Made it back home in the dark...

We hopped on a bus yesterday morning to go check out some more of the island. This time, we were headed to Holetown, which is the site of the first English settlement on the island that began in 1627.

It's also the location of Barbados oldest church.

While waiting for the bus, we noticed this free smartphone charging point...

Makes sense for the cell company to give you a place to charge your phone!

Typical bus stop in Barbados.

We didn't have to wait long and we found a bus destined for Speightstown, which is further north than Holetown. Paid $2.00 BBD ($1.35 CAD, $1.00 USD) for the 18 km (11 mile) bus ride. Not everything in Barbados is expensive. Just most things.

There's not really that much to see in Holetown. The main drag has some high end type of stores. Ralph Lauren... that kind of thing.

Holetown main street.

But one good reason to come to Holetown is that because it was the site of the first settlement, it was also the site of the first church. St. James Parish Church was originally built in 1629, but a hurricane destroyed the original wooden structure in 1675 and it was replaced with a stone church.

St. James Parish Church.

Interesting interior.

And an even more interesting organ.

Some of the gravestones have barely legible dates from the 1600's!

Wandering around, we came to the Folkstone Marine Reserve, whatever that is. The wanted $5.00 BBD to visit their small museum, so we passed on that. Otherwise, there is a nice park on the waterfront that has picnic tables in the shade and a large blocked off area of the water that is for swimming or marine research. They rent out snorkeling equipment as well. Might be a nice spot to come back to another day. Didn't see any tourists there, but it seemed popular with the locals.

The beach at Folkstone Marine Reserve.

There's a short beachfront path that leads to some resort properties.

And a huge beachfront mansion!

Ruth wants to know who lives here!

Ruth did some research this morning and it turns out that property belongs to British billionaire Anthony Bamford.

Hmm. Interesting. Manchineel Tree Poison

A storm is brewing.

We saw this storm coming in slowly. We stopped at a beachfront restaurant that had umbrellas and figured we would be safe there. We had a drink, but weren't enthusiastic about the menu. The rain looked like it was going to hold off, and I had read about the nearby Cafe Moya which had great reviews and also some gluten free options so we walked over there and two minutes after we sat down the skies opened up and it poured with rain for about 45 minutes!

Really nice little spot, and with (considering it's Barbados) reasonable prices.

Ruth had the salmon stuffed crepe and I had the cajun chicken stuffed crepe.

The crepes were made with casava flour. The crepes were really yummy, with a nice soft pliable texture.

Total bill for the two of us, $55 BBD ($37 CAD, $27.50 USD) including tax and tip.

We were looking for a grocery store to pick up a couple of things before we got on the bus. The rain had stopped and the owner of the cafe told us that there was a grocery store about a mile and a half down the road. We decided to walk.

But it was actually 3.8 kms (2.4 miles). Oh well. We needed the exercise... :-)

Then we got on a bus, but by now it was rush hour and the bus was standing room only and very crowded. Standing, my head hit the ceiling. Not comfortable at all. And the bus was hardly moving. We ended up getting off early and walking for a while.

Made it back home in the dark. Turns out we had walked 12.3 kms (7.6 miles)

Maybe today we'll relax...

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A huge selection of coffees and teas are on sale today...

Coffee, Tea, and Hot Chocolate!

And in Canada...

Cuisinart 15 piece Knife Set