The first time I was down on the South Coast where the nightlife goes on and on forever! However, whilst there I found out about the All Seasons and came here the next year. And here I am again!

However, this year I hired a car for myself and my friends and we’ve ventured further than the West Coast (which is still beautiful!) However, we discovered the East Coast, and the Bathsheba beach.  It really is another world on the East Coast.  The Atlantic sea air is always blowing and so the landscape is much more windswept and rugged.  The waves are bigger and we saw some amazing surfers taking advantage of them.

The beach stretched on for miles and it was littered with giant boulders, that have been eaten away at the base by the relentless waves.  It felt truly calming to me and despite the noise of the wind, I felt that it was serene.  The open expanse of sea and endless sand made me completely forget about home life.

My friends and I then decided to play a game – let’s see who can run to the rock the fastest. So we zoomed along the beach laughing and giggling, splashing through streams that fed the ocean and watching crabs scrabbling out of our way.  I didn’t win the race but it didn’t matter. We all collapsed by the rock and looked back along the beach, watching the sea spray whip into the air and the surfers, now quite small, riding the waves.

The beach was mostly empty, which added to the feeling of calm, and with the rocks to protect us from the wind we settling into a relaxing morning on the beach.

It soon started nearing lunch time and with our rumbling tummies we decided to return to the car and tour more of the island.  We walked along looking into the small rock pools that nestle along the sea shore.  The beach here is very rocky and the waves and current are so strong that swimming is not possible. But we did see a couple sat in the rock pool which looked like a great way to enjoy the beach!

We finally made it back to the car and as we were discussing where to drive to next I searched for the keys. But to my horror, I realised that I had left my handbag open as we were running and the keys must have fallen out! My friends first thought I was joking until they saw the colour drain from my face.

Desperately we ran back along the beach retracing our footsteps from our last run.  The tide had started coming in closer and some of my friends footsteps were already being lapped by the encroaching sea! I was panicking and couldn’t think what to do.  Then suddenly, sat on the ground only a metre away from where the sea was now reaching, sat the keys! I couldn’t believe my luck! In this vast expanse of sand, I had found a small shiny key!

With relief poring out of me, I clung onto the key and we walked our way back to the car. We carried on and found a lovely little cafe to have lunch at and ended up having a really enjoyable day on the beach.  But next time I think I will stay in the safety of the All Seasons rather than go through that panic again!

There is so much to see and do in Barbados that each year brings new experiences.  This year I tried something that I would never do before – surfing!

My young son has been coming out with us each year. Well I say young, but he’s now ten! Anyway, this year he really wanted to go surfing and so my husband and I decided to take him.  After asking at the hotel reception they recommended an instructor called Boosy (they assured me it’s not because he’s drunk the whole time!) and so my husband and son called him to arrange a class.

So we set off early Friday morning for the boys to have their lesson while I would take the photos. However, I didn’t know that really they had been arranging a class for all of us! So when we turned up at the beach on the south coast of Barbados and I was shocked to see Boosy pulling out surfboards for us all. At first I said “No way!” but my husband and son were really keen for me to try and Boosy was very reassuring and said that if I felt really bad once we were out there then he wouldn’t make me pay.

Nervously, I agreed and we ran through the basics on the grass at the top of the cliff. The views over the ocean were breathtaking and seeing the gentle waves rolling into shore, I actually started to get a bit excited (though don’t tell my husband!)

After a few practice jumps, where it turns out that I am “goofy-footed”, we braved the sea.  Boosy had found a great beach for us to learn on – the sand gently sloped downwards so that when I was about 50 metres from the shore I could still stand up and know that if I fell off it was only sand underneath me.

There were a couple of other beginners there too, and Boosy was great at making sure that everyone kept getting turns and essential pointers on how to improve.  Eventually it was my go and he pushed my board to help me catch my first wave…I was so nervous that I couldn’t even get onto my knees! So I body boarded in but that was great fun!

Next time round I was more eager to try it properly but as I clambered up on my board, in a very undignifed manner I kept tumbling off into the sea! Thankfully the waves were small and gentle so there was never any worry about getting hurt – in fact falling in was fun!

But then I saw my husband and son actually getting up! And of course they teased me and made jokes that I couldn’t do it. Well that got me! I was determined! So with some more coaching from Boosy I prepared myself for my next wave…he launched me forward and I got to my knees, got to my feet and for a couple of seconds I was actually up and standing! Almost as soon as I realised I’d done it I was flying back into the water! But my boys were very impressed and as a treat carried my surf board back up to the top for me.

Another great Barbados holiday with my boys. I’m not sure that I will be a professional surfer yet, but I may have to sneak off for another lesson when we next come back!

I enjoyed the view of Barbados’ West Coast from the boat and our captain pointed out all the important landmarks. We reached our turtle spotting destination in about twenty minutes and as the boat pulled to a stop, we were able to gaze through the water that was beautifully clear and still. Once we were all ready, the captain handed out our masks and snorkels. I put mine on and, following my boyfriend, slowly climbed down the step ladder and slipped into the water.

I immediately screamed and hung on to my boyfriend for dear life! We were surrounded! Hundreds of turtles filled the sea as the captain fed them from the boat. Once I’d recovered from the initial amazement at the shear number of the turtles I was able to appreciate their amazing size and graceful way they swam through the water.

The turtles came so close to us that I was able to stroke them and see right into their sharp and wise eyes. It was easy to make out the different types of turtles. I can’t remember the real names but we called one type the yellow heads as they have such bright coloured yellow heads!

As we returned to Mullins Beach, my boyfriend surprised me by pulling a bottle of champagne out of his bag! Watching the palm trees zipping past, whilst thinking about the yellow headed turtles and their friends, with a cool glass of champagne in hand was simply magical. This was a truly incredible experience that I will never forget!