Fantastic trip. Just superb. Melanie Pitcher hooked us up with a sweet 2br condo in St Lawrence Gap, 130 usd ea per night. Walk to restaurants, nightlife, 10 min drive to Freights, 45 mins to Soup Bowl & Parlours.
If you want to know where to surf on any given day & save time on driving the island searching breaks & tides: Melanie Pitcher of Surf Barbados. Vry nice person & totally knows the scoop there.
BTW, going in, the weather in MIA (of all places) was horrendous, fogged in. AA diverted us to TPA, we sat for awhile, then finally made it to MIA. Bottom line, our arrival in BGI was at 3am....not 255pm the previous afternoon. Yet, our contact was there, waiting, to take us to the condo. Impressive & most appreciated by fried travelers.
We benefited from a serious swell from the time we were there until the time we departed. We just surfed Freights every day. Freights is 10 mins from the Gap. Waht's not to like about that. It was a daily schedule that you dream of: morning session from 0730 until our shoulders flamed out. We'd then go eat a nice late breakfast at a restaurant, drink tons of water, head back to the condo & crash, then hit a late afternoon session from 3-ish until sunset.
Waves just going & going & going. All day long, every day. Friggin' fantastic.
The first two days it was overhead on sets. But not killer pounding heavy water. The paddle out was never difficult. No hold-downs. No urchins, so no need for reef booties.
The top locals were out on the point taking on the biggest stuff. Here's the thing: they are cool with anyone going to join them there & catching waves. No attitude here. The other neat thing about Freights is that the top guys are surfing the point BUT the lesser ability or even newbie surfers can catch the SAME WAVE 150 yards to the left because it breaks just as clean but lower & slower. We're talkin' 30-45 second rides. And a longggg (but relatively easy) paddle back....
South Point was also going off. South Point is 90 second drive from Freights. No kiddn.
Tough to come home. Very tough.
My first day I was rusty after being out of the water since October. Second day, better. By the third day? I caught over 40 substantial rides in the course of 2 hours. Ride in, paddle out, quickly catch breath, catch wave, repeat. Shoulders toast. Happily so.
Freights is 99% left side rides. And that's cool with me, cause any time I catch a wave it's wonderful, right or left.
Food on Barbados was magnificent, fresh & so tasty. Oistin's Friday night & every night for 10 usd, stuffed on fresh fish, Banks beer, macc pie. McBride's Bar in the Gap for night activities, and that includes young, not young & whoever looking to have a great time. No attitudes here, it's all about having a great time & meeting people. Happy hour drinks 2-4-1 @ 4usd.
Shorts during the day; daytime was warm, approx 80F.... casual wear at night, denim or shorts, no humidity this time of year. We had cloud cover for two days, occasional showers, which was nice, actually. Bring plenty of sunscreen though. Sun is no joke here when it's blazing. Saw plenty tourists w lobster red shoulders.
Plenty of turista women from Norway & Sweden (dang right...omg), Europe, Canada. Not too many USA folks. People come here to party & cut loose....bars stay open until 4am or 6am....'nuff said....
Banks beer factory tour & Mt Gay rum tour were ok; gotta like the free tasting & samples.
We rented a van this time, not a Jeep, and that van was def worth it. Keep boards & stuff inside the vehicle, as opposed to always exposed in the Jeep.
Bajan people are mellow & pleasant in that post-colonial ex-Brit island sort of way. No road rage idiot drivers, either, people are respectful. A very cool vibe & they welcome gringo turistas. English is the language, although it's the islands so you will def have to adjust your ear to the local pronunciations !
Great trip.
Barbados: highly recommended.
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Originally Posted by krummy
