Farsighted Fly Girl

I had no intention of traveling to Mexico to hang out with pirates. Cozumel was a popular hideout for pirates during the 17th century but this is the new millennium. Pirates are played out. So when I gazed at the Jean Lafitte floating slowly toward the Cozumel dock, I didn't know what to think. Until I spied Pork Chop or Chuleta, as I liked to call him, in his Mexicana pink shirt, brandishing a sword. I knew I was in trouble. El Capitain peered down from the ship's mast with a nefarious expression. He looked like he was sizing up people to loot. El Capitain climbed further up the mast with Sparky, hovering over everyone and everything in the ship. My stomach dropped. Should I jump overboard? Hideout in the lower deck? Break out my silk scarf, fashion it into a pirate doo-rag and join them? Then the whole motley crew descended upon us. They started going through purses, pulling off rings, hugging and kissing women and eyeing watches. El Capitain examined Laura's pearls but ...

A cricket obsession, a pub culture centered around rum shops and the people's reserved manner, have helped earn Barbados the nickname of "Little England." The island definitely exudes a singular quality that blends Caribbean spirit with a British sensibility. I found the best example of this in the quiet village of Speightstown, on the Eastern coast. Founded in 1653, Speightstown is the second biggest town in Barbados, after Bridgetown. It's a sleepy place filled with crumbling, historic buildings and serene beaches. I found the town charming, from my first stop at the iconic Fisherman's pub, which serves flying fish burgers and a spray of sea water if you sit too close to the beach side windows, to the outdoor market spilling over with papayas, plantains and pudding & souse. I have scary childhood memories about souse, which is a gory mix of pig parts, that my grandmother would make but it's a popular Bajan ritual to buy the stuff on Saturdays...