Nothing is more relaxing that an evening walk along the beach. In the sun scorched Barbados, it is simply too hot to walk around in the middle of the day and it's too dark after dusk. There are less people out tanning and playing in the surf while others are home for dinner. It's time to chill and watch the sunset over the Caribbean sea.
The Richard Haynes Boardwalk is on the Southside of the island and connects some of the more popular tourist beaches to the capital, Bridgetown. The path is named after Richard Haynes, a talented doctor turned politician who was at some time the leader of the opposition party and a finance minister.
The boardwalk is much better than walking along Hastings street which is crowded and has poorly maintained sidewalks. It protects the shoreline from erosion and separates private from public property. This is a popular place for tourists as people from all around the world flock to the Beaches of Barbados.
Canadians, British and Americans love vacationing on this island. It was formerly a British colony which recently ditched the monarchy. While there is still the odd sign of the former queen and many people have English Accents, they are no longer a constitutional monarchy. As of 2021 Barbados is now a republic and does not have a king or queen.
Barbados does not need much of anything, they have near perfect weather, beautiful seas, lovely gardens and friendly people. The island, surrounded by picture perfect waters only needs one thing, cheaper prices. To be brutally honest, it was very expensive here and I feel for the locals as simple trips to the store for a days worth of groceries cost over $100 USD or almost twice as expensive as in Canada.
The island attracts a completely different type of crowd than you would find in many other parts of the Caribbean. The tourists here are mostly affluent and older. If you are under 65, you are younger than most people visiting this island. This means you have plenty of time to visit.
Many of the tourists are older than the brewery that produces this refreshing beer. It's hard to get more relaxing than this, evening strolls along the boardwalk and daytime beers by the seaside. What a life.
We made sure to try some of the other beverages like Deputy and Caribe. Caribe was probably brewed in nearby Trinidad where many of the local goods come from. The industry in Barbados is mostly tourism and Sugar production.
We went away for a month this winter setting a record for consecutive vacation days. Taking some time out of a career to spend with the family is very rewarding. Life is too short and time is too precious to wait until retirement.
Many people own homes here and work elsewhere. You can do well if you rent out your property while you are working in Canada, US or the UK. The only way many locals survive is by sharing homes with their extended family. The houses by the beach would not come cheap and as you can see from this picture there is not much land left to develop.
One of the properties we stayed at was called The Royal Bliss Barbados It deserves its perfect five star rating on google. The staff were very accommodating and as you can see the view is simply divine. One thing about this island is that the service is impeccable, unlike many other places we have been Bajans are most hospitable.
The relaxing vibes and beautiful landscape must rub off on the locals. The culture here isn't rushed but they aren't too relaxed either so it is the perfect blend for those seeking a good vacation.
This is what the sunset looked like almost every night. Shades of orange and pink. The sea is some of the warmest waters we have ever swam in and in many parts of the island barrier reefs keep the waves from being too rough to enjoy your stay.
Thank you for reading and have a nice week!
All photos were taken with an s24 or iphone 15 pro max and are unfiltered