To this day, Barbados is one of my favorite places on the planet.
I think it’s because of how we spent our short time on the island … or rather in the water around the island. My husband did the research and planning for this entire trip. I can’t express how much fun we had. But, Barbados topped the list!
Travel Tip: He found a site called Cruise Critic. Through the site we were able to find people who wanted to have the same type of experiences we did. It helped us cut costs A LOT and we were able to enjoy those experiences in much smaller groups. It’s now were we start planning for every cruise we take.
Through the site we found out that an exclusive group of people wanted to charter a catamaran through a company called Calabaza Sailing for a day on the water. The day also included a trip to snorkel with sea turtles. As soon as we read that we knew, WE HAD TO GET ON THAT BOAT! There was room for ten people. TEN!! We somehow managed to snag the final two spots.
Travel Tip: If you don’t want to take my word for the amazing experience we had thanks to this company, do a little research. The company has a 5-star rating with more than 2800 reviews on Trip Advisor.
Just like other tours, we walked out of the cruise terminal and looked for the name of the person who organized it. We had no problem finding our guide.
We piled into a van and a driver took us to a marina. That’s where we found our catamaran and crew.
We raced across the water, with glasses of rum punch in our hands, enjoying the breeze on the hot tropical day. When our captain decided we needed a little break, he dropped anchor. Then the adventure really began.
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We dove into the refreshing water and put on our snorkeling gear. Did you know that the coral reefs look completely different when you dip your head below the water? From above, they are dark. But when you dip your head under the water it’s an entirely different world. The coral is colorful and fish dart in and out of it.
We spotted all kinds of creatures! Sergeant Majors, a sting ray, and many other fish that I can’t even begin to name.
The price of $115 per person we paid included a fantastic lunch, with more boiled green bananas, and all the run punch and locally-brewed Banks beer we wanted.
Then the tour turned from great to fantastic. We jumped back into the ocean and the captain and another man started tossing some type of food into the water. This attracted dozens of sea turtles!
Now when I say sea turtles, I mean SEA TURTLES! They were huge, graceful, peaceful creatures. They just swam around us and right beside us.
Travel Tip: This was a “look but don’t touch” situation. Our guide said it’s an honor to swim with the turtles, not to mention that it’s illegal to touch them (except for my husband who accidentally kicked one that swam up behind him!)
One of our guides kept calling for “Myrtle.” I asked him if he named the turtles. He said yes and pointed to one and called it “Myrtle.” When I asked the name of another turtle, he looked at me like I was crazy and said that all the turtles were named “Myrtle.” So there’s that.
We enjoyed swimming and floating in the glorious sea until it was time to head back to port. I would pay to have this experience again in a heartbeat. I guess next time we will just have to stay longer so we can experience what else Barbados has to offer!