Bajan Water

It’s no secret,  Barbados in known all over the world for our world class beaches! The pristine beaches with beautiful white sand are free and open to everyone. The calm surf on the south and west coasts are great for bathing and snorkeling. The waters on the north and east coast has  some of the best surfing in the Caribbean.

A little known secret is that the drinking water in Barbados is really good! The water is clean smelling, has a great taste and is very refreshing. It could be bottled and sold in stores straight from the tap. Back home in Boston I never drink the municipal water although I cook and bathe with it.  Sadly, there are a few places in the US like in Flint, Michigan and other places in the world where you cannot use the water for any purpose!

I am sure that many of you have heard “Don’t drink the water” when traveling to some foreign countries. It does not apply to Barbados, you can drink as much as you want! In fact, when I go out to eat I usually have straight tap water and don’t bother with lemon or lime wedges.

Personally, I only started drinking tap water in Barbados last year. I used to buy 4 cases of bottled spring water at a time that would last about 3 weeks. Now that I think about it, I never saw anyone else with a cart full of bottled water. In fact, store employees  would always have to send a stock person to get the cases from out back for me.

We’ve had several plumbing issues this past week ranging from no water for 8 hours, low pressure, no hot water and a malfunctioning toilet. I’m not complaining too, too much because fortunately taking a cool shower in this hot and humid weather can be soothing and having bottled water and second toilet has been helpful.

On a side note, I saw our plumber at the Oistins Bay Garden and called out to him three times getting louder with each attempt. I called “Ian!” “Ian!” ” IAN!”, after the third time, I yelled “Shortman!” he turned around and said “Hey Calvin wha’ happen.” Shortman or Shortie, our plumber is a very muscular rasta-man about 5 feet tall who has long dreadlocks that nearly matches his short stature. His locks are wrapped in a huge cap that sits on the back of his head.

Back to the topic of water; When you talk about water, rain has to be part of the discussion. After all, it is the rainy season in Barbados (June to November). The rest of the year is the dry season although some Bajans think there is a winter season also (see blog post) “Bajans Don’t Like Cold Weather.” Out of the 30+ years I have been visiting Barbados, I can only recall a few days where it rained all day. Thursday was such a day, it rained and poured all day long!

When it rains like that, I think of the tourists visiting on cruise ships because they are in port for just a few hours. I also think of the people on a short holiday where even one rainout or non beach day of their 5 day or one week vacation impacts their stay. On rainy dreary days I like to go to Grannies restaurant in Oistins for some hearty chicken or fish soup. They also sell cow heel soup but I can’t get past the thought of having a cow’s foot in my food.

I close with a blind taste test by the McDowells with tap water and some of the popular bottled water in Barbados. Although the test did not put Barbados water as number 1, it was close. Which would you choose, $3.00 for bottled water or free water? I’ll take mine from the tap please!