The Luka in Barbados Blog #13

WELCOME

to the Luka in Barbados blog! I’m writing this shortly after my third visit to this beautiful country which has become my new home-away-from-home. Mum and Dad moved there last August for Dad’s exciting new job posting and are absolutely loving it. We visited as a family in March before the move, then I’ve been back twice since they got settled - both times bringing a bundle of friends with me.

I’ll start with some background and history about Barbados, then detail the myriad activities we entertain ourselves with down there, describe the food and drink that define the island, and finish with a list of observations about Bajan life and society. Let’s jump right in!

Barbados Parliament Building

Background and History

You may have noticed the word I just used above: “Bajan.” This is the term used to denote the people and culture of Barbados, like “Australian” for Australia. “Barbadian” is also used, but seems to be less common and used more in formal contexts.

Dad munching on some Bajan Pepper Sauce

Going way back in time, let’s talk geology. Barbados is one of the Lesser Antilles: a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea that make up part of the West Indies. As you’ll notice in the map below, these islands are in the shape of an arc. That’s because they were formed by the collision of the Atlantic and the Caribbean tectonic plates. In this collision, the Atlantic plate subducted beneath the Caribbean plate, releasing water and lowering the mantle melting point, thus producing magma that erupted and formed volcanoes along the Caribbean plate boundary—now the islands we see today.

The Lesser Antilles

Subduction

However, if you looked astutely, you may have noticed that Barbados does not quite sit along the volcanic arc, but rather outside it to the east. This is part of what makes Barbados unique. When the tectonic plates subducted, sediment such as limestone was scraped off the lower plate as it moved under and was pushed to the surface. This sediment, along with coral reef growth on it, form the island of Barbados. That’s why Barbados is not volcanic and sits east of the island arc. Fascinating stuff! Keep Barbados’s limestone foundation in mind for later, it explains one of the cool activities we get to do on the island.

Map of Barbados. Some of these names will come up later

Let’s fast-forward a few million years and talk about Barbados’ human history. There is evidence of indigenous peoples such as the Caribs and Arawaks who came from South America, but European colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries wiped out the small populations that lived there. The name Barbados comes from Portuguese, “Los Barbados,” which likely refers to the bearded fig trees they saw on the island. However, the Portuguese did not settle Barbados (they already had a big colony in Brazil), it was the British that did.

The Bearded Fig Tree - likely the origin of the name Barbados

The British colony began in 1627. They quickly realized they could make it big by farming the highly in-demand cash crop sugarcane, so they imported numerous slaves from West Africa to work the plantations. For the British, Barbados became a very successful colony, built on the labor of enslaved Africans who outnumbered their oppressors at least three to one.

Sugarcane and the old mill at St. Nicholas Abbey

One of the innovations the slaves discovered was that you could ferment and distill the molasses leftover from refining sugar to make rum. Thus, rum was invented and quickly became a popular export. Being the birthplace of rum is a source of national pride for Barbados. Especially the Mount Gay distillery which opened way back in 1703 and is still in operation today. Bajans love a rum punch on a hot day (which is pretty much every day).

Our Mount Gay rum collection

After an unsuccessful but highly influential slave rebellion in 1816 named Bussa’s Rebellion (after the national hero that led it), slavery in Barbados was later abolished in 1834. A statue commemorates Bussa at one of the roundabouts you see driving to and from the airport back to our place.

Bussa statue at the roundabout

The country achieved independence from the British and became a Commonwealth nation in 1966. Then quite recently, Barbados got rid of the British monarch as their head of state and became a formal republic in 2021 (hey Australia, take notes). Barbados’ most recent national hero is someone you’ve definitely heard of (and listened to). Rihanna is from Barbados and is absolutely adored all over the country. They renamed the street she grew up on “Rihanna Drive,” and we saw her childhood home.

Rihanna at Heroes Square

Because I’m an econ guy, I’d be remiss not to mention the exchange rate. Barbados’s currency is pegged 2 to 1 to the US dollar to provide economic stability and ease of trade/tourism, which is quite convenient for me. However, it means I’d always have quite the sticker shock looking at a menu before remembering to divide by 2 (that being said, because so much of what you buy is imported, it’s still pretty damn expensive).

Sticker shock!

There is something else pretty cool about the currency. If you take all six denominations of bills, you can arrange them to form a secret image…

Can you spot the image?

Okay enough history, let’s talk about all the things you can do that make Barbados such a fun place to visit. Activities

Naturally, I’ll start at the beach. Every time I’ve landed in Barbados we’ve wasted no time heading to the water for a swim. It continues to amaze me how crystal clear the water is and how soft and white the sand is. At the beach club we go to, there’s a floating platform you can swim to with benches and a turf floor. It’s glorious swimming out there, taking a break, soaking in the sun, then diving back in. Such a clever idea. I went to the beach almost every single day I’ve spent in Barbados.

Morning beach run with Johannes

Standing stones at Paradise Beach

Lukabazooka + Mattmank

One of the classic beach activities is surfing. Mum and Dad have two surfboards of our own, both longboards because we’re all still amateurs. For our first time out there and when friends come to visit, we get a lesson with our favorite surf instructor Trig, a friendly English chap and former semi-pro surfer who married a Bajan woman and settled down in Barbados with his own surf shop and school. It’s such a good feeling timing a wave right, feeling that boost take you, and getting up on two feet as the power of the ocean takes you into shore.

Heading out for a surfing lesson with Trig

Collision incoming

When we need extra boards, we’ll sometimes rent from Pinky, a chilled-out Rastafarian guy at Drill Hall Beach who sits by the beach, smokes pot, and rents out his big pile of boards. He’s not on Google because he’s “not about the business man, just the waves.” We asked him to mind our stuff while we went out for lunch, and he happily obliged, yelling with a smile, “bring me a Banks beer when you come back!”

The lads with some of Pinky's boards

Pinky + Big Z - same energy

There’s heaps of other stuff to do in the water. We have a stand up paddle board, two sea kayaks, and snorkels. Guys roam around on jet skis playing reggae music and offering rentals to any tourists they see. On the sand, I absolutely love a good game of spikeball. Be careful of Johannes’s power serve, it’s absolutely menacing and can only be matched by Jan’s intelligent positioning. After all the physical fun, it’s so peaceful to settle down to a good book with the sound of the ocean as your gentle background choir.

SUP

Dad always comes prepared

Sunrise yoga

Boys with a ball

When guests come to visit, we like to go on catamaran tours that take you around the island and drop you off at shipwrecks to snorkel over. They sank two shipwrecks intentionally at Carlisle Bay to make fish and coral habitats (and let’s face it, to entertain tourists). If we’re lucky we get to swim beside sea turtles who bob around and are surprisingly chill coming so close to us. I’ve had to tread water backwards to avoid touching a turtle that swam up face to face with me. After swimming we lay out our towels on the boat’s net floor above the water, crack open a Banks, lather on the sunscreen, then lie back and relax in the sun as we cruise around the island and listen to reggae.

El Tigre snorkeling catamaran tour

The boys in the boat

Satch in paradise

Flips off the boat are mandatory

The fun doesn’t end back at the house. By the time you get home from the beach, you’ve probably worked up a sweat in the heat, so the only logical thing to do is jump straight into the pool. How lucky we are to have a backyard pool. It’s acceptable to go for a swim all hours of the day. First thing in the morning, before bed, during work…

A seagull in the sun

Sunset from the balcony

Pool antics

Then we’ll rip a few games of darts, a gift for dad that never got much use back in the Bethesda man-cave but is now a daily activity when I come to visit.

An unbelievable Robinhood dart throw

Maybe we’ll play cornhole on the boards that Joe, Hugo, and I built a few years ago. We’ll definitely play some ping pong, perhaps a game of backyard cricket, group board games, then an evening jam session on the guitar and cajon with Joe leading the way.

An intense game of driveway ping pong

Jamming

If you’re tired of the beach and the house (not possible), there’s still heaps to do out and about. One thing we had tons of fun with is the horse racing. It’s a big deal on a Saturday evening. We headed to the racetrack directly after picking up Jan from the airport and placed a few bets on the horse or rider with the coolest name. If you want to get really into it, they have the weights of the horse and rider, the number of days since each last raced, and info on prior winnings. We whip out the binoculars and watch as these muscular beasts dash around the track, the hum of excitement rising with people’s feet as they get closer and closer to the finish line. Bernardo and Johannes must have done their homework because their horses won, including one come-from-behind victory to steal the prize at the death.

Pre-race parade

(Almost) all eyes on the race

A photo finish!

There's plenty to explore in Bridgetown, the capital. Visit the colorful shopping streets, buy some mangoes at a market, and maybe end up at an annual Caribbean festival of the arts hosted in a different country every other year.

Busy shopping streets of Bridgetown

Reluctantly taking unsolicited life advice from a man in a spider-man shirt and bucket hat

Getting sticky fingers buying mangoes from the lovely and bubbly Priscilla

The band playing at the opening ceremony of CARIFESTA XV

Festival parade

Stilts man representing St. Kitts and Nevis

Golf is also a big deal in Barbados. Sandy Lane Golf Course is one of the world’s elite courses, so unfortunately a bit out of our price range. Tiger Woods rented out the entire Sandy Lane resort for his wedding. Dad and I settled for the much more mediocre quality Rockley Golf Club for a quick 18 with monkeys scampering about the course. Luckily no one was behind us because they might have been kept waiting for a while.

Little bro setting the pace

I haven’t had the chance to go to a match at Kensington Oval, but we’ve checked out a couple of local cricket games which make for a lively affair. On the international stage, Barbados competes as part of the West Indies, a formidable team comprised of Caribbean island nations plus Guyana. In the Caribbean Premier League, we barrack for the Barbados Royals.

A day out at the cricket

Good luck coming back from that

The bros repping the Barbados Royals

Remember Barbados’s limestone foundation? That characteristic made Barbados ripe for a vast underground cave network. Rain picks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on its way down which dissolves the soluble limestone and creates underground caverns. Lucky for us, explorers have already braved the dark depths, so now we can ride a trolley car deep underground to see for ourselves. I’ve seen similar caves in Luray, Virginia and Ha Long, Vietnam, but every time I’m astounded to think I’m looking at thousands of years of history in one stalagmite.

Descending into the depths of geological history

So difficult resisting the temptation to touch

For Mum and Dad, Thursday night means trivia night. And when I bring friends, we’re out to catch them on the leaderboard. Two flamboyant British men run a tight ship at the bar, collecting an entrance fee, requiring food purchase, and enforcing the latest and greatest international trivia standard rules. Any phone usage results in an automatic docking of points, without even being told. It’s an intense and thrilling night spanning a variety of topics and formats. First and second place get discounts on their tab, the bonus question winners win a bottle of rum, and second-last place wins more rum (it’s too easy to go for last place). Mum and Dad are frequent winners, but in the two times I’ve gone with Joe and friends, we managed to draw then beat them by a single point. We also had the closest guess to the number of people named Thomas living in the US, so we went home with a bottle of rum.

Trivia night!

This all sounds so great that it’s only fair I share something not so great. For Christmas, Mum and Dad got us a day trip on a deep sea fishing boat, advertised at best as catching fish bigger than people, and at worst going home to dine on a couple of little fish you caught during the day. Well there’s an even worse outcome where you don’t get a single bite after being on the water for 6 hours and the boat propellers slice clean through a fish aggregation device which had to be promptly and frantically repaired. The most interesting part of the day was noticing a few bobbing white containers way out in the water which the captain kept a safe distance from. We jokingly theorize these were drug drops...

Excited to catch something big

While the vibes were still full of hope

The last thing I want to share in this section is the beauty of Bathsheba, the rugged fishing village on the east coast characterized by powerful waves, dramatic sea boulders, and stunning landscapes. Most of what I’ve shared until now has been on the west or south coast, but a trip across the country reveals that Barbados isn’t just the small peaceful island you’d envision it to be.

On the way to Bathsheba

Windswept east coast

A beautiful boulder

Over many years, the incessant waves erode the base of these huge boulders, leaving beautiful rock formations perched above the water that look as though they might collapse if you tried to tip them over. The beach feels different on the east: treacherous and unforgiving. The Atlantic Ocean is a whole different beast from the Caribbean Sea. Only experienced surfers like our plumber, Edmund “Rat Race” Oliver, in his prime surf the famous Soup Bowl break.

Rock vs Jan

The climbers couldn't resist

Corey, Julie, and Satch on top of the world while Zach and I were more comfortable on the ground

A more laid-back element of Bathsheba is the rock pools that form beneath the shallow broken tide close to shore. You can sit in these like a mini jacuzzi with small waves lapping at your back. Just be careful of sea urchins!

Chilling in the rock pools

Beautiful Mum

This isn't Bathsheba but it's pretty and I didn't know where else to put it

Food and drink What you eat and drink is always a very important part of experiencing a new country. Barbados has plenty of delights. Starting with the biggest names, Banks and Chefette are ubiquitous. Banks, “The Beer of Barbados,” is a smooth, crisp lager that will slake your thirst on a hot day. No wonder people drink them all the time. Deputy and Carib are the other big beer brands. Chefette is the fast-food giant of Barbados, specializing in broasted chicken and rotis (more on that soon), with “15 quick service restaurants, 11 drive-thrus, 9 MEGA multi-storey playgrounds and 2 fast casual restaurants” (from their FAQ page). Keep in mind the island is not that big. McDonald’s tried to expand to Barbados in the 90s but only lasted a year because Chefette is king. KFC is big there too.

Gotta love a Banks

Or a Carib

But Banks is The Beer of Barbados

Late night MEGA Chefette run

Unsurprisingly, the thing you end up eating the most in Barbados is fish. It is abundant, fresh, and delicious. The national dish is Flying Fish, a sight to see on the water, but they’re becoming less common around the island because of climate change. Most of the time, you’ll be eating Mahi Mahi, confusingly known by its nickname “Dolphin.” I was pretty hesitant to order a dolphin sandwich until I figured out what it was. And if you’re ever thinking of splashing out on the catch-of-the-day, just know that nine times out of ten it’s going to be Mahi Mahi.

Flying fish

Mum will often go to the market in the morning and buy fresh fish to cook for dinner which they chop in front of you. Yum.

Tuna for dinner tonight

Yum

Remember I mentioned the surf star turned plumber Edmund “Rat Race” Oliver? Well now in his retirement from surfing, he likes to free dive. He was telling Dad a story of catching lobsters with his spear gun and bare hands while a bull shark circled him. Long story short, he made it out safely and offered us a heap of lobsters, so we bought 17 pounds from him and had an absolute feast.

Edmund and the fruits of his labor

Surely there isn't more back there

Chef at work

A happy diner

It’s not a tropical island unless we talk about mangoes and coconuts. We have two big mango trees in the side yard. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean we’re eating mangoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; we have to compete with another species for the fruit. In the mornings, the monkeys come out to dine, and they tend to climb up and take the mangoes before they’ve fully ripened, leaving us slim pickings. Luckily, Mum will sometimes get a big juicy batch of them when the monkeys aren’t around.

Hungry monkeys hanging out in the yard

Mangoes!

Coconuts are everywhere. As you drive down the highway, you’re flagged down by coconut salesmen, one after the other, offering jugs of coconut water while their buddies chop open more with machetes. I like to drink the coconut water straight out of the coconut with a straw.

Roadside coconut vendors

A coconut renaissance painting

We went on a mission to crack open our coconuts and eat the flesh. Cracking them open wasn’t too big an issue for a few strong young men, but the technique of extracting the flesh eluded us. That is, until a local man at a fish sandwich shop took notice and demonstrated the best method, scooping from the back with a big spoon. We were eating coconut flesh in no time.

Learning from the best

A monkey and his coconut

One of our favorite meals in Barbados is a roti. You might be familiar with Indian roti, a soft, whole-wheat flatbread usually eaten alongside curry. In Barbados, although roti came from the same origin, it has taken on a meaning of its own. Bajan rotis are more of a wrap, with a thicker and softer white-flour flatbread wrapping up other ingredients, often a chicken and potato curry. Rotis are best at streetside vendors, but if you’re in a bind and have a roti craving, you can always get a quick one at Chefette.

A massive roti at the Roti Den

Rotis near the airport

You won’t want to miss Friday because Friday night means the Oistins Fish Fry. Take a bus down to the south coast and you’ll already feel the energy drifting over from the fish market. It’s a large outdoor market on the beach with dozens of vendors cooking up different types of fish while music, performances, and dancing goes on around you. The food is delicious, the energy is infectious, the people are teeming. Grab yourself some fish, a Deputy/Carib/Banks beer, then burn off all those calories when you get on the dance floor. We saw a performance by a Michael Jackson imitator who famously almost made it to Britain’s Got Talent.

Take your pick at Oistins Fish Fry

Satch is still trying to figure out what this drink is

If you find yourself in Barbados and need a restaurant recommendation, I implore you to go to La Cabane. It’s a beautiful spot on the beach, tables literally on the sand, as the tide splashes beside you and the sun sets over the water. The food is exquisite, the drinks are refreshing, the atmosphere is classy, and they have live musicians performing. Joe chatted to the bass player and he let Joe take over for a song.

Sunset at La Cabane

Joe Byrne on bass at La Cabane

All dressed up for dinner. Why are my friends so tall

Closing out the food section, there are all sorts of colorful and tasty fruits and vegetables on the island. Just head to the morning market and take your pick.

Sunday market

Massive and delicious creamy avocados

Customary Australian food immersion

Observations About Barbados Barbados is a funny and special place. Here are 13 observations about Barbados that I hope you’ll find interesting.

1. It is hot. Year-round. But especially in the summer months. The type of hot where you shower to clean off the sweat, then once you get out you can’t stop sweating all over again. And the sun is potent and unforgiving, so don’t forget your sunscreen. I feel like the heat introduces a lethargy that is hard to avoid. I’ve seen maps showing that hot regions of the world tend to have lower economic output, and I can’t help but agree with the relationship. Unless of course you’re the mega air-conditioned Singapore.
2. Related to the heat and lethargy, the service can be incredibly slow. Island time is real, and you need to embrace it. Things like ordering at a restaurant and simple bureaucratic processes that would take a few minutes or a few days in DC can take an hour or weeks in Barbados. Once you accept that this is how things roll around here, it’s not so bad.
3. There is lots of visible British influence. You can see it in the customs and sports, the language and grammar, and especially in the brands you see at the grocery store. Good news for a Weetabix lover like me.

   

   oh yeah

4. On the topic of linguistics, although English is the national language, Bajan Creole is often spoken in everyday conversations between locals and takes a trained ear to parse. It has a clipped, rhythmic sound that other Caribbean accents like to make fun of. Joe can do a great impression. “No please” is one of the funniest sayings I love to hear.
5. All beaches are public. Even in front of the fancy resorts, anyone can rock up and enjoy the pristine white sand and blue waters. Hugo and Mum saw Simon Cowell going for a snorkel.
6. The sunsets are gorgeous. Every day is beautiful, every day is different. You have to plan your evening around the sunset because you won’t want to miss it. Luckily, it reliably sets between 5:30 and 6:30 all year.

   

   Sunset from the yard

   
   

   

   Sunset jetski ride

7. Another British influence is left-hand driving. I was pretty nervous about this but I adapted to it surprisingly quickly. The most common mistake is turning on your windshield wipers when you mean to turn on your indicator. I eventually got the hang of it so well that in my first drive back in the US, I made the same mistake on the other side!
8. On the topic of roads, they are abysmal. That’s often the biggest reminder that it’s still not a fully developed country. Some roads desperately need maintenance, not to mention they are ridiculously narrow for two cars. Local drivers like to book it around sharp corners and it’s kind of terrifying.
9. On the topic of crazy driving, one of the more thrilling modes of transport is what’s called the reggae buses. These are mini yellow buses that play reggae music and haphazardly deliver passengers around the country. We were walking through the end of a touristy shopping street when a reggae bus pulled up in the middle of a three-way intersection, and a man hopped out and pointed at us yelling “Holetown!” which was of course where we wanted to go. He frantically shepherded us on the bus while cars impatiently waited for us to clear. It was quite convenient.

   

   Riding the reggae bus

10. On the topic of buses, another bus you’ll see around is the BYD electric bus. These were a gift from China that are part of a larger effort by the Chinese government to invest in Barbados. They were comfortable and air-conditioned and definitely more laid back than the reggae buses.

    

    Signs of Chinese investment

11. No more “on the topic of” transitions. One thing you’ll notice if you’re hanging out on a quiet evening is that it’s really anything but quiet. That’s because there is a constant, loud chirping noise that sounds like a chorus of birds. What I was amazed to learn is that it is actually the tiny whistling tree frog. And when I say tiny, I mean the size of your fingernail. Incredible.

    

    These tiny things are damn loud

12. It’s expensive. As in, similar or sometimes higher prices than I’m used to in DC. That’s not something you usually associate with a middle-income country, but when you think about the fact that pretty much everything needs to be imported, it makes sense.
13. They have some great Christmas and New Year’s traditions. On Christmas morning, when we’d normally be at home having eggs, croissants, and giving presents, everybody in Barbados dresses up in their finest attire for a parade. Men wear bright suits and top hats while women wear gorgeous colorful dresses. And the kids are adorable in their little formal outfits. See below for some photos. For New Year’s, everybody goes to the beach to watch the fireworks. People bring lawn chairs, hang out at beach bars, dance, and ‘lime’ (an excellent term that simply means to hang out with friends or family, without an agenda, typically in public places, often with rum). It’s a great atmosphere.

    

    Amazing outfits on Christmas morning

    
    

    

    Merry Christmas

    
    

    

    The beach was packed for New Year's fireworks

    
    

    

    Party time

    
    

    

    Dancing into the night at Calma Beach Bar

    
    

Conclusion

I absolutely love Barbados, and I am so happy for Mum and Dad for the big step they took taking on this whole new lifestyle. I'm already looking forward to my next visit. It's been a pleasure sharing this with you, I hope you enjoyed!

See you next time