Before I write anymore, I thought I would share this map so you know where we were when all the excitement was happening.

Big brother Chris and his wife Anneke flew down from Canada to join us. My holidays started the day they arrived, and so our first order of business was to be tourists and go on a rum distillery tour.

After a tour of the actual distillery, we ended up in a quaint bar for a rum tasting. Our bartender was very knowledgeable about rum and we did learn a few things we did not know before.

The first thing we learned was how to set up a rum tasting!

After leaving the rum tasting with a lovely bottle of “Premium” rum, we started to spend a bit of time on one of the many lovely beaches. Just down the hill from us, we met up with the “Original Pineapple Man”.

We get to see the OP Man most days and he always gives us a little rap.

We felt that we should be enjoying as many sunsets as possible on the beach and so for Christmas day itself, we went off to the east coast to have a lovely Christmas day lunch, leaving the evening for another sunset on the beach.

The next day, we decided to do a bit of sailing. The only catch is that we can only fit two people in our yacht, so others had to stay ashore and watch.

Over the holidays, we also took a some time to cruise around the island and have a look at a few of the interesting things to see and do.

One of my favourite features is the Morgan-Lewis Windmill. According to Chris, the kind young guide, this windmill was in operation from about 1700 or so until the 1960s, for an astonishing 250 years.

The tail was used to reposition the windmill for optimum angle to the wind.

The vanes of the windmill were covered in canvas to act as sails.

The mill, at the back, is an impressive piece of work. Since it was turned by the wind, there was no brake. So, they would keep a machete nearby in case someone caught their arm in the teeth of the mill. They could chop your arm off before you were totally milled to pulp!

On our tours of the island, we also took the opportunity to pass by the church where Anneke’s brother was married many years ago.

We also passed a few other very lovely spots including …

At one point, we spent the day at the Barbados Cruising Club, a place we sometimes frequent in order to take advantage of their good food and a lovely beach (there are lovely beaches everywhere, but then you need to appreciate the variations on a good theme).

After the cruising club, we toured a bit further south to a familiar sunset bar where we had our very first Barbados sunset drink ever during our housing tour of the island.

As their visit neared its inevitable end, we decided to hit the town or at least another restaurant nearby for a lovely final meal.

Next stop, 2020!