It’s a hot and muggy day today, with clouds that look like they are ready to burst any minute.  We’ve a relaxing morning planned, just hanging out, coffee only because at 11:00 we have a food tour in Bridgetown – no sense ruining our appetite!   We leave the ship a little after 10, knowing we are too early, but not being able to sit around any longer.  As per usual, we are threaded through the shopping mall on the pier before being able to get outside to the waiting vans and shuttles that are lined up 15 deep at the terminal.  We find the cheap shuttle easily enough and manage to secure the last good seats (before they stuff on 4 more large individuals who have to squeeze into the rear seats) then are off into town lickety split.  On the way we are scoping out the supermarket situation for beer – but we may be out of luck today. The large market we checked out on the map is equidistant between the pier and town, and it may be too much of a walk for us after our Devil’s Island adventures.

Also per usual, we are far too early for the tour, so after we find our way to the meeting point in the park, we wander over to St. Mary’s Church, which happens to be closed.  Oh well.  We meander back to the park, reconnoiter the little grocery on the corner for beverages, then while away the time sitting in the park, watching volunteers decorate Christmas trees and snapping a few pictures of the stolid grey clock tower and red roofed St. Mary’s from a distance.  People watching is great!  Locals, homeless, cruise passengers – we see them all – until finally we see someone who looks like a guide talking to another couple across the plaza. 

And it is our guide, Nicola, talking to a couple from the ship who are also taking this tour.  They are from – wait for it – Hendersonville! Right down the road from us! Talk about a crazy small world.  Introductions and signed waivers completed, we head off with Nicola through the bustling streets of Bridgetown to our first stop, Hunter’s Bar.  This place is totally a dive local hangout, we’re the only non-Barbadians here.  It’s a narrow little counter service place with barely anywhere to sit, but they’ve got Souse – the famous pickled pig dish that we’ve read all about.  What could be better? Pickling and pork?  Well, for me, just about anything because sadly all the pork are the parts I’m just not too wild about – you know, snouts, feet, ears, anything that’s left over after the good stuff is gone!  Bummer!  Because the taste is fabulous, but the consistency – not so much.  Fortunately we’ve ordered Banks beer (the local beer), so that helps wash it down a little.  We’re stuffed in the back of this little place and a local lady is sitting in the corner, watching me try to eat this stuff. We exchange pleasantries, and when she sees I just can’t do it, she surreptitiously points out the garbage can for me and then the 2 of just start laughing as I ceremoniously toss the offensive pig parts out! Totally funny.

The second course here is much better than the darn souse, fortunately.  We share cutters, which are little sandwiches made on small salt rolls.  We have a ham sandwich (better cut of pig this time) and a fried fish sandwich that easily wins best dish here (in my opinion).  It’s fun to try everything and joke with guy behind the bar and the lady who offered me the trash can.

After Hunter’s, Nicola takes us on a short tour of the town. She is very knowledgeable and funny and totally outspoken (do NOT start her on women’s rights – you just don’t even want to go there, and it’s the opposite of what you’d think!) – and gives us a good historical perspective on the town of Bridgetown and Barbadians in general.  We walk past the police precinct, then over past the Jewish Synagogue, which is one of the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere.  Started by Brazilian Jews who moved to Barbados to avoid persecution, it is now a UNESCO protected property. The Jews also started the sugarcane industry on the island and helped local Bajan farmers learn the trade to continue on and help the island prosper. 

Beyond the synagogue, we stop at the Montefiore fountain, a gift from John Montefiore in memory of his father who was one of the first to die in the cholera outbreak in the 1850s.  The memorial, no longer a fountain today, is still a beautiful example of artwork with bas-relief sculptures of Justice, Fortitude, Prudence and Temperance on each side.  It was called an architectural gem, and it still is, if you can look beyond the lack of maintenance and the homeless camped out around it (which drives Nicola crazy). 

Turning around, we head back toward the center of town and the long pedestrian shopping street – Swan street.  It’s like a huge flea market here, all the stores have stalls out on the pavement, vendors have all sorts of trinkets and clothes and other daily necessities.  After a block, we turn into the entrance to The Square Restaurant, a little cafeteria type place located on the 2nd floor of a building, above the retails shops.  We make ourselves at home at a little table at the back in between 2 tvs showing cartoons and wait for Nicola to bring us our next treat:  Cou Cou.  This dish is totally traditional and very much like Polenta, only better.  This dish is cornmeal and okra, cooked and stirred with a cou cou stick, which Barbadians say is the only way to stir the cou cou to have it come out creamy and correct.  This particular version is served with chicken and gravy – and is absolutely delicious.  You can’t even taste the okra, you can see the bits of it, but it isn’t slimy or pungent, it just really ads some texture.  Excellent in every way (I didn’t even bother with the chicken, just ate the cou cou).

After a lengthy and lively discussion about a bunch of esoteric books Nicola is reading, we find ourselves out on the street again, dodging vendors heading toward the waterfront. We cut through a produce market, taking delight in the sign that says “You squeeze breast, not fruits. Thank you.”  Gotta have a sense of humor!

Then, before reaching our final restaurant, we stop at the oldest bar in all of Barbados, The Old City Bar.  Once again – a local’s spot!  We don’t exactly get dirty looks, but we don’t get very welcomed by the old guys hanging out at the door.  But hey, we don’t care, we have Nicola who is shepherds us right in the door and gets us our Banks beer.  She knows everyone (and I mean everyone – she has been stopped, or stopped people, on the street every 2 or 3 minutes to say hello and chat!), and we talk about what a small island this is as we stand in the narrow space between the bar and the front doors (in front of what looks like an old refrigerator case and menu signage – we’ll eat in a whole lot of places, but we have to say that this is not one of them).

Thirst quenched, we make our way toward the waterfront, passing the Parliament building, then Heroes square, finally crossing the Chamberlain Bridge, originally built as a swing bridge, but now reconfigured into a lift bridge to provide access to the yacht basin at the end of the Constitution river.  We settle in at the Bridge House, on the 2nd floor overlooking Independence Square and the yacht basin with wide open windows channeling in whatever little breeze there may be.  Here we switch to Deputy Beer (the more popular local choice – still brewed by Banks beer – but called Deputy for some reason I’ll be darned if I can remember, think it has something to do with Banks is the Sheriff in town, but Deputy is 2nd???  Something like that, maybe…..) while we wait for our fried flying fish and bakes.  Yes, bakes!  I’ve been waiting to try these all day – they are like little, dense sweet and savory pancakes.  And, boy are they worth the wait!  Sweet but a little salty, thick like a johnny cake, but a completely different flavor.  I’m so stuffed already, I hate they come at the end of this overstuffed food day, but I manage to make mine disappear by the time we are ready to leave.  Oh, and the flying fish? Yeah, that was delicious too, but, I’m focused on that bake!

So, as I mentioned, we are now totally stuffed, and as it is getting close to all aboard time, make the executive decision to abort any ideas of finding a supermarket.  We’re also a bit concerned about finding a taxi back to the pier on our own.  Nicola has a van already lined up for the 4 of us, so we go with the flow and head back to the ship.  We’ve got St. John’s and San Juan left to go, and we know we can find beer and wine there – which makes our decision even easier.

A quick van ride back, the walk through the shopping gauntlet and we’re in our cabin in no time, ready to shower off, cool down, and think about what – if anything – we want to eat tonight!