BIM - THE PARADISE OF BARBADOS
Sunset on Dover Beach, St Lawrence Gap
The Pink Pearl - Southern Palms Beach Hotel
This hotel is situated right beside the magnificent Dover Beach and its renowned pale golden sands. The beach is a surfing beach and the waves are very powerful. The currents can be difficult in places, so the sea is to be respected here. There are plenty of accessible places to swim, though, especially nearer Saffire Beach at the southern end. The hotel is superb, built in traditional Bajan style, and is pink. Even the walls near the beach are pink. Unlike some of the high-rise hotels everywhere else this hotel blends into the local environment.
There is an emphasis on environment, as evidenced by its care for the local turtles who nest right on the beach. Guests are advised to notify reception immediately if they spot turtles on the beach. The reception-area has several small pools of amazing fish with water cascading down to the larger pools. The bottom pool is teaming with small turtles clambering over one-another. If you’re lucky you can chat to the chap who maintains the pools. He’s often knee-deep among the pirahnas, tending to the water-lilies. He loves his job. Lizards lurk everywhere, even on the walls near your room. The frogs whistle constantly in the hedgerows in the night. I was fortunate to watch a hummingbird feeding from the flowers below my balcony one morning while I was shaving. The wildlife is fantastic.
Southern Palms is well-managed, immaculately-manicured, and is very secure. It is popular with families and has numerous return-guests, a sure sign of outstanding service, hospitality and success. The rooms are very comfortable, while the views are breathtaking, especially from the seaview rooms. It is also close to the airport and sits right on top of St. Lawrence Gap, one of the main hot-spots in Barbados. It offers excellent entertainment and it has high-quality restaurants and a fun, very popular bar.
Jasmine Court viewed from the beach
Seaview from the bedroom
The Island
Garrison
At Garrison they still exercise the race horses in the early morning (photo 5). You can see them behind us in the photograph. The original defensive canons are still there (photos 1 & 3) The racecourse is also surrounded by many interesting old buildings of historical importance. The home of George Washington is nearby. Despite being a US President, it turns out he was British. Apparently, he also suffered from ‘lupus.’ Nasty. Hence the desire for a warm climate!
In the cemetery nearby is a weird collection of trees, producing all kinds of crazy things.(photos 6, 7, 8, 11 & 12) The giant cotton silk was spectacular. Mally put my iPhone into ‘panorama’ mode but took a vertical shot of the enormous tree. In photo 7 you can just see the weird roots. Velvet flowers grew on another (photo 8) and Mally suggested it would take a few to make a jacket!
There is also a secret in the cemetery. Our guide, Mally (photo4), calls out to the monkeys every morning. They have become used to him and suddenly appear because they know he has a treat for them, bananas. (photos 9 & 10)
It was a fascinating start to our day out. We had already passed some famous landmarks, like Worthing and Carlisle Bay. All the time our guide was pointing out significant locations or buildings, even unsightly part-completed hotels. Some of the hotels, even notable brands, were ugly eyesores, completely at odds with the environment. We saw famous medical facilities, where many potential doctors train.
We also experienced the worst bit, the highways. There is now so much traffic on the roads that the infrastructure is buckling. Short distances can be painful, slow, hot and tiresome. You need your wits about you to take on some of the junctions and roundabouts. We completely missed visiting Bathsheba & the east coast for lunch. There were so many accidents and road blocks. It was unreal.
St Nicholas Abbey Railway & Cherry Tree Hill
As a result of the numerous accidents, road blocks and traffic jams, we were quite late arriving at Saint Nicholas Abbey Railway. This is situated on the north-east of the island, and, despite not being that far in terms of mileage, driving there can be tricky.
Oistins Fish Market
Oistins is mad. Everybody says,”You’ve got to go to Oistins Fish Friday!” Dancing. Live music. Massive queues for Pat’s. Amazing food everywhere. Lively bars.
So we went on a Saturday, quite early. Avoid the crowds. Who told us? A local. It was still crazy there. Wild dancing. Jugglers with fire sticks. Great fun!
Catamaran Sunset Cruise
It’s a fantastic afternoon, swimming, snorkelling, drinking, eating and doing nothing, while sailing along the coast. There are breathtaking sunsets. There are schools of multi-coloured tropical fish around the wrecks. There are turtles. There are enormous inquisitive but harmless tarpon which creep up on you! Then there’s the friendly crew. Ben (photo 10) pilots the catamaran and explains his family history and all things boat while topping up your wine. Neat! Cappy (photo 8) gets in the water with you and keeps an eye on everyone. This is particularly reassuring for families with young children. He provides masks and flippers (essential) and helps with mask-smoke by cleaning the gear. He also feeds the fish to attract them to the group. Mikey (photo 6) spends most of the cruise endlessly supplying drinks (any kind you want) and trays of delicious Bajan nibbles and cuisine. I like the fish cakes. Again, this is very good for the youngsters on board who can help themselves. The toilets are below deck, one for boys and one for girls. Only one rule = Don’t run! Just be careful when the sails go up not to get in the way!
We opted for the sunset cruise because it’s a late start. You get picked up from the hotel at 2 pm and taken directly to the port. If you book a day cruise with lunch, you have to get up early. Drinking gin or rum punch at 9.30 am is not my scene. Choose a trip to suit. They collect your footwear before sailing to avoid accidents on board. Our fellow-cruisers were families from Dublin & New York. One local, too, decided to have a day out! Why not? Awesome experience.
The receptionist booked our cruise. Payment was easy and receipts and details arrived promptly from the company. It was worth every penny or dollar, just for the photographs.
There is a bewildering number of companies offering similar experiences. Here are a few:
Silver Moon
https://silvermoonbarbados.com
Elegance
https://www.elegancebarbados.com
The Cat & the Fiddle
https://catandthefiddlebarbados.com
These offer up-market limited number cruises. Watch out for those sponsored lists when you search. Naughty.
An alternative, popular, lively cruise, with larger groups, is the Tiami cruise. There’s plenty to suit every taste.
Pebbles Beach & Cuzz Fish Shack
You could argue that Pebbles Beach is the start of Carlisle Bay. Just beyond the pier is Browns Bay which runs into the huge stretch that is Carlisle. We just decided to see a different beach and feel its vibe. Not only that but, to our surprise, it’s the home of the world-famous Cuzz and his Fish Shack, where he makes ‘the best fish cutters on the island!’ Well, it’s just a tasty flying fish in a bun. But we did it. It’s a good job he turned up that afternoon because most of the beach bars had no electricity for cooking their usual snacks. Cuzz opened around midday and, by 12.15, there was a queue of at least thirty people. When our driver came back to pick us up later there was still a big queue. Mally couldn’t resist, so he bought one too. Cuzz is certainly popular.
Beaches (South)
You want beaches? You’ve come to the right place! Barbados is full of incredible beaches. We stayed on Dover Beach, a kilometre-long strip of golden white sand. Most resorts sit on spectacular beaches. Dover Beach is long and is a surfing beach. It’s hard to believe that there was once no sand here. The reefs and action of the waves in the Caribbean cause absolute mayhem. Sometimes sargassum adds to the environmental carnage. The waves here are excellent for surfing and there’s a surf school at Saffire Beach to accommodate beginners. The currents here can be extemely dangerous, even for experienced swimmers. Locals advise not to go beyond where you can stand. That, of course, gets ignored by many. Red flags mean, “Do not swim!” People swim. Yellow flags are advisory, for caution. Just a metre from the edge of the water the sea bed drops suddenly and there are some large stones pounding down around your feet. It’s a good idea to walk down to the Saffire Beach area to play in the water. That’s where it’s rammed!
Southern Palms offers its guests free sunbeds dotted around the palm trees, with attendants taking orders for food and drinks. Magnificent. At the top end of the beach is a bar called Pure Ocean , which is maintained by another hotel on the road opposite. That hotel is Divi Southlands. However, they only have a small section of the beach for their beds and the water is right next to the rocks, which act as a breaker. That doesn’t stop the people from swimming there, though. Crazy. Maybe they’re divvies?
The photos above mainly show aspects of Dover Beach. Photos 2 & 3 show the amazing white sands on which sits the O2 Beach Club hotel, with its renowned spa. The beach is in the next cove from Dover Beach. It can get confusing, because the locals refer to different parts of the beaches by different names. The south end of Dover Beach is known as Saffire Beach. That’s where the main entrance is. It’s full of bars and huge condominiums surround the beach. The Hotel Le Roy is near here, with a lovely bar and restaurant area. When the tide goes out, you can walk past the rocks to the next beach, White Sands. Of course, people still attempt this route even when the tide returns. Crazy.
White Sands is accessible, too, by walking down the road a little and past a huge multi-storey car park. That’s where the all-inclusive O2 is. The beach is small, but beautiful. There are several rocky areas to avoid and one gap to the sea which is forbidden. If you stroll there you will soon see why. There’s one area where bathing appears fine and the sand is a fantastic texture and colour. It’s well worth a visit.
There are plenty of small coves to explore in the St Lawrence area. It’s worth trying to visit a couple even if you’re on a short stay. Then you’ve got a good excuse to return to see some more. We also got our guide to take us to Oistins and to Pebble Beach just up the coast (they have their own dedicated sections in the blog). We saw a fair bit of Carlisle Bay, too, when we went cruising and snorkelling. The West Coast is full of fantastic beaches and resorts, though some have some disgusting branded hotels nearby.
The Pink Pearl has virtually the whole of Dover Beach to itself. It’s easy to understand why some guests have been going there every year for thirty years!
(Hello! Jeff, Denise & Lucy!)
Restaurants & Bars
What’s the food like?
Wherever you venture, from the smallest food shacks to elite restaurants, you will enjoy high-quality cuisine. Bajans love cooking and they also love eating. You can’t go wrong. The service is usually friendly, helpful and fun. There may be a longer wait for your gourmet burgers or shrimp salads at the shacks, but you won’t be disappointed. Establishments seem to be open forever, so you won’t starve. There are even vans at the roadside producing tasty snacks at all hours.
Restaurants on The Gap
Primo
As you turn the bend near the church Primo is on the left just before the bay itself. (photos 4, 5, 6, 7 & 12)
The layout of Primo is instructed by the rocky peninsula on which it stands. It has an upper level for great views. The lower level has a balcony adjacent to the shore and dining is awesome, since the sunsets here are incredible. Service is informal, though standards are high in this place. You may need to consider what you pack if you intend to visit a top-class restaurant. Casual smart seems to be fine. Trainers may be an issue in some.
By the time we visited Primo, fish had become the thing to explore. Barbados has some brilliant takes on fish. We ordered Yellow-Fin Tuna & Crusted Barricuda. Both were outstanding. We definitely had two of the finest meals ever. Potatoes are often mashed in a leek and creamy sauce or scalloped in a tasty sauce. There are fresh vegetables also garnishing the plates. We hadn’t been sure if the cuisine in Barbados would meet our expectations, but it easily surpassed them.
On the way back up the Gap we bumped into Champagne Charles outside another bar and restaurant, Crave. What a character! He was sporting one of his magnificent colourful shirts. We chatted about fish. He recommends Sailfish, saying it’s sweet. The Gap was buzzing by this time. There was a jazz saxophonist playing in the bar there and up the road Sharkeys had a singer for the evening. Next door was karaoke, for those who didn’t mind humiliating themselves in public. It’s all go in the Gap.
https://www.primobarandbistro.com
Castaways
Castaways is situated at the very end of the Gap at the opposite side of the bay to Primo restaurant. (photo 9) It has several levels and balconies with exceptional views when you’re dining. Reservations are recommended (in most restaurants), so you can enjoy a smooth experience. It’s surprising how many people are disappointed when they are turned away (particularly large groups). The food is excellent with a good variety of dishes. It’s a good idea to hit the top restaurants early to dine while the sun is setting. Also, you can mix up your days and evenings to suit. Who needs routine in this environment?
We chose the pork loin and lamb shank (pictured above, photo 10). Presentation is outstanding in these places. The staff are welcoming and try to make your evening special. The owner did seem unnecessarily fraught the night we were there, smashing a glass in her haste to clear a table. Mally, our guide, knew the bar-manager there, which was handy.
https://www.castawaysbb.com
Mimosa
Mimosa was just around the corner from the hotel and became a kind of afternoon or evening regular for us. Its proximity was a bonus but its main attraction was the location and food! We found it on our first day when I popped to the Gap Convenience Store for some items. We decided to have a lazy lunch there. Naturally, Greek salad was on the menu. Great shout for Hellenophiles. I tried the Bajan Fish Cakes with the spicy Sharkey sauce dip. After that fish cakes became a favourite. They turned up in smaller form at the Manager’s Rum Punch Party at our hotel and on trays during the catamaran cruise. Bajans love them. And so do I now.
We sat there drinking white wine and staring at the stunning views of the ocean. There is a small private cove below the restaurant, where you may glimpse a lone surfer. (photos 1, 2 & 3) It’s a very popular bar with the locals too. The owners also run Sharkeys and the up-market Tabu just down the road.
That evening we encountered Mahi-Mahi back at the hotel, another fantastic fish. It’s a name they use for the dolphin fish, but, don’t panic, it’s not dolphin.
Mimosa was so good we booked a table for the coming Sunday evening. It was another great meal. We had Coconut Shrimps (huge) and King Fish (sometimes called Wahoo). I went for the ‘blackened’ version, which became my cooking-method of choice. Awesome! If you like fish, go to Bim!
The following Tuesday we had been on a long trip up to the northeast of the isalnd. We were quite hungry when we returned, so we opted for an afternoon at Mimosa. This time I ordered a Sharkey Burger, the best burger I have ever had by a mile. The fish of the day was also excellent. Washed down with wine, all was well.
Our final visit to the trattoria was near the end of our stay, after our second Manager’s Rum Punch Party. The fish cakes at the party were tempting but I had thoughts only for fish. Imagine my surprise when Catch-Of-The-Day turned out to be barracuda. Delightful. Coconut Shrimps got another outing too. Then the rain started in earnest. We switched tables. It continued to rain. We stayed put. And ordered another bottle. Who cares? We just watched the little crabs scurrying around the sandy cove in the lights of the restaurant. What a great place to unwind!
https://www.mimosasbarbados.com
Harlequin
Everyone had raved about this place, from the reps to seasoned visitors. So, one night we took a chance and broke the golden rule. We didn’t book. We had walked past several times in the day when it looked like the other shacks on the gap. I had seen its extremely extensive menu which bothered me. Usually a limited menu comes with better quality, with the focus on getting it right. We approached the restaurant. In the dark it looked spectacular with its multi-coloured lights. It was rammed. Sheepishly I approached the manager, Keith. It turns out that he is from Reading and had come out to Bim twenty-five years previously to ‘have a go.’ It certainly ‘went.’ It was hugely-popular.
He studied the tables diligently and said, “Hey! There’s one there. Last one.” We were lucky. We had a fantastic waitress called Shaday. I asked her what day it was. She looked back as if I were really odd and stupid. She replied, “Wednesday, of course.”
“No! It’s Shaday.” She laughed and gave me that look which said, “Yeah. You are stupid.” We got on really well.
This time we went for the Bajan special hotpot and catch-of-the-day. It was Kingfish. I couldn’t believe my luck and ordered it blackened. The food was excellent. I was forced to try the Bajan Lime Pie for the dessert. Resistance was futile. If you go, get it.
The bar area is surrounded by beautiful paintings of jazz musicians, offering a touch of class to the decor. That night too there were a couple of stunning Bajan women, dressed for a night-out, in the other side of the restaurant. As they were leaving, the entire male kitchen staff rushed out and, hiding, peeked at them like little boys from behind the bar. Pure scopophilia! It was hilarious.
The Harlequin was a pleasant surprise.
https://www.harlequinrestaurant.com
We did pop into the Cocktail Kitchen one evening for a drink. It’s small inside and a bit claustrophobic for fancy eating, but it has an incredible reputation for outstanding cuisine. Check out the interview with the head chef on the website below. There’s also a nice roof-top terrace with views over the bay. You get cocktails. You get a kitchen. Does what it says!
Chattel Houses & Rum Shops
Happy Days
Right opposite the main entrance of the hotel was a typical Chattel village, with tourist shops, cafes, bars & a convenience store. To our delight there was also one of the best breakfast or lunch spots in the area. Run by the friendly and exuberant Nick, his team offer superb service and great food, delivered fairly promptly for Barbados. The tables and chairs are dotted around the shops, while chickens run free everywhere. They do make a racket, especially the multi-coloured cocks.
Water-pistols are provided for those customers unable to cope with cocks under their tables. The whole thing was bizarre.
“Can’t beat cock first thing in the morning!'“
Occasionally the cafe would be closed for elections or bank holidays but most days started with fun at the aptly-named Happy Days. Of course, they get their fair share of obnoxious customers. “This butter is disgusting!” But they shirk it off, despite being upset. You’re usually guaranteed a smile. Thoroughly recommended.
Daddy’s Restaurant & Bar
The Salsa Van, The Gap
Phil’s Bar
Half-way down the strip near the karaoke rum shop is this quiet simple shop and bar. It was throwing it down one night when we decided to have a night-cap. The bar is surrounded by hundreds of small lights. purples, red, greens and blue pervade the woodwork in the bar. I became full-on Wong Kar Wai with the video I took there in the pouring rain. The diegetic sounds of California Dreaming emanating from the neighbouring karaoke bar completed the illusion. Unreal experience!
Sharkeys
Sun Dollar Cafe Bar
Beach Bars, Pebbles Beach
Some random images showing different aspects of Bajan scenery and of its characters. Love the silhouette of the fisherman on the rocks at the end of Dover Beach.
Take a seat!