Located 99 miles from it's nearest neighbour, and the most easterly of the windward islands, Barbados is a coral island that was created when two of the earth's plates pressed together and pushed it up out of the Atlantic Ocean. The highest point of this 166sq mile land mass is Mount Hillaby at 1089ft above sea level

The island comprises of large sugar cane estates, wide gently sloping pastures and fantastic white sand beaches that draw thousands of tourists every year from Europe and North America. The eastern side of the island is battered by the Atlantic waves and is rocky. Gullies and caves abound and pure drinking water can be found.

Bridgetown, the capital, is located in the south of the east coast with the 2nd largest town, Speightstown in the north on the east side. There are 11 parishes across this country that lies just outside the principal hurricane zone and does not usually have to contend with the storms that the other windward islands have to endure.

Ranked 3rd in the Americas after the US and Canada on the Human Development Index for it's life expectancy, education and standard of living, Barbados is ranked 5th globally for it's literacy rate. The population of 270,000 is made up of mostly afro-Caribbean people with some Indian, Chinese, Syrian, and English/Irish. Continue reading "A to Z Caribbean : Barbados"