Barbados

The island of Barbados!! The cars drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Very different to what we are used to! The weather was overcast and a little rainy when we arrived. We spent a lot of our visit driving and exploring the island. The island is fairly small (about 21 miles long by 15 miles wide), but has an amazing variety of landscape to explore.  

 Our first stop was a beautiful beach with huge cliffs. There was an interesting cave there to explore. The locals charged us $30 to all go down into the cave with a tour guide, not bad for such a unique experience.

We climbed down steep steps into a cave that came out into the ocean. The cave was full of tide pools, but didn't have much life in them.

The girls thought the cave was very interesting and especially liked the part when our tour guide told them about this being a cave where pirates used to hide their treasures!

We also found some interesting beaches with huge rock formations.

They were fun to hike and explore, but not so great for the kids to play in the water. 

Another interesting stop we made was at St. John's Church. The church was built in the 1670's. 

The church is at a high point on the island so it has fabulous views. There are little catholic churches scattered all throughout the island.

The next stop we made (after a brief visit to a lighthouse under construction) was Crane Bay. The water and sand were beautiful! We walked out on the beach for a while, but the waves were very rough and dangerous. 

The water was washing up so high onto the beach that I held the girls hands and decided to walk where the water was just hitting our ankles. At one point however it rushed up so high and fast I almost lost my balance. Heidi's crock went washing into the ocean along with a sweater of hers I had dropped as I was trying to keep my balance and hold on to the girls. Micah was able to recover the crock and sweater. We were all amazed at how powerful the ocean was even in the shallow parts. 

The final destination for our visit to Barbados was Batts Rock Bay. We found a beach that was empty and beautiful (and safer). We were excited to find a spot that seemed undiscovered by the rest of the island.

The water was beautiful and calm. Heidi tried out snorkeling and said she liked it, but still seemed a little nervous about it. She did like seeing fish though as long as they were only a few inches long. I loved seeing her try. Hallie didn't want to have anything to do with it... no rush, she'll enjoy it in her own timing. 

We all enjoyed our visit to Barbados, although we wish we had more time to explore the island. The highlight of the visit for us would have to be the cave. We had a fun and energetic tour guide that made the experience more memorable.