2012-10-11 Barbados:

Today we were in Barbados.  I had thought we would take the mass transit bus to Folkstone to a marine preserve there, but was told the reserve was pretty far off shore.  So I actually did a ship excursion here.  As a photographer, the "in-focus" tour sounded good.  Ken elected to stay at the port and wander around there.  I really fell for this lush little island!
Here's is the driveway to one of the many plantation houses on the island.  Sugar cane was a big producer for them.  In recent years, though, sale of sugar has fallen off.

The guide told us about some moveable wooden houses that working class people would occupy. They are called Chattel houses.  The term goes back to the plantation days when the home owners would buy houses designed to move from one property to another.  These houses were built without nails and could be quickly and easily disassembled and moved.  Now the home owners own their land and many add-ons can be seen on the remaining Chattel houses.  This is one of the better renovated ones.

The Scotland District appears as a half bowl containing the hilly highlands of Barbados, with a dense, in parts jungle-like vegetation, quite unlike the rest of the island, which is rather flat, deforested, and commonly used for agriculture.

 Another area we spent a bit of time in was Bathsheba.  The picturesque coastline reminds me somewhat of the Oregon coastline with palm trees.

 Good thing this stop was so scenic, or I might have been a little annoyed that we were at a liquor store.  But I did go check it out. 

 Apparently they make Mount Gay Rum here.

One of our stops gave us an overhead view of the Bathsheba coastline.

 Could have stayed here taking pictures forever.

 

 Scenic fields along the way back

 The port of Barbados is nothing to look at, but it leads to an interesting little island.

I figured a photographer would know where the best views of the island were.  I was right---this tour was fantastic and possibly worth the $80 I had to pay for it.