Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Bridgetown, Barbados...

I was out early for sailing to Barbados, and we had our second consecutive day of waiting on a late pilot therefore delaying our docking. Once we were cleared by the local authorities, we headed to the cruise terminal and downtown Bridgetown. Ann to stay in the shops in the terminal while Cathy and I continued along the Bridgetown waterfront walkway making our way to Wharf Road and the Chamberlain Swing Bridge. The city has an incredible history, and its streets are scattered with culture. In fact, downtown Bridgetown is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed protected for future generations to enjoy. We crossed the bridge to the southern entrance known as the Independence Arch, a monument celebrating the island’s independence from England’s colonies. Today we noticed all the buildings along the south side of the river have been fenced off and ready for redevelopment thereby eliminating our former haunts like the Bridge House. We started to head towards the Boat House Beach Bar and this area was also boarded up so we returned to Independence Square. The Square was nicely decorated by local schools with many Christmas trees. Leaving the Square, we met Ginny Stibolt and her husband Dean…we have known Ginny since our time on the world cruises…we had a nice chat and catchup. Ginny is a guest lecturer on the Viking Sea. We crossed back over the Chamberlain Bridge and stopped to see the National Heroes Square and the Parliament Buildings. We wondered around downtown and travelled along Swan Street, a narrow alleyway of a street lined with shops. The area is a great place to wander to see the locals…with Christmas only 11 days away, the streets were busy with shoppers. Looking for the magnificent Mutual Life Building, we found Flower Lane with its lovely wall art. From here we headed back to the ship and spent the afternoon on her back deck. The Zaandam docked between two nice yachts; the Seven Seas owned by Steven Spielberg and the Vertigo owned by Rupert Murdock. Another day in paradise…