Soft sand, turquoise water, yellow buses blasting out reggae, intricately designed and plaited hair, a rolly anchorage, rum punch, friendly people, golden Mount Gay rum, pricey food, Cruise ships, hot days.

14 days 3hours from Cape Verdes a good Atlantic crossing but we are pleased to be anchored in Carlisle Bay despite the roll.

We arrived in Barbados about lunch time Christmas day to a great Kiwi welcome from Awaroa and Cuttyhunk. They gave us time to settle the anchor and have a swim before John from Awaroa collected us for a Christmas drink on Cuttyhunk....rum punches of course. They were at the end of their Barbados stay so were well stocked with the ingredients for the refreshing drink. Late Afternoon we all moved over to Awaroa for Christmas dinner. A great start to our Barbados stay.

We said good bye to the two boats the next morning as they left for Martinique. After clearing customs we had a wander around Bridgetown the capital of Barbados. Apart from all the shops at the Cruise ship port, Barbados was shut for Christmas. The streets were very quiet, not a soul about not even a place to eat. Even though this is the high season for Cruise ships, up to 4 a day berth in the port, Barbados was shut for 3 days.

Juan needed to buy an air ticket so that he could be taken off our crewlist. After a bit of hassle of pricing and buying a ticket by Friday he was off the list and on his way home and we were back to two again. It had been great having an extra hand and most of the time he fitted in well. His afternoon siestas were a new experience for us as they often were more important than boat jobs! After discussing a list of boat jobs to be completed before we left La Gomera, he said, "is that before or after siesta". Juan had thought he would stay in the Caribbean to find more work but the pull of a girlfriend at home was too tempting and he opted to return home.

Having got Juan sorted then it was time for New Year and another public holiday was on us when we realized we should be applying for our US visa here. When entering America by private yacht we have to have a visa before we arrive. Barbados and Trinidad are the only places to apply in the Caribbean. So after thinking we were nearly ready to leave we found ourselves here a bit longer. Our Interview was on Tuesday, visa approved we now await the return of our passports within a couple of days. In the company of Jimmy and Caroline we have filled in the waiting days by watching some horse racing, a visit to the famous Mount Gay rum distillery and yesterday a trip up the coast by local buses.

Mount Gay has been producing rum since about 1703 and says it is the oldest still working rum distillery in the world. The tour is not really a tour, we were taken into a room where we could read about the history and our guide filled in some more bits of information while we enjoyed a small rum punch, then a film, followed by tasting of the most popular Mount Gay Eclipse and their very smooth Old Dark rum. We didn't actually get to see any of the workings of the distillery or bottling plant where the tour takes place. A little disappointing. As it was our wedding anniversary we decided to enjoy some more of their product in the shade looking out over the blue sea before we left with a bottle or two for home consumption.

Yesterday we decided to see a bit more of Barbados Island and hopped on a bus for a trip up the west coast to Speightstown. There are three types of public transport here, the big blue buses which are big and quiet to ride in, bright yellow buses with blaring reggae music which are fun to ride in and the mini van ZR,s which can be a squash to ride in filled with large Barbadian bodies. They all charge $2 a trip no matter how far you want to go. The best value $2 on an island where most things including food is quite pricey. We seem to say, " I don't know how the locals afford to live," several times a day. We decided to take a yellow reggae bus to Speightstown. As we tapped our feet to the music we looked out at lovely beaches, houses..big and small, rich and poor, lush gardens and fancy hotels as the bus sped along the narrow road, sliding to a halt at bus stops and to chat with a fellow bus driver heading in the opposite direction.

After lunch overlooking the beach we walked along soft sand, past sun lounging resort guests to Port St Charles. This is where the only marina on the island is located, only for the rich and famous. Eventually we found our way out to the nearest bus stop and hopped on another musical bus going north.
"Where do you want to go?" Asked the ticket collector
"Where are you going?"
"To Checkers Hall."
"Ok that's where we are going."
He showed us on the map and also explained how to get another bus from there to Connell, town right on the north of the island. After a refreshing ice cream at Checkers Hall we got on a quiet sedate blue bus to wind our way through narrow country lanes at breakneck pace. Not so sedate after all. We ended up staying on that bus all the way back to Bridgetown. A great day out, Barbados is a pretty island..well what we have seen so far.

I have wriggled my toes in the sand of this first Caribbean Island and have loved the feel, we are now looking forward to many more Caribbean island experiences.

PS Amanda and Patrick on Egret reached St Lucia at New Year sailing about 1500 miles across the Atlantic with no rudder, steering with a drogue. We think they deserve a medal, they certainly are our top sailors of 2011.