Barbados: Coast to Coast Scenic Drive
I booked the Coast to Coast Scenic Drive. for $35.10 after my Free at Sea $50 shore excursion discount and my 10% Latitudes excursion discount.
Getting off of the pier is a challenge because they have a very long single file line which moved pretty slowly.
Once in the port building the signage helped me find the tour.
It’s a nice bus with comfortable seats.
It has good air conditioning and windows that open.
It’s a full house.
Barbados is 166 square miles. It has 11 parishes and a population of 280,000. The population is aging. In 20 years they are projected to not have enough people for a work force. The women outnumber the men 10 to 1.
This is molasses storage for rum production.
This is the third oldest Parliament building in the world.
Queen Elizabeth hospital is free with a valid Barbados photo ID.
There is a signal station at the top of this hill. Supposedly it was once manned by a lion. So now they have a lion statue up there.
This area is called Golden Ridge.
This is a water pumping station and reservoir.
This is a house building method they use where they build the new house around the old house. Then tear down the old house from the inside.
Another method is tearing down half of the house while living in the other half. Then moving to the new half and doing the same to the other half.
Some houses unpainted because they are considered unfinished and lower taxes. Also wooden houses are not considered permanent structures.
These are a part of the Hope project. It’s government housing for low income earners. You must work and be in the same job for two years to qualify. Then you just pay a monthly rate for 20 years to own the house.
This is our first stop. We have 20 minutes here.
This is behind the church,
A former Prime Minister.
Sun dial
There’s also supposed to be a telescope. I’m guessing it was here.
We are back on the road. These are some sheep.
These are banana trees. On some islands I see the bananas in bags to protect them. It looks like they go bagless here.
The Sea View Bar looks like it has a great view.
Our second stop is at this hotel with a restaurant. We get a free rum punch here. It’s a 30-minute stop.
I found a spot with a view.
That’s limestone coral.
This side of the island is not swimmer friendly. The rock with the name on it was a 16-year old who died while fishing.
Our third stop is at an old train station that is now a restaurant. It’s a 15-minute stop.
We are heading back. It’s a one hour drive.
This is a sheep farm.
St. Andrew’s Parish Church
All Saints Anglican Church
We’re in the expensive area now called Sandy Hill. This is the side where you can swim. Most of the island land costs $15/square foot. Here it’s $400/square foot.
This is the area where Steven Spielberg and Simon Cowell have residences. We saw them but they were on the other side of the bus. Tiger Woods got married in this area.
This is the largest gated community on the island.
This is the street Rhianna grew up on.
And we are back at the port.
It was good to get out and see the island for just $35. I don’t think I’d want to pay full price for this excursion though.