G2 SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2018 VANCOUVER SUN TRAVEL Participants in the Grand Kadooment, the final celebration of Barbados’ harvest, adorn themselves in colourful costumes. BARBADOS TOURIST BOARD CELEBRATE BAJAN CROP OVER Barbados’ sexy, colourful street party rivals Carnival and goes on for weeks NATALIE KOKONIS Bridgetown, Barbados: I got back to the hotel at 5 a.m., splattered with paint. The street party was still going on, but I simply couldn’t dance anymore. The locals and diasporas (Bar- badian expats) were better condi- tioned and better prepared for the IF YOU GO Foreday Morning party that goes with the two-month celebration The party to close Crop of Crop Over. Over season, the Grand Ka- I had been prepped for this night; dooment, takes place on the no open-toed shoes, cover your first Monday in August each hair, and wear disposable clothing; year. A national holiday in for the all-night party featured… Barbados, crowds flock to the paint! And lots of it. streets to see the incredible Revellers dipped their hands in and daring costumes of the buckets of paint, and flicked and participants. Barbados would rubbed it on one another. No one lure visitors any time of the was left unscathed as partygoers, year, but Crop Over encap- (what seemed like the whole is- sulates the island’s spirit land, and the tourists) took to the and culture and enhances streets, splashing paint, sashaying it tenfold. And the general and wukking up behind trucks as public can take part in the over-sized speakers thumped out spectacle. soca music. Sugar Bay Resort and Spa Three kilometres later, with the There are not too many re- morning sun rising, I was drenched sorts with the lapping waves in sweat and many, many colours of open ocean mere metres of paint. And this wasn’t even the away. But Sugar Bay Resort is main event; Kadooment Day was one and is a sprawling haven still to come. offering lush, green scenery, a After a few hours of sleep we range of bars and restaurants, were back on the same streets, combining international which showed no signs of the co- foods with al fresco dining. lourful jollity that took place, as we Palm trees, sun lounges, and headed to the Bridgetown Market. hammocks are sprinkled There’s something to be said for amongst the fine white sand, Barbadian buildings; the brighter, with the impeccable and the better. Vendors in pink, yellow, celestial ocean awaiting just blue, and green sweetly-painted Barbados is the easternmost island in the Caribbean and surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. outside your suite. wooden stalls and little huts, showcased hand-crafted jewelry as the tramcar pulled to a halt, the was back home for the season. and ornaments, flora, and a range urge to stretch a finger out to touch “This is the one time of year of Bajan delicacies. the surface was almost too much. where I stop; it’s something that’s To keep the party going we head- “I’m watching youuu!” our very close to my heart. Me and ed for the beach and set sail for the charismatic guide heckled out my friends love it. We’ve got like, open water with the lively crew of each time she sensed an act of a whole crew of people that don’t Jammin’ Catamaran Cruises. We rebellion coming from one of us. see each other throughout the motored past a pirate-themed The stalagmites and stalactites year, and then we all come together ship and another cruise liner, at Harrison’s Cave have taken on again.” (with whom we had an on-deck such animated forms; they have On the eve of Kadooment Day, a dance-off – the oceanic version of monikers such as the “little vil- series of concerts took place with drag-racing), and glided through lage,” the “alter” (people get pro- the final aptly titled, 1 Love. Art- the clear, aquamarine Caribbean posed to and married in front of ists delivered messages of equal- waters. this endearing formation), and ity, peace, love, and community Awaiting us on the deck; a Bajan the “soda straws.” Waterfalls and between songs. Trinidadian soca feast – macaroni pie, flash-fried streams in the caves added a sense artist, Machal Montano, thrilled fish, fried chicken. As the sun set, of calm wonderment. the crowd with an energetic per- the water glistened and the waves Above ground the party contin- formance, and as the heavens picked up the pace, as did the crew, ued. Crop Over is brimmed with opened up with a torrential down- who lead a spirited conga line to live music showcasing non-stop pour the masses delighted. “Some top off a wondrous day at sea. soca and artists from neighbour- rain won’t stop the fun in beautiful All of Barbados is on show dur- ing islands, such as Jamaica and Barbados,” a stranger scoffed. A tram takes you underground to explore Harrison’s Cave. ing Crop Over, a long-standing cel- Trinidad and Tobago. And indeed, the next day, the fi- ebration of the harvest, but there is Concerts and fiestas are held all nal day of Crop Over, the crowds I turned — vivid colour, elaborate the raucous celebrations at nearby enough splendour on the island to over the island during the festival, were in the highest of spirits, feathers, beads, sashes, and majes- beaches, basking in the relentless draw more than partygoers. and the settings of these events and the soca and calypso tunes tic head pieces were on di splay. sunshine, while others capped off For some adventure and explo- are vast and varied. From histori- resounded so loudly that it beat Even red maple-leafed costumed their day of walking the parade ration, we headed to the historical cal plantations, gardens, and polo hard in my chest as I watched the dancers representing Canada were (approximately nine kilometres Harrison’s Cave, a subterranean fields, to Kensington Oval and the parade go by. part of the crowd. of it), with a feast and some much- active cave that has been acces- Grantley Adams International The most looked-for masquer- Many times, throughout the pa- deserved rest. sible to the public via tramcar Airport, each celebration was per- ader of the parade was of course, rade, I caught myself wide-eyed, For tomorrow, it was back to since 1981. As we ventured under- fectly suited to its surroundings, Barbados’ favourite daughter, Ri- and waving enthusiastically at the business as usual – Crop Over was ground, the humidity of the caves showing off the diverse terrain and hanna, who delighted onlookers parade-goers dancing by me, them complete for another year. hit us — it was as warm inside the landscape of the island. with her elaborate and opulent smiling and waving back, before The writer was a guest of Tourism cave as it was outside. “I like the mixture of culture,” costume. moving on. Barbados. No one from the tour- Licks of hardened-white calcium said Teff Hinkson, a Barbadian- It was impossible not be swept As Kadooment Day came to a ism board read or approved of this were etched all over the walls, and born artist based in Toronto, who up in the celebrations. Everywhere close, scores of people continued article before publication..