Barbados - the bluest water I've seen so far"

Barbados is one of my favorite Caribbeans.

There are plenty of things to do here, all of them beach-related, but I promise you, they're worth every penny!

I'm going to tell you why I chose to start with this port, from aaaaaall the ports I've visited: besides the fact that I was simply amazed by the clear, blue water, I have the best memories here, that always bring a sincere smile on my face.

Being for the first time here, I just followed the "herd" and since every crew member was telling me about The Boatyard, The Boatyard it was! Some of my more experienced co-workers had been here before, so they knew how things were going on around here - and this was exactly my luck.

The ride, the entrance and a free cocktail were covered by the price we payed for the little bracelet they gave us when we took the car. When I got there - MAGIC! The whitest sand was being washed by clear, light blue water and the beach was just ALIVE! 

Half of it was full of passengers and crew members, but we couldn't care less...we were like crazy puppies running wild without a leash! :))

 Some of the locals are making a living out of water sports, so they offer you "the best deals" (so they say) for everything you can imagine: snorkeling, swimming with the turtles, jet-skiing, boat parties and probably many more activities that I might have missed.

I must admit that making a living out of sales helped me a lot - so much that we ended up getting great prices after a lot of negotiating:

• Instead of paying $45/ person/ 30 minutes on a jet-ski, we ended up paying just $20/ person/ 30 minute.

And I'm saying "we" because I didn't rent the jet-ski by myself: since one crazy person is not enough on a jet-ski, my Serbian friend, Jovana, joined me. She was working in the Photo Gallery, but although we were not working together, she was one of my soul mates: two crazy aquariuses - both balkans, both psychopaths. :))

It took us just 1 minute to "lift off" then drive like maniacs - the truth is, the owner looked extremely relieved after we returned the jet-ski.

• Instead of paying $10 each for a Banana ride, we went once for free, once for just $5. (Oh yeah! :D )

The free ride, I must admit, was a win-win situation: we went one round for free, the guy got his publicity :D.

The second (great) price, was after making a deal with one of the young guys in charge of the Banana ride: "you accept just $5/ person and I bring you more crew members". After making the deal everybody was happy - except the boy's dad, who made it pretty clear he didn't like me :)).

 

•   Instead of paying $15/ person for swimming with the turtles and visiting a ship wreck, we payed just $10 each.

This is another great memory I have and my only regret is not having any pictures taken with an underwater camera :(. The 
wreck we visited was covered in colorful corals and sponges, sea weed, very colorful exotic fish that were friendly and used to people, that were swimming close to you, touching you - it was something I've only seen on TV until that moment. 

Few minutes later, we got on the boat again and went to see the turtles. One of them was huuuge, maybe 50 cm/ 50 cm, while the other 5-6 turtles were the size of a watermelon...or..pie..(you get the main idea :D ). We got in the water and the boat's driver took out a bucked full of tiny fishiiiez which he started throwing in the water, in order to attract the turtles.

Smarty here got brave: "Please give me one fish so I can feed the turtle! :D" (OF COURSE I got my puppy eyes to be more convincing). He gave me the little fish but warned me not to let the turtle bite me - they have these beaks similar to parrots' beaks, really strong! 

So while I was extremely focused not to get bitten by the big turtle ( I only wanted to feed that one) - another little fella' bites my toe! :)) That sneaky little ...! It took just one bite to change my love for turtles into fear :)). From cute little creatures, in my eyes, they became ferocious predators of helpless toes! :))  Our guide started laughing and started throwing all the fish he had left, towards me - 5 seconds and all the turtles were swimming underneath me. We finally made it to the shore with big smiles on our faces (and all toes in their place), ready for new adventures!

 

And there's a lot more to do: rope swinging, you can get great food, awesome drinks! and a lot of good memories!

I honestly recommend it and I hope I get the chance to visit Barbados again, with the same friends!

These are some of the pictures :D

Lots of love, Alexandra