It’s taking forever to get all the pics cranked through Photoshop in the few minutes of me time I have each day. So let’s just get to it.
Day 1 – We had an early flight, which meant getting out of bed at 4:30 or so. That used to be a really big deal, and worth contemplating just staying up. In a post-Avery world, that’s not much earlier than she greets the day anyway. So, yeah, that’s early, and ungodly so, but that’s how the new Taverners roll. I guess. Hooray.
Anyway, early flight means early arrival. Hello, Barbados! We landed in time to tag the usual bases, picking up the rental car, navigating to the villa to meet the property manager lady (Jan, very nice), and backtracking to the local supermarket to get a few necessities. Of course there was time for a dip in the pool. There is always time for a dip in the pool. Lava could be bearing down on us, and there would still be time for a dip in the pool. But I digress. Our villa was on the east side of the island, in Bottom Bay in the parish of St Philip.
Then we drove by tourist map (hilariously not entirely accurate) to the south side – Oistins in the parish of Christ Church. Friday nights there is a massive fish fry next to the fish market right on the beach, and that’s The Thing You Do On Friday Night. So we did. We hit it up early, partly because of Avery, but also because we knew it would be a loud and boisterous zoo. We went to Pat’s, because the reviews said we should. And they were right. While my fried chicken was authentic but mediocre, Marjorie’s Mahi Mahi was excellent. Recommend. We wrapped up just as the dj was cycling up the theatre-sized sound system.
Full of good food, and having enjoyed our first Banks (the beer of Barbados), we navigated home and crashed out at something like 9:30. Because that’s how we roll. I had a dip in the pool before bed, naturally. Glorious.
In the morning, we assembled the provisions and gear, and sallied forth on our next quest: to check out the beach at Bottom Bay, where swimming is stupid but the beach itself is supposed to be stunning. Stay tuned for that next episode.
