About Barbados
The Caribbean Sea is made up of over 7000 islands with 28 individual island nations and each one has an ambiance and cultural flavor of its own. Influences from the Spanish, Dutch, French, English and Portuguese have left colonial remnants that are apparent in the islands’ music, language, architecture and cuisine. The Caribbean is one of the planet’s largest seas and encompasses over one million square miles. The weather throughout is tropical with the warm climate tempered by the continual trade winds.
Although many Caribbean islands are similar, rising from the rich waters and powdery sand beaches to tropically forested hills complete with cascading waterfalls and placid pools, returning visitors have their favorite and if one stands out from the rest, it is Barbados. Barbados is in the Lesser Antilles; it is approximately 20 miles in length, 14 miles wide and has a population of around 250,000 people. Nearly a third of the population lives in the capital city of Bridgetown. In times past, sugarcane production has been the mainstay of the economy in this progressive nation, but has diversified into manufacturing and a thriving tourism business. This small Caribbean country is rated as the 51st richest nation in terms of gross domestic product.
The visitor will find a vast array of accommodations that will fit into all budgets and includes inexpensive Barbados hotels and all inclusive resorts, luxury Barbados villa rentals and bed & breakfasts. There are guest houses, condos and time shares with most fronting beautiful beaches and others hidden in the lush tropical interior. Barbados hosts a plethora of restaurants, cafes, food stands and beach vendors and like each Caribbean island, Barbados has a cuisine all its own. Much of the island’s favorite dishes tend to be spicy and Bajan seasoning is a combination of marjoram, thyme, parsley, green onion and many of the recipes call for a liberal use of rum.
The attractions and activities on the island are virtually endless with plenty to do for the whole family. Many people come to the island for the sole purpose of scuba diving and snorkeling. The calm waters of the west and south coast, offer aquanauts fabulous reef eco systems, a great diversity of Caribbean marine life, shipwrecks and the chance to swim with the island’s sea turtles. The surrounding waters are also an anglers dream and fishing for blue marlin, Mahi mahi and sailfish will well punctuated a vacation.
The forested interior has hiking trails, waterfalls with deep pools, horseback riding and the island’s wildlife reserve allows visitors to observe flamingos, iguanas, snakes, turtles and even encourage tourists to feed the ‘Green’ monkeys. Party animals won’t be disappointed with the nightlife on the island as there is a full compliment of nightclubs, piano bars, discos and beach bars where tropical drinks are complimented with lively Reggae music.
Visitors to Barbados are quickly captivated by the island’s magic, the friendly open people, the lack of commercialism and most will continue to return again and again.