Travel Tuesday: The Crane Beach in Barbados

Beautiful, isn't it? It's no wonder that The Crane Beach in Barbados, is one of the top ten beaches in the world. It is located in Saint Philip, on the southeastern tip of the island.

When I was planning my visit to Barbados in 2011 for my 10th anniversary, people told me one thing: you must see the Crane Beach in Barbados, if you do nothing else at all! I heard that the sand was pink and that the ocean was three colors of blue...

And it was all true!

Unfortunately, when we arrived last year, the entire beach was covered in a thick layer of kelp. I was so disappointed...

I was even more disappointed when we arrived this year and found that it was still covered in kelp. I don't know if it was the time of year - as I arrived in August last year, and in July this year - or if The Crane Beach in Barbardos just happens to be a beach that is always covered in seaweed.

Instead of traversing the pathway, we decided to check out the other side of the beach, which we hadn't made it to last year.

We kept our fingers crossed that the beach wouldn't be entirely full of kelp...

Yes, that are hotel employees actually trying to rake up and take away the kelp! They are nothing if not dedicated!

Unfortunately, the other side of the beach was exactly the same.

While we may not have frolicked in the surf due to the massive amounts of seaweed and the gigantic waves, we did pose for a few photos...

The wind was so strong on The Crane Beach in Barbados that everything was hazy and my camera lens kept fogging up, covered in a fine layer of salt water! I was a little surprised that people weren't out there surfing - the waves were enormous!

Just to give you an idea of how windy it really was...

See those trees that are slanted to the side? They've grown that way due to the constant wind!

I took this photo while we were exploring Sam Lord's Castle...

When we were at The Crane Beach in Barbados last year, our cab driver told us that there was an old castle along the beach that used to be a glamorous hotel for the rich and famous - for instance, the British Royal Family used to stay there! He told us that there had been a fire but you could still see the original structure.

Since the Crane Beach was so windy and full of kelp, we decided to try to find Sam Lord's Castle...and we did!

But that is a story for another day!