View from the boat

Food stocks were pretty low on the boat. Not much fresh stuff left at all. And the excitement of getting here has meant we’ve eaten out quite a bit. As some point we needed to get back to cooking for ourselves…. Although the jerk chicken and flying fish sandwiches I can highly recommend.

After some research online (we’ve sneakily managed to log onto the Radisson hotel internet from the boat at anchor using our wifi booster) we found a supermarket about an hour’s walk away up the beach.

We shopped, bizarrely the store had a fine range of pricy Waitrose products, then decided to get a taxi back.

We all meet people, sometimes fleetingly, who leave their gentle footprint and a part of their goodness with us. Victor, our the taxi driver, was such a man. A true smily open Barbadian, he talked about being proud of his country, its values of welcoming visitors from wherever in the world and the importance of education in broadening an individual’s view of the world. In practical terms he brought us back from the supermarket. But he gave us so much more.

In ten minutes he spoke more sense than a bunch of politicians can in a lifetime. The line that resonated most…”Even though we’re a slave nation, we have no animosity in our hearts.” Good on ya Victor. I shook his hand when we got out and told him he was the best ambassador his country could possibly have.

Not sure it’s appropriate to write anything else after those wise words. But I wanted to say a special Barbadian ‘hello’ to the folk at Penrith Grammar School who have followed our journey across the Atlantic. Thanks for watching! It’s appreciated. If you have any questions just shout and we’ll get back to you.

The weekend approaches. We will be heading down to a local fishing village tonight where you can get fish and chips, Barbadian style. Red snapper, tuna, sword fish, mahi mahi to name a few. Tomorrow afternoon there is a hash. It’s an organised run / walk so we’re going along to that to see a different part of the island and meet some locals.

No rush to move on from here. No rush at all.