It’s time to plan the vacation again, and you know for sure that you want to spend it very differently than you did in the past. A different vacation because perhaps, the year so far has been exhausting and stressful with all the talk of job cuts, economic uncertainty, and now even swine flu. Why not just go for a hike, that is, a hiking vacation, and on the peaceful Caribbean tropical island of Barbados? Get back to nature, interact with friendly people, refresh yourself with scenic hikes, fresh air and the soothing sounds of the waves against the fine sand beach.

A Barbados hiking vacation takes you on a journey that reveals the uniqueness of Barbados and the people of Barbados, through four scenic, revealing and positively memorable hikes. The walks and accompanying stories highlight how Barbados was born, seemingly out of nowhere beginning in 1627, when the British settled and transformed a jungle that others rejected, into the jewel it is today. Even the geological formation of the island is a unique story of something “out of nowhere”. Many visitors to the island look forward to meeting local village personalities and learning about prominent Barbadians from times past.

Walking along a crisp brown sugar sand beach on the east coast, one can explore the sandy shoreline and discover “sea coconuts”, “lucky seeds”, a washed up Portuguese man of war, just to mention a few likely finds. . Venturing inland there are different surfaces to walk on, namely uphill grassy trails and bumpy sandy clay trails. You continue to ascend to a height of 167 m (547 ft), to reach the very windy lookout, which offers a wide panoramic view of 15 percent of the island.

Descending from this viewpoint along more rugged trails, which give way to paved roads, you enter a typical Barbadian town. A village of wooden houses, concrete houses, at least five small churches, in this small community, and of course not forgetting the rum shops, surprisingly only two serve this village. Visit a town resident who is an accomplished potter and is a descendant of potters dating back 200 years.

These hills of the Scotland district are a fusion of sandstone, clays and alluvial mud. This part of the island actually looks like another country, compared to the other eighty-five percent of the land mass. In fact, geologists refer to this District of Scotland as Ancestral Barbados, and it is actually material from another country, which is three hundred miles south of Barbados. From this seemingly inconsequential material, Barbados was formed, emerging like a sphinx from the Atlantic Ocean, only two million years ago.

Learn about Manjak, its various uses while visiting what remains of this mine. Manjak is a type of hydrocarbon that was used as fuel in the furnaces of local trains, it was also exported to be used as a main ingredient in the manufacture of black paint, as well as in the production of the first, but brittle, 33 discs vinyl music 1/3.

On a Barbados hiking holiday, you can visit a national park, the location of the ruins of a historic Great House, and, via wagon tracks, a wildlife preserve. The highlight is a heritage site, a grand 355-year-old Jacobian-style plantation house, steeped in history, stories of greed and murder, to name just a few. It is a working sugar plantation, with a fully renovated and working 19th century steam mill that is used to extract sugar cane juice. Just last year 2008 this old plantation won an international award for its very fine rum, its outstanding stories continue.

In this area there are cozy rural villages, a very picturesque viewpoint that offers a majestic view of the Scottish district. a two-hundred-year-old sugar mill, which operates during the local harvest season, effectively demonstrating how sugar cane juice was extracted with wind energy. There is also an interesting goat farmer, who is a popular newspaper columnist and musician for a local marching band, a prominent personality in his own right.

There are downhill trails for those who don’t want to get into hilly terrain, as well as flat, rugged, and scenic coastal trails. Barbados offers trails that lead between sugar cane fields and ravines (also known as ravines) with rock formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and flow stones.

A hiking vacation in tropical Barbados is rewarding in many ways, fresh healthy air and exercise, with vitamin D from the sun, a relaxing and welcome change of pace, as you discover a new land and its people. Being in the natural environment is relaxing and has been shown to be therapeutic for the spirit, soul and body. A healthy and rejuvenating way to spend a vacation.

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