Today in Bridgetown Barbados we spent a great deal of time walking through the streets and exploring the British history of this southern caribbean town.
Another famous visitor was the young George Washington, who walked the ramparts of James Fort during his visit to the island in 1751.
The British arrived in 1627 to create a colony that would grow cotton and tobacco, the sugar industry was added in the 1640s. It still has the British history recognized all around town. In 1966 Barbados gained independence and became a Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as Queen of Barbados. In 2021, Barbados transitioned to a republic within the Commonwealth.
During our walk we found many structures and monument’s.
The first one was The Nidhe Israel Synagogue. It is a UNESCO building with an original structure that dated back to 1654. This current building, erected in 1833, was later abandoned until 1983 when it was saved and restored by the Jewish community here. We could see much due to a gated area.
Walking to our next stop, Queen’s Park which is formerly the grounds of the home of the commander of the British troops.
We found many decorated Christmas trees here that appeared to be dictated by some schools. There was a Korean and China tree among others.
The highlight here is a giant baobab tree that has an 18 m (59 ft) circumference. Stories about the origin of the tree differ, one says that the tree was brought by an African slave, another goes that a seed was blown to the island and that the tree is a thousand years old. It was huge!
After all our exploring our friends introduced us to a nice restaurant on the beach called the Lone Star restaurant. They have been here before. Being from Texas we expected it to be a steakhouse. Not so. But it was a really good food and an amazing view. To get to the restaurant we hopped aboard a reggae type bus with music blaring and decorations inside. It was a great way to feel the vibe of this Caribbean country.
It is called “the Land of Flying Fish”! I’m The only fish we saw was our friend’s barracuda he had for lunch. 😂
Off to Grenada tomorrow!
May God Bless you always
Chuck and Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 