During my one month stay in Barbados, which was the first majority black country I visited outside of Nigeria, I found a few things that I thought might be interesting. Here are 12 of them:

1. The official language is English but the average tourist will not understand what the locals are saying. Barbadians speak english with a heavy Caribbean accent which makes it a bit difficult to understand.

2. From the far north of the island in st. Lucy to the far south of Oistins, there were a LOT of abandoned houses scattered across the island and I’ve never seen these many abandoned properties anywhere else i’ve visited.

3. Coming from Nigeria where 99.1% of the women wear wigs, I was surprised to see that the majority of Barbadian women wear their natural African hair and they love the ponytail up-do. It was refreshing to see black women accept their natural hair and I loved that.

Also, lots of Nigerian women wear full blown “bridal” makeup all day, everyday which I find ridiculous but Barbadian women most of the time leave their faces in it’s natural state. Yes in Bridgetown a few young women wore more makeup than usual, especially the staff of cosmetic stores like Mac or others. However it was not as excessive as in Nigeria.

4. Barbadians love to eat okra, plantain, crushed yams and they are absolutely obsessed with their coconut water.

5. Barbadians in the service industry are very professional. I can’t even compare the service to that of the Nigerians because sadly, it is unmatched.

6. There are a lot of churches in Barbados, protestant, catholic, baptist, anglican, you name it.

7. There might be a lot of churches in Barbados but it’s nothing compared to the over 1500 rum bars present on the 34km by 23km island.

8. Based on my observation, Barbadian men are generally respectful of women regardless of what they’re wearing. A woman could be scantily clad with her boobs exposed, standing next to a man on the bus and he won’t even bate an eye. I found this interesting because I come from a place where wearing sexy clothing would attract cat calls from men, some of which could go as far as grabbing your arm and shouting “ashawo” meaning slut.

9. Barbados is a well developed country with 24/7 Electricity, security and roads that could use some work. My friends say Barbados has an “American vibe” to it, does it really?.

10. Barbadians love Nigerian Nollywood movies. I was absolutely surprised when my Airbnb host kept naming Nollywood movies he’s seen, he and his wife also said their dream was to visit Lagos Nigeria. His wife went on to say that because her husband is obsessed with and has seen too many Nigerian movies, he doesn’t need to see the country anymore because he’s already half a Nigerian. Hilarious!

11. Sugarcane is the main crop grown all over the island. I barely saw any farms growing staple foods like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions etc, I mean these farms exist but not on the same scale as the sugarcane plantations. I guess because island food production is low, they import almost all their food and the prices are accordingly.

12. Barbadians are very nice people and will offer help to you without you asking for it! Kind locals saved me from taking the wrong bus a few times and it gave me some hope in the world.

To learn more about Barbados, contact me and i’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

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PS: The information provided on this page is based solely on my personal experiences and should not be considered as legal advice. Five foot nomad is not liable for any misrepresentation or misinterpretation of any and all posts on its website.