Trifter

People had told me about the island of Barbados, but I never went, until this year. It is quite a large Island over 160 square mile in size. The white sandy beaches are miles in length against a turquoise sea. There are no mountains, but the interior is hilly. I used a rental car to explore the interior and you drive on the left like in England.

In addition to the capital Bridgetown on the coast, there are several other large cities. The total population of Barbados is over a quarter of a million. This is quite large. Most of the people are the descendants of African slaves brought across the sea to tend sugar cane plantations. Although there is still sugar cane, most people now work in the tourist and retail trade occupations.

What I feel is important is that I saw a lot of new hotels being built. Also the port is expanding its area for cruise ships. It appears that the island is moving toward an economy based on tourism.

In my trip through the interior I saw malls just like the US and the whole island has a tropical air about it. There are many hotels and clubs along the coast next to the sandy beaches, but most of the people live in the interior. The national language is English and I took a local bus across the island.