Well, we bumped back into humanity with a thud. Sometime around 1am we docked in Bridgetown, Barbados. We are only one of five cruise ships docked today, and when we woke up there were ships everywhere led by the huge P&O ship with 5000 people and 18 decks. Three large cruise ships, and two small ones so it’s going to be manic in the cruise terminal today. Over 10,000 passengers with their luggage, and truck loads of ship’s food and provisions arriving to be loaded for their next cruise.
Went up on deck to enjoy my last quiet coffee, watch the sunrise, and give thanks that I wasn’t queuing for breakfast with 5000 others.
After going through immigration on board in the lounge, it was off to breakfast amidst a flurry of thank you’s and hugs for the staff who have made the last two weeks so great. Most of the grunt staff are from the Philippines (above deck) and Indonesia (below deck), and have till August on the ship till they finish their contracts. We feel for them as they start this afternoon to do it all yet again with a fresh load of passengers to coddle. The general consensus amongst them seems to be that this itinerary is a very boring one for them, as there is so little for them to do in port whilst visiting such tiny islands. They are eagerly awaiting getting to the Mediterranean and Europe in a few weeks when they can get off the ship and enjoy themselves in port, instead of running beach BBQs. We heartily recommend Windstar Cruises if you are looking for a a lovely time with a smallish number of passengers. Fun but no party ship.
Eventually we disembarked, walked the kilometre around the wharves to get to the terminal, then claimed our luggage amongst the melee. Walked out of the port, surrendered our last piece of paper, and walked the 2km into town along the shore line.
Our Airbnb hostess generously offered to allow up to check in early instead of wandering around with our luggage for the day, so we hopped on the public bus (which is definitely not geared to carry suitcases), and travelled 30 minutes around the coast to Oistins – the backpacker suburb with the great beaches away from the expensive resorts.
A modest but fully functional beach house close to the shops and water. Went down to the local supermarket to stock up for a few days, but OMG the prices. Generally double the prices of the same items at home. We can only conclude that everything is imported. Small tub of butter $10. Rolled oats $5. Mixed vegetables $20/kg. Milk $5/litre. Don’t get me started on the price of meat or chicken. We had lunch of pasta with tomato sauce (no meat) and 6 chicken wings which cost us $40. A 2 piece box of KFC is $20. We’ll just have to suck it up – that’s just the way it is.
Our competition in port
Our Airbnb in Oistins, Barbados