That Time I Walked To The Beach

I make no secret of the fact that Barbados is, by and large, my favorite Caribbean island. If I could choose somewhere to be reborn when I die, it'd be The Land of Flying Fish.

One one of my trips there, I stayed near Rockley, in one of those apartments that surrounded a golf course. They're not so expensive, and they rent them out to visitors easily enough. While there for the week, I decided one morning that I'd head out to the beach. Sure, I could probably get a ZR (the minibuses that travel along the country's main roads), but no, I decided I'd like a cardio workout to offset the calories. So I walked.

If you look at a map of Barbados, it's clear that the island isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination. It's the 13th smallest country in the world by land-size, making it a mere speck in the Caribbean sea. However, if you're walking it, you are going to realize very quickly that you are an even smaller speck.

My destination was the Richard Haynes Boardwalk, but man, the distance was a lot more than I expected. Luckily, having grown up on another Caribbean island, I was used to the sun that was a constant reminder of why these islands are such great places for a vacation. Still, Barbados has the pleasure of being one of the islands with lots of sunny days. In fact, the island demonstrates sunny days for most of the year, making it an ideal place to escape to.

All in all, it took me close to an hour and a half to cover the distance to the shoreline. I walked with a towel, because I expected to take a dip, and I did get the chance to. I think I might have consumed several bottles of water by the time I made it to the boardwalk too. So at least I was hydrated.

It taught me a valuable lesson: Even if it seems like a good idea at first, talk to someone local before you attempt something like this. I eventually made my way back home but I was so goddamn tired at the end of it that I felt like I couldn't move for at least the rest of the week. Yet, the following day, I woke up and decided that I wanted to do a beach-hopping expedition. When you only have a week, you have to make the most of it after all.

If you want to hear more stories about me (or other people) getting into silly situations, and learning from them, feel free to subscribe. I drop a newsletter with some of the cool stuff I come across every week. Until the next time, make sure to talk to locals before you do something stupid.