It was an ordinary day. Visiting Oistins' Fish Fry which had tables filled with lobster, swordfish, red snapper, tuna, marlin, shark and mahi mahi. So where were my wife and I as well as our traveling roommates Jerry and Just Sue? We happened to be on one of my all-time favorite islands...Beautiful, Beautiful Barbados....gem of the Caribbean Sea! Barbados is said to be the culinary capital of the Caribbean enticing visitors like us with its spicy fusions of African, Portuguese, Indian, Irish, Creole and British cuisine. But wait...Barbados is also said to be the birthplace of rum! And...not just any rum, but beautiful, beautiful rum! In fact, the drink is entwined with the history of the island. Even before "rum" was common there, locals were brewing up "kill devil", a harsher liquor made from fermented sugar. Then, when molasses started being fermented into alcohol, the rum we know today was born, with the first use of the word appearing in 1688. At one time, visiting sailors developed aa taste the island's liquor, and demand soon grew back home in Europe as the sugar barons of Barbados saw their fortunes grow. Today, you'll find the ruins of old distilleries dotted around the island, but Barbados still continues to produce world-class rums using traditional local methods. The island still celebrates an annual Food and Rum Festival each October, where different rums are paired with local dishes by top chefs. You can also explore Barbados' love affair with rum during special tours organized by the tourist board. I can still remember visiting the Mount Gay Rum Distillery, said to be the oldest producer of Caribbean rum, or drop by the pretty St. Nicholas Abbey to visit the Morgan Lewis Windmill, one of only two restored sugar mills left in the Caribbean. But, one of my fondest memories is the music of the island. I can still sing, over and over and over again, one of the most beautiful and catchy songs from the Caribbean...
And, once you sing or hum it...you'll just have to do it over and over again. It is just so.....mesermerizing! If you would like to hear it yourself, try and Google "Beautiful Barbados" by the Merrymen and sing along! Warning...it will be extremely catching and it will be with you the rest of the day! And...after hearing it a few times...you'll just want to visit Barbados! Just wait and sea! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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