friends whose family is from Barbados spent an evening telling me all about the celebrations, and now I can't wait to experience it, albeit with more clothing than RiRi.

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So where exactly is Barbados?  Glad you asked!  Here's a map that will help you out:

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As you can see, Barbados isn't super close to Chicago.  We have to connect both ways in Miami, which makes me a little nervous as I have heard less than stellar things about immigration at that airport.  Anyone care to refute that?  (Please?)  
Our flights down to Barbados didn't line up exactly the way we were hoping they would because American Airlines was only offering us layovers that had us stuck at the Miami Airport for a minimum of 9 hours (boo).  So we have decided to spend a day in Miami on our way down (yay!).  Even though Miami is not a destination abroad, I've decided to write about it anyway.  If anyone has any suggestions for things we should not miss during our 20-ish hour stay there, please let me know!

The week before this trip is going to be quite busy, so spending time at the beach is going to be very welcomed.  Keep your eyes open for posts our about upcoming various island adventures!  

Also, I created a Facebook page for my blog.  Like it if you have a second :)