"When you order flying fish at a restaurant in Barbados, your waiter also may serve up an old island proverb: “They say that once you have tasted our national dish, you’ll return to our country again and again.”
If that’s so, then most visitors to this eastern Caribbean paradise already have savored the ocean delicacy. Barbados boasts one of the region’s highest number of repeat visitors. That’s not surprising, when you consider all that Barbados has to offer.
From its craggy northern coastline to its tranquil Caribbean shore, Barbados is a land of magnificent contrasts. West Indian in flavor, the island retains the traditions of its English colonists. Here you can partake of afternoon tea on the verandah of a luxury resort while enjoying the tropical rhythms of a steel-drum band. Barbados’s story begins several thousand years ago, when Arawak Indians from Venezuela sailed to the island in long canoes. The Arawaks lived here peacefully, growing corn and cassava until around A.D. 1200, when warring Caribs landed, a distinction denied Columbus. Somehow the navigator managed to miss Barbados on all four of his New World voyages. Portuguese explorers were luckier. They named the island Los Barbados, meaning “bearded ones,” a reference, perhaps, to the hirsute Caribs, or the bearded fig trees that grow profusely along the coast. In 1627 the English arrived and claimed the island for King James I. Two years later, 80 English settlers and 10 African slaves established a colony and set about growing sugarcane, an enterprise that would make the planters rich beyond their dreams. During the next two centuries, pirates plundered the coast and slave uprisings threatened to annihilate Barbadian society. Finally slaves were emancipated in 1834 and Barbados gained independence in 1966. Today the nation’s 250,000 inhabitants reflect a mix of African, European and Asian ancestry. And Bajans, as they call themselves, are fiercely proud of their heritage. As local poet Bruce St. John puts it: “All o’ we is Bajan! Bajan to de back-bone...” And this beguiling land of Bajans greets visitors with a wide range of vacation options.
You can tour historic homes, jump up and shout at island festivals, enjoy world-class restaurants and marvel at ecological wonders. Begin your island tour on Broad Street, the main thoroughfare in Bridgetown, Barbados’s charming capital city. Be sure to check out duty-free bargains at stores such as Cave Shepherd, Colombian Emeralds International and Harrison’s. And don’t miss Bridgetown’s many historic sites, including Trafalgar Square, presided over by a statue of Britain’s Admiral Nelson. Around the island you’ll find more historic sites, including stately, well-preserved English plantation houses, such as St. Nicholas Abbey and Francia Plantation Natural attractions abound as well. Because Barbados is partly on the Atlantic and partly on the Caribbean, its coastline ranges from pristine beaches to rugged cliffs.
The western side of Barbados, where you’ll find many of the island’s hotels, boasts some of the best beaches for swimmers and sunbathers, including Mullins Beach, Church Point and Paynes Bay. East Coast beaches, including Bathsheba/Cattlewash, are popular among surfers and experienced windsurfers Nature lovers also will appreciate Harrison’s Cave, one of the island’s most famous attractions. Here you can explore a magnificent underground collection of stalactites, stalagmites, waterfalls and pools. And everywhere you go your senses will be overwhelmed by tropical greenery. Best spots to enjoy the foliage are Andromeda Gardens and the Flower Forest in St. Joseph. Golf aficionados, in particular, will appreciate Barbados. The island boasts some of the Caribbean’s finest courses, including the Royal Westmoreland, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.. When it’s time for a break, you’ll find that Barbados is blessed with a trove of outstanding restaurants, serving international and local specialties. Besides flying fish--so named because they leap from the sea--Bajans enjoy the oddly named cou-cou, a cornmeal and okra porridge and jug-jug, a dish of Guinea corn and green peas. After dinner, head for a club in Bridgetown or Christ Church, where you can dance until the sun comes up again.