A few days at the Supreme Court

After emailing a few criminal lawyers with a request that they might have time to sit with me and discuss the legal system in Barbados, or wouldn't mind me following a trial of their's, I received a welcoming reply from Mr. Steve Gollop, who invited me by his office.

Happy to be given the chance to learn as much as I can of the Barbados legal system, I attended Steve's office and after over an hour of asking questions, he invited me to watch a case at the High Court.  The following are my observations and the knowledge I gained throughout two visits to the Supreme Court and several conversations with both Steve and a High Court Judge.

The Court House

In comparison to the highest court of appeal courthouses I have visited throughout the world, the Barbadian Supreme Court, in itself, does not leave me too much to write about.  The walls were not lined with books of authorities, as they were in India.  The interior of the building was not lined with marble, like in Malaysia.  It was far better built and had AC, if I were to compare it to Nepal.  It was only slightly younger than the one in Australia, having only opened 4 years ago, and much more modern than the Canadian or Kenyan Supreme Court.  Beyond the British influence, I do not think I could easily compare it to UK.

The Supreme Court in Barbados has three floors.  The first was used for Criminal law matter, the third for Civil matters, and the second allowed for second floor gallery seating for the first.  There was a cafeteria built but it is not in use, which I was told by a reporter, 'is a long story'.  

The front had many windows and balconies, open to the public, while the courtrooms were in the back half.  All walls were white or beige, with very few photos or paintings hung.  There is a dome shaped structure in the center, not unlike Malaysia's but smaller.  Hosting a great number of courtrooms, barristers described the new building as 'an unpractical waste of space,'  but I am not so sure, I would be so harsh :)

The Courtroom

The courtroom was unique to any other I have seen.  With many commonalities to others, the bench was of course to the front, with the judge having his or her own access to the room (although, this was not so in Nepal), there were 2-3 bars for barristers, and the accused sat in a box behind the bar, with the audience not far behind and additional public seating offered above. 

In contrast, the defense counsel sat next to the jury and opposite the jury was a bench available for media and law students, which is where I sat.  Separating me from the bar, was the witness box, which stood alone and faced the jury.  

There were 2-3 bars, dependent on the courtroom.  As Barbados is one of 3 Caribbean islands and possibly only one of 4 or 5 countries which still appoint Queen's Counsel, the first bar, which sits closest to the judge, is reserved for QCs only.  The second bar is for all other barristers and solicitors.  If there is a third it is for instructing counsel and or students. 

Another thing I noticed and wondered why we didn't all do, was an overhead at the witness box.  When a barrister asked the witness to read off of a letter which was later entered into evidence, he placed this piece of evidence onto the overhead which was projected onto 4 flatscreen tvs in the courtroom, allowing everyone to see exactly what he was looking at or reading from.  Not everything was displayed, only that which was entered into evidence and it was turned on for such documents.

Final, security, like in all courthouses in Australia and in the Supreme Court of Canada (only), and Supreme court in India, required I walk through a medal detector and have my bag scanned.

Courtroom Procedures

Very much the same to all common law jurisdictions, however, while not quite as laid back as Nepal (I witnessed both defense and prosecution standing at the same time and arguing during a Supreme Court case, here), far more relaxed than Canada, Malaysia or India, and even more so than Australia.

Laptops were not commonly used, however I was told internet was accessible in the courtroom.

Court room decorum was much the same, however, there were more jokes shared, comments made in a passive manner and the dialogue seemed far more like a conversation between counsel and a judge than it did a formal procedure.  During recess the judge asked me to approach the bench, and we had a good chat for quite some time. Something that has never happened in any other high court.  I will discuss this in more length below.

The Little I learnt of Barbadian law

• They have very few mandatory minimum sentences.  One which gives the greatest grief is possession of a fire arm or ammunition, which currently carries a minimum of 7 years.  However, at the time of writing this, this law has been challenged and likely defeated, judgement is soon to be passed down.

• There are three levels of courts, with an option of appealing to the Caribbean Court of Justice, which has replaced the Privy Counsel.  The convention empowering this court has only been ratified in three islands (Guyana and Blize are the other two).

• Prior to attending court, I asked if I could go by the office and read the case I was going to follow.  In reading the submissions, I noticed 3 Canadian authorities and 2 UK authorities mentioned in the absence of a Bajan equivalent.  I wondered if because Barbados is so small and young, if they accepted Commonwealth jurisdiction precedents.  I was told  Barbadian cases are the only cases which are authoritative.  However, Canadian, UK and other Caribbean authorities are highly persuasive, due to their similarities.

• Barbados has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms entrenched in their Constitution.  While it is not called a Charter, nor a Bill of Rights, it is under the heading "Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of an Individual."  It is found in Chapter V, sections 11-27 and includes protection of life and personal liberty, protection from slavery or inhuman treatment, protection for deprivation of property, arbitrary search or entry, secure protection of law, freedom of conscience, expression, assembly, association and movement and protection from discrimination.

• There was no COR court and appearances were dealt with in the same courtroom as trials, in between of such matters, much like they were prior to Ontario implementing such a procedure.  I am not sure what Canada does in the Supreme Court?

• The act of appointing QCs is still in practice, with the most recent appointment being only a few months ago. However, I was told there is discussion of discontinuing such a practice as it has become highly political.

• I was told the Family Law in Barbados is modeled after Australian family law and the Criminal law, is much like Canada, with having the same rights and British influence. 

• Wigs were used at least more than 15 years ago, but were never mandatory procedure.

• Young offenders are aged 11-17.

• Legal aid exists and I am told is accessible.

My Conversation with the High Court Judge

As the Judge was very open with his views,  I will refrain from mentioning his name, as I feel it is more important to share the substance of the conversation than the specific source. 

He introduced himself, welcomed me to Barbados and his courtroom and asked if I had any questions...

I asked what the most commonly prosecuted offence in Barbados was.

He replied:  Robbery and theft mostly, followed by assault.  Very little first degree murder.

I asked what he felt of sentences in Barbados in comparison to other jurisdictions.  Did he feel they were harsh?  What was his view on mandatory minimums?

He replied-  he didn't find Barbados particularly harsh.  He was strongly opposed to mandatory minimums in that they took power away from the judiciary violating the separation of powers and could not be justly used to blanket all cases of the same sort without consideration of the facts.  In order to get around such injustices, he would reinstate that he is legally bound to consider a presentence report, when submitted, with passing judgement in all decisions and would use the PSR to mitigate the crime with justifying his sentence.

I asked if prosecution would appeal these decisions on a matter of law.

He replied-  very rarely. We are after all, here for the same reason.  If the decision is found to be fair, it is left alone. Two of our biggest concerns are with marijuana cases and possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.  I suspect the case currently before the Caribbean Court of Justice will assist greatly with this.

I asked if they held a strong focus or consideration with rehabilitative measures when passing down a sentence.  

He replied, that they are trying to more and more and are currently in the midst of trying to create a drug court, with the help of research and assistance of Canadian lawyers from Toronto.  Young offenders fell to young offender legislation and dealt with in a similar manner to Canada.

I asked what he thought was the tie between Canada and Barbados, politically, legally and economically, as one could not fail to notice the strong ties with all but one of their banks being Canadian, their fundamental rights, being very similar to those in Canada, the ads in the paper offering visas to Barbadians willing to move to Canada to work various jobs....

He replied- with a smile-  legally this is a very easy question.  Our first Prime Minister studied at the London School of Economics and was very good friends with Pierre Trudeau.  When Mr. Trudeau was strengthening your Bill of Rights with entrenching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, he was still very close with Barrow.  They shared similar views and interests and they both left a significant impact on our legal systems which is apparent today.

(I smiled at the thought of Canada once having a Prime Minister worthy of a foreign national's positive acknowledgement).

He added, Barbados didn't ever federalize our banking system, which allowed for Canadian banks to move into Barbados.  The same policies implemented in Canadian banks years ago, with their stricter lending practices where adopted as regulations here in Barbados, and were of great assistance with the recession. 

He asked if I thought Canada would decriminalize marijuana.  

I replied, that I hoped so, British Columbia, will lead the way if it happens, but federally, I was not sure why this had yet to happen or if it would.

He commented.  I have been following the work to do so over there -the argument for it here is that even if the sentence is very light, having a criminal record is a larger set back in life than we are appreciating, most especially for young offenders and those carrying small amounts.

I asked if they had AA, mental health courts or programs assisting rehabilitative measures.  

He replied- we have AA, we are a way from implementing a mental health court, but do push rehabilitative measures in sentencing where applicable. 

We exchanged emails and a hand shake before I returned to my seat.  With being only an hour late (early in Barbados), the witness was ready to give evidence. 


Link to Constitution of Barbados:  http://www.oas.org/dil/The_Constitution_of_Barbados.pdf

Sea Horses

I took this in Carlisle Bay- Barbados- Longsnout Seahorse- found in 1-40 feet of water- range from 2.5- 4 inches in length.

While the number of species of seahorses identified worldwide varies between 35-54 dependent on the source, there are three confirmed species in the Caribbean.  The seahorse is of the genus hippocampus, which is Ancient Greek.  The 'hippos' means - horse and 'campus' meaning sea monster.

These beautiful creatures have many common features to sea dragons, however one commonality which sets both apart from almost all other marine life, is the fact that the male of both has a brood pouch on the front of their tale which carries the eggs.  During breeding season, the female deposits up to 1,500 eggs into the male which will carry the eggs for 14-45 days.  After the male releases the eggs, it gives no further care.  In most species of seahorses, the male will re-mate within hours or days of releasing the eggs during breeding season.

Weedy seadragon-I took this in Australia- shows male carrying eggs

However, of the 3 breeds of seahorses found in the Caribbean, the dwarf, lined, and long-snout  all are monogamous and mate for life.  This means that once the partner has died, the other will not mate again.

Another interesting fact about these creatures is that their stomach does not retain food and they must therefore continuously eat to avoid starvation.  Due to this, the plankton, shrimp and fish larvae they eat passes through their stomach quickly and leaves them hungry for more!

With my diving experience here, I have noticed quite a few long-snout seahorses (sometimes 3-4 per, 1 hour dive), however have yet to identify any of the other two species.

How I am

It is almost hard to believe I have been in Barbados only a month tomorrow.  I have met so many friendly and helpful locals, I have already found myself running into people I know, and actually noticed this happening by the second week.  The people here are so beautiful, this country has become one of my favorite in the world.  

I started in St. Philip, staying with Hermina.  She has been very helpful and welcoming with showing me around and answering many questions of mine.  As a St. Lucian, she is not Barbadian, but through living here for many years, can be easily described as a local.  While I absolutely loved living with Hermina and continue to chat with her daily, after 2 and a half weeks, it was time to find somewhere to live for the next month or so.

In doing so, a friend from the dive shop David, had a Godfather with a room for rent in the St. Lawrence Gap.  At a cost I could not turn down, I moved in last week.  Currently, I am living in the third bedroom of a three bedroom apartment in St. Lawrence Gap, which is where both David and his Godfather Alex, who is renting me the room, grew up.  While David is Bajan, having been born and raised here, and now in the midst of opening his own dive shop,  Alex, moved to Canada some 20 odd years ago and is here on holidays visiting friends and family.  With David`s sister and mother across the street, living close to many locals and childhood friends of both David and Alex, I have been introduced to many Bajans, all who have been extremely friendly and helpful.  

I feel I am healthier being here, in that I am outside for most of the day everyday and while David commented, I looked darker and darker each time he saw me at the dive shop, joking that I would soon blend with the locals, Alex later told me he thought I was part native, after hearing I was Canadian.  I can now probably be described as the darkest I have ever been.

Apart from the people, the diving here has been the best part.  The coral, marine life and visibility is incredible and noticeably healthy.  I am not sure I have dove is such a beautiful place.  While off the coast of Suva in Fiji and South West Rocks in Australia, remain among my favorite dives spots, I find each dive location here equally as exciting. There are no stingers, or anything which can kill you for that matter (with the downfall of not having any sharks...) and apart from accidentally swimming into coral, there is really not much harm in diving here at all. 

I had a bit of an issue with fly bites about a week ago.  Oddly enough, they seem to love me and not be bothered with the locals.  I worry there might be a fly famine after I leave.   After a few drinks one night I passed out without spraying myself down and woke up grateful I hadn`t died of blood loss throughout the night.  This has since been fixed with installing a fly net above my bed as it would be unfathomable to close the window on such warm nights.

Being in the position that I am, island hoping has become quite difficult.  Not only is there little more than a website indicating there are boats leaving Barbados, Barbados itself has become difficult to leave.  With new adventures and discoveries each day, I have not grown bored of this place and find it hard to believe I might.

From fishing, cycling, diving, snorkeling, swimming, music festivities (it is the middle of the crop over festival) and learning of the culture, music, food and dance, I have kept myself quite busy.  If I am not back in a month`s time, I will write another update, until then, I hope you are enjoying my blog stories.  

Thanks,

Dee

Turtle Soup

by request from Marc, who wanted me to find out if they eat turtles here....

In accordance to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species , it is illegal to capture or trade turtles and or any products derived from them.  However, this was not always the case, and until September of 1993, when Barbados ratified the convention, fishing, capturing, and eating turtles was a perfectly legal and customary way of life.  In fact, local Bajans as young as 30 have shared stories of who made the best turtle soup and of how they used to love a good bowl.  Some will even admit to enjoying a delicious bowl in recent years with thanks to spear fishers who I am told, will, on occasion shoot at turtles. Others have blamed net fishing with the 'accidental' capture of turtles.  Either way, this ratified convention made leaps and bounds by way of protecting both the endangered Hawksbill and Green turtle found in the Bajam waters but it cannot and has not eliminated all illegal activity of the sort.
 
A few days ago, I was out snorkeling, oddly enough with turtles, when a boat of 2 fishermen approached me.  They were on route to haul up the nets and offered me the opportunity to see how it was done.  This sounding like much fun, I hopped on board and off we went.

Calbi, was an older man and the 'captain' who had been fishing with a net his whole life after his grandfather passed down the skill to him as a young boy.  Today, he fishes, makes nets, builds boats and sells his catch for a living.

The other local fisherman of the St. Lawrence Gap goes by the name of Shaggy.  He is in his late 30s, and has been reared for many years by Calbi as a fisherman.  He hulls traps, sets and pulls nets and takes tourists out on his boat to fish for a living.


I'll be honest, a man I rent from was the first to mention turtle soup to me.  Prior to this, I eagerly believed it was a fictional dish which I had only previously heard of as a child when I watched the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on television.   I guess I had just never asked anyone, but the thought of harming the peaceful turtles I swim and dive with was bothersome.  I guess it was different when they were not endangered. 

Approaching the net, I had many questions.  Using a net, cage, and rod, these two local fishermen did everything  but spear fish. Without mentioning  my personal views, I began to throw questions of turtles into conversation as we drove along in the boat.  I was told turtles were only ever caught 'accidentally' by one means of fishing- net.  However, due to where the nets are dropped and the fact that they are pulled and moved every 12 hours, if turtles are infact caught, they can be released without harm.  

As we went, we picked up two nets, dropped another checked the traps and returned to shore.  I returned the following morning at 6:30 to do the reverse, as they do each day.  I did not witness any turtles, but I did see how they fish with a net, many of the species they do catch with nets and a bit of the lifestyle of a Bajan fisherman.  As they keep their boat near to where I live, I hope to join them again, but not because they hunt turtles. 

***Video to come...technical difficulties...

Below is a version of what I wrote for a magazine in Barbados on turtles.  I will post the edited version when it is published in August.

With gorgeous marine life and coral formations to be found off the coast of Barbados, one cannot help but be fascinated with the tranquility and peacefulness of turtles and the excitement of finding one.  If you are a diver who thinks turtles can make any dive unforgettable, you are in luck, as many turtles from two different species surround Barbados and are not uncommonly found.

With the number of spotting, it might be hard to believe that the Hawksbill turtle is critically endangered.  However, perhaps it is the Barbadian enforcement of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which makes it illegal to capture and trade these turtles or sell products derived from them, which allows their presence to seem plentiful. 

The Hawksbill turtle can grow up to 3 feet in length and average 180 lbs in weight, with the largest ever captured weighing in at 280 lbs.  You can know you have spotted one by their distinguishing features.  As their name implies, the Hawksbill turtle has an elongated tapered head which ends in a beak like mouth.  Their beak is more sharply pronounced and hooked than others and their arms have two visible claws on each flipper.

In contrast to the second species of turtle found off the coast of Barbados, the Green Turtle, has a small snout with an unhooked beak and a single claw on each front appendage.  The average Greet Turtle can grow to 5 feet long and weigh between 150-420 lbs.

The Green Turtle’s name derives from the green fat found beneath its caraspace.  It has a teardrop shaped shell and inhabits shallow lagoons with feeding off mostly sea grass.  While it can live up to 80 years, this turtle too is endangered and made illegal to collect, harm or kill, protecting is existence in Barbados.

If you love spotting and swimming with turtles when you dive, be sure to dive in Barbados, where a vast array of both species can easily make any dive experience seem almost unbelievable.

Night Diving

After completing an important and hopefully fruitful phone interview which caused me to miss the morning and afternoon dive, I was was at risk of not diving all at all today before, to my relief, a night dive was arranged.

Heading out to the dive shop with my light, I wondered what I might see.  While they say there are no sharks in the Caribbean Sea, I couldn't help but hope to find one fast asleep. 

The diving here during the day is incredible, with a remarkably healthy reef,  the marine life and coral are amongst the most diverse and plentiful I've ever seen.  While I hold only fond memories of diving along the east coast of Australia, without a point of reference I did not understand what other divers meant when they commented that the Great Barrier Reef was over dived and very damaged until I dove in Barbados.  In combination with crystal clear waters providing for great visibility, countless turtles, and various ship wrecks, this is a great place to be for divers or those wanting to learn.

Tonight was especially exciting because not only was it my first night dive here, but we were diving as three pairs, making for a group of 6 experienced divers.  This meant I was not diving as a dive master who had to guide and watch over others, I was diving with another dive master, purely for fun!  For those who know me well, I kind of dive like I live, sporadically all over the place in excitement looking for everything and anything of interest.

With my leg almost now completely healed from accidentally brushing up against some form or unsafe coral while filming on my second dive here, I decided to wear a wet suit for protection.  While I normally dive with extra lead as this helps me to hold down others who might otherwise shoot to the surface in a panic or lose neutral buoyancy during a safety stop, we over calculated how much more buoyant a 2 millimeter wettie made me with adding additional weights.  I must have been at my limit before because after taking a single step stride off the boat, I began to quickly sink.  I was caught so far off guard that it actually took me a few seconds to realize I was descending quickly and not naturally resurfacing as one does when jumping into water.  Kicking as hard as I could, I resurfaced and inflated my BCD to maintain buoyancy while noticing the skipper and my dive buddy having a good laugh.  We were off to a good start.

Descending 19 meters or roughly 60 feet into the dark and mysterious ocean I instantly became a child at a play ground.  Dave later laughed at how entertaining it was to watch my light move in large z patterns as I swam back and forth looking every which way, while others swam a straight line as not to get lost and preserve air. 

I still find it strange to see fish, especially large fish, lying flat on their side on the ocean floor sleeping, as though they are dead, while the lobsters and crabs come alive roaming for food.  I found a massive turtle at least 4 feet in length, sleeping under part of an old ship, parrot fish sleeping along the ocean floor, pipe fish still amongst the fan coral blending and squirrel fish surprisingly still awake at about 7:30 pm, moving in schools through it all, with my light catching dozens of eyes as I glanced ahead.

The fan coral in one part was so thick, I felt like I ws making my way through a dense forest at night as I swam through with my light hoping to find something to study and watch or chase.  There were a few times before this point where I had wondered off and looked back for my dive buddy only to realize he knew where I was the whole time.  This led me to willingly conclude that this would always be the case.   So as I entered into this dense coral I didn't think twice and it wasn't until several minutes or longer afterwards that I realized there weren't any other lights in sight anywhere.  Reaching for my dive computer I realized I had descended to a deeper part of the reef while wondering through and with my last siting being around 18 meters, I used natural navigation and headed back up the reef to relocate Dave.  I later found out that Dave's light had flooded leaving him in complete darkness while he reached for his back up causing me to almost swim right past him.  Had I not noticed an unusually large lobster which caused me to turn and accidentally kick a sleeping fish in the head startling it (naturally fish might not expect this to happen when going to sleep:),  I might have continued straight past him.

Reunited we continued the dive, noticing all of the eyes our lights illuminated along the reef as the squirrel fish, still awake, swam in skoals around us.  Reaching the Frier Ship wreck, where the group met and resurfaced together, we began to end the dive.

After a 5 meter safety stop we met at the surface, inflated our BCDs and looked for the boat.  It was no where in site.  Lying on my back staring up at the stars above as I floated along in the calm ocean water, while Dave blew his whistle I couldn't help but be reminded of the last scene in the titanic and laughed.  Shortly there after Mike arrived with the boat and we were all boarded.  It was a calm clear night and a brilliant one to be out at sea.  Reaching land, I found myself already excited for the next dive.

Calm before the Storm

As it turns out this expression while not always the case, is largely true.  The calm before a large storm is caused from the eye of the storm sucking in all of the cool and moist air in surrounding areas.  As this cool moist air saturates the storm clouds a warm dry air is pushed down.  Dry, warm air is more stable.  The cool air prevents more air from entering the storm cloud and provides a temporary shield making the calm before the storm.  Or the loss of moisture in the air cools the temperature making people think they might not die of heat exhaustion which is calming, whichever explanation you prefer:)

This story starts on the final day of my bike ride around the island.  Checking out of the hotel I was given my first warning to make sure I was off the road early.  Assuring the woman at the front desk that I would arrive at the St. Lawrence Gap before lunch, I thought nothing of it.

As I headed down the coast several locals repeated this same warning.  There was a tropical storm alert in effect on the island and we were to prepare accordingly.

After returning the bike and taking a bus back to St. Philip, I opened the door just in time to catch the phone.  It was Hermina.  She was relieved that I had made it back and said she would be home shortly as everything closed to allow locals time to prepare.  Peering outside at the clear day, I thought to myself 'okay' and sat down to read a book.

A few hours passed and I decided to call my sister.  As conversation gave way to these bizare warnings I once more peered outside.  this time to notice the woman accross the street loading her children into their mini-van and pulling away.  Must just be a coincidence, I thought to myself.  However for the first time in years, I wished to have a tv, as even the ice cream man who circled the block all afternoon, everyday with his music playing had vanished and neighborhood dogs were barking profusely.

My sister, who is also a mother, told me to get off the phone and go speak with a neighbor but I figured there was no one outside because there wasn't even a breeze at this point.  She insisted I call someone and got off the phone after asking that I keep her informed.

I called Dave, a diving buddy. If there was a tropical storm ahead the dive shop would be amongst the first to know the details.  During this conversation, Dave informed me that there was a tropical storm headed straight for us from the the east coast, which was predicted to hit sometime after midnight.  With 37 foot waves on route and the ocean already much wilder than usual, he, like all other boat owners, was busy taking the boats up the coast to Safe Harbor and removing the others from the water completely.  

Thinking maybe I should heed this warning I asked what I should do.  I was told to fill all the jugs with water and charge my phone as it was likely we would lose power and maybe even water supply for a bit.  He said to get groceries in case it hit and then to stay put.  Because I was in a concrete house, even though I was very near to the east shore, I should be fine.  Those in wooden houses evacuate first, if it gets bad.

Hanging up the phone I filled the fridge and began collecting the clothes off of the line when Hermina and Mike pulled up.  After filing the jeep they were ready to head to the shops.  Walking through the grocery store, I had a good laugh to myself surveying the scene.  While one might predict there would be little bread left, I couldn't help but notice the depreciated selection of hot sauce and empty beer shelves.  With following these priorities I grabbed a bottle of mix, some fruit, cheese and canned goods, just in case.

On the drive home Mike explained how he was caught up at work as it was his job to send out procedural government warining.  Apart from the above, anyone with pets was to bring them to a safe kennel as they would not accept animals at the shelter.  I asked if children were to be dropped off at a safe day care centers for the same reason, but I'm not sure he realized I was joking because he replied 'no'.

Arriving home we unpacked and waited.  Around 11 pm, it began to rain hard and this carried on throughout the night and well into the next day.  We were lucky in that the storm broke before hitting the island and reformed miles past, placing the same alert on the inner islands.

As I sat outside on the covered porch, watching the rain, I expressed my disappointment, while telling Hermina all about the snow storms we have in Canada and of how some of us love them because we get 'snow days', kind of like the afternoon before and that day, with having everything closed.

She explained that it wasn't at all like that.  Canada rests on a large and stable piece of land which can with-stain harsh weather.  When a storm hits an island it can be tragic and cause a lot of damage, damage many never recover from if it results in lost homes, crops or businesses.   While Barbados is quite lucky in that it has not been within the path of many hurricanes, some locals are still feeling the reproductions of the 2007 storm.  Bajans take precautions because while it wouldn't often hit, it is important that they are prepared if it does.  This is an annual event in Barbados.  Almost every hurricane season a warning is alarmed and people aren't looking out of their windows in anticipation of watching the weather.  They are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best while acknowledging many islands have it far worse.

Cycling Around Barbados!

Over the past three days I biked around the island of Barbados and wrote in my journal as I went.  The following is how the plan turned out.

Day One...

Today started out brilliantly.  I woke up at 6 am and dove until noon through what is now my new favorite dive site, all the while just as excited about the incredible adventure I was about to embark on in the afternoon.  After diving with the turtles I would begin my bike ride around Barbados!  Life seemed incredible at this point of the day and I tried to bring myself back to this happy place in my mind several times as my afternoon progressed.

Riding my questionably safe, rental bike with a warped front tire, brakes which were completely useless when going down hill, and handle bars far to low for me,  I was off for my first 40 km of the ride shortly after 12 noon.  I was Tent Bay bound!

It wasn't long before I realized that the description of Barbados as flat, in that it is not mountainous, was perhaps misleading and the wrong thing to have looked up.  The entire 40 km was up and down hills, with one hill in particular leaving me to hate myself for thinking this was such a great idea.

By the time I hit Martin's Bay all of my leg muscles were burning and and questions such as 'why doesn't anyone want to join me on this adventure?' "why do people look at me like I am a bit crazy when I tell them of this great plan?" and "are Bayans perhaps maybe just a bit extra cautious with providing me so many warnings?"  had all been answered.

But then, at about 6 pm, with the deadly hot sun setting and me finishing off my 5th water bottled while pushing my bike up a relentlessly brutal hill, a local driving by in a pick up stopped.  He asked if I was okay, I replied yes, just 3 km left to Tent Bay!  He asked if I was aware of the fact that it was all up hill and offered me a ride.  Without thinking twice, I quickly agreed.  Hoping in, he was anxious to hear my story.  The first question being, why would anyone dream up such a plan to bike around in this heat with these hills.  He laughed when I tried to explain of how I thought it would be a fun way to see the country and of how now perhaps I was learning the hard way of how my ambitions sometimes lose site of reality.  As we pulled into Sea-U hotel, in Tent Bay I thanked him again.  Before pulling away, he said "don't you worry, we wouldn't let the sun set on you in Barbados!" and with that he was off, leaving me at my home for the night. 

Day Two.....

I woke up around 7 and with the multi-tool at hand walked over to the death trap of a bike I had rented to see what I could do.   Fifteen minutes later I had both the front and rear brakes adjusted and while the front tire was still bent, the handle bars still low and the bike offered little more than an allusion of having more than one gear, I found a new (perhaps misplaced) hope with at least now having brakes.  If all I needed out of the bike was to move forward when I peddled and to stop when I applied the brakes, I was all set.


With a smile I packed up my things and headed for breakfast before the long road ahead.  The plan was to head 25 km north to the northernest part of Barbados and visit the Flower Cave in St. Lucy for a swim before heading 19 km south to Holetown in St. James for the night.

The morning started out much like the first half of the previous day only with unforgiving legs and larger inclines.  A large part of me wanted to give up, and acknowledge that this plan perhaps did not rank amongst one of my greatest plans, most especially after crossing through St. Andrew which offered the worst hill yet.  By the time I reached Flower Cave I had devoured 4.5 litres of water and felt like I had sweated out 7.  

A tour through the cave and an amazingly refreshing swim inside boosted my spirits and cooled my body temperature, leaving me to think I might not die from heat exhaustion.  I decided if I was offered a ride down I would take it, but I wasn't so lucky.

The most Northerest point of Barbados

Inside Flower Cave

Biking back from the cave, exhaustion set in quickly and when it started to rain I thanked my guardian angel as I struggled up another hill.  From St. Peter down was flat or a decline making up for all of the hard work, which suddenly to my surprise felt worth it.  I covered the 19 km down to Holetown like I expected to bike through the country -on a flat and smooth road, while enjoying the scenery and stopping to take pictures with ease.

The locals along the way were more than friendly, while many laughed or looked at me with pitty when I explained what I was doing, I had no troubles getting directions and filling up my water bottle throughout the journey.  I quickly learned that Barbadians did not tend to learn the street or highway names, rather they knew how to get to each location and with asking directions, using landmarks instead of roads, worked far more effectively.

Settling down in Holetown with only 17 kms left to bike the following morning I had an irresistible smile on my face.  I found the same questions I had before leaving re-entering my mind and while I laid for rest, all I could think was, the worst is over and it was worth it.  A bit like when I hiked the Annapurna Trek with Colleen, I felt I would probably never do this again but I was happy to have done it at least once.

Day Three....

Today was a bit of a breeze (no pun intended), with warnings of tropical storms, a heavy wind kept me cool while I biked back to St. Lawrence Gap to return the bike I had rented.  Leaving just after breakfast at 10 am and biking only 17 km towards the city, I was back at the bike shop before noon, returning the bike within 48 hours of picking it up.  I warned the woman about the crooked front tire, but she didn't seem bothered.  After explaining that only me and one other tourist (another Canadian oddly enough) had rented a bike for the purposes of biking around the island in the 5 years she had been there, I guess she figured it was good enough to be riding around town with.

My Map

What did I pack:  yoga pants (wore and washed everyday), 3 singlets (used all three), 3 pairs of underwear, a scarf (multiple uses- to dry off and cover up after swimming and to keep cameras dry in my bag when it rained), two pairs of bathing suits, a multi-tool, my gopro camera with charger, my canon camera with charger, cell phone with charger, ipod, tablet, journal, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, soap, and deodorant.  All packed into a small backpack.  With 1.5 litres of water strapped to the bike and a helmet.  I used everything and felt I was prepared and well packed.

What do I wish I brought:  bug repellant for the nights

Recommendations:  I felt biking around was a great way to slowly cover the island, take many pictures and meet locals along the way.  I found everyone very helpful and friendly as I regularly asked for directions and to re-fill my water bottle.  However, I would find it difficult to recommend doing this....if I had to do it again, I would recommend test riding the rental bike before leaving, getting a ride to the Flower Cave (right at the top, St. Lucy) and biking down.  The way down from the cave on the west side is not bad and is actually quite relaxing and very beautiful.  While you miss out on the far less touristy areas, hill top views and lush forests of the East Coast (most definitely recommend visiting), you will see the farms in St. Lucy, the nature in St. Peter and the development/estates in St. James before returning to St. Michael.  If you are looking for a good work out, venture up the east.


Advice:  Be sure to check out the Flower Cave, well worth the visit.  A walk down the Tent Bay part of the coast is beautiful with many rock formations, and the sunset on the west was worth the effort.  If you are biking while there are warning of tropical storms, it would make it a lot easier if the wind was in your favor and might be worth checking before leaving if you have the option to wait.

The First Few Things to See

With the hike around Barbados being postponed due to an unexpected work surge for Hermina, my hiking buddy, I've decided to check out a few of the sites when not diving in Barbados and these are some of the places I have found so far which were well worth the time and effort to see.

HARRISONS CAVE

Just as the website for the cave indicates, Harrison's Cave is located near the centre of Barbados in the parish of St. Thomas and is easily accessible from Bridgetown by bus, taxi or car.
 
Named after Thomas Harrison, who did not discover the cave, but rather owned much of the surrounding property in the area, Harrison's Cave remained largely unexplored until 1970 and was not mapped until 1974.  In the early '80s, Harrison's Cave was opened to the public.

 

 

 
The cave is approximately 2.3 km long and is still active, in that it carries water.  The stalagmites are growing at a rate of less than the thickness of a piece of paper each year, which is very fast in geological terms. 
 

A visit to this cave will provide the opportunity to take a number of tours.  I chose the tram tour as was recommended by a number of locals.  This tour began with a 10 minute video which explained how Barbados came to exist in geological terms with showing how the world broke apart.  From what I can recall, in short, the earth, after breaking away from the single continent into the 7 which exist today, shifts in the earth's crust below sea level pushed up fragments of the earth over thousands of years and created islands which were not otherwise developed by way of volcanic explosion.  Barbados, one of the few Caribbean islands which was not created by lava, was created over millions of years of the earths movements with the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean's plates pushing the sea bed up at a point where they overlapped (the Atlantic below the Pacific), this clash and subsequent sea change, created Barbados.

Following the history of the formation of Barbados, the tour continued with a 1 hour tram ride through the cave, which allowed for two brief stops in order to get out and take pictures.  The inside of the cave was 27 degrees, but seemingly not unlike at ground level, the humidity was over 90 %.

 For $30 Canadian, or $60 Barbadian.  I would recommend taking the time to explore one of Barbados' greatest wonders and wonder through this fascinating cave.

 

http://www.harrisonscave.com/

 

 

BARBADOS MUSEUM

 

The Barbados Museum is located within the Garrison's Historic Area of Barbados, just outside of Bridgetown in St. Michael and can be accessed via bus or a 30 minute walk from the city.

 

The museum did not allow photography, so I unfortunately do not have much beyond the one photo of the perimeter, however it did have a wealth of knowledge as to the history of Barbados, for those who will take their time to read each display as they walk through.  Beginning with the first settlers, to the slave trade and further immigration, the museum hosts a number of artifacts used during the time of settlement right up and until independence in 1966.  With an entire section devoted to Africa (as donated by the Kenyan Museum (see Kenya blog)), this portion of the museum explains how the African culture greatly influenced what is now the Barbadian way of life.

 

Other rooms included a Barbadian prison cell (unimpressive), a war section (small but interesting and informative, however with the lack of artifacts, a read through a book might offer a similar educational experience), a birds and wildlife section (less interesting, not an air-conditioned section), an art section (less information, primarily paintings which were worth checking out) and a children's section.  It also had many windows which you could peer into from the outside to see what a house would have looked at during different time frames throughout the history of Barbados, which I found quite interesting.  While there was not much description offered for these rooms, their detail, layout and setup was quite impressive. 

 

Overall, I would be lying to say this was the most informative or fascinating museum I have visited.  In fact, I would rank the Kenyan Museum much higher and quite liked their contribution best, and with all of the history surrounding Barbados (one of the world's largest UNESCO heritage sites), I am not sure I would recommend this to anyone who already has a decent grasp on the history.  For those who don't it was only $7 Canadian to tour.

 

Eight days in Barbados

I have kept myself remarkably busy over the past week. I've been soaking up the sun on the gorgeous beaches, meeting locals, writing and taking dive photos for two magazines, and diving, when not relaxing at ocean front pubs and enjoying the incredible views. 

The weather in Barbados is very hot at the moment, ranging from low to mid 30s.  On my third day here, I found myself, as a Canadian, wishing for cold weather for the first time in my life.  The African sun was hot, but in Barbados, the shade seems to offer little refuge as I try to make it to the beach to either dive, snorkel or swim just as much to cool off as to enjoy the ocean. Thankfully, we recieved rain yesterday which cooled everything down to a comfortable temperature, which allowed me to walk around through the city without stopping to drink a few bottles of water every half hour.  Today, the heat made up for the refreshing break, but I think maybe I am starting to adapt, or at least, I keep telling myself I will soon :)

While it might seem as though I haven't written in awhile, I have been spending a few hours writing each day for two publications, both travel and dive related.  With three stories currently already edited and waiting with the graphic designers before print, I will post my first Barbadian publication in the first week of August, when it is published here.  They had asked for a few dive photos for the cover, and I've submitted a number.  With any luck, the next issue will have three of my stories, approximately 8 of my pictures and maybe even the cover photo. 

 Beyond writing, diving, networking and exploring, I have been editting my dive video, which I will add to the diving section of this blog after posting this. It is still just a rough video, and my first, but hopefully you will see improvement as I continue to work with the programs and become more accustomed to my new camera.  Otherwise, I will rely on the professionals at the magazine and post their improved version of my clips.

Tomorrow I will be diving for another opperation and submitting a write up and video of the dive for a different publication, before preparing for our 4 day adventure which commences Wednesday!  Yes, we are still walking the perimeter of Barbados!  While I just assumed everyone we mentioned this brillent idea to would be anxious to join in on such a lifetime adventure, recruiting a third was surprisingly a very difficult task.  Finally yesterday, a fellow backpacker traveling through Barbados from Brazil agreed to join us.  We told him it was something everyone does when they come to Barbados :)

Just over one week in, life has been incredible here.  The deadly heat aside, there isn't one thing I would change.  As I stop for directions or to hear a story, Barbadians have been nothing but helpful and friendly.  While thier concept of time makes Figians and Kenyans seem quite punctual, the idea of always stopping to chat with whomever and not ever rushing, has already grown on me a bit and I find myself quickly slipping into the relaxing custom, most especially after coming to realize that there is rarely much point to arriving on time.

So here I am, one week in with much to do, many new friends and another incredible adventure ahead.  Life is great.

Dee