Picking Food Up Off The Floor

The Party Bus…

Yesterday was a very busy day. In the morning we hopped a bus to the North part of the Island to the Parish of St. Lucy (the island is divided up into parishes). We got to see the waves crashing against the rocks. It was really beautiful! We also paid to go into the Animal Flower Cave. It was kind of cool, but not worth the money. Apparently there are sea anemones in the tidal pools underground. They are quite abundant in the summer, and not so much in the Spring (we saw 2 of them). But the view out into the ocean was super cool. We also got to see lots of Bajan homes and farms on our bus rides. We saw folks out planting in the fields and passed (while walking from the bus stop) fields of tomatoes and squash (a common veggie here). On the bus we saw horses (polo is a popular sport here and many people raise horses for that reason), and cows and goats which were both tied up like you would tie a dog to a tether and stake it in the ground. There were no fences in these fields, so we’re not quite sure which came first, no need for a fence or tying up the animals because you don’t have a fence.

The bus experience is quite interesting. On our trip up North we took a city bus. You have to give exact change ($1.50 Bajan=$.75US). The bus drives really fast and it’s quite bumpy. Because there are so many bends in the road, the bus has to slow down (i.e., slam on its breaks) and honk so other drivers know it’s coming. Often it will have to slow down for a work vehicle that’s blocking the road, but no one is upset, they just wait. Sometimes the bus driver will beep at someone he knows.

Then there are the Party Buses. These are buses not affiliated with the city bus system. I don’t know if any of the following is true, but this is what it seems like. Some guy either owns or rents a bus (it has to be part of a co-op or bus system because they are all the same color on the outside), he decides when he wants to go to work, he gets a friend to come help (this guy takes the money and gives change as necessary), and out they go looking for passengers. The friend sits up front and calls out to people on the street to see if they want a ride, they also beep at you to let you know they’re coming in case you want to get on. You don’t have to be at a bus stop, just hail them down and if they feel like it, they’ll pick you up (they always pick you up if you’re at a stop). I had a vague feeling I was in some kind of video game about a bus trying and pick up and drop off as many passengers as possible in a given time. Now take this and add thumping Reggae music, some mood lighting, lots of chatting with people on the street, and you’ve got yourself a “party bus”. Some busses are more decked out than others with painted ceilings, a tail fin, and exterior painting (like racing flames; see picture). Sometimes the driver and his buddy haven’t decided what route they’re doing so they start polling the people on the street to find out where they want to go and they go where the majority of them want to go. It’s quite entertaining. I’m looking forward to my next trip on the party bus. We saw so many tourists taking a taxi or using a car service; they’re really missing out!

We took the party bus to and from Bridgetown yesterday, where we ate dinner at the Waterfront Cafe. They had a Bajan buffet and steel drum music. It was pretty funny though because most of their music was contemporary cover songs. The buffet was awesome. We started with a split pea and sweet potato soup and salads, then we had hot pot, corn and okra casserole, corn and sweet potato casserole, local veggies, pork, chicken, cajun barracuda, and deep fried corn and spinach, and corn and salmon fritters. Followed by a dessert of fruit and banana bread and some kind of bread pudding. It was so yummy! Con, you would love it!

On the way back to the bus station, before we got picked up by the party bus, we passed St. Mary’s church. It was a beautiful church, but the coolest thing about it was that it was lit up with purple lights. The entire church was bathed in purple. I thought it was the coolest thing. Unfortunately I was too tired to take a picture and couldn’t convince Mike to do it. So you just have to take my word for it.

If you’re ever in Barbados, don’t forget the party bus!

Posted under: Vacation