Bridgetown, Barbados- December 28

Gros and Petit Pitons-volcanic peaks

Sailed out at 3:00 PM so, as Captain Dag said, “We could hang out a bit in Margot Bay. James Mitchener called this the “most beautiful bay in the Caribbean” and it has been used as the set for a number of movies. We sailed past the UNESCO  World Heritage Site- Gros and Petit Pitons- twin volcanic peaks rising from the sea.

We hung around the area and the ship did several 360degree turns so everyone could see everything around. Was a lovely sight.

We ate dinner with Sue and John from Santa Barbara, California. We had shared a meal with Sue one evening when John was seasick. Delightful conversation. John ate more food than we had ever seen anyone do- tomato and goat cheese tart, cream of asparagus soup, chilled mango soup, heart of palm salad, lamp chops, pasta, bananas foster sundae and a chocolate Mille Flore layer dessert plus a cappuccino.  Amazing to watch him chow down like that. The food aboard is good and the options plentiful- compares well with food on Regent Cruises. Just can't imagine eating like that.

We awoke this morning all docked at the terminal of Bridgetown, Barbados.  Across from us it a large Celebrity cruise ship- the Celebrity Summit. In front of us is Oceania’s new large (1250 passengers) Riveria. Behind us is the Ocean Princess. We estimate that these four ships will deposit at least 7000 tourists into the town for shopping, dining and generally helping the economy. There is not much of a view but leaving here is going to be an interesting sail away because of the limited space for turning around.

Bridgetown (metropolitan pop. 110,000) is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town". The locals are called “Bajan” and are generally helpful, full of spirit and very well educated

Parliament Building

The Bridgetown port, found along Carlisle Bay lies on the southwestern coast of the island. Parts of the Greater Bridgetown area sit close to the borders of the neighboring parishes Christ Church and St. James. The Grantley Adams International Airport for Barbados, is located 9.9 miles southeast of Bridgetown city center, and has daily flights to major cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. While there is no longer local municipal government, it is governed as a political constituency within the national Parliament. During the short-lived 1950s-1960s Federation of the British West Indian Territories, Bridgetown was one of three capital cities within the region being considered to be the Federal capital of region.

While the island was discovered in the late 15^th century by the SpanishThe present day location of the city was established by English settlers in 1628 following a prior settlement under the authority of Sir William Courten at St. James Town. Bridgetown is a major West Indies tourist destination, and the city acts as an important financial, informatics, convention center, and cruise ship port of call in the Caribbean region. On 25 June 2011, Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison were added as a World Heritage Site of UNESCO.

Although the island was totally abandoned or uninhabited when the British landed there, one of the few traces of indigenous pre-existence on the island was a primitive bridge constructed over the Careenage area's swamp at the center of Bridgetown. It was thought that this bridge was created by a people indigenous to the Caribbean known as the Arawak. Upon finding the structure, the British settlers began to call what is now the Bridgetown area Indian Bridge. Scholars widely believe that the Arawak were driven from Barbados to the neighboring island of Saint Lucia, during an invasion by the Kalinagos, another indigenous people of the region. Eventually after 1654 when a new bridge was constructed over the Careenage by the British, the area became known as The Town of Saint Michael and later as Bridgetown.

Bridgetown is the only city outside the present United States that George Washington visited. George Washington House, the house where he stayed, is included within the boundaries of the Garrison Historic Area. Two of Washington's ancestors, Jonathon and Gerrard Hawtaine, were early planters on the island. Their grandmother was Mary Washington of Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, England.

English settlement of Bridgetown began on 5 July 1628 under Charles Wolverstone, who brought with him 64 settlers to these lands formally claimed by James Hay, the Earl of Carlisle. Wolverstone, had been dispatched by a group of London Merchants, headed by Sir Marmaduke Rawdon. The group had been granted a lease to 10,000 acres of land area by the Earl of Carlisle in settlement of debts. Each of the settlers with Wolverstone were granted by him 100 acres of land, lying on the northern side of the Careenage waterway for the purpose of general settlement. The southern shore on Needham's Point, were claimed by Carlisle's agents that coming October, and in 1631, many acres of land directly facing Carlisle Bay were passed to Henry Hawley, the new Governor. Reports of dishonest behavior about this Governor led to his arrest and rendition to England in 1639. After investigation by Commission in 1640, it was found that much of Hawley's land transactions were legitimate and properly showed these lands (including the town site), as being attributed to the Earl of Carlisle. Bridgetown was built upon a street layout resembling early English Medieval or market towns with its narrow serpentine street and alley configuration.

Bridgetown serves as a principal center of commercial activity in Barbados, as well as a central hub for the island's public transport system. Many of the ministries and departments of the island's government are located within the Greater Bridgetown area. The Public Buildings or parliament, which stand at the heart of the city directly north of Heroes Square, house the third oldest continuous parliament in the British Commonwealth. Indeed, at one point in the city's early history, Bridgetown was the most important city of all British possessions in the New World due to the city's easterly location in the Caribbean region.

The Montefiore Gardens is the home of the Montefiore Monument. Although called the Montefiore fountain, there is no water to be seen. It was a drinking fountain in 1865 when given to the city by Jewish businessman John Montefiore as a memorial to his father, John Castello Montefiore, who had been among the first persons to die from Cholera in 1854.His father was a respected merchant described as being 'a free colored'.

 This Fountain was opened on November 02, 1865, and was described as "a little gem of architectural beauty, there being nothing in Barbados to compare it with".

On the monument, each of its marble statues represents different Ideals: Justice, Fortitude, Temperance and Prudence.

Barbados, like St Lucia, forbids people wearing ashore any clothing that looks like camouflage. We plan to stay aboard the ship today. We’ll be here mid-March with our friends Kathy and Bos Irvine after we leave the Amazon on a cruise.  So today will be a quiet time of reading, crossword puzzles and watching the world go by. We are really good at being lazy!