Barbados has it nailed when it comes to tiny houses, painted in pastels of pink, blue, yellow or green. Also grabbing my attention were the young boys fishing for dinner. Families gathered for picnics under shady trees at Barclay Park. Stable hands swimming with racehorses in the aqua sea. The local market with its riot of colors and smells. Not that I had a lot of time. I was in Barbados attending the annual travel-writers’ SATW convention, which meant indoor meetings and professional development seminars. I did, however, have two free days, giving me a glimpse of the island’s casual and seductive rhythm. Here are my impressions of Barbados in pictures.
Photo Shootout
Most of my photographs here are the result of an SATW fun competition called photo “shootout.” With slightly more than a handful of SATW members signed up, we were individually paired with a local photographer, who spent an evening and a full day driving us to their favorite haunts (because my flight arrived late, I had only the full day). We would then each pare our photographs down to our 10 best, which would be entered into the competition. Because the other participants had sophisticated equipment and were mostly professional photographers, I had no illusion of winning as an amateur with a point-and-shoot Canon G16. Rather, I did it for the experience and the chance to see some of the island, as well as for the fact that the Barbados tourism organization could freely use a couple of photos from each of us for promotional purposes. In any case, Barbados is so colorful, I think my impressions of Barbados in pictures practically shot itself.
Scenic Impressions of Barbados in Pictures
The local photographer I was paired with turned out to be a European transplant living in Barbados the past 12 years. Between the hours of 8am when she picked me up to 7pm when she delivered me back to the hotel, we visited an art and produce markets, a couple of towns, local hangouts, a church, windmill, and spots with scenic views.
But for probably a good two hours we were lost, wandering around the northeast end of the island in circles. Barbados is admittedly riddled with lots of narrow, curving roads and there aren’t many signs, but it’s only 21 miles long and 14 miles wide. You’d have thought that after a dozen years, my volunteer guide would have known all the back roads. But at some point I decided to relax, accept whatever might come, and enjoy the passing scenery no matter how many times I saw it. Island time, I told myself. It’s not like I would have become a better photographer if I had been able to see more.
People in Barbados
On another day, the driver of a van taking a group of us to some event told us that the reason Barbadians were so friendly is that this was a first port of call for slave traders. Local plantation and business owners, therefore, had the first choice of healthy and amenable slaves, while the rest were sent onward to other destinations. I have no idea whether that’s true, but I did find the people I met friendly and accommodating. I guess it also makes a good story.
Scenes from Everyday Life
No surprise, but the other photographers in the competition saw much more of the island than I did and submitted more impressions of Barbados in pictures. Of course, they had that extra evening, and I don’t know whether their photographer guide got lost, too. But another reason we didn’t see as many places was that my photographer brought along her own camera. I didn’t mind and we hit it off, but she was intent on taking pictures everywhere we went and I usually had to wait for her. In fact, she took 700 photographs to my 200. It was like it was she who had never seen the place. But maybe that’s what photographers do.
Later, I saw four young tourists sitting in their rental car, consulting a map. “Good luck!” is what I wanted to tell them, but I didn’t really have to say anything. Island time, the confusing roads, and Barbados’ scenic beauty would all take care of that.
For information on Barbados, see www.barbados.org.
Gorgeous pics! Wanna go now!