Barbados - Day 6 & 7

Wednesday was a quieter day. I headed to Accra beach again in the morning for another swim and sunbathe, then headed to my friend David's for lunch. He has a lovely house in St Michael. He showed me around his place and we sat down over lunch and had a great time and caught up properly with each others lives.  After being dropped back at the hotel, I went for another swim at the beach then headed up and joined a friend at the pub in the Hilton. Learnt all the gossip of the island and realised that nothing had changed. Barbados is a small place and everyone knows everyone else's business, who's having affairs, who's swindling who, and realised that it was the same old stories from 1979!!

Thursday I had arranged to meet up with a member of the Photographic Society who was taking me birding all day.  He picked me up quite early in the morning, and I still was feeling very unwell. He took me to a pharmacy and I was able to get some cold/flu tablets that got me through the day. And the day was great - I took so many photos of the wildlife in Barbados. I didn't realise that there were so many species - back in 1979, I was busy taking photos of parties and people, but come 2018, as a photographer, I'm far more interested in nature than of people.et

Meet Julian Moore - who took me out for the day with my camera. He knew all the best places to find the birds, and at the end of the day, I had seen more of Barbados in a day, than I had in the whole year I had lived there in 1979. It was an incredible day.

The Carib Grackle

Western Sandpiper.

Snowy Egret... 

Sandpiper and Plover

Snail - I remember seeing these in 1979 - these are an invasive species called the Giant African Snail (GAS). Didn't think they were that giant though!

Cattle Egret - it had started to rain, and it doesn't look very happy getting wet!

Then it poured - a tropical downpour. Actually it wasn't that warm!

And got Squally too.

Moorhen and Chick sheltering from the storm!

Green Heron - and the first time I had seen one of these.

Yellow Warbler - beautiful songster..

And no visit to any Carribean Island is complete without a frangipani iage!

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks.. - Another first for me.

Green Bajan Monkey. I saw these often in 1979, but never did manage to get a photo back then!

Green Heron - note the skull behind it. Hope it's a monkey skull and not human. Also the shell in front as well is interesting.

 Scarlet Dragonfly... This is a male, the females were yellow and were much harder to photograph. Like all females - much busier - they don't stop as often to rest as the males!!

Red Billed Tropic Bird - also a first...

Julian then brought me to this amazing wetland area. I had visited it in Barbados in 1979, but I can't remember who took me there or when - it has a sort of dream like memory of it. To see it again I was so excited, as the place had made an impression on me for beauty and wildlife back when I was 17. I was still impressed in 2018.

We walked through to the gorgeous beach. Deserted. Beautiful.

 Great White Egrets having a bad hair day...

Yellow Greater Legs. I have previously seen this bird but only in captivity (in the Montreal Biodome).  It gave a warning call to others when it flew off that two photographers were in the vicinity!

The wetands were rife with fish, just on the surface...

And lots of crabs in the sand...

Making it perfect fishing spot for all species.

After we left the wetland area, we headed to Oistins, where we got Roti's and sat on the beach enjoying the sunshine and seeing yet more birdlife.  The Ruddy Turnstone, which I've now seen in NZ, Galveston Island, and in Barbados.

I love the fishing boats.

Laughing Gull, which I've now seen in Netherlands, Galveston Island, and Barbardos.

One very dirty Cattle Egret.

And a sandpiper.

Oistins looked quite different now that the crowds of the festival had gone...

Also while we were out birding, we passed some more interesting chattel houses...

And an old windmill. There used to be lots of these scattered around in 1979, but most of them have apparently been pulled down.

This is the new social housing development.  Reminds of that song.... Little Boxes, On the hillside, etc.. For those that don't know it - you can listen to it below the image.

I also photographed the sugar cane harvest. It reminded me of the grape harvest in Marlborough. But it showed me how far Barbados had come since 1979. When I was there they were still cutting the cane with scythes, and people were still walking around with one arms or no hands where there had been accidents!  Glad it has been modernised!

All in all it was a fabulous day. Thank you so much Julian for the opportunity - it was greatly appreciated and I will remember it forever.

After I got dropped back to the hotel, I got dressed up and went to dinner with some friends at a lovely restaurant on the water. It was lovely.

Barbados - Day 5

I headed down to Accra Beach first thing in the  morning and got a bit of a suntan.  Accra beach is a beach I used to go to in my lunch hour when I attended College in Barbados in 1979.  It was a place that was peaceful, beautiful, and I could eat my lunch in peace and just relax and unwind.  It was a place where 'beach bums' were abound and often I was propositioned.  I had got so good back then getting rid of them - all sorts of excuses, but the one that worked the best was 'no english'!

So this particular morning, it was overcast and warm, the sand soft, water warm. I still had my cold and was still miserable, so the beach was perfect. Salt water is good for colds.

On my way out of the car park I was propositioned by a beach bum. I chuckled - big difference - 17, and now 56, yet I still got propositioned! Great for my ego.  I turned them down!

After a quick shower, I headed up to Holetown to meet Pat for lunch at the Holetown shops.  It was another great catch up, and even better, Raymond dropped her off so I got to say hello for ten minutes. One of the highlights of my trip. He still has the kindest eyes and the best smile, and still looks great. It was lovely to see him.  Lunch was wonderful and I was sad to leave and say Bye to Pat knowing that I wouldn't have time to see her again, and that I probably won't get back to Barbados again in my lifetime, although if I did, I would want to stay for 3 weeks!  

After my lunch, I headed back to the hotel and once again went down and lay on the beach at the Hilton, had another swim. Grabbed a bite to eat, then rang my old school friend Athelstone Catling. The conversation went like this?

Me: - Hello -is Telston there please?

Wife: - Yes just a minute - goes off to get him.

Telston: - Hello

Me: - Hi, I'm not sure if you remember me but

Telston - Robyn?

Me - Yes

Telston - From New Zealand?

Me - Yes

Telston: where are you - are you in barbados?

Me - Yes

Telston - Where are you staying

Me - The Hilton

Telston - I'll be right there. Phone Slammed down!!!

Haha! - He was excited.  I wandered down to the lobby and waited and he turned up 20 minutes later and give me the biggest hug I've had in years!  I needed somewhere quieter to talk so invited him up to my room, where we had a big catch up. I showed him some AV's of New Zealand and described the earthquake.  Suddenly he said - I want to show you my island, and off we went. A few pubs, met his friends and had proper bajan food.

After a few hours I persuaded him to to take my back to the hotel as I was still sick and wanted my sleep, but we agreed to meet again on Friday all day and he would show me around the island.

Another great day - not so many photos - mainly catching up with people I know and eating!

Barbados - Day 4

Up very early this morning to take Suzie and Rick to the airport for their homeward journey.  I was staying on for another 5 days to really explore the island in depth.  I was really sick by now with a throat like broken glass shards, and a cold. After dropping them off, I headed to the Hilton Hotel with a view to check in early and leaving my luggage in storage until later.  However, they allowed me to check in at 5.30am - however my original booking had been cancelled and they wanted me to re-book at the current price (about twice as much as I booked it for). The manager wasn't there yet, so I just headed up to my room and hopped into bed and went back to sleep. I woke at 9.30am and then wandered down to sort the booking out. Fortunately I had all my original paperwork and they then matched the original price.  I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't - probably sleep on the beach!!

After that was sorted out - I headed to Huntes Garden. Huntes Garden was created by a English horticulturist, Anthony Hunte, in the centre of Barbadoss rain forest in a sink-hole-like gully. the garden offers a multidimensional experience with vigorous plants densely growing on many levels from sunny and open spaces, down to the heart of a real carribean jungle.

Initially I was going to go with someone from the photographic society, but because I was sick I suggested it be cancelled as I didn't want to pass on my bugs. I got there must later than I wanted to, early morning would have been better - by the time I was there it was late morning.

I knew there were hummingbirds, and that was my primary focus.  I talked to Anthony Hunte when I arrived and he showed me where the hummers land and told me to focus my camera on the pink flower. I set up my camera with my telephoto lens,then stood up to look around. Then my saw my first hummingbird - he came right up to me, hovered within inches of my face and stared at me intently. Then darted away. If I had had my wide angle lens on, I would have got the shot. 

I sat and waited. They are like clockwork - every 15 minutes they come in and drink at the same place.  My first shots were rubbish -with no hummingbirds in  New Zealand, I haven't had much practise. Experimented with settings and eventually I started getting a few shots that I liked.

In between the 15 minute intervals, I took photos of the flora/fauna around me. It was a really beautiful garden.

 I remember these lizards from 38 years ago. I used to have a few in my bedroom!  They are the Barbados Anole.

 

After the garden, I headed back to the hotel, lay on the beach, had a swim, then went up to my room and snoozed for several hours.  I awoke around 4pm. David had suggested I go to the Oistins Fish Festival, so that's what I did.  Found a park luckily not too far away, then wandered the streets and stalls.

I was hoping to hear a steel band, and there was one that was programmed to appear on stage later that evening. So I decided to wait around for it. Shared my dinner table with a young english family.  My red snapper and chips came first, and the 3 year old screamed when I started eating it as she thought it was hers!! So I shared my meal with a 3 year old to stop her screaming!

Police were a quiet presence in case of trouble.

Chilli eating competition...

Comedy risque but funny.

The steel band never turned up and I decided to call it a night to put my cold to bed at a reasonable time.