Day 3 - Barbados

It is appropriate that today's entry is about Barbados. Eight years ago today we got married on this beach in Barbados. On this cruise we got to go back to "our":little beach for a while.

It wasn't as easy to get there as you might think. First, neither of us knew the name of the beach. Neither of us could remember the name of the little church right next to the beach. We tried searching for "Anglican churches on the beach in Barbados" but that didn't get us anything that looked or sounded familiar. We tried searching for the wedding planner who helped us Barbados but apparently she has left the business. Early on the morning we landed in Barbados I remembered that I took a picture of the church and had all the photos from our earlier cruise on an online backup site. Using the ship's wi-fi, I found the photo. Now we had a name, Church of Jesus the Good Shepherd, but not a location. Now we needed was someone who knew where it is.

Outside in the taxi queue we finally found Vincent, at driver who knew where the church is and who was willing to take us there.

Vincent told us later why the other drivers were so reluctant to take us, even if they knew where the church is. Only so many taxis are allowed in the port area at one time. Once the taxi drivers leave the port area they have to wait for the queue to open up so they can get back in. Since ours was the only boat in port that day, it was unlikely he would get back in and get another fare. The drivers were all looking for big scores – major tours around the island or whatever. They didn’t want a single one-way $20 fare. We tried to make the day worth his while. He waited for us at the church/beach. When we walked back to to the car, we asked him if there was a beach nearby where we could snorkel. Vincent took us to hotel so we could change into bathing suits, then to a beach called Paynes Bay where we could snorkel with turtles. 

Again Vincent waited for us. From Paynes Bay he took us on a tour through the city of Bridgetown and on to Lobster Alive. This restaurant is right on the beach. The lobstermen bring their catch in here to be weighed sorted and ultimately set to other restaurants on the island. It''s also where you make contact with the boat that takes you parasailing, which we did on our wedding day. Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately) the parasailing boat wasn't available this time. Nor were the flying fish sandwiches we ate there last time. They've taken them off the menu. Now it's pretty much lobster dinners that start at $100 Barbados ($50 US). Too rich for our blood! But we did meet up with Amy and the crew there and had more than a few cold Banks beers. (Banks is the staple local brew.)

From our cruise eight years ago, I had a photo very much like this one of the beach taken from Lobsters Alive. When we returned from that trip, that photo became my desktop wallpaper. I always referred to it as "my happy place." That was before we moved to our current paradise in Puerto Rico.

By a twist of  "destiny" (the ship we sailed on the first cruise was named Destiny) today is not only our wedding anniversary but also the anniversary of the day we opened Ola Lola's.  So happy anniversary to mi amor, mi dushi, mi querida, my love. And happy anniversary to all of us at Ola Lola's!