I have heard that sometimes tourists know Bim better than we do and I find it hard to believe… Until now! The Sarnia Observer got advice from avid Sea Turtle fan Dr Julia Horrocks, who suggested a number of great ideas for tales of derring-do with a Bajan twist –

5. Explore Turner’s Hall Wood

It’s the last remaining tract of tropical rainforest on the island; it escaped the widespread clearance when the island was turned from forest into vast plantations and is a snapshot of how the island used to be before intense colonization.

The three different layers of vegetation low growing ferns and mosses, wild shrubs such as coffee and macaw palms, and the tall, dense cabbage palms and white cedars are home to the Barbados green monkeys.

Did you know there’s cinema other than Globe or Olympus? According to the UWI Professor, head east for something other than the usual star(s) –

7. Catch a movie

Watch a short documentary-style film at St. Nicholas Abbey on the history of Barbados and life on a sugar cane plantation.

The Abbey is one of the oldest buildings on the island the solid roof timbers are over 350 years old and have withstood several hurricanes. The curved gables and decorative stonework mark it as one of only three genuine Jacobean-style mansions left in the Western Hemisphere.

Breadfruit, avocado and calabash trees thrive in the garden behind the house and the massive prickly sandbox tree clocks in at well over 500 years old.

Now, you too have been armed with knowledge of Bajan avenues less travelled –

The late American novelist Herman Melville once suggested that the best destinations are often those that few know about at least they don’t warrant much of a guidebook listing and they are often much more about local landscapes, history and culture than about the number of stars a property garners.

“It is not down in any map; true places never are,” is how he penned it.

Combine Melville’s theory with another much bandied about quote “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” and it makes sense to approach a local to score the inside scoop on the “what and where” you don’t want to miss.