bakergirl

Hi - I'll be arriving in Barbados with my 2 young children very soon. At the moment, I have a lovely weekly schedule of play groups and visits to parks/aquarium/library. Are there any mums (or dads!) of young ones with suggestions for me and my little ones, even specific beaches that you'd recommend? I'll be living in St. John, but I'd love ideas from any corner of the island. Thanks!

Foxy_fromCanada

Don't worry - you'll get plenty of ideas from the group here. Lots of moms/dads on this forum and they are very great about sharing information!

Welcome, and best of luck to you.
Foxy

shines

Hi there,

Well there is the following I know about

Tuesday - South coast toddlers group meet
Thursday - West coast toddlers group meet
Friday - Music - on south coast now

These are all morning events.

It depends on what your childrens schedules are like, my youngest sleeps in the morning so I don't go to them as I am loathe to miss the only bit of peace and quiet I get all day.

The beach at Bath at St John is supposed to be quite good for an east coast beach, otherwise the clamer beaches are mainly on the west coast and some on the south... all depends on the time of year and which way the wind is blowing from!

You will find life here VERY different with little ones but once you get used to it then it works - well for me it does anyway.. I let my little one sleep in the morning then normally spend most afternoons on the beach, just the 2 of us really until the older one finishes school... If we are not at the beach we might go to Farley Hill Park or just hang out in the garden.

There is also OceanPark - an aquarium with a splash zone and a play area which is good too, worth buying an annual membership if you plan to go more than 3 times a year, however they are closing certain parts of it so best find out more on that first.

Happy to meet up with new people tho, so give me a shout on here when you arrive or PM me your email addy if you like!

HTH S

bakergirl

Thanks! I just scoped out OceanPark, and I'm thinking the membership would definitely be worth it, especially since my kids would both be free. Thanks to both of you for your encouragement. I'm excited, but it certainly will be a big adjustment!

zanne

OP is removing the stingrays and the sharks, not worth the $ IMO anymore...

shines

I still can't find out why they are removing them, I asked last week when I was there but got no reply...

Do you think they are going to close down?

Foxy_fromCanada

It might be because it's a completely inappropriate environment for those animals, and OP actually killed one of them - accidentally, but still dead - a while back (but it was all hush-hush).

I'm sorry gang, but I'm on the other side of the fence on this one... those animals do not belong in the accommodations OP was giving them. You know me... diver girl wants the animals to stay in the sea.

zanne

I have heard bits and pieces of the back story regarding the whole thing from the inception. I have read about the incident that foxy is referring to...

The explanation, re: the departure of the animals, given in the recent email was that "over the long term these exhibits are not going to be economically feasible..." something to that effect. There are already about 1/2 as many rays-- I hope that they have been rehomed, or whatever is appropriate. Foxy, is that possible for the ones born in captivity?

I do agree with Foxy when it comes to the Sharks and the Rays, they must be bored out of their banana!

Foxy_fromCanada

Hm, I don't know... have to ask my marine biologist friends whether captive-born animals can be reintroduced to the wild sea. You might have a point there, Zanne.

I imagine it's expensive to keep and feed them, too. Maybe that's what they meant by economically not feasible.

I wonder if they've got plans to replace the sharks & rays with something else?

zanne

The rays eat really well, pounds and pounds of squid every day-- well who knows if they are bored of squid, probably!

But how could they have not know this from the onset of the project? It's not like the rays started demanding calamari with marinara sauce one day.

Foxy_fromCanada

shines

I am with you guys on the sentiments of not keeping things in cages/tanks - never been a fan of that myself...

I can't keep any pets that have to be locked up, don't start me on birds in cages...!

I hope they manage to rehome them into a better environment but have no idea how they will manage that one.

bakergirl

It seems like, even without the rays and sharks, it would still be a fun place to take kids - a break from the beach? Or is there not enough to see/do without those exhibits?

shines

I think it is still ok, I normally go in the morning, walk round the fish bit, let the kids play in the splash zone, give them lunch and then play in the play area... (with the kids too - kind aren't I? Although if they have been naughty I play and make them sit and watch LOL)

I guess if you go in the afternoons to see the feeding of the rays and the sharks then that would be a bit of a bummer...

S

Foxy_fromCanada

ROFL!!!

Thank you for this... I am having a bad day and that totally cheered me up!