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.
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.
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.
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.
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