Laura's Riches: Barbados

Well, all this talk of Belize and Costa Rica, yet good deals and the decreased threat of hurricanes put us in Barbados for the week. Barbados is in the Carribean, off the coast of Venenzuela. Jakes mom came for a few days to watch the kids and then my parents took over for the rest of the time, so the kids were in good hands.

I've never been too excited to see the Carribean. When I travel, I like to see the country and experience the culture. Staying at a resort sunbathing on the beach all week just isn't my thing. From what I had heard, the Carribean doesn't have much to offer once you leave the resorts, so I'd never really put much thought into going there.

Nevertheless, we went and had a really good time. Not only is every beach public in Barbados, but every beach is unbelievably beautiful. The water is crystal clear and is the same temperature as a lukewarm bath. The people there are very friendly, go out of their way to help tourists, and do absolutely nothing half-assed when it comes to ensuring you get what you paid for. There isn't a lot to see in terms of sightseeing, but we were still able to fill our days with lots of fun activities.

I experienced my first scuba dive during this trip. WOW. It was an amazing experience. I managed to make my air supply last 41 minutes (being that this was my first dive and I was very nervous, this is very good) and I overcame all my fears. No sharks ate me, I didnt panic and inhale water while 40ft under, and my lungs didnt explode from not breathing correctly. I had the pleasure of seeing all kinds of sea life swimming around a ship that had been sunk 50 years ago.

On another day, we went on a catamaran. Due to my severe sea sickness (I get sea sick almost from swimming alone), I needed a hefty and constant dosage of dramamine to endure this. There was a really obnoxious british woman on there that provided much of the entertainment. Her itsy bitsy bikini on her orca-like body (well, except for the boobs - those looked more like udders from the biggest cow youve ever seen) and her immodesty about everything was a show in itself. They provided us with an open bar and a scrumptious delicious Bajan lunch. We made a few snorkeling stops and we even got to swim with giant sea turtles.

We also went on an island tour. A crazy, barefoot, middle-aged Irish-Bajan man named Ted took us around the island on a bus. He gave us a little historical information, as well as many other interesting facts about the island. In between the serious informational chats, he would put on a comedy routine and tell such awful jokes that you couldnt help but laugh. We stopped at a few points of interests, but I have a feeling those stops were mostly to fill us up on rum punch. I was rum punched out at this point (rum punch is flows like water on the island). At one of the stops I had "rum punch" (not the drink, this is what a bajan man working the tour was named) cut me open a coconut and I drank the juice (or is it milk?) inside instead. When I mentioned that it wasn't as sweet as I was expecting, he chopped off a piece of sugar cane from the sugar cane field we were standing in and showed me how to eat it.

Overall, we had a really good time. I was able to relax quite a bit and I came back refreshed. I notice that I have a lot more patience with the kids and feel like I have been recharged. One week of no contact (besides email) with the outside world did my body (and mind) good.