Travel News January 2021


BEAUTIFUL BARBADOS - PART TWO 11 ‘COBBLER’S COVE CREW’! ...continued from Page 10 Located on the South Coast with ocean front dining,


this restaurant offers a fusion of different types of cuisine paired with delicious cocktails and extensive wine selection. Welcomed by the friendly staff of Tapas, we were led to the best seats in the house. (honestly, there isn’t a bad seat in the place but from where I was sitting, it was breathtaking). With a Tapas rum cocktail in one hand, a delicious selection of locally sourced food in front of me and a fantastic view, it was a ‘I cant believe I’m here experiencing this’ moment. Speaking of the south of the Island, If you happen to


be out exploring and in this region, stop into Champers Restaurant, Bridgetown - another exquisite place to eat with waterside dining. This vibrant and chic restaurant gives of chilled Caribbean atmosphere with a menu that captures authentic bold Caribbean flavours made with quality locally sourced ingredients, you will want one of everything. For something a little bit more relaxed and less fancy but equally outstanding, Oistins Fish Fry in St.


When I said I fell in love with the Island, I wasn’t


joking! The decision to extend the trip was an easy one. Having added 2 days onto the agenda (yay, inside happy dance), we added a few more exciting activities to the list


First on the list was SWIMMING WITH THE TURTLES! Yes, you read that correctly. With the help of Cheryl from BTMI, it was possible. Meeting the rest of the media that extended at Cobblers Cove, we hopped onboard The Princess Hope. That ‘I cant believe this is my life’ moment I mentioned earlier? I got that again stepping on this Sea Ray 58 Sedan Bridge cabin cruiser and had an out of body experience seeing the pure luxury it radiated. Chartered by Unseen Barbados, the Princess Hope


came with water toys for us to try our hand at along with a fantastic crew and great hospitality. On a scale for one to ten rating my swimming abilities, I’m a solid 5. Not terrible but certainly not great so the idea of water-sports had me nervous. With the assistance and encouragement from the Unseen Barbados crew, in the water I jumped and had a go on the seabob — it was awesome! After a play in the sea and good food, it was turtle swimming time. Moving the Yacht to a different location further up north of the Island to track the turtles down, bait was retrieved and the scouting started. Very quickly, the crew spotted 2 turtles close by and EVERYONE on the yacht went nuts trying to catch a glimpse. Towels where discarding and we all dove in. Never in my life would I have guessed I would get lucky enough to swim with turtles but I did and it is genuinely the most outstanding experience I have and will ever experience. Believe it or not, fingers and toes can be mistaken


by turtles for food — watch out for that one! Before we knew it, 5 turtles had joined us looking for food and as we all dove, swam, touched and by accident on my part kicked the turtles, the sun was beaming and the water was warm, making this day my top experience of the whole trip. Off the yacht (still can’t believe I was on a yacht,


living my best life), it was back to Cobblers Cove where myself a few others decided to stay for the rest of the trip because it was just so beautiful, to get changed and ready for a night in Coral Reef Club, located on the West Coast. Meeting owners Patrick and Mark Ohara, the Irish


Media and a few British media enjoyed dinner in the beautiful Coral Reef restaurant. Getting chatting to Patrick, I discovered the reason behind the name of the hotel and his passion for a good rum. With live entertainment, the group enjoyed great food and even better company. On to the final full day of the trip, members of the


The group had fun on a Bajan bus


Lawrence Gap has to be on your list of places to try. For truly authentic Bajan experience, check it out. With excellent tuna, swordfish, marlin, mahi-mahi and fly fish on the menu, there is literally something for everyone! On average a plate of fish and a beer with cost around BDS$30. Being the basic chick I am and craving pizza and a


beer, I was in my element when visiting Open Kitchen Cafe & Bistro. The menu, oh my gosh! It had everything from pizza, sharing platers, fresh fish or toasted sandwiches, it was incredibly difficult to make a decision on what to get for lunch in the restaurant buttttt it was pizza and beer, meal of the gods.


AN EXTENSION... I have always loved to travel, I haven’t traveled to


many placed but when I can I do. Barbados was the definition of a dream. The original plan for the trip was 5 nights of sightseeing and exploring the Island, not quite how it ended up…


group that enjoy many, many alcoholic beverages took a make shift off the cuff rum shop tour across the Island. What is a rum shop? Well, typically these are attached to owners homes and are an extension of traditional Bajan Chattel houses. These establishments have 2 purposes; selling basic provisions and selling rum and other alcoholic beverages. You know what they say about the Irish and a bevy, we cant say no, so it will be no surprise that 90% of the group where from Ireland. With a make shift list of rum shops running from the


top to the bottle of Barbados, we set off to test out a few places. After a day of trying a substantial amount of rum, laughing until we were crying and pictures that should never see the light of day, it was a meal to line the stomach and then onto the next bar. Desperate for a boogie and discovering that there was a nightclub close by, it was dancing shoes on and time to get lowwwwww. Another fantastic night under the belt.


WORKING FROM PARADISE As the days went by and my list of new experiences


grew, the appeal to stay was overwhelming. The Island A market stall in Bridgetown


Isabel Conway of Irish Sun, Chelsea Cousins from NI Travel News, Amy Atkinson from ok!, pose with a local rum shop owner


is beautiful and has so much to offer. It is so full of history and culture with people that are passionate and incredibly generous — who would not want to stay… or work from Barbados For those that can work remotely and are looking


for a change in scenery, I have the solution for you… the 12 Month Barbados Welcome Stamp. This is the opportunity of life-time to work remotely from Barbados, all you have to do is apply! The welcome stamp is a visa that allows anyone to relocate and work from one of the worlds most stunning and beloved tourism destinations. For more information on working from paradise visit barbadoswelcomestamp.bb


HOME TIME After a final Cobblers Cove Crew breakfast (there


might have been a few sore head curtesy of a couple rum and cokes and some crying on the inside on my part), we hit the shop in the hotel for gifts to bring back home, we said good bye to our fantastic host Cheryl and our friends at Cobblers Cove who took such fantastic care of us during our stay and headed to the airport. Throughout the whole time in Barbados, every single


person we came into contact with was welcoming and incredibly lovely. One of the reasons I could consider visiting Barbados again is the Bajan people! When returning to the UK, the British government


require all passenger to complete a locator form. This form is quick and easy, takes 15 minutes to fill out and must be completed before entering the UK. Regarding quarantining, Barbados is one of few countries on the governments Green List of countries it is safe to travel too and from. The form can be found at gov.uk/uk- border-control. Now that I’m back home, all I want to be is back in Barbados sipping a cocktail by the sea, watching the sunset with a fantastic group of media from the UK & Ireland. For those that don’t have Barbados on their bucket list, add it, NOW! Even though I spent a short period of time here, I quickly realised that Barbados is special and offers that twinkle that you didn’t know you needed. A massive thank you to Barbados Tourism & Marketing Inc, for hosting NI Travel News on their British Airways Heathrow Inaugural Fam Trip to Barbados, along with a special mention to travelmedia. ie for the invitation to join the group of Irish Media in experiencing this once in a life time experience in exploring Barbados. The Island of Barbados holds a special place in my


heart along with the people I met while exploring it. I’m counting down the days till i’m stepping on Barbadian soil once again.


#visitbarbados #beautifulbarbados #lovebarbados For the most recent up to date travel information


please check out visitbarbados.org/covid-19-travel- guidelines-2020. All information in this article was correct as of 24/10/2020.


A beautiful view over the white sands and blue seas of Little Bay in Barbados


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