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Day 2 - Hire Car - Barbados
Day 2, we got up, completed day 1's blog and off
we went in search of Harrison's Cave.
  
Harrison's Cave is a tourist attraction first
mentioned in historical documents in 1795. They are named after the plantation
owner whose land they were found on. Tourists can access the subterranean
environment on a tramway. For almost 200 years they were forgotten. In
1976, Danish speleologist Ole
Sorensen, along with Barbadian Tony Mason re-discovered them.
The caves were opened as a tourist attraction in 1981. The caves
allow visitors to see some of the most beautiful natural geological features of
Barbados. It is now Barbados' Number One
attraction.
The wall of white rock
looks like shiny foam, it forms this way when water pours down sheer rock.
Looking down into one of the many pools. The
formation called "the Altar". The
caves are naturally formed by water erosion through the
limestone rock. The calcium-rich water that runs
through the caves have formed the unusual
stalactites and stalagmites formations. Travel
through the caves is by tram, at certain points during the tour
visitors are allowed to alight from the tram and get close up to the formations,
flash photography is allowed.
  
The first photo is called "the chandelier", it
looks like oozing mud, but again is rock. There is another similar looking rock (3rd photo) about seven feet above
this one, it is reckoned it will take 120,000 years for them to join into one.
The deepest pool at 15 feet. Water temperature is 24
degrees constant and air temperature is a constant 27 Centigrade.
One main area of the caves is a huge cavern, termed "The
Great Hall", measuring over 100 feet in height. After the Great Hall the tram
stops at "The Village". At The Village some of the formations have joined
together to form columns, this has taken many thousands of
years.
  
The tram that took us around, the way is lit but when you
pass out of an area, the guide remotely plunges it back into pitch black. I used
the scaffolding (extensive regeneration of the whole of the exterior of the
attraction) to show the size of the drop of a cave
ceiling. This has happened in many areas all over the island, giving rise
to very fertile gully's. The newly re-vamped entrance. We left the cave and had a picnic lunch sitting
in the shade of some huge trees. Then off we went in search of the bird
sanctuary at the bottom of the island, only to get there and find the place was
boarded up. So we found:
  
I thought it was a little corny for the sign to say "George Washington was here". George and
his scarred face. George Washington
House.
George Washington House. This restored Great
House has quite a history. For almost 300 years it has been occupied by folk as
a private home; also renters stay here for some time before moving on; it has
served as commercial offices in the 1940’s, and has been a base for French
prisoners. The mighty British Military
Garrison used this house as part of their operations within the
Garrison Historic Area. But The Bush Hill house is more noted
for having George Washington as a tenant for three months in 1751.
George left Virginia and boarded a vessel bound for Barbados at the tender age of 19, as a companion to his half-brother
Lawrence, who suffered from tuberculosis. It was hoped the tropical climate
would prove therapeutic. Unfortunately, George contracted smallpox whilst here,
which left his face permanently scarred. The Barbados trip was the only overseas
journey George Washington ever made. At the time they
believed that the tropical climate would aid the recovery of Lawrence’s illness,
sadly he died the following year. They rented the property from the commander of
James Fort in the capital of Bridgetown called Captain Crofton. When this house
was correctly identified as the place where George Washington stayed, the
government purchased the property from the Barbados Light and Power
Company and handed it over to the Bush Hill Tourism Trust
Inc. Since its restoration it has been officially called
the George Washington House. It serves as a museum and research
centre. In 1997 William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Clinton unveil a plaque
outside this lovely house, forever linking the island of Barbados and the United
States, for that once historic visit by the father of America, George
Washington.
 
The Barbados Legion House.
The Barbados Legion is made up of
ex-servicemen and women. They have similar ideals as the British Legion but are
by no means as well funded or resourced as their UK counterparts. With many
members living on low pensions and without the support of family members, the UK
Defence Advisor has asked that visiting UK forces try to assist wherever
possible.
  
The impressive Garrison grandstand
on the beautifully kept grounds. The canon next to the Legion House and across the road from the
Barbados Regiment. Do they shoot you if you don't
do well for your country ?
The Barbados
Regiment is the land force component of the Barbados Defence
Force. Its main tasks are the defence of
Barbados from external threats, internal security and assisting
the local police in maintaining law and order. The regiment also provides
Barbados' contribution to international peacekeeping and other missions.
In its present form, the regiment was formed in 1979 along with the BDF,
replacing the old Barbados Regiment. The Barbados Regiment is affiliated to the
Royal Anglian Regiment. The Barbados Regiment was founded in
1902 as the Barbados Volunteer Force, a volunteer unit raised to provide for the
local defence of the island following the withdrawal of the British garrison.
Soldiers of the BVF were involved in both the First and
Second World Wars as part of both the South Caribbean Force and the
Caribbean Regiment. In 1948, the BVF was re-established and re-named the
Barbados Regiment. The regiment received its first stand of
colours in 1953. These colours were later changed after the
country gained Independence. Between 1959 and 1962, Barbados was part of the
Federation of the West Indies, and thus contributed to the 3rd Battalion,
West India Regiment. On the break-up of the Federation, Barbados regained
its independence and saw the Barbados Regiment returned to service. Although the
regiment's primary role is to defend Barbados, it also provides the country's
commitment to UN peacekeeping forces, predominantly in the
Caribbean region. The regiment also participated, along with the
Jamaica Regiment and the Rifle Company, Antigua and Barbuda Defence
Force, in the United States led invasion of
Grenada in 1983. The Barbados Regiment is stationed as
part of the BDF headquarters at The Garrison. The regiment today
is divided into regular and reserve forces, essentially making up two
'battalions'.
On the way back to Beez Neez we saw the Barbados
Golf Club
    
   
Some pictures that amused us were, Carlisle
Beach, with Bridgetown behind it, this is the other 'clearing-in' port we
could have used. A BeezNeez poster, haven't got to
the bottom of that, we do know it's a lager in Australia, but not sure what it
means here. The Roti Den, roadside cafe Barbados
style. There is a house in there in the last
picture.
  
Worthing Beach, Hastings Police Station and Folkestone
Beach sign. So many places here are named after good old
Blightey.
ALL IN ALL a busy
and enjoyable day.
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