Royal Clipper
Barbados
1.22.22 - 1.22.22
80 °F
After a rather clumsy debarkation both on the part of the port and the ship, and after an antigen test so we could get back into the USA, we boarded a bus for an island excursion that would drop us off at the airport in about 4 hours.
Barbados is a beautiful island, often visited by the rich and famous. We drove by the exclusive resort where Simon Cowell will be married and did a photo stop at one of the high lookouts of the island.
Our first official stop was at the St. Johns Parish Church. St. John's Parish Church is the first church of St. John that is presumed to have been a simple wooden building, but its date is unknown. The parish along with St. George, was carved out of St. Michael in 1640–1641. But successive churches were badly damaged by the hurricane of 1675, the Great Hurricane of 1780, and finally destroyed by the Great Barbados hurricane of 1831. The present church building (the fifth) was built is 1836, and the chancel added in 1876. It is the prototype of the restrained Barbadian version of the Gothic parish church, and a beautiful Westmacott sculpture, commemorating Elizabeth Pinder, on the left of the main door.
Our next lunch stop was Sunbury Plantation. Sunbury Plantation House was built around 1660 by Matthew Chapman, an Irish/English planter, one of the first settlers on the island. He was related to the Earl of Carlisle and through this association, was granted lands in Barbados. Sunbury Plantation House is over 300 years old, steeped in history, featuring mahogany antiques, old prints and a unique collection of horse-drawn carriages.
After a great filling lunch we took the 15 minute drive to the airport and our flight home.
In spite of some Covid hassles, this was one of the best trips to the Caribbean that I have taken, visiting places the bigger ships can't go. I will definitely do this again.
