Six Days in Barbados

Take every opportunity to live large with your gift of life.

While few people would deny the intrinsic value of vacation time for re-energizing the body and re-vitalizing the soul, I have discovered a deeper, more philosophical gift that comes from escaping the “same old same old” and opening yourself up to something new.

I have always felt that the greatest gift a vacation gave me was the chance to start over. I have always returned from a long weekend, an entire week or, on occasion, a multi-week trip ready to make a fresh start. I would have original ideas — new projects to undertake — good intentions and resolutions to become the better person I always hoped I could be.

I’m not saying I always made good on these grandiose schemes — I’m just saying that my vacation time always had a tendency to stoke the fires within.

My most recent vacation — six days in Barbados — gave me all of this and something more.

My husband and I arrived in Barbados after twelve grueling hours of waking at 3:30 A.M. for our flight, being delayed at the airport while they did that ice removal thing on the airplane, one hasty layover, followed by an additional five hours of flying time where the airplane ran out of food for the lunch we were supposed to have. Our dining options consisted of Pringle’s potato chips or beef jerky. Not exactly the breakfast of champions.

Yet, after twelve hours, we did arrive at our destination. We were cranky. We were tired. We were malnourished. My ears didn’t pop until well into the night. We swore we would never do a last minute island getaway again.

Fortunately, the sun rose on a different day and a different mindset.

The Barbados trip was a last minute idea.

My husband couldn’t take one more gray, lackluster winter day in Pennsylvania — and me? Well, I’m always up for an adventure. The world is large and I’m a single grain of sand on a vast beach (Barbados influence here) — and I want to see what there is to see while I’m here.

Our travel agent put this trip together for us rather quickly. Three weeks later we were boarding that airplane, determined to create yet another great memory.

Our six days were wonderful. Good weather. Good food. Great people.

We did it up right.

We took a shuttle into Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. We sampled the local food. We watched a machete-wielding Barbados man whack coconuts to extract their juice. We were front row for the Barbados Defense Force parade.

The next day we took a catamaran snorkeling excursion. The captain let my husband steer the catamaran for a few minutes. We saw huge turtles, stingrays, and myriad fish that I cannot name. A few of the other passengers claimed to see a whale breach in the distance — we watched and waited for a second opportunity to see this miracle of nature — with no success.

And on yet another day, we did a driving tour of the entire island/country. We stopped at a sugar cane plantation/rum factory for a tour (and a drink), we strolled through two fabulous botanical gardens and had lunch at a small cafe on the beach.

We soaked up the sun every day on what was probably the cleanest, most beautiful beach I have ever seen.

I knew I would return home with the inspiration for living that is always my souvenir from vacations.

On the day of our departure, my husband and I were determined to sleep late, have breakfast at our leisure, and enjoy our last casual glimpses of the tropical paradise.

Instead, I awoke around 5:00 A.M. As the sun came up, I could see the waves breaking on the beach right outside our balcony doors.

We had just a few hours left before we would leave this glorious island/country — unlikely to ever return. I could not waste another moment in an unconscious state.

I jumped up, covered my naked body to a politically correct condition in a country where public nudity or topless bathing is a crime punishable by arrest from the local authorities and headed out on our balcony to watch the sun rise and the waves crash.

I wanted to make the most of these final vacation moments.

I liken that feeling and those moments to my greater philosophy on life. I didn’t want to waste even an hour or two of that great beach and that warm sun. I wanted to fill the remaining few hours of my vacation with the experience of being fully alive.

I want to fill the remaining years of my life (who really knows just how long that will be — whatever it is, it will not be enough) with the experience of living — every day — every moment — every opportunity.

I want it all!

My six days in Barbados were a mere 144 hours of my life. I have memories that will remain for the rest of my life — however many or few hours that may be.

Thank you Barbados for the chance to reconnect with my inner dreamer, traveler and philosopher. It is essence of my soul.

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