Day 1 - exploring we will go

We had booked a walking food tour for tomorrow, so this morning we wanted to find the start point, to make sure we know where to go and find a cash point to get some local money out for places that don't take cards.

We walked along the road to Bridgetown and very quickly found Independence square, where the tour was due to start, and sat by the water for a short rest. We had read on the internet that 'The Blue Machine' ATM wouldn't charge us for taking out our money so the search for one of those began. Broad Street seems to be their financial sector so we followed it along, tried a few other banks but they all wanted to charge for the withdrawal but then found 'The Blue Machine'. As promised no fees and really easy to use.

Map provided by Google

An interactive map can be found here https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1BomboMnpGO5YxCPPgZwiTXdJQstRYBA&usp=sharing

With cash in hand, we wanted to find somewhere for breakfast. We walked along some of the side streets but most of the places seem to have sold out of breakfast by 10 am, and locals were buying their lunch already. We did find a lovely little place called Belle Pepper where we had eggs on toast and some much-needed coffee and some bottles of water. The staff were really friendly and suggested we add some of their homemade pepper sauce. It had some great flavour and brought breakfast to the next level. They should sell it by the bottle, it would sell really well. They have a second location down on the west coast in Hasting that has the same menu. It was a great introduction to Bajan food and would definitely go back if we were in the area.

After breakfast, we walked to the wharf and around the port area people watching and seeing what we could find off the beaten track. We passed the Kensington Oval cricket ground and the road with Rihanna's childhood home. Most people have this as a stop on one of the Island tours and it isn't really a tourist area apart from this. We headed back into town via a small mall to top up our water, and a little further along found a Chefette. What a gem these places are! Nice and cool with great food. Burgers, pizza, chicken, shakes, juice - we had a veggie burger and chips (Veggie burger Pak) and some thick shakes, and wow were they thick. MacDonald's only lasted 3 months on the island and I can see why when they already have such a good choice here and to me, it was a lot tastier than other chains.

Once back in the centre of town we decided to get one of the local buses down to the south of the island and explore more of the areas we think we will be moving to. We had seen lots of ZR buses whizzing around while we walked and I had the local bus app called BeepBus which tells you which of the three buses go where you want and where the stops are. All the ZR buses have a ZR at the start of their registration number and a burgundy stripe down the side, not to be confused with the taxis that look similar. They are regulated by the government and unlike some of the other local transport, they do give change.

ZR buses are an experience to be had. They are fast, loud and stop to let people on and off like they are doing an F1 pit-stop, but don't be put off, you have to experience it! We used these a lot during the week here, there are lots of them (so you never have to wait long for the next one) and the ride costs 3.5 BBD (around £1.50) whether you are going 1 stop or all of them. They are an incredibly popular form of transport with the Bajans. This is a little taste of what the ride is like.

We hopped on, and got off near Miami Beach. This is a nice little beach with a food truck and a facilities block (the green building). We tried the fishcakes, just 1 BBD each got more water, and had a few hours walking along the beach, having a paddle and relaxing in a bit of shade.

By this point, it was mid-afternoon, and I don't think I could have walked any further. We had done more in one day than I had managed in a month back home, so we got into another ZR back to the hotel. We spent a few hours on the balcony just enjoying the lovely warm weather and watching the waves go by.

That evening we had our evening meal in the hotel restaurant, The Lighthouse in the Hilton Resort. We would have gone out if I could have walked further since we wanted to experience local life, more than the tourist resort, but it was a nice meal. It was expensive in comparison to what we had seen out of the resort but it was very tasty and we had our first Rum punch.

Steps - 33,030

Costs (between 2 people)

Belle Pepper - 28 BBD (approx. £11.54)

Chefette - 30.95 BBD (approx. £12.75)

ZR ride - 7BBD (approx £2.88 for 2 people)

Miami Beach hut - 12 BBD (approx £4.95)

ZR ride - 7BBD (approx £2.88 for 2 people)

Lighthouse restaurant - 148.65 BBD (approx. £61.50)