The Hilton Hotel
Bridgetown
Barbados
Tuesday 23 June 2015
It is almost a week since my arrival to Barbados to be a part of the Caribbean Premier League Cricket event which has 6 Franchise Teams playing across the 7 different Islands ( Countries) of the West Indies.
My flight path after leaving Port Elizabeth on Wed 17th took me on a BA flight to Johannesburg then to London Heathrow- having left ORTIA at 9.30 we landed around 7 a.m. ( London time) on the 18th – this was an anxious flight as I had to make sure I got from Heathrow to Gatwick in time for the flight to Barbados- fortunately I had arranged on internet for a cab to be waiting my arrival not knowing how long it would take through customs & passport control- the God’s were with me as the flight got in earlier than expected and I managed to exit in another hour to be met by the cab and within another hour I was at Gatwick- even had time to shower in the BA lounge and after a change of clothes it was a much more relaxed 8 hour flight into Bridgetown Barbados where the time is 6 hours behind that of SA.
Naturally the body clock needed to adjust and a week later this is still in rather chaotic mood and the waking hours have been virtually anytime – thankfully I can manage on clusters of short deep sleep so the waking hours finds me working.
Barbados is 21 miles long and 14 miles wide and the Island Map called “Ins & Outs of Barbados” gives the reader the following welcome message :
“ Welcome to Barbados- a safe, friendly island colonized nearly 400 years ago by the British & declared a proud independent nation in 1966.
Barbados is beautiful & everything is within easy driving distance. Taxis enthusiastically ply their trade , it is safe to walk anywhere & people will happily give you information.
Enjoy your stay!”
Not sure how many other countries can include a Welcome message such as that ?
My first two days were taken up on meetings and venue inspection of the beautiful Kensington Oval Cricket Ground- scene of the 2007 World Cup Final and also where Rihanna in 2011 sang for the 1st time in her home country!
Did manage on Friday morning to do a long walk with Mick Martell ( the Australian umpire who forms part of my PCT) – we left the hotel and walked along the stunning Carlisle Bay – the Hilton forms part of the South Western corner of the Island of Barbados. The beautiful beach went on forwever with warm water which eventually forced us to take our tops off and in our walking shorts jump into the stunning Caribbean Sea!
By Saturday everything was in place for the opening match of this tournament with the Barbados Tridents playing the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
There are two Playing Control Teams (PCT) – I have an umpire from Australia , Guyana & Trinidad with me as well as a 4th umpire who is local.
The other PCT has been based in St Lucia.
The opening match went very well and we had no issues to deal with as the Barbados Tridents captained by Kieron Pollard defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors captained by Denesh Ramdin- the sold out crowd gave me an idea of what enjoying cricket Caribbean Style is all about.
Sunday we ( the PCT) arranged for the taxi to take us on a 5 hour Island Tour.
This was just special as she took us along the stunning coastline from the hotel- each “suburb” is referred to as a Parish so from St Michael Parish ( where the Hilton is) we traversed the Island through St Thomas, St James, St Peter until we got to the northernmost point called North Point in the parish of St Lucy. We had made stops for photographs at various places of interest starting in the downtown Bridgetown centre at the Independence Square with the magnificent Parliament buildings and statues of Nelson and one dedicated to the two World Wars.
We found the journey fascinating as explanations given about the early history, the work on plantations of cotton and sugar cane, the unique Chattel Houses- wooden in construction and many colourfully painted- they were raised from the ground in order that the plantation workers could move these homes onto new land when they had to work at a different cotton or sugar cane plantation.
We also came across staggeringly expensive erf with views to the coast and modern Condominiums – a unit in one of these was bought by Rihanna at a discounted price ( as she is Barbadian) of around USD 25 Million.
Wonderful Marina developments where the rich & famous have their yachts and catamarans parked as if they were cars outside a home !
Of course I had to make a stop at Sandy Lane – the five star beachfront resort close to Holetown in the St James Parish - this is where Tiger Woods chose to marry Erin Nordegren in 2004.
The list of celebs who have stayed at Sandy Lane is worth googling!
From Oprah to Elton John, The Onassis clan and even RVP of soccer fame.
We were thrilled to come across three club cricket matches- stopped at one to visit the clubhouse and chat to the people there- it was also interesting to note British tourists who hire cars as it is quite easy to get around, stopping to also enjoy the Village Style cricket matches- the Sport in the Caribbean is unbelievably popular.
We stopped for lunch at one of many little quaint restaurants and then proceeded to continue our 5 hour trip which at times was through some lovely tropical warm rain.
The evening we took another cab to a sports Bar called Bubbas- huge screens in a beautiful setting where naturally Cricket was being shown and we watched a bit of the 1st match of the other group- in St Lucia – sadly rain affected that match and it could not be completed. The St Lucia Zouks ( with Kevin Petersen) playing the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel who have Kallis in the line-up.
Yesterday ( Monday) Mick Martell ( Aus umpire) & I went into the downtown city centre- about a ten minute drive from the hotel- spent many hours taking in the atmosphere- clean, neat shopping lanes, closed off streets to allow walking only, the Marina with the famous Chamberlain Bridge spanning the Careenage. We enjoyed lunch at the Marina Restaurant & Bar at the Bridge House- lovely view across the bridge and good food- rained heavily while there so many tourists moved into the restaurant frpm the balcony seating areas.
We managed to do some shopping as well- the Caribbean Islands ( countries ) all have their own currency with a different exchange rate ! Things are very expensive because of our weak rand and that has always got to be taken into account. Two Barbados Dollars = 1 USD .
This morning took a walk on my own around the hotel and found the George Washington Home- interestingly this is the only city Washington had ever visited outside of the USA!
Had some coffee at the Barbados Coffee Shop – the slogan read “ Just another day in Paradise” and I thought – how fitting!
It is now 1 pm and time to get ready for tonight’s 2nd match – the Barbados Tridents play the Jamaican Tallawahs . This brings Kieron Pollard ( Tridents) up against Chris Gayle (Tallawahs) – so the toss is going to be interesting – with two towering figures alongside me- both metaphorically & literally speaking!
So on that note my 1st Caribbean update comes to an end- This is the first of a 6 week outing – from here I shall move to St Kitts on Saturday for my next group of matches- shall let you know all about
St Kitts once I have settled in there.
Always
Just
deV
To view Dev's travel photos, simply click on the link below
https://www.facebook.com/dev.govindjee.5?fref=ts
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