by Chuck Adolphy
I have been to Barbados three times now. I was fortunate enough to go on holiday a while back and have been twice as Media Manager for the Barmy Army – in 2022 for the Test series and the white ball tour in 2023.
It’s really tough to put into words what my favourite thing about Barbados is. It’s just paradise personified. The vibes are exceptional and Bajan culture has to be up there as the most laid-back and joyful in the world. You get off that plane and life slows down and everything is just better. Sun, rum and beaches. Tasty fish and meat, cool music and cricket. Just get over there and experience it!
I’ve eaten from shacks right the way up to some of the top restaurants in Barbados. To be perfectly honest, the food you get roadside is where it’s at. There’s the famous ‘Cuzzy’s Fish Stand’ where the queue tells you all you need to know (don’t worry, you are by the beach and they serve rum whilst you’re waiting). The Gap has countless high-end restaurants where prices are a bit more but worth it here and there. Oistins on a Friday is a right of passage, Banks beer is an iconic and perfectly drinkable lager. Honestly, the biggest compliment I can give Bajan food & drink is I’d be more than happy eating it every day.
The way of life infiltrates the cricket ground, too. The food vendors are delicious – I have gone to the same taco stand two years in a row and they’re the best I’ve ever eaten! Music is also integral, particularly during white-ball matches. In December 2023, there was a massive brass band playing along with Finchy [the Barmy Army Trumpeter] and it was carnage. The whole stand rocked with rum flying and balls sailing over the ropes. I think the West Indies in general suits the white-ball atmosphere and the locals get right stuck in!
If you are thinking about going to Barbados, just do it. Generally, when something is on a lot of people’s bucket lists, it’s for good reason. Barbados is one of those places you have to feel to realise all the words you have just read above. It’s a sensory utopia and the only issue you will have is you will want to go back.
The Bajan people are just good fun. They don’t take life too seriously and why would you when you live on a Caribbean Island? Barbados is a tourist destination so they are used to foreign guests. On one hand, this can drive up prices (which it has done somewhat) but on the other, it makes Barbados so easily accessible and the infrastructure is there to have a top trip even in busier periods.
Barbados – Fun. Sun. And hopefully not done.
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