In case I somehow forgot to explain Oistins, it’s the central fish market on the South Coast, where fishermen sell their catch of the day and about 30 food vendors season, grill, fry, and serve up all varieties of seafood, chicken, salads, chips, macaroni pie and of course, beverages. Friday evenings, locals and tourists alike come out to enjoy good food, good music and in turn, some good dancing. For us, it’s a chance to unwind after the work week, run into friends (and foe), and indulge our foodie selves!
An invite earlier in the week from two new friends sent us to the island’s fanciest resort on Saturday afternoon: The Crane. I was told that the classification goes beyond the star-rating and is rated as a 4-diamond resort. I’m talking four pools, hot tub, a glass elevator down a cliff to the beach, ponds filled with coy fish - the works. Felt a little bit out of place, and as much as I try to avoid feeling or acting like a tourist at all costs, the day trip was beautiful and relaxing. And the cliff views out into the Caribbean Sea were breathtaking. I just feel bad for those tourists who come to Crane, with its restaurants, convenience stores and boutiques, and never experience everything else Barbados has to offer. And we got a tour of another relatively unexplored Parish: St. Philip. Mostly sugarcane fields and twisting roads, but the land is cheaper and it’s not too far from the action.
Sunday was time for my second race event in Barbados. And, like last time when I convinced Laurie to run the half-marathon with me, my friend Rodney was victim number two. And he did not come willingly and insisted on trash talking! The Holetown festival on the West coast has been going on all week, with Sunday being the last day. The festival consists mostly of vendors selling food, toys, art, jewelery and loads of other stuff. It was nice to see a familiar face, with Sam’s friend Maria showcasing her art. After poking around and resisting food for most of the afternoon, I caved and had a blueberry smoothie about an hour before the race. Probably not the smartest choice. And 4pm is not really an ideal time to be running in the heat, even it’s JUST 7k (Rodney hated that I was calling it ‘just’ which cracked me up). Actually finished better than I thought: 36:48, with Rodney coming in 30 seconds and a broken shoe later. He seems to think revenge will come at the Oistins Fish Festival 10k in April. We’ll see :) One funny comment came from a guy who I ran past during the race: “Hey sweetie, can I massage your feet when you finish?” I don’t think so.
After a dip in the sea, the arrival of Melissa’s brother Chris, the intake of many litres of water and many fishcakes, I was wiped. Now time for another week of work – at least there is the State of the World’s Children publication launch happening Friday to help with, plus a few other projects I have going on. And let me tell you, having Chris here is pumping me up for my little bro to come visit in a few weeks; my first overseas visitor!
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