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Barahona

Barahona is a town and a province of the Dominican Republic.

Barahona is a remote region of the Dominican Republic. It is sparsely populated and wildly beautiful. Very few travelers venture here, but the adventure of it all makes it rewarding.

Cities
Barahona is an attractive, adequate provincial city, the only one of any size in the Southwest region. It has little to offer besides a good beach, an interesting cathedral, and a good bar scene. It is the base for visiting the isolated, prehistoric-looking Lago de Enriquillo, as well as a visit to the ramshackle, 'duty free' border market in nearby Malpasse, Haiti.

Other destinations
Lago de Enriquillo is an astounding natural wonder, located far below sea level among striking, stony mountains. Enriquillo was a Taino chief, and a forlorn statue of this great 'cacique' stands along the long, deserted dirt road to the lake. A boat trip will reveal weird and wonderful plants and animals, the most amazing of which are the many 5-foot crocodiles, said to be harmless, but don't go wading. This end-of-the-world place is very much worth the day trip from Barahona (ask at your hotel), the price of which includes sandwiches, beer, and a visit to the ramshackle border market in nearby Malpasse, Haiti. Top-drawer Barbancourt Rum, Cuban cigars, and surprisingly good Comme Il Faut cigarettes are available at low prices, and you'll meet real Haitians who happen to speak 'market' Dominican Spanish.

Polo - a remote, mountain town about an hour drive from Barahona. It has a much cooler climate and is surrounded by mountains and coffee. Many people come to see Polo Magnetico, where you can set your car in neutral and it looks like the car moves uphill. Another good place to go is Mata de Maiz, a deep natural swimming pool with refreshing cold water.

Understand
This is a largely impoverished area, but people are mostly honest, dignified, and happy you've made such an effort to visit. Prices are low. Food is bland, but Barahona has a good, safe bar scene (signs warn customers to check their arms at the door). Motorcyclists will take you anywhere in town for 25 pesos (September 2017).

Talk
Spanish seems to be the only language spoken. Having knowledge of Spanish will greatly help you.

Get in
Safe, scenic, cheap daily bus service (3 hours) from Santo Domingo. Ask for "Barahona" lot. Some stops at clean service areas along the way, with good meals.

The CaribeTours bus terminal in Santo Domingo (27 de Febrero and Avenida Leopoldo Navarro) has 4 buses departing daily to Barahona and costs 300 pesos (September 2017). The buses are express service and have cold air conditioning and usually functioning wifi. Another cheaper bus service leaves down the street from Caribetours (27 de Febrero and Calle La Filantropica) and will pick up/ drop off passengers along the way to Barahona every hour from 7am - 7pm, 250 pesos (September 2017).

Get around
For 25 pesos (September 2017), a motoconcho will take you almost anywhere in the city. You can walk anywhere you need to go, but the heat will be intense.

Do
Visit the town beach. It's not Ipanema, but it's relaxing with spectacular views. However, it is full of trash.

The Malecon - follows the sea, but not much along it.

Eat
You didn't come to remote Barahona for the cuisine, did you? Satisfactory (at best) cafe and hotel food is available.

There's a cafe around the corner from the bus station to Santo Domingo with decent prices and decent food.

Venezuelan Restaurant - delicious food for really good prices. A block away from the central park.

Pala Pizza

Pollo Rey

El Tunel - next to the central park.

Drink
Good, cheap bars in the town center. People-watching is the main entertainment.

Some bars are located down the Malecon about a .5 miles away.

Stay safe
No real problems in this quiet, rather dull city. Danger exists in the wild countryside due to isolation, and by Lago de Enriquillo, the crocodiles.

title: Barahona


text:
Baratang Island

Part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands off the coast of India,  Baratang Island is one of the best parts of a trip to the islands. Here you get to see wild nature as well as its beauty. An Andaman trip would be incomplete without a trip to Baratang and Jirkatang.

Get in
It is about 90 km away from Port Blair. Regular bus services are available from STS Bus Terminal, Aberdeen Bazar. Journey takes about 2 hrs and 30 minutes from Port Blair to Middle Strait and the fare is just ₹45. The journey is in 2 phases - P.Blair to Jirkatang (40 km, 1 hr 15 mins) and then Jirkatang to Baratang (49 km, 1 hr 15 mins, no overtake zone through Jarwa Reserve Forest). From Nilambur Jetty at middle strait ferry  services are available for Baratang Island. Ferry fare is only ₹3/- and it takes about 15 minutes to reach Baratang from Nilambur Jetty.

It is advisable to take a conducted tour of the Baratang islands, if you want to return on the same day. In that case you will miss seeing Parrot Islands. Once you start from Port Blair early morning at around 04:00, the first halt is at Jirkatang (40 km from Port Blair on road). At Jirkatang you will get a forest/police check post. Just opposite to the check post on the other side of the road is a temple (just for a landmark). From here starts a stretch of 49 km forest (Jarwah Reserve Forest), where you cannot halt your vehicle or walk on foot or take snaps/video. On the other end of the Jarwah Reserve forest is Middle strait jetty. The jetty will take you to the other side of the strait in about 15 minutes. Here you have reached Baratang islands.

This is one of the most exciting part of journey, where you will see the tribes (Jarwah). They are short height, black in complexion, with reddish eyes. They feed on roasted pig meat mainly. Fish and fruits being the other part of their diet. The Government of India has taken every step to ensure that no one interferes with the Jarwahs' freedom. Offering food items to Zarawah is strictly prohibited; once when they were offered food (generally fried and spicy as other Indians normally eat), some of the people in the tribe started dying. The Forest Department (Andaman Adi Janjati Samiti) also provides them with clothes. On your way to Middle strait jetty you might still find a lot of people among the tribes, particularly young men, asking for food. Please do not pay any heed. Always speak to your driver before doing anything.

Interacting with the Jarwahs is strictly prohibited as is taking photos of them. There are stories as well as facts of tribes attacking tourists/convoys with bows and arrows and harassing trespassers. So please keep away from them and enjoy the experience.

The vehicles have to leave in convoys. There are 8 convoy throughout the day from Jirkatang (6:30, 07:00, 07:30, 08:00, 09:30, 11:30, 13:30, 14:30). So please take care of the timings. You cannot cross the forest unless you are in one of the convoys. At Jirkatang check post there is a toilet/bathroom with all facilities. So if you have left from you hotel/lodge at around 04:00 you will reach there by 05:15 and you can get fresh and alight your bus/vehicle by 06:30 before the 1st convoy leaves for Baratang. In the convoy 2 wheelers/bicycles are not allowed. Only 4 wheelers are allowed. The 1st vehicle in the convoy is always a bus, with 1-2 armed policemen. And the Jarwahs fear the forest police. It is simply amazing to see how two worlds (civilised and uncivilised) coexist in this reserve forest with some amount of discipline. Hats off to the Andaman Adi Janjati Samiti.

This is the only road connecting to North Andaman to places like Kadamtala (28 km from Baratang jetty), Rangat (71 km from Baratang jetty), Mayabunder (141 km from Baratang jetty), Diglipur (203 km from Baratang jetty). Here it is interesting to see how buses/vehicles alight the jetty to reach either side of the middle strait.

See
At Baratang you can see Mud Volcano  which is about 4 km away from the jetty. To reach there you can hire a shared taxi @ ₹20/- per head to and fro.

From Baratang, regular boat services are available for Limestone Caves. These ancient caves are located about 50 minutes (by sea) away from Baratang Jetty. The fare of boat is ₹200/- per head for both ways. It includes speed boat fare also which is required to reach Limestone Caves. The boat journey through the heart of dense mangrove forest is simply breathtaking. The boat ride here is a lifetime experience for some. Its something you get to see only in channels like NatGeo or Discovery otherwise. At the limestone caves remember to carry a torchlight, its very dark inside.

Another must-see attraction is Parrot Island. The experience at Parrot Island at sunset, when all the parrots are returning home is indeed a mesmerizing experience. For this a night's stay is required at Baratang.

Itineraries
Some points to note :
 * Do not waste time in visiting everything what the locals – other tourists – travel guide trumpets. Covering each of the points is a long journey either by boat or road – in whichever the case the journey can be extremely time and energy consuming.
 * The places like limestone caves, mud volcano are boring and disappointing. Unless you have specific interest in it, do not bother to waste a long day which would start at 03:40 while you plan to visit these two places.

At the same time visiting Baratang can be more memorable if the trip is taken with a night stay at Baratang. The early morning journey which generally starts at 03:40 in the morning can easily be avoided. The main reason for any tourist opting for the early morning hectic trip is only because of improper guidance from the Port Blair tour operators. There are regular bus services to Baratang. Book your seat in any bus with your convenient timings and visit Baratang Island. APWD guest House, Forest guest House and Panchayat Guest house are some of the places for the night halt. The only good private property at Baratang is Dew Dale Resorts. By doing so you can also add Parrot Island trip at Baratang in your itinerary, which is really a breathtaking experience. Do visit Baratang Island which is one of the most beautiful parts of Andaman & Nicobar Islands but only with a night halt to avoid the hectic 03:40 trips.

Eat
At Baratang jetty there are 2-3 restaurants, food is OK. The food is mainly fried fish such as Mackerel fis.

Drink
There is one bar and restaurant at Baratang jetty.

Stay safe
The Middle strait jetty is infested with salt water crocodiles.

Go next
Other places where you can visit -
 * Kadamtala (28 km from Baratang jetty)
 * Rangat (71 km from Baratang jetty)
 * Mayabunder (141 km from Baratang jetty)
 * Diglipur (203 km from Baratang jetty).

To reach the above-mentioned places you have to cross another strait between Gandhi Ghat jetty and Uttara jetty (similar to that at Middle Strait jetty and Baratang jetty).

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Baratang Island


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Barbados

Barbados is an island in the Caribbean region, but which lies out in the Atlantic many miles east of the Caribbean Sea. Its nearest neighbours 100 miles (160 km) west are Saint Vincent and Saint Lucia, part of the arc of the Lesser Antilles that separate Atlantic and Caribbean. Those islands are a partly-submerged chain of mountains. By contrast Barbados has formed from deposits of coral and has a gentler landscape. It's fertile, and is sometimes called "Bimshire" or the "Little Britain" of the Caribbean because of its long and uniquely unbroken history of British colonisation and settlement. It became independent in 1966 and tourism is nowadays its main industry. In 2019 the population was 287,025.

"Bajan" is the word for the people and products of Barbados.

Geography
The main chain of Caribbean islands are along the rim of a tectonic plate that is migrating east, throwing up a line of volcanoes. Around that rim formed a shallow sea with a build-up of corals: one million years ago this was uplifted to become the present island, a slab of limestone.

History
The first inhabitation of Barbados was probably about 1600 BC but little is known of those people. Better evidenced are the Saladoid-Barrancoid people who arrived by canoe from Venezuela's Orinoco Valley around 350 AD. Next were the Arawaks, arriving from South America around 800 AD; they called the place Ichirouganaim meaning "teeth", referring to the island's reefs. In the 13th century, the Caribs arrived from South America and displaced the previous populations. For the next few centuries, they lived in isolation here.

In 1536 the Portuguese explorer Pedro Campos called the island "Os Barbados" ("The Bearded Ones") because the long hanging aerial roots of the island's fig trees resembled beards. Later, Spanish conquistadors seized many Caribs on Barbados to use as slaves, and many other Caribs fled from the island. However neither Spain nor Portugal settled here. The first Europeans to do so were the British from 1627 and, unlike other Caribbean islands, Barbados never passed into the control of other nations as the later centuries' wars played out.

Early crops were of cotton, tobacco, ginger and indigo, worked by indentured labourers, mostly English and Irish. Their conditions were harsh but not slavery, and after several years labour (if they survived), they were awarded freedom, money and land - so a colony evolved. But those crops suffered competition as North American production grew. Sugarcane was introduced in 1640 and proved more profitable and reliable, but demanded heavy labour. Enslaved Africans were shipped in to meet this need, many being Igbo from what is now Nigeria. For two centuries Barbados was a slave colony, as the plantations grew and grew and bought out the other settlers. From 1833 there was gradual emancipation, through a combination of rebellions, anti-slavery movements and laws, and changing economics. The island had been utterly wrecked by the hurricane of 1831 so this was a time of re-building, leading to a pleasant harmony of style in the buildings seen today.

Barbados remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum and molasses through most of the 20th century; the labour was still hard, and employment conditions were repressive. By now 90% of the island's people were of African descent, 10% were a British-descended squirearchy that clung onto all the wealth and positions of power, and ethnic Caribs were very few. But from the 1930s an educated black middle class fought for universal adult suffrage and gradually gained power. Unlike many other Caribbean islands, Barbados never received indentured Indian labourers, though a community of Gujarati Muslim merchants settled here, and their descendants today form the majority of Barbados' Muslim community.

Post-war saw social and political reforms, and mass emigration as England drew in Caribbean labour to run its hospitals and transport: London's Hammersmith and Brixton became the new Bimshire. A "wind of change" blew through Britain's colonies, and the first attempt at independence was to form a Federation of the West Indies. This was quarrelsome and short-lived, so it was as a separate nation that Barbados achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, though it retained the British Queen as head of state. In the 1980s, tourism and manufacturing overtook the sugar industry in economic importance. Barbados has developed into a stable democracy with one of the highest rates of literacy in the Western Hemisphere. It does however have an uncomfortable level of sovereign debt: in 2018 the newly-elected government uncovered shady national accounting, with the true debt being over 1.7 times the country's GDP. Your tourist spending however modest will be appreciated.

On 30 November 2021, Barbados became a republic. Sandra Mason, the final governor-general, became the country's first president.

Tourist information

 * Visit Barbados

Regions
Barbados has eleven parishes which can conveniently be divided into four regions:

Outlying islands are just uninhabited rocks. Pelican Island off Bridgetown was once a quarantine facility, but it was engulfed by mainland harbour development in 1961. Culpepper Island is a scrap of grass 30 yards across that you can wade out to off the east coast. Some Arawak Indians have claimed it as their sovereign territory, but nobody pays any heed.

Entry requirements
Most visitors do not need a visa for tourist or business visits. That includes citizens of the countries below (updated by the Barbados government in May 2019 and believed to be unchanged in 2020) but they are likely to need a visa to work or study so those visitors must make further inquiries of the embassy or consulate.

Citizens of the following countries do not need visas to enter Barbados; the maximum period ranges from 28 days to six months:

 * North America & Caribbean: Canada, United States, Mexico, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
 * European Union countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
 * Other European countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
 * Other countries: Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Morocco, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

See embassy website for visa application process and fees. Beware commercial websites that will charge extra for less reliable information.

By plane
Public buses and minibuses run from a stop just outside the airport. They ply to the south coast hotel strip, Bridgetown, and up the west coast as far as Holetown and Speightstown for B$3.5 (2022) per person, but a taxi is the most convenient way to get to your hotel on arrival. Across the road is a little collection of bars and eating places.

By boat
There are no ferries between Barbados and the other Caribbean islands. A ferry to Grenada ran 2011-2016 but was discontinued, and there are no plans to restart.

Many cruise ships dock in Bridgetown deep water harbour - check company itineraries to see if a point-to-point sailing to Barbados is possible. The terminal is served by an army of taxis, as well as shuttle "buses" to/from downtown Bridgetown for B$2 each way per person. There are separate arrangements to enable cruise passengers to transit between ship and airport without going through immigration.

Private moorings are available around the island. It's strictly forbidden to drop anchor on the coral reefs, with stiff penalties.

Get around
Drive on the left. The bus system is extensive, cheap and fast if you are headed to somewhere on the main route, but a car (or mini-moke) is the only way to see many of the out-of-the-way sights. Many drivers will hold a bus for you if they see you are from out of town, reflecting the typical welcoming spirit. Buses are run by the Barbados Transport Board (blue) and are quiet. Private operators include the yellow buses, which play very loud music, and private mini-vans (white), which are usually cramped and crowded. The two privately run means of transport are often driven very fast and recklessly. All charge the same fare (B$3.50, July 2019). Yellow buses and minivans offer change and even accept US dollars. BTB buses accept Barbados dollars and US dollars but do not give change.

There are also more than enough taxis to take you wherever you need to go on the island for reasonable prices. They do not use meters and it is best to negotiate the price before you get in. However, most taxi drivers are honest and you are unlikely to be overcharged. Be sure to ask the management of the hotel or the friendly locals what the going rate is for a cab ride to your destination.

Renting a car is expensive. Island roads are generally narrow and twisty with poor sight-lines and unexpected bumps. The exception is the ABC highway, which also has several long sections of dual carriageway.

Many of these "highways" do not have sidewalks, so there can be pedestrians on the street sharing the road. Many bus stops are also on the side of roads where there are no sidewalks. Additionally, beware of impromptu passing lanes as slow drivers are often passed by others behind them when on two lane roads. Road signs can be fairly confusing (they often indicate the nearest two towns/villages in opposite order - i.e. furthest listed first), so be prepared to get lost: just ask the way as people are always eager to help.

At most all of the local car rental agencies, a full collision damage waiver policy is automatically included with the rental, except for any damage incurred to the car tires, a testament to the poor condition of the smaller roads and tendency of foreign drivers to miscalculate driving lanes and hit curbs.

Mopeds and bikes can also be rented to explore sites not easily reached by cars. This is not recommended however due to the poor condition of many of the secondary and residential roads. Except for the main highway, all the other roads provide a hazardous journey to the moped or bike rider due to the lack of sidewalks, frequent pot holes, sharp corners and speeding local buses.

Another fun way to get around is to rent a moke (open top car/buggy) available from any number of local car rental agencies.

Talk
The official language in Barbados is English, but the pronunciation may be high, fast and hard to follow. When speaking with each other, locals may slide between English and Bajan, which is a creole language based on English, Irish and West African Igbo vocabulary and expressions. Look baffled and they'll slow down for you, if they judge it helpful for you to understand. A good start is always to say "good morning", "good evening" etc, even to strangers on the sidewalk.

See

 * If you're a member of a heritage organisation at home, such as the National Trust or RHS in Britain, bring your membership card, you'll get a discount at many Barbados heritage sites.

 * Botanical gardens are mostly in the hilly, less-developed country of Central Eastern Barbados. The standout is Andromeda Gardens, near Bathsheba. Others include Hunte's Gardens, Flower Forest, and Orchid World.
 * Grand houses from the plantation and colonial eras. Those routinely open for visits include the George Washington House and Wildey House in Bridgetown, and Sunbury Plantation House and Codrington College in Central Eastern Barbados. Several others are only open on special occasions, such as the Open House days in Jan-March. But you really need to time your visit to dodge the coach parties and cruise ship excursions. While that applies to any tourist attraction on Barbados, it's especially true for these houses - they're grand but not palatial, and cramming into a Georgian four-poster bedroom with fifty other amply-fed folk takes the gloss off the experience.
 * Caves: the island limestone is riddled with them, there must be hundreds down there. The most popular is Harrison's Cave in Central Eastern Barbados. You need some skill and fitness, and your own torch, to enter nearby Coles Cave. On the north tip (see Western Barbados), Animal Flower Cave is a sea cave.
 * The green flash, if you're very lucky. This is sometimes seen in the tropics in the last split-second of sunset, when just as the sun vanishes the sky above it is momentarily a brilliant green. Conditions have to be just right: you need a hot calm day, with a clear view out to the sea horizon. Even then, most evenings all you'll get is a false flash, when staring towards the sunset leaves a green after-image on your vision. You'll begin to doubt it exists, but keep watching for it every clear sunset. Once seen, never forgotten.

Do

 * Scuba diving: and see main article Diving in Barbados. Diving is boat-based, as the main reefs and wrecks are too far out for comfortable shore-diving. (Though intrepid locals do so, and several snorkelling areas are easily reached from shore.) Most dive shacks are in Bridgetown but pick up from hotels along the coast between Speightstown and Oistins: it's best to call ahead, as they may be booked out if a cruise ship is in port. One dive shack is in Holetown on the west coast. They all offer basic training, regular qualified diving, specialty courses and equipment hire. The sea is calmer in the morning, so boats head out around 9AM for two-tank dives, and you're back ashore and settling up by 2PM. Travel times to sites are short so they can drop people off after a single dive.
 * Surfing at Soup Bowl on the east coast and various breaks along the west when the swell is up. The south coast has great surf and the world windsurfing tour visits Silver Sands.
 * Other water sports include stand-up paddling and snorkelling with turtles.
 * Other boat activities start from Bridgetown, including Atlantis Submarine which takes you down 150 ft.
 * Watch cricket at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. West Indies play as a combined team for international matches ("Test matches", lasting up to five days). Barbados also competes as a nation in other competitions in the Caribbean region. First-class matches are sometimes played at other venues around the island, but the big games are always at the Oval.
 * Visit a rum distillery. Three are in production: Mount Gay in Bridgetown is the best known (M-F Sa Nov-Apr). West Indies Rum Distillery (source of Malibu liqueur) in Bridgetown only offers tours by special arrangement. Four Square in Saint Philip in Southern Barbados offers free self-guided tours M-F.

Money
The local currency is the Bajan dollar, officially denoted as "Bds$" (ISO code: BBD) but usually just as B$ on local signage (and hence in these pages). US dollars are accepted in almost all shops and restaurants. The exchange rate is fixed at 2 Bajan dollars to the US dollar, but hotels may scalp you for an extra 5% or so.

Coins in Barbados come in denominations of 5-, 10 and 25 cents and 1 dollar. Banknotes in Barbados come in denominations of 2-, 5-, 10-, 20-, 50 and 100 dollars. Two series of Barbadian banknotes are in circulation, the paper version issued in 2013 and the new polymer issues introduced in 2022.

Shopping
Just as anywhere else, your prime considerations are "Do I actually want this stuff?" and "What feels like a fair price?" Anything else is secondary. Bridgetown's main street hosts numerous jewellers, such as Colombian Emeralds and Diamonds International; see Gemstones. Cave Shepherd department store offers a wide range of mercandise, while Harrison's offers premium gifts, leather goods and cosmetics. There are large supermarkets on the edge of Bridgetown. Smaller stores offer virtually everything a visitor or resident might need. The mall at the harbour has a good selection but is pricier than elsewhere.

Barbados has a well-deserved reputation for its rum. Two distilleries are open for tours, and purchases there will be at the best price.

Barbados has a great variety of street vendors. Haggle vigorously. Don't stop until you are at about a third of the original price.

Duty-free pricing is available for luxury items such as watches and jewellery, cosmetics, clothing, tobacco, alcohol and electronic gadgets. The shop may call itself duty-free but it's the individual item that you need to check: the price tag should state DF and the amount in US$ or B$. If it states LP, that's "local price" with duty paid. (Of course they may have a cute definition of the local price, to make out you're getting a bargain.) The duty is specifically the import tax that the vendors paid on that item, that they recoup when the goods leave the country. So there's no duty-free reduction for things like food that are home-produced or that don't incur import tax. You need your passport and departure schedule in writing; for most items you take the goods away and drop off a counterfoil at the port of exit. For alcohol you pick up the goods at the port of exit, though surely you wouldn't have been tempted to drink it while still in Barbados.

Business hours
Almost everything used to shut down on weekends, and visitors had to plan ahead especially if self-catering. This is no longer the case. Clothing and gift stores open until 4PM or so (Sheraton Mall shops until 9PM) on Saturdays; very few are open on Sunday. Many supermarkets island-wide are open on Saturday and Sunday.

On bank holidays (such as Christmas, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday), most if not all stores and banks and business houses will be closed. But stores attached to gas stations will have limited availability of basic items, and shops at the deep water harbour will be open if cruise ships are visiting. There are a few small family run groceries across the island that will open on bank holidays (or have a side door open) to serve their community.

Eat
What to eat? Bajan cuisine is an odd mix of spicy, flavorful treats along with traditional English fayre. So be prepared for meals where fiery stews accompany beans on toast.
 * Flying fish, the icon of the islands, appear on coins, bills, and menus. The fish are usually lightly breaded and fried, with a yellow sauce. (This sauce consists of very hot Scotch Bonnet peppers with onions in a mustard sauce.) Or the fish is steamed with lime juice, spices, and vegetables. It's often served over coo-coo, a polenta-like cornmeal and okra porridge.
 * Pepperpot is a pork stew in a spicy dark brown sauce.
 * Cutters are sandwiches made from Salt Bread (crusty outside, fluffy inside, but not salty; go figure). Popular fillings are flying fish, ham or cheese; "Bread and two" is a cutter with two fish cakes.

Where to eat? See each region's "Sleep" as well as "Eat" listings, as many hotels have good restaurants open to non-residents, both a la carte and buffet-style.
 * Street vendors offer snacks like fish cakes, BBQ pig tails, fresh coconut, and roasted peanuts.
 * Every Friday night on the south coast the place to be is Oistins for the fish fry. This is a town market where you buy fresh fish cooked to local recipes. Bajans dance and party there until the early hours.
 * For fast food, Chefette are a chain virtually unknown outside Barbados, but found all over the island. They've largely kept out the western chains, though KFC and Subway have a presence.

Drink

 * Tap water is pure and safe to drink, as it's naturally filtered by the island limestone. You'll see limestone drip-buckets in all the old plantation houses, pre-dating the mains supply.
 * Rum and rum-based drinks are featured at every bar. For tours of a rum distillery, see Bridgetown for Mount Gay (the brand leader) and Southern Barbados for the less-known Four Square. The third distillery, which produces Malibu, is not open for visits.
 * Rum shops are small drinking dives found everywhere. Here local men (seldom women) foregather to shoot the breeze and put the world to rights.
 * Banks Beer is Barbados' own brew; it's distinctly hoppy, like a traditional English bitter. See Southern Barbados for tours of their brewery.
 * 10 Saints is the first craft beer to be brewed in Barbados. It's a lager aged for 90 days in Mount Gay "Special Reserve" rum casks, for a distinctive finish. It's widely available throughout the island.

Sleep

 * There's not much accommodation in Bridgetown. Generally, south coast hotels are midrange to expensive, the west coast north of Bridgetown is expensive up to Speightstown, then there are simpler guesthouses further north. See the south and  west coast pages for specific places.
 * Camping Barbados run three sites on the island.
 * Small guest houses with bed and breakfast are an inexpensive alternative to hotels. The other end of the price scale, if not beyond it, are luxury villas for several $1000 a night.
 * Apartments and condos offer the comfort of a hotel room with the convenience of your own cooking facilities, and are available for one-week lets. Most are near the beach and are especially suitable for families.

Learn
Check your visa eligibility when making enquiries of these institutes: the standard visa-free tourist rules don't apply to extended stays for study or work.
 * Bellairs Research Institute is a teaching and research facility operated by Montreal's McGill University focusing on marine biology and environmental studies.
 * Barbados Community College
 * Part of that college is Barbados Hospitality Institute, which operates The Hotel Pommarine near Rockley Beach, Southern Barbados.
 * The University of the West Indies - Cave Hill Campus

Stay safe
Barbados remains much safer than many other Caribbean islands, but as of 2023, there has been an increase in crime. Be wary of secluded beaches and non-tourist residential districts away from main roads. Solo tourists, especially women, are most at risk. The most common crimes against tourists include taxi fraud, robbery, and short-changing; rape and assaults are becoming more common.

Drugs are strictly illegal, sternly prosecuted, and vigorously marketed: marijuana and cocaine being the main stuff on sale. Sellers roam the beaches peddling aloe vera and other innocuous goods as a pretext to strike up a conversation about "ganja", "smoke" or "bad habits". As a result, many hotels and resorts ban the use of aloe vera, claiming that it "stains the towels".

Camouflage clothing is forbidden for non-military personnel in Barbados, even kiddy outfits or anglers' floppy hats that couldn't possibly be mistaken for army camo.

Stay healthy
Your biggest risks are road safety, safety in the sea, and alcohol especially when combined with those.

Climate: Beware of the sun. Barbados is only 13o degrees north of the equator and you can burn very easily even if it's cloudy and the sea breeze is keeping you cool. Temperatures often top 32o C (90o F). Seek the shade, use a parasol, wear a wide-brimmed hat and long clothing, and slap on high-factor sun-block: you're aiming for the zinc-nosed cricketer look. Don't be out in the sun unprotected from noon to 3 pm when there's maximum UV and heat. Allow for the high humidity: it can top 90%, and anything above 60% is unpleasant. Drink plenty of water (the tap water is safe), though on humid days your sweat cannot evaporate quickly to keep your body cool. See also Sunburn and sun protection.

Mosquitoes are more of a nuisance than a danger: it's very rare for them to carry serious tropical disease such as malaria. You don't need anti-malarials, just standard anti-mozzy precautions - they get busy after sundown, so spray on a repellent before heading out for al fresco dining. Dengue Fever is nowadays uncommon, and Zika and Chikungunya Virus are rare.

Respect
Bajans are fun-loving yet tend to dress conservatively when not on the beach. A bikini will not be appreciated in town and certainly not in church.

They appreciate courteous manners, and saying "Good morning" to them, even strangers, goes a long way to earning their respect. Bump into them on the street, let alone tread on their child's toe, you'd better apologise sincerely and real fast.

The "N" word is a no-no, but informal terms such "B" (short for "bro") and "dawg" are used among friends. Strangers shouldn't use them.

Connect
Using your mobile in Barbados will hit you with international charges. You can buy a local SIM card at the airport, cruise ship terminal, or any tourist strip. Mobile data is quite expensive, with 20GB for 30 days costing 100 BBD (50 USD), but the coverage seems to have improved since 2022.

There are two mobile carriers, Flow (formerly Lime) and Digicel. Neither of them care to show a coverage map, and Nperf data doesn't cover the island. In general 4G/Wi-Fi is good in Bridgetown, on the south and west coasts, and along the main highways, so that Bajan motorists can yap to each other about how it should be made illegal while driving. There is patchy coverage out in central and eastern parts, so either use the hotel or cafe connection, or put the damn thing away and have a holiday instead.

Go next
It means flying, as there are no ferry services. Barbados' closest neighbours, all with frequent flights of 30-50 min duration from BGI, couldn't be more different from each other:
 * Saint Lucia is very mountainous, one hell of a place to try to run a plantation, but brilliant for scenery and smelly volcanic springs.
 * Saint Vincent is also mountainous and scenic, yet barely developed for tourism, so very much away-from-it-all.
 * Grenada is good all-round for amenities and attractions, a sound first choice for a Caribbean holiday. Its smaller island of Carriacou has good diving but little else.

The chain of islands continues north through Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe. To the south are Trinidad & Tobago, and mainland Venezuela.

title: Barbados


text:
Barbastro

Barbastro is a city of 17,000 people (2018) in Aragon, at the junction of the rivers Cinca and Vero.

History
An ancient Celtiberian city called Bergidum or Bergiduna, in Roman times was called Brutina. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was part of the Visigoth kingdom. Barbastro and the Barbitaniya area were overtaken by Musa bin Nusair in 717, as part of the Ummayad push to conquer northern states of the Marca Hispanica and the name Madyar was given to the town. It was later settled by the Banu Jalaf who made it the capital of the Emirate of Barbineta and Huesca until 862, and was known as the Emirate of Brabstra until 882.

In 1064, Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragón, and his Frankish Christian forces, led by William VIII of Aquitaine and Le Bon Normand, invaded the city, which at the time was part of the emir of Zaragoza. The following year, however, it was reconquered by the Moors. In 1101 it was conquered by Peter I of Aragon, who made it a bishopric seat. Barbastro since then followed the history of Aragon and Spain.

Barbastro's economy flourished until the 20th century, when a period of decline began, ending only in the 1960s due to the growth of agricultural production.

Get in
By bus: Regular lines stop at Aragon square’s bus station.

By car: Arriving via motorway or the N-240 road, take the “Barbastro-centre” exit. The best option is to park close to the exit, at a free parking area which is close to the graveyard, in front of the tourist office.

Get around
You can walk all over the way. There's a bus service, but there is no point in using it for a tourist point of view.

See
San Julián gate. This is an ancient gate, which the travellers from Zaragoza used to use to enter the town centuries ago. This gate belonged to Barbastro’s fourth exterior wall. This wall was built in the 17th century, and according to historical documents, it was the weakest of all the walls surrounding Barbastro and had a lot of towers. Today this gate stands as a reminder of the original one that was used to support the hospital floors.

The bullfighting ring, with its tiny museum is to the left of the gate. There’s only one bullfight a year (in September), but it is also used for concerts during the Somontano music festival in August.

Walking down the steep street outside the bullfighting ring, you will realise why Barbastro is known as “the small ravine”. It ends at Aragon square, known as “los Jardinetes” (the “small garden”) and the Coso avenue.

The north side of the square makes up the second wall of Barbastro built in 918 by the Muslims to protect the early city of Barbastro, which today is the Entremuro district. Nowadays the wall is hidden behind the buildings, but its ‘look’ still remains. The street continues next to the bus station and it does not offer any entrances, apart from “las escaleretas” (“the small steps”), a small flight of steps that was opened in the 17th century. Inside these buildings there are the remains of at least three defensive towers. The wall surrounded the city by the street next to the bus station, and it continued up the north side of the Coso Avenue. Buildings on the north side of Coso Avenue are still leaning against the ancient wall.

In front of the square lies the cathedral. To arrive at its gate inside the wall, centuries ago people crossed the Abbot Ducha gate, southbound entry to Barbastro.

Cathedral
During Muslim rule, there were eight mosques in Barbastro, and the Cathedral was the greatest of them all. This seems like a big number of Mosques, but this only serves to highlight how important the city was back then.

Before entering the cathedral, take a look at the base of the right side of the entrance: it’s made of large stone blocks, very different from the cathedral brickwork. This was one of the ancient defensive towers of Barbastro’s wall. In the 18th century, neighbours of the Entremuro district asked for permission to use the tower ruins to build a chapel for their beloved Santo Cristo de los Milagros (saint Christ of the Miracles).

You can visit the cathedral by yourself or you can arrange a guided tour at the museum that is next to the bishop’s palace. You can use the door at the left side of the shrine to arrive there without going around the cathedral.

The cathedral is magnificent and it would take up too much space to write about it in full in this brief guide, but it’s interesting to note that, on its north side, behind the organ, there is a strange arrangement of chapels. This is due to the fact that centuries ago there was a cloister and half of it was transformed to chapels inside the cathedral and the other half was left outside and later destroyed.

The bishop’s palace was built in the 17th century and restored in the early 21st. Before that, bishops lived in a house built upon a cliff over the river, next to an ancient church that no longer exists. Today, this palace hosts not only the bishop and his office, but a museum of sacred objects.

When visitors see the cathedral tower, they will feel that there is something special about it. If they study it, they will notice that the tower is not next to the cathedral, but some meters away. This is because the cathedral once was a mosque, and the tower was its minaret. The lower part is thicker, and the upper narrower. If you take a closer look, you will realize that it is actually a tower inside of another tower. This is because the original narrow Muslim minaret remains inside the Christian hexagonal tower.

In 1366, the French warlord Bertrand du Guesclin, famous for fighting side-by-side with Joan of Arc, led his troops to fight for the Spanish king Pedro IV. He passed through Barbastro and plundered the city. 306 people tried to take refuge inside the tower with their belongings, but the soldiers set fire to the tower and they were all killed. The original tower was heavily damaged due to this and the inside tower remains scorched until today. In 1610, the outer hexagonal tower was built, also adding a spire to the old tower.

Throughout its history, the tower has been a Muslim minaret, a Christian tower, the home of the bell-ringer (he had to stay at the tower at all times), a jail in the 17th century, hideout of a secret society (the “Commoner Knights”) in 1824 and an air defence gun emplacement during the Spanish civil war. Even nowadays, the old air raid alarm sounds at noon.

A stroll along Entremuro, the old district of Barbastro (Optional)
Once the cathedral has been visited, you can continue into the city centre, but it is also worth visiting the old Entremuro district. It’s a circular track starting and ending at the cathedral tower. It takes about half an hour to complete it.

This district was once the early city of Barbastro, and today remains like a “village inside a city”, peaceful and quiet.

Enter through the narrow and dark Hornos street. At the beginning, on the right-hand side, there is an ancient masonry wall, built with alternating lines of bricks and stones. This way of building was used to save money. Neighbours call it the “Roman wall”.

This wall supports a tiny domestic orchard. It’s one of the Entremuro’s “Cármenes”, word that comes from the Arab word “Karm” that means “vineyard”, “garden” or “orchard”. Almost every house of this district has a small orchard at the back, following the traditional Muslim city design. In the Spanish city of Granada, the Muslim “Albaicin” district also follows this pattern. A few meters ahead, at the first crossroads, you can peek to your left to see some more back gardens. The neighbours of this district were traditionally farmers, and in the 1980s there were still donkeys, mules, horses and other animals kept in the lower floors of the houses. Along with the orchard, they were a way of life.

The street ends in Candelaria Square. This pleasant square has a great historical background, because It was here that the princess Petronila, only daughter of king Ramiro II of Aragon, married the count of Barcelona, joining Catalonia under the Aragonese crown. Their son Alfonso II would govern a kingdom which included Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Naples and Athens.

One of the buildings has an old papal coat of arms carved in stone. This house was reserved for the Pope’s representatives when the king of Aragon held his meetings in Barbastro.

Now it’s time to climb some stairs. At the north side of the square a staircase leads up to the Barbacana, the hill that dominates Barbastro.

In this hill, nowadays empty, once stood the castle of Barbastro, the first wall of the city. It was built in 811 by Jalaf ibn Rasid ibn Asad. There’s nothing left of the castle today, but it probably stood on the west side of the hill, where the convent of the Capuchinas sister is located today. This convent has very large stone blocks on its outer walls, and some parts of it seem to have been built upon the ruins of a tower. It had three wells, one of them is still in use.

Walking eastbound, in clear day it's possible to admire a magnificent view of the Pyrenees mountains from this hill. Before going back to the narrow streets, a little stroll leads to la peñeta, a cliff hanging over the Vero river. It’s a nice place to take pictures of the river Vero entering Barbastro. The church of the “Santo Sepulcro” once stood here, but the poor quality of the rock and the action of water eroded the cliff over the centuries and the church was destroyed.

In the opposite direction, a track leads down to the San Juan district, where the old ice well is found. In the past, ice was collected in winter and held in a dark cave to use it in summer time. Today, visitors can enter the well and there are lights and explanations about it.

Time to return to the cathedral tower, walking down the narrow streets of Esperanza and la Peña. At the corner between the streets stood the synagogue of Barbastro. After being forced to convert by the king, the Jewish community of Barbastro had to turn the synagogue into a shrine, named San Salvador. But they secretly kept their rituals, and worshiped sacred Jewish objects that were hidden in the shrine. Until a few years ago, a stone arch that belonged to the synagogue was still visible, half hidden by the debris of buildings that were built in its place.

The stroll ends next to the cathedral tower, and the visit will continue with the city centre.

City centre
Once the oldest part of Barbastro has been visited, the part that was inside the second wall, it's possible to go onwards to the economic and social centre of the cty. This part was inside the third wall of Barbastro, built by the king Juan I at the end of the 14th century. This wall was connected to the second wall. It also covered the right side of the Vero river and finished at the Coso Avenue. Until the building of the third wall, this place was the east limit of the city, and there was a gate called Ferrata, between the bishop’s palace and the Hermanitas home for the elderly. When the third wall was completed, this gate communicated the old city and the new city and was named the Traviesa gate.

Before walking down to Argensola street, you can take a look at the tiny square behind the bishop’s palace and see a good piece of the second wall and some kind of gate. This way it’s easy to imagine where the second wall was. This street was named “el Rollo”. A “Rollo” was a column where criminals were tied to and whipped as punishment. This place is where public punishments were enforced in the middle ages.

The city hall square is formed by three buildings: the “Hermanitas” home for the elderly is on the left. The city hall stands in the front. The original building had a pigeon house and was built in 1510 by the moor Farag de Galí. On the right, there’s the “Escolapios”, the first public school built in Spain by San Jose de Calasanz.

Walking down Argensola street between the two buildings of the UNED (National Distance Education University) and turning left, the Portillo bridge stands over the Vero river. This entry to Barbastro was protected by a defensive gate, lost nowadays.

It is recommended to walk the side of the river opposite to the buildings, so you can look at the colored facades. Before the Vero river was canalized with concrete to avoid the dramatic floods, these buildings stood vertically over the water. 1984 writer George Orwell was impressed by this fact when he visited Barbastro during the war. There was also a waterfall and an irrigation ditch that passed under the buildings on its way to many watermills.

There is an old windmill turned into a museum named “el Moliné”, and two fountains named Azud and Vivero, today restored after lying half a century underground. This street is called “las Fuentes” (Fountain street).

A little farther there is the San Francisco church and a fountain with the same name almost under the bridge. In the past, this church was a convent, and at this side stood another gate of the city, named the “Yedra” gate. There were also some Arab baths with decorated fountains.

Now it's possible to return to the centre crossing any of the two bridges close to San Francisco church. In the past, to enter the city, locals had to go through another gate: the San Francisco gate, which was demolished in 1936.

Walking along Argensola street, a large house turned into a library is found: it is the Argensola house. It has nice wooden eaves, and belonged to the brothers Lupercio and Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola, poets and historians

Shortly after, the street comes across the arch of an impressive brickwork house. It’s the birthplace of Jose Maria Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei. The original house was demolished and rebuilt by the Opus Dei.

At the pedestrian Mercado square (Market Square), always full of playing children. There is a market every morning where fresh vegetables grown in amateur Somontano orchards are sold since many centuries ago.

Crossing the square and turn right to Romero street, there’s a narrow street that crosses on the left: there used to be another entry to the city from the south: the Cremada gate. San Ramon street continues, full of different shops. The wall of the city continued at the side of this street and joined the second wall in the Coso Avenue, where the street ends.

Coso Avenue was left outside of the city until the fourth wall was built to protect the new districts and orchards that grew on the south side of the city. Nowadays, Coso Avenue is a pleasant wooded street where the social life of Barbastro takes place. This fact is specially evident on summer nights, when everyone sits to eat and drink on the terrace.

Buy
Barbastro has always based its economy on trade, because it is well connected with the Pyrenees valleys. The typical products are, apart from the Somontano wine, the chiretas (lamb stomach filled with spiced rice and meat, similar to the Scottish Haggis) and the sweets: “crespillos”, “pastillo” and Biarritz cakes. If you don’t dare to taste “chiretas” (even though they taste better than they sound), you could go for the “pastillo”, but if you need to take it away inside your bag then maybe the “Biarritz” cakes are easier to carry.

Eat
It is easy to have a nice and cheap lunch or dinner anywhere in Barbastro. Both Coso Avenue or Mercado square offer suitable places for different budgets.

title: Barbastro


text:
Barberton (Ohio)

Barberton is a city in Summit County.

In 1890, Akron industrialist Ohio C. Barber had an option on 550 acres of land in Norton on which he hoped to mine soda ash. When the soda ash venture fell through Mr. Barber, not wanting to give up his option on the land, saw the viability of developing his own planned community. Barberton was laid out around Ways Lake, which O. C. Barber renamed Lake Anna, after his only daughter, Anna Laura Barber. By 1910 the population of Barberton was 9,400 and this again doubled by 1920 to 18,811 and by 1960 to 33,805. In 1990, the population was 27,623.

Get in

 * I-76 / US-224 runs along the North side of Barberton. There are exits for SR-619 and Barber Road, South Cleveland Massilon Road, and SR-21.
 * SR-21 runs along the West side of Barberton providing Barberton Exits at the I-76 / US-224 interchange and SR-21's intersection with SR-585 and Wooster Road, the latter of which becoming a main road through the city.

Sleep
There are very few hotels in Barberton. It is best to look for lodging in nearby Akron but here are a few options in nearby towns within a very close distance.

Go next

 * Akron
 * Canton
 * Stark County
 * Wayne County

title: Barberton (Ohio)


text:
Barberton (Mpumalanga)

Barberton is a city of 12,000 people (2011) in Mpumalanga. It sits in the De Kaap Valley and is fringed by the Makhonjwa Mountains. It has its origin in the 1880s gold rush in the region.

By car

 * From Mbombela, follow the R40 for about 45 km. It is about half an hour's drive.
 * From Badplaas, follow the R38 for about 75 km, under an hour's drive through some of the best scenery in Mpumalanga.
 * It 360 km (220 mi) east of Johannesburg.

By plane
The nearest large airport, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport just outside Mbombela, is about an hours away by car.

By bus
A number of inter city bus services stop in Barberton

See

 * Belhaven House Museum
 * Stopforth House
 * Jock of the Bushveld Statue
 * The Makhonjwa Mountains around the city is a natural world heritage site. They are made of well-preserved volcanic rock from 3.6 to 3.25 billion years, when the continents started to form on Earth and there are also multiple traces of meteorite impacts.
 * Jock of the Bushveld Statue
 * The Makhonjwa Mountains around the city is a natural world heritage site. They are made of well-preserved volcanic rock from 3.6 to 3.25 billion years, when the continents started to form on Earth and there are also multiple traces of meteorite impacts.

Go next

 * Visit Eswatini (Swaziland), Barberton is 42 km from the Bulembu border post.
 * The Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park are within two hours' drive.
 * The Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park are within two hours' drive.

title: Barberton (Mpumalanga)


text:
Barbuda

Barbuda is an island in the Caribbean ringed with miles of beautiful deserted beaches. It is part of Antigua and Barbuda.

Regions
Barbuda consists largely of two limestone slabs: the western one level and only a few feet above sea level; the eastern one has been uplifted, and tilted slightly. The eastern side starts at sea level on the southern end and rises to about 40 m. There is little fertile soil, much of the island being covered by sparse low scrub.

On the north-west part of the island there is a large, shallow lagoon, bordered by a miles-long beach. The lagoon is home to the large and impressive frigate bird colony. The beach continues uninterrupted to the south end of the island. On the eastern Atlantic side the beaches may be narrower, but there are scenic cliffs and eroded coral rock and reefs.

Cities

 * is the only town on the island. Nearly all the 1500 residents lived in this village before Hurricane Irma. Herds of goats wander the environs, rounding themselves up and returning home at night. Tourist amenities are modest and tourists are few, but those who venture here will be met with hospitality and will leave with an affection for this little island.

Understand
Barbuda is part of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, being joined with Antigua when the islands were granted independence, but the islands have little in common. Internal affairs are largely governed by the elected Barbudan Council. Barbuda has a population of only 1,700, and few tourist facilities in spite of its miles of beautiful beaches. Nearly all the small stores, restaurants and guest houses are locally owned – what you spend here stays here. The economy is largely dependent on sand mining (the sand is exported to Antigua for construction), and tourism. The Barbudan Council has started a truck farm on the site of the old plantation to provide employment and fresh produce. The official currency is the EC dollar, but US dollars are used for rooms, tours and car rentals.

Most of the residents are descended from slaves owned by the Codrington family, who raised food here for the slaves in the sugarcane fields of Antigua. When slavery was abolished, the land was given to the Barbudans, and continues to be held in common. No one can own land, but Barbudans may apply for sites upon which to build homes. Others, such as resorts, may lease land.

Talk
The language is English.

By plane
The exclusive Coco Point Lodge has its own landing strip and arranges charters.

By ferry
The Barbuda Express, offers ferries from Antigua. The ferry docks at River Wharf, some distance from the only town, but an easy walk to almost-empty beaches.

Get around
Outside of Codrington, there is one road on the island, plus several unmarked tracks. Paving of roads and streets has begun. A number of residents offer transportation by car or boat. Tours may be booked directly or as part of an excurion package from Antigua. Visitors staying in Codrington may want to rent a car, a process involving no paperwork, as there are no beaches within walking distance. Lynton Thomas, 268 720 9957, 721 2796, has 4WDs for rent. A temporary drivers license may be had for a few dollars and traffic is extremely light except when workers are being driven to and from the sand mine and resorts. Watch for trucks on the southern end of the island between Martello Tour and River Wharf. Bicycles may or may not be available for rent.

See

 * Barbuda hosts a huge frigate bird colony, making it one of the few places in the world to view frigate birds at very close range.

Do
Take a tour of the frigate bird colony. Tour the other sights on the island--none are stunning, but all are part of the history. You will visit the ruins of Highland house, where the Codringtons looked over their fields, a cave reaching from the beach to the uplands, Martello tower with its free and easy access to a spectacular beach.

Visit Art Cafe, where Claire Frank paints tropical critters on silk and where you can learn about Barbuda and get information about accommodations.

Walk on a beach that goes for miles without another person in sight (bring shade and water).

Sit and watch the goats go by.

Eat
There are a few modest restaurants in Codrington.
 * Palm Tree Restaurant, is a modest restaurant a couple blocks from the airport, +268 784 4331, +268 779 1074. Choices may include burgers, chicken, and local fare including fish and lobster.
 * Wa O'moni, 268 562 1933. New on the island.
 * Palm Tree Restaurant, is a modest restaurant a couple blocks from the airport, +268 784 4331, +268 779 1074. Choices may include burgers, chicken, and local fare including fish and lobster.
 * Wa O'moni, 268 562 1933. New on the island.

Drink

 * Madison's Bar, Madison Square in the centre of town, +268 460 0465. W,Th 2PM-midnight, F,Sa 9AM-2PM, Su from 5PM-1AM. Closed M,Tu.
 * Madison's Bar, Madison Square in the centre of town, +268 460 0465. W,Th 2PM-midnight, F,Sa 9AM-2PM, Su from 5PM-1AM. Closed M,Tu.

Sleep

 * In Codrington, there are several modest guest houses.
 * Palm Tree House, a few minutes from town, +1 268 784-4331, +1 268 779-1074. May have no hot water, but has pleasant rooms. The landlady, Mrs. Deazle, will take orders for dinner and deliver from her restaurant.
 * Bus Stop Guest House, a bit closer on River Road at the edge of town, +1 268 720-9957, +1 268 721-2796. Rooms have air conditioning and small refrigerators.  Coffee and tea service.  The landlord, Lynton Thomas also gives tours and rents cars, and possibly bicycles--ask when you call.  He'll meet you at the airport or the ferry dock. About US$70 single, US$80 double.
 * Palm Tree House, a few minutes from town, +1 268 784-4331, +1 268 779-1074. May have no hot water, but has pleasant rooms. The landlady, Mrs. Deazle, will take orders for dinner and deliver from her restaurant.
 * Bus Stop Guest House, a bit closer on River Road at the edge of town, +1 268 720-9957, +1 268 721-2796. Rooms have air conditioning and small refrigerators.  Coffee and tea service.  The landlord, Lynton Thomas also gives tours and rents cars, and possibly bicycles--ask when you call.  He'll meet you at the airport or the ferry dock. About US$70 single, US$80 double.

Stay safe
Barbuda is said to have little crime, although there was a rash of burglaries in May 2007, and four tourists on a yacht were murdered in 1994 (these are said to be the only murders in a century or so). Bottled water is available at several small stores There are a tiny pharmacy and a small hospital.

Go next

 * Antigua

title: Barbuda