Barbados Fish Fry

Barbados is a land of contrasts. We had previously partied with the social elite and walked past the beggars and destitute whilst seeing little of the growing middle classes. To the north and east of Bridgetown, the majority of houses are very small by European standards. The single story wooden dwellings have a footprint of two UK mobile homes, and maintenance varies from immaculately painted to falling down, propped up by rusting corrugated metal panels. Richer and poor seem to leave shoulder-to-shoulder.

Shacks side by side with expensive cars

Away from the city, the land opens up. It is more common to spot buildings made of concrete or blocks and you start to come across the large estates of the very wealthy. We hear that property prices are much lower as you go north and east away from the desirable south-west coast, but many hotels away from the thriving tourist hubs have gone bust in recent years, leaving vast golf complexes abandoned and deserted. Flights to the island have dropped dramatically too with many operators also going into liquidation.

Friday night in Barbados sees the legendary Oistins fish fry and we took a bus to this small fishing village  from Bridgetown. It was the first time I'd seen the affluent south west coast. This area of Barbados is thriving with white visitors and residents alike. Chic bars and designer malls line the coastal road and all the houses are spacious ad smart. Many international businesses also have their offices here. It seems light years from the standards in the interior, but the friendly welcome is always the same.

Oistins fishing fleet

On Friday night everyone heads down to Oistins around sunset to enjoy the day's catch barbecued on the beach. We'd been given a top tip by Peter and Jo who told us to arrive before sunset and head onto the pier to see the turtles being fed. There were a dozen or so mature adults, calmly swimming in the turquoise waters hoping to catch some fish scraps, as well as some juveniles. Conservation seems high here with many large signs reminding all of the penalties for landing any turtle or turtle product here.

Large turtle off Oistins pier

We then met up with Peter and Jo again who recommended "Uncle George's Fish Net" as the place to be and had a fine meal with swordfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi or dorado), snapper, salmon or lobster served with potato, rice or the famous mac-pie (baked macaroni cheese and a sure favourite with Matthew). Our hosts very kindly treated us to our dinner and then drove us back to the Careenage.

Fresh catch at the market ready for Oistins fish fry

Today we plan to take the bus again to the east coast before returning to host a small supper party aboard. Tomorrow should bring the arrival of the legendary and tenacious Marie des Isles - the last boat in the race to arrive.