Million Air Winter 2022

EXPLORE BARBADOS GUIDE TO BARBADOS

I’m digging my red-painted toes into the sugary sand of Miami Beach, watching the electrifyingly blue waves unfurl like a giant, geometrically woven Turkish carpet being shown in nature’s casbah. Hypnotic, the ridiculously clear water glimmers golden in the sun, which just adds to the illusion of intrigue, unreality and utter repose. Oh, not that Miami Beach. This one, with the same name, lies far from Florida’s storied shores. It occupies the south coast of Barbados, an evocative island nation in the Lesser Antilles. Less developed, more chill, and — dare I say — 10 times as beautiful as Florida’s version, Barbados’s Miami Beach, with trees instead of high-rise hotels, dances uniquely to a calypso beat. Beloved by locals who bring along their handmade tennis racquets for beach games and sought out by in-the-know tourists as they follow their quest for the less trammeled, this wholly immersive slice of nature and local culture might change your life. Of course, the entire island has that power. It boasts 70 miles of sandy beaches; in fi nitely tropical, Barbados feels like the place a pirate might anchor. Oh, that’s right — that did happen here —more than once. Brimming with history, soulful Barbados, the birthplace of rum, knows just who it is and revels in it. With unpredictable surf on the east coast, this cruise lover’s paradise has drop-dead magical beaches and stellar diving, welcoming residents, a distinctive food culture, an alluring nightlife and pastel-colored houses. Barbados is everything we crave in a Caribbean destination. As Rihanna herself has said of her home, it “just feels right.”

by Becca Hensley