Karl WP Beyer 
Who doesn't know the catchy song title, Woah, I'm going to Barbados? The name Barbados sounds promising to our ears. The song speaks of Coconut Airways Flight 372 to Bridgetown, Barbados. We have to do without Coconut Airways. But not in Barbados.
Instead of the plane, we take the cruise ship. Mein Schiff takes us to Bridgetown in March 2010. But before we discover Bridgetown, we want to report interesting facts about the island at this point.
Barbados is the furthest east island in the Lesser Antilles. It is 430 km² and is located in the Atlantic Ocean, not in the Caribbean Sea. Unlike many of the neighboring islands, the island is also not of volcanic origin. Rather, a huge, solid limestone plateau is the basis of Barbados. The island is also much flatter than its volcanic sisters. The highest point measures just 336 meters.
Barbados was first discovered by the Portuguese. After that, the natives probably didn't have much to report. Like other Caribbean islands at the time, Barbados had a checkered history before England took Barbados over from the Portuguese in 1625. As early as 1639, the first parliament was established in Barbados, the third parliament in Commonwealth of nations at all. The head of state is the Queen of England, who is represented by a governor-general. A prime minister runs the government. The capital and at the same time the busiest region of the island is the one in the southwest of Barbados Bridgetown.
Large-scale sugar cane plantations and arable land have almost completely displaced the former tropical rainforest in the course of colonization. Barbados already made a name for itself in its early years as a sugar and rum producer. Today rum and sugar have lost their importance. The main industries are now tourism and handicrafts. There are also oil deposits off the coast. Small amounts of oil are extracted from them.
Cruise ships dock in the cruise port of Bridgetown on. Here the crusader can convince himself whether the island is really as "very British" as it is said to be. In addition, a lot of interesting sights can be easily reached from here.
