One day, Monique asked me if I wanted to go for a run after work and I figured sure, why not! Albeit shy, I am a talker when I'm comfortable with someone. I mentioned that I wanted to go on a vacation, but needed a travel buddy. Little did I know, that day would be the start of planning this Caribbean vacation. Folks, don't pass up invites from your friends; you never know what will come of that outing 😉 It all happened so fast! We discussed our budget, selected a few islands and I began the search to see which would best meet our criteria. Before I knew it, we selected Barbados, booked the flights and hotel and just had to wait for July 29th to arrive!
When I tell you this was the most fun-filled, yet relaxing vacation I've taken, it's almost indescribable. The best part, of course, was eating and drinking to our hearts content. I believe I was intoxicated for 5 days, no lie and diets were out the window because we knew upon arrival back to the US, it was back to training mode for our upcoming race season! While I cannot write about every detail of our 5 days on the island, I will try my best to highlight what I thought were the best parts...here we go!
Pebbles Beach is where you can find the race horses bathing in the ocean at sunrise. They say the salt water is very good for their muscles. The horses were beautiful as they arrived one by one. The horse handlers were all so friendly as a few bystanders watched and waited for photo opportunities. It was a very tranquil experience and I highly recommend it. Our cab driver, Anderson laughed at us. He said he never heard of anyone waking up so early to see horses. I didn't care, I was determined to take advantage of everything during my stay.
Friends just enjoying and celebrating life and capturing the beauty in the moments...
The Hobie was awesome and included as part of our hotels water activities. It was so much fun, we did it twice! It's amazing how some wind and a piece of material and plastic can be turned into something so enjoyable. So glad we decided to go out for a ride on the clear blue waters because the knowledge this man dropped on us as we sailed is something I will not forget. He was real, genuine and very kind hearted.
The Mount Gay Rum Tour was awesome! We purchased tickets on Trip Advisor a week prior to leaving for our trip, but failed to call for tour times. Fortunately, our cab driver friend Anderson phoned us about the last tour leaving at 2:30pm, but it was 2:10 and we were still getting ready and our hotel was 30 minutes away! Monique quickly called the Mount Gay distillery and told them what happened and they said to come over and we would just join the tour where they were and that is exactly what happened. We arrived as she was serving the first round of Rum shots! At the end of the tour, this beautiful young lady pictured above, took us through the tour in reverse so we didn't miss a thing, including more alcohol! This tour was only $20 per person and worth it. So, if you visit the island, make sure you visit the Mount Gay Rum distillery. I promise you, you will leave there feeling wonderful!! Thankfully, I didn't embarrass Monique or myself.
The Catamaran snorkel cruise is a must! It's a 5 hour cruise up the coast and includes hotel pick up and drop off, lunch and unlimited alcohol for $85 per person. There is also a limited number of people per sailing for a more intimate adventure. The crew was made up of 2 gentleman and they were funny and very attentive. Fortunately, the weather was absolutely perfect for sailing all day long. Our first stop was swimming with the sea turtles! There were only 2 turtles swimming around us, but they were absolutely beautiful and harmless. The next stop was further up the coast to see the ship wreck and coral reef. It's amazing how beautiful coral reef is and all the different color fish that live in the ocean were just mesmerizing. After lunch, we dropped anchor, swam to shore and saw some flying fish while making new friends; a few from Bermuda and others from Australia. Once we swam back to the catamaran, we grabbed some beers and everyone sat together enjoying the ride back while listening to reggae music along the way. This is why I love to travel the world; you are exposed to all different walks of life.
As pavement sisters, we had to be sure we ran the streets of Barbados and 3 miles were done! It was HOT, but we got it done on the St. Lawrence Gap!
We purchased an island tour and it was another 5 hour day, but it brought us here and pictures do not do it justice. This is the northern most point of the island and the view was unlike anything I've ever seen. We walked around and took in the moment and the beauty of the island.
You have to visit the island for yourself to truly appreciate the beauty of Barbados...
The sunsets were absolutely amazing and we made sure to enjoy every minute of every day on our girls trip to Barbados!!! The people were absolutely wonderful and the food was delicious, lots of curry. Barbados owes me nothing!! And, I am truly grateful to have been able to take this trip with such a dear friend. There are no words to describe how grateful I am that you joined me, Monique.
Until the next adventure.....#jqtravels
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