“Would you like a rum punch?” the receptionist asked first thing as I checked into South Beach Hotel. I was in Barbados, the birthplace of rum and known for Mount Gay Distillery, which dates back to 1703.
Instead of getting sensitive and protective, like I sometimes still do, and brusquely saying no, I asked if they had anything nonalcoholic. Which of course they do—I hardly invented nondrinking. I sat in the sunny lobby with a glass of sweet fruit punch, the first of many nonalcoholic alternatives I would drink during five days in the land of rum. Sure, there’s a lot of rum in Barbados, and it might feel slippery for newly sober folks. But if you’re secure in your sobriety and are interested in water sports, history, Caribbean culture and/or nature, it’s an easy place to spend a week.
Getting around Barbados
Barbados is only 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, but between traffic and road conditions, it takes a while to get around the island. I was there as a working travel writer, and Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. arranged a driver to take me around to my scheduled activities. There’s no Uber in Barbados. I learned from a local that it’s usual to have a particular driver you rely on. There are also buses and regular taxis cruising around. Or you can rent a car, if you’re prepared to drive on the left side of the road.
My driver, Kevin Ifill, quickly became my best buddy on the island. We spent many hours together over five days. He put up with my incessant barrage of questions: What do Barbadians (also called Bajans) think of gay people? Does anybody quit drinking here? Are you a cat or a dog person? What’s that building? (Okay for tourists, but still some stigma; possibly some older people for health reasons; cat, with a darling tuxedo named Bruce; varied, because I asked about at least 20 different buildings).
If you’re planning a trip, where you stay on the island will make a big difference. I spent three nights in the South Beach Hotel on the busy south side of the island. I could jump the waves in Rockley Beach across the street, jog on a nice 1-km boardwalk, and have easy access to espresso shops, a juice bar, and other wonders of modern life. Then I spent two nights at Eco Lifestyle + Lodge on the much wilder east side of Barbados. The water is too rough for safe swimming, the terrain is hilly and it’s more remote. “The east coast is considered the relaxing or medicated coast,” one of my island guides, Pedro Morgan, explained. Since I’m not into medicating these days (beyond coffee) I’ll think of it as meditative. It’s definitely the quieter side of the island, but there are still things to do, such as walking to fishing villages or the Andromeda Botanical Garden.
Scuba diving!
My main goal in visiting Barbados was to become a certified scuba diver. I’d already done my online study at home, as well as what are called “confined dives”—i.e. donning scuba gear and diving in a local pool for two days. In Barbados, I did four real open water dives with Edwin Blackman of Hightide Watersports. Edwin was funny, but also exuded tough love. I have a lifelong habit of fumbling with gear, then getting somebody else to do it for me (maybe a trait of being the youngest kid in the family?). Edwin was having none of it. “You are a diver. Figure it out.” Nor was he impressed with my need as a travel writer to take photos of my training. “Put that camera away. Concentrate on your gear.” We spent two afternoons together, practicing skills like getting in and out of scuba gear while in the water, doing a controlled emergency swim to the surface to simulate an out of air situation, and even using a compass to do underwater navigation. I’m thrilled to announce I passed!
What’s so great about diving? Edwin’s been doing it for 35 years. He sums up, “I get away from humans. I get to explore nature in peace and quiet. It’s a different world down there. Total peace and quiet and relaxing. You become part of nature. You feel different. You just feel something different to explore.”
Other things to do in Barbados
There were tons of fun things to do in Barbados, some of which I didn’t. If I’d had more time, I really would have liked to see one of the island’s many offshore shipwrecks by diving or snorkeling. There’s even a submarine tour that takes you down 150 feet! And a catamaran tour where you can jump off and snorkel with turtles.
My first full day there, I joined the Island Safari Tour. Seven of us—a family of four from Canada, a British couple and me—climbed into the back of a rumbly safari truck for a five-hour look at Barbados. Our driver/tour guide, Pedro Morgan, narrated while we bumped down roads both paved and unpaved. We learned about island history, culture and vegetation, had a rum punch break (no, thanks, I brought my water bottle) and spotted a few green monkeys. The monkeys are one of two imported species who run rampant on the island, along with the mongoose. The mongoose was brought over to kill small rodents and snakes. Poor planning, as the mongoose is diurnal and the rats are nocturnal.
I was especially intrigued by Blackman’s Bridge, commonly known as the Molasses Bridge. Constructed in 1682, this approximately 110-foot-long bridge was constructed of limestone boulders held together with white lime, sand, molasses and egg whites!
I also attended the extremely touristy Harbour Lights dinner show. This three-hour review is in a big outdoor venue on Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, the island’s capital. The opening parts of the show reminded me of a 1950s musical, complete with a comic drunk guy dance-staggering around the stage with an enormous fake bottle of rum. Hardy har har. My mood went up and down over the three hours. I think I was the only person out of about 300 who was there alone. And maybe one of the few not partaking of the open bar. The good parts were the incredible performers—stilt walkers on giant stilts, a voracious fire eater, women in huge Carnival headdresses, and Mother Sally, a local fertility figure with an enormous booty. The less comfortable parts were the pressured audience participation. I hid during the conga line, but I joined in the strange act of waving a giant wienie-shaped balloon in the air during one song. I later asked Kevin if that was really a Barbadian custom. He said, “Uh, no. Tourists do that.” If you’re visiting Barbados with your sober crew, you might have a good time here. Maybe not the top stop for lone people in recovery.
Barbados history
The tourist scene is a lot of beach lounging, balloon waving fun and games. But a trip to the Barbados National Museum quickly reminds you what the country was built on. As I walk through the 19th century military prison checking out the exhibits, I find myself standing in front of a case with a grapefruit-sized metal ball sitting on a piece of burlap. Without any fanfare or editorializing, the tag reads, “Iron Ball. Used as a form of punishment, it was attached by a chain and iron band to a slave’s legs. This restricted movement and prevented escape.” The next display over is “Silver Slave Brand, c. 1800.”
Barbados was second only to Jamaica for number of enslaved people (1,019,596 for Jamaica, 493,161 for Barbados) brought to its shores between 1627 and 1807. Slavery was abolished in Barbados in 1834. More than 90% of Barbados’ current population is Black. The biggest tourism markets are Brits, Canadians and Americans. Based on my informal research of looking around me, most of these tourists are white. Obviously, there’s lots going on under the surface of the country and its citizens.
A legacy of slavery is painful, personal and thorny, and not something I wanted to bring up casually. But David Collymore, 57, an aspiring organic farmer, openly shared his views while giving a tour of the PEG biodynamic farm in the rural eastern part of the island. In between introducing us to free range chickens and describing the medicinal use of various plants, he talked about the complicated legal, financial and emotional legacy of slavery, and especially how it affects current land ownership. One very sensitive area: reparations. In 2015, the UK government finished paying off former slave owning families who lost out financially from the abolition of slavery. Now, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is trying to get $4.9 trillion from former slave-owning nations. “And she’s really serious about it, you know?” said Collymore, who hopes Mottley is successful in bringing this money back to Barbados. I asked him if resentment carries over to white British tourists. “Bajan people are very tolerant. And I don’t think that they really care about that kind of stuff. The majority of people. They’re just too busy trying to live and feed their families and stuff like that.”
However, Collymore would like to see Barbados develop agriculture more and become less dependent on tourism. Growing up, his generation had hospitality drilled into their heads via television. “As a boy, every time you look around, you hear a commercial: ‘Tourism is your business. You’ve got to play your part.’ So, people come up with that mentality, you know? The tourist, you know, that that’s a very important, vital part of our—that’s how we survive.”
What to drink if not rum?
Barbados is a pretty drinky culture. Locals order rum by the bottle at rum bars. Tourists sprawl under beer-branded beach umbrellas. I got offered lots of rum punch. But like all destinations for sober travel, you’ll be happier focusing on all the things you can do, rather than what you’re missing out on. Diving, swimming, ebiking and such are all better done sober. And if you get thirsty, all you have to do is ask a bartender what they can whip up sans alcohol at Barbados’ ubiquitous bars. Or better yet, juice bars. My stay at South Beach Hotel was very convenient to Raw Juice Barbados (I recommend Up D Beet, a beet/pineapple/ginger concoction) and Italia Coffee Barbados (lots of shady outdoor seating, no extra charge for soy milk). Some upscale places, such as The Tides, where I got a delicious ginger/lime smash, have mocktail sections on their menus.
If you need 12-step support, Barbados has AA. You can read about its history on the island here. Overall, Barbados is a beautiful island to visit. There are plenty of things to do for sober folks, as long as you feel secure enough in your sobriety to dodge offers of rum punch.
Disclaimer: While this article was not sponsored, The Sober Curator did visit Barbados during a press trip with Visit Barbados. As always, The Sober Curator operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
About Teresa Bergen
Teresa Bergen had the great good fortune to quit drinking very young and has enjoyed long-term sobriety. She lives in Portland, Oregon but travels all over the world as a travel writer. She also works in the oral history field, helping to document and preserve history. Learn more HERE.
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