After a very active day yesterday and a late night watching Monday Night Football, I slept in a bit today...until 7am. We arrived in Barbados early, and by 7am were alongside in the berth closest to the terminal (which is very nice, particularly on the return to the ship in the afternoon when we're very hot, tired and sweaty). G was already off the ship checking out the other ships in port. The only other cruise ship today was the Mein Schiff, a German cruise ship that used to be the Celebrity Mercury and on which we sailed 8 weeks around 2001-2002. It is kind of strange to see a ship that I know looks familiar, but different too.
It was immediately obvious that a molasses boat was unloading its cargo, as the entire port area smelled like molasses (which is a heck of a lot better than some ports smell). We knew from previous visits that the molasses was from Guyana and was imported by the Mount Gay Rum factory in Bridgetown for the production of their rum. Barbados no longer grows enough sugar cane to handle the demand for rum production. G actually met the 'molasses tester' on a visit last year. It is his responsibility to taste test various samples from each load for quality assurance. What a way to earn a living!!
Photo 2: A big Barbados tug boat.
