Goodbye Tension, Hello Pension (almost!)

Well if this is a taste of retirement I'm all for it! Winter sun, white beaches, clear blue sea and reports of frost and snow from back home. I'm not officially retired until April, so I'm taking the view that I'm on a retirement training course. It's best not to suddenly stop when you finish, but unwind slow and steady, and if ever there was a culture to help you achieve that Barbados has to be top of the list. Is it wrong to admit that I felt a bit of a warm glow as people started to return to work after the Chtistmas break? It could have been the sunburn taking effect, but I think it was more the knowledge that I've only got 46 days left to work when we get home. 

When I'm packing for a holiday, my mantra is if it won't fit into a cabin bag then it doesn't go. This isn't as difficult as it sounds, I've never had an extensive wardrobe, but with the recent addition of one or two pounds ....... OK well maybe a bit more than that, most of my clothes appear to be a tight 'slim fit'. So deciding what to take and what to leave behind hasn't really been a problem. I do though remember asking Mrs Riley if I needed to take a jumper for the evenings. What was I thinking! Barbados is in the tropics, the lowest temperature ever recorded here is 16°c and the coldest month of the year, February, averages a very comfortable 26°c. 

Pre holiday, PCR testing managed to throw out an unexpected problem, as Ellie, our eldest daughter had an inconclusive result and therefore had to be re tested. As you can only test 48 hours before departure and it takes 24-48 hours to get the results back, any problem with the testing doesn't really leave any room for error. So less than 24 hours before she was due at the airport it was a mad dash back to the testing centre at Gatwick for a re-test. The following day we all set off for the airport not knowing if Ellie would be able to travel or not. If the test results didn't come back before check in time her options were pretty limited, she either moved onto the next available flight, the following day, (at a cost) or she didn't travel. Everyone else would still need to fly on the booked flight as delaying would mean our PCR tests were out of date and therefore invalid. Much to everyone's relief the negative result pinged through just as she was entering the airport and we could finally relax and start to look forward to the holiday. 

What a minefield PCR testing is, we had read on a forum that some travellers with RT on their PCR certificate were not being admitted to Barbados as RT was being incorrectly interpreted as Rapid Test rather than Reverse Transcription (whatever that means). So I thought I'd better do a bit of research so I could argue the toss at border control if we were challenged. I read an article that described the myriad of test options available and the differences between PCR, RT-PCR, Hot Start PCR, qPCR, and RT-qPCR and to be honest I gave up. You'd almost think it is designed to confuse you. Then there is the pricing, the headline price never matches the price you pay, and once you've found the right test at an acceptable price, professionally or self administered, then you have to find an appointment on the day you need it. Don't forget the disclaimers about what the testing company is liable for (not a lot) and of course there is no guarantee that your result will be back within 48 hours. I hear that since we have been in Barbados travel testing restrictions have started to be eased, so let's hope we can soon get back to just worrying about what size liquid bottle you can take through security control.

I thought I'd share with you three interesting things that I've learned in Barbados;

1) Flying Fish really do fly, I thought they'd just pop out of the water tip their hat and disappear again, but no, on an island boat trip they were everywhere, flying in front and alongside the boat. I'm told it's not powered flight, they launch themselves out of the water at speeds of 35mph and can travel up to 200m before gliding back beneath the clear blue waters. If you can catch them they are also the very tasty national dish of Barbados.

 

2) Barbadian Rum punch, does indeed pack a punch, it's a bit like drinking fruit juice and then after a few it hits you. On a recent night out I was offered a rum mix which I thought sounded nice, how naive was I to think it would be rum mixed with fruit juices. Well there was some fruit juice but it was dominated by a mix of three rums, I managed a couple before I started to feel relaxed! I've really developed a taste for the rum, but I suspect that will diminish when I realise that the price of a drink in the UK will be slightly higher than the £1.50 cost for a very generous slug in Barbados.

 3) A bit like the TV programme Catchphrase when describing things in Barbados you just say what you see. So a rum mix is a mix of rums, a black bellied sheep does indeed have a black belly, and the six road roundabout, yes you've guessed it is a major intersection where six roads converge. On a recent guided tour of the island we passed some black and white Fresian cows, so with my new found knowledge I asked the tour guide what they were called in Barbados, in her great lilting Caribbean accent she said "well, we call them cows"! 

After the first 10 days in Barbados, the girls are heading home and myself and Mrs Riley are moving from Dover Beach in the South of the island and heading North to Speightstown on the West Coast for a few days. We've managed to cram a lot in over the last few days; an island cruise, a round the island tour, a cabaret at Harbour Lights and the Friday fish fry at the Oistins fish market - a must for anyone visiting Barbados. All of this has been interspersed with much relaxing, drinking and eating. I feel really happy and blessed that the girls still want to come on holiday with us, building lots of fantastic memories, but it will be nice to have a few days with just the two of us.

When you are in such a beautiful place, the thought does cross your mind about changing your retirement plans and maybe spending a good chunk of your time here. Who knows maybe in the future, but we have so many other things planned including the delivery of our new Motorhome in April. I suspect though, one thing that is pretty certain is booking for Barbados 22/23 as soon as we get home.

Links:

RCR Island Tours

Cool Runnings

Harbour Lights

Oistins Fish Fry

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