Bridgetown - There´s a Time and a Place

Although the island of Barbados is rather small finding your way is not that easy, as sugar cane fields and palm trees cover much of the island and there are no real landmarks at street crossings. At the Belair crossing was a rotting sugar mill and from there roads led to five different directions. A guy was leaning on a palm tree and no surprise, he could give us the direction to the Mount Gay Rum Distillery. „Don´t  swing no left no right. Straight down the hill and you fall into it“. He certainly could find the way with closed eyes. The distillery is a very traditional place. Actually I didn’t  expect many people heading Monday morning for rum tasting. A mistake, as the place was very lively. In front the warehouse some guys were loading huge trays of rum into small trucks. I already saw these vehicles when cruising the island. They supply the rum bars all over the island. Inside the old colonial building a lady greeted us and she came right to the point: „Gentlemen, let´s do some rum drinking“. The bar was already occupied by some elderly locals. I couldn’t figure out if they were already retired, never had a job or that their love for heavy rum drinking let them look older as they actually were. However the rum was exceptional, especially the premium ones. Until Barbados, rum was for me something poisonous, nothing to enjoy. This changed here: wind in the palm trees and a glass of 1703: There´s certainly a time and a place.