Turtle Beach, Barbados

My sister and I arrived in Barbados on Valentine’s Day.  Yet another romantic destination with my sister, oh well, no romance but a few days of relaxation.

This is the first time I have booked an “all inclusive” resort.   There is no end to the number of resorts here in Barbados, so we just picked one.   We are staying at the Turtle Beach by Elegance Hotels on the southern side of the island, an area called Dover Beach.

Turtle Beach looking west

“All inclusive” is not my usual style (I prefer small boutique B&B’s), but we thought we’d try it for a change.  We found out upon arrival that the all inclusive is indeed truly all inclusive.  You can’t turn around without a staff member pushing a rum drink into your hand.

Me on Turtle Beach shortly after our arrival

We made ourselves at home on the pretty beach, with some fairly large waves and endless rum drinks.

Getting close to sunset

One of the many rum drinks we sampled.

Our first full day we were up early and decided to walk along the beach towards St. Lawrence Gap.  We ended up walking almost three hours, the distance from Dover Beach to very nearly Bridgetown.

Very cool tiles inlaid into the sidewalk.

Sidewalk tile closeup

We couldn’t stay along the beach for the entire walk, but followed the beach where we could, along the roads when we had to, and then walked the boardwalk when we reached that point.

St. Lawrence Gap early in the morning.

Me on Carib Beach

Barbados, to my eyes, is a lot like the other Caribbean islands I have visited, (loose chickens everywhere, rusted rebar protruding from abandoned half completed building projects, and very friendly people) but with fewer stray dogs.  We saw quite a few cats, but only two dogs.  I was surprised to see some run down and abandoned properties along the beach front, beside very expensive hotels.

A pretty fence along the road

We ended up walking what we think was about 2 to 2 1/2 miles.  We started out in a light rain, and ended in bright, warm, sunny weather.

Near Worthing

We saw turtle signs but no turtles

Pretty private homes along the beach near Rockley

An unlikely bus stop

We ended our walk at St. Ann’s Fort right outside the Bridgetown Hilton.  From there we jumped into one of the many local minibuses (collectivo) and got a ride back to Dover Beach for $1 US each ($2 Barbados dollars).

The boardwalk ran along the beach from about Accra Beach to Hastings Beach

St. Ann’s Fort just south of Bridgetown, Barbados

All the local people we have spoken with have been very friendly and kind.  The stray cats are all friendly, unafraid, which means no one is harming them.  People offer help even when not asked.  A guy with dreadlocks in the local market proffered a fist for a fist bump and said “Chill out man, you’re in Barbados.”   We are taking his advice and are chilling out.   Just what my sister needed, coming from the frosty NW.