My wife and I recently spent a week in Barbados W.I. on vacation. We stayed in an Airbnb up on a hill overlooking the Caribbean. We were a five minute walk to the beach. Just a great location. We spent plenty of time on the beach and enjoying the warm, clear waters off the west coast of Barbados.
We rented a car for the week as I wanted to self-tour the island. One of our stops was right in the middle of the island, a tropical garden called Hunte's Gardens. It's a privately owned estate lovingly cared for by its owner Anthony Hunte. You walk through carefully (artfully really) crafted walk ways that wind their way through the gardens. Each little section of the gardens has a sitting area with a unique perspective on some part of the gardens. It was well worth the entrance fee. If you're ever in Barbados, make a point of touring the gardens, you won't be disappointed.
The day we were there was partly cloudy with occasional periods of rain and sun. Made for a steamy experience I'll tell you. The gardens has dozens of huge stately queen palms. In one section there was a cluster of several where I stood, looked up at the grey sky above through the palm fronds and took the picture you seen below. As usual, the picture doesn't do the sight justice.
While at the gardens, I wrote a Haiku to memorialize the visit and shared it with Anthony while visiting with him in his open-air home (which is part of the experience for visitors). You can get a local beer or sample some finely aged rum (it is Barbados after all).
Shortly after we returned home, I was looking at the pictures we took on vacation and came across this shot of the palms. It inspired this poem called Palms and Psalms:
There is something soothing about palms.
They bend in the wind, but rarely break.
They decorate the sky with their fronds.
They were laid on the ground for Jesus' sake.
I read in the bible, in the Psalms:
the righteous will flourish like a palm tree
I now understand what the Psalmist means,
For today I looked up, and simply felt free.
