Colonial History
Departs 20th November 2008, from Edinburgh/London Gatwick/Manchester, for 15 nights.
Overview | Lecturers | Shore Excursions | Itinerary | Prices | Deck Plans
Barbados is proud of its British heritage – Bridgetown even boasts a statue of Nelson. Here we visit Tyro Cot, a living museum in a great house and a heritage village.The house itself, built in 1854, was the former home of Sir Grantley Adams the island’s first Premier. We visit St. Nicolas Abbey, built in 1660 and one of only three genuine Jacobean mansions in North America, and then to Mount Gay – the world’s oldest rum producer.
Leaving Port of Spain, we visit Trinidad and Tobago’s oldest town, St. Joseph. Founded in 1592, it served as the capital of Spanish Trinidad until 1783.We also visit the town’s Catholic cemetery and nearby square, followed by a drive through coffee and cocoa plantations.
From St. Georges, Grenada, we visit Gouyave. Dubbed “The Town that Never Sleeps”, it was the first French settlement on the island and previously occupied and farmed by the native Carib Indians.
Our tour on Aruba takes us to three of the island’s top attractions: the Butterfly Farm; Aruba Aloe Balm Facility, where we’ll see the process which produces lotions and creams; and a remarkable natural bridge carved from solid coral by the relentless pounding of the surf, before returning to the capital, Oranjestad.
Starting in Road Town, our tour of Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, takes us to the Botanical Gardens,Trellis Bay on Beef Island and local crafts, as well the Old Government House Museum.
On Antigua we visit places off the beaten track, as well as the Antigua and Barbuda Museum. While on St. Kitts we take to specially modified Land Rovers to discover the real island; swaying sugar canes and quaint country villages, driving
along cultivated coastline, before travelling up into the cool mountain forests.We’ll stop at a number of sugar plantations, as well passing through parts of the lush rainforest with a chance to glimpse its wildlife.
From Roseau on Dominica, we visit the home of the only remaining Carib Indians in the Caribbean, where we can discover the beauty and heritage of these native peoples. A fifteen minute walk through the Rainforest in the Trois Pitons National Park brings us to the 50 feet high cascading waterfall of the enchanting Emerald Pool.
The Desmond Skeete Animation Centre on St. Lucia, with its vivid depiction of the island’s history, is the start point of our tour.Which also visits the island’s important historical locations, many of them from the time of the Napoleonic Wars.
