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For something like the 10th time, we vacationed on the West Indies island of Barbados this year, just North of Venezuala.  We first came here in the early '70s, staying at Sam Lord's Castle -- at that time managed by Marriott.  Sam Lord's had three major restaurants, beautiful gardens, friendly people, and intense wave action from the Atlantic Ocean.   The one significant drawback was that it was on the East side of the island and the urban life of the island was on the West or Caribbean side.  Over the years we tried different places on the island, discovering that the English dominated Western facilities tended to be stuffy and cliquish.  When we were down the last time 3 years ago, we discovered the Bougainvillea, an American oriented resort on the South side of the island, close to the restaurants of the West and a great combination of Atlantic and Caribbean wave action which made lulling in the warm waters attractive without being dull.

The Bougainvillea welcomes usWell decorated courtyardGorgeous sand beach

The rates for airfare and hotel rooms virtually double after about the 15th of December so we come down around the 1st.  This year we stayed for 12 days. 

Reba has always been attracted to the beach more than I have been but Barbados takes no persuasion for either of us.Vic  looks a bit like Santa in front of the palm trees.The waterfalls around the swimming pool are a nice touch.

The hotel is partially a time-sharing condo.  We are going to check out the economics of ownership.
Traffic is a mess in downtown Bridgetown.  The streets are narrow and the relative density of the population is high.The Atlantic Coast is rough but it has some excellent beaches.Andrew's Sugar Factory, 100 years old and still running.
 

We spent 3 hours in Bridgetown, the longest ever, and we bought about $100 BB or $50 US altogether.  It's hard to get into a Christmas mood when the weather reminds you of July.

Bread fruit trees in front of a high class Bajan home.We circled and criss-crossed the island in Land Rovers.  The terrain was frequently so rough or muddy that nothing less than a Land Rover would hold up.Some monkeys wanted to take over the caravan.  Cute but malicious beasts.

The food  continues to improve and diversify in the restaurants.  We ate in Champers (wonderful Caribbean lobster), David's, Luigi's, Pisces, Josef's, Oistin's, Lanterns by the Sea, and the Water's Edge.  George's at Oistin's had the best fish I have ever eaten; we'll go back despite the awful atmosphere and long lines.  We had Bajan food but no okra or flying fish this trip.