To get to know Barbados, you want to plan a trip that combines a  beach vacation with the local culture. As your Barbados travel agent advisor, I can design a trip that meets with your own unique preferences. For example, one way to get introduced to the island is to visit the different parishes, each of which has its own character and personality. If you are on a couples' holiday, head toward the Gap, where you can dine and dance the night away. Are you seeking an outdoor adventure? If so, why not dive into the island's aquamarine blue waters and see the world beneath the waves? If you have never scuba-dived or snorkeled before, Barbados is the ideal place to learn the activities. A postcard perfect coral island, surrounded by golden sands, Barbados is a tropical and sunny enclave. The island's locals, the Bajans, are both kind and welcoming, and accommodations are first-rate. Land-based sports and water activities are never in short supply, so I know you will love the time you spend on this popular Caribbean isle. Barbados is located 100 miles east of St. Lucia in the Windward Islands and is about 1,600 miles from Miami, which is located to the northwest. The island, somewhat triangular in shape, measures about 21 miles from the northwest to southeast and around 14 miles from east to west. The total area covers approximately 165 square miles. Because of the island's small size, rain clouds often pass over the area without dropping a single drop of water. Originally, Barbados was covered completely by trees, which were cleared for plantations and for fueling the fires that made molasses from sugar cane. Today, white mangroves are found over the area. Look at the plant close up and you will notice the grains of salt  it regularly secretes. Red mangroves are also found on the island, usually in the area of Graeme Hall Swamp.  While it is okay to inspect mangrove leaves upclose, you cannot do the same if you see a tree on the island, called a manchineel. The plant is found on several beaches and may vary in size from several feet high to over 30 feet tall. The trees have side-spreading and deep-forked boughs that display dark and small leaves with yellow stems.  The fruit on the trees resemble green apples, which is toxic, so beware. Also, the tree's sap causes painful blisters, so jump into the sea if you come into contact with gooey liquid. In fact, early Caribs used to dip their arrowheads into the sap before hunting trips. The sap is often released when a branch is broken. I often suggest that birdwatchers take a vacation to Barbados, as the island offers great bird watching activities. For example, the island features two types of hummingbird, including avian species, such as the kingbird, egret, cowbird, parakeet, dove, and tanager. The emerald throat hummer and straight-billed Antillean crested hummer, known as the doctor bird,  often are found fluttering near the island's beautiful flowers. If you visit during the winter, you will see wintertime callers, such as wood sandpipers and the vibrant Christmas bird. Coconut palms are seen everywhere on Barbados as well. The leaves of the tree are used for roofing thatch or cut into strips for weaving into mats, baskets, or hats. The husks yield a fiber called coir, resistant to salt water, which is used for brushes, ropes, or brooms.  The green coconut  contains delicious coconut milk and the meat may be eaten raw or baked for its oil. The oil is used in cooking, for making soap, or commercially, for manufacturing  hydraulic brake fluid. As you sightsee around the island, you might glimpse people splitting coconuts with machetes to harvest the meat.  Whether you go to Barbados to birdwatch or see the island scenery, or want to snorkel, swim, scuba dive, or relax by the pool, talk to me about your vacation ideas. As your Barbados travel agent professional, I will do everything I can to make your island vacation memorable. Give me a call or contact me by email today. Let's start planning your trip now.