Then we discovered the wide world of Caribbean airlines, many of which you cannot find on skyscanner or expedia. This is the main reason that so many real life travel agents still exist. So the next morning we depart on an exotic routing via Trinidad to St Maarten with Caribbean Air and on to Santa Domingo with Insel Air (a Dutch airline out of Aruba). No charge for the surf boards and perfect service.

One of many small Caribbean airlines

5 hours in St. Maarten and time for a swim. We walk in 35 degree C with a luggage wagon on the side of the road (daddy’s five minutes turned into twenty minutes filled with first expressions of mental madness from the rest of the family), and finally arrive at the pirate bar next to one of the most exciting runways in the world.

Where are the T-Shirts ?!?!

Two mermaids

pirate bar

The runway is laid out for all planes from twin props all the way up to 747s, and a whole range of airlines and airplanes arrive in very regular intervals. The crazy thing is that the plane touches down very close to the beach where you go for a swim in crystal clear waters. The fish do not seem to mind the kerosene…

Ready for a blast?

Watch out for airplanes…

Mad girls

Strange island, half Dutch and half French, full of shopping, discotheques, a casino and high end beach hotels. In the afternoon we arrive in Santo Domingo airport, find all our luggage and head straight to our first Dominican encounter in Boca Chica.

My mind wandered off and a mermaid appeared to emerge from the ocean

That same evening I threw my net out to sea right at Silver Sands. When I pulled it back in, I had the most extraordinary catch: a mermaid by the name of Gisele, Casino or something like that. Whatever her name, she sure is pure and beautiful!!! She seems more like a catch for life ….

Last light at our Inchcape Seaside Villas site

The Cliff – very posh and very beautiful

The girls discussing their new “emergency” fashion choices

The Cliff restaurant – exquisite food for astronomical prices

Oistins fish market: don’t miss the party on Friday nights

Bottom Bay – does not get much better than that

private palm garden

Atlantic waters pushing into Bottom Bay

Coconut Man getting his exercise

Getting the catch of the day

Coconut man’s office just above Bottom Bay

Sam the coconut man

North Coast near animal flower cave

Breakfast time at the wildlife resort

Adam’s castle – where the pirates used to hang out

If all else fails – let’s move in here

Robbie’s friend

Our local hangout: Surfer’s Bay Cafe

yummy

Colourful, yummy, beautiful, pure joy…

Gesine’s private bay with our favourite kite Naish Alana 10m

Family surfing at Freights

Never stop playing!

Beach in their DNA

Feeling the feeling

Naish quiver courtesy of Brian Talma

Brian’s kids showing off their concha shell blowing skills

Rainbow

Brian’s office

Happy kids: left to right Ocean, Sienna, Robinson, Lion, Rainbow

We ride and fly and feel the wind, the ocean, the sand, the sun, the chilled vibe – the pure elements that really matter. We see big pure smiles from these kids every day. The time in wind and waves is very meditative. After a few days at Brian’s our “life at home” seems very far away – we are breathing the Carribbean energy and air now…

There are amazing benefits of travel:

• you leave your comfort zone
• you enter new worlds and have the opportunity to be curious and experience them like a child
• you are confronted with new challenges in terms of logistics, language, communication,… – and it feels great to master themyou can open your mind to take in new inspirations
• you find new stuff you love
• you will miss and appreciate things you have at home
• you make new friends
• you can let your love and passion run freely
• you see many different models / concepts of how people live a happy life
• you open all your senses to new sights, smells, tastes, feels, sounds…
• you get an opportunity to reflect what is truly important for you, for what brings you joy
• you can let go of all the day-to-day pressures and demands you think the world at home puts on you, and worry about nothing
• you can enter a zone of seemingly endless meditation

When you face these new situations, you are usually approaching them with a clean slate: as they are new to you, they have not been associated with a value or feeling from you. As it is a primary experience, it can elicit all kinds of emotions from fear of death to amazement to anger to pure joy…

This is what the Barbados experience has felt like:

GLASS HALF EMPTY

It is hot, way too hot. Humid. I am sweating constantly, my clothes are soaked and clinging to my body, and starting to smell. Our luggage has not arrived and I have no clothes to change into, no books, no games, no toothbrush, no surfboard, no kite. The roads are congested. It is incredibly hard to navigate a car, as even with physical or google maps the system of roads seems utterly complex and horribly designed. The roads are badly maintained, full of potholes, sometimes too narrow, especially in moments when buses come at you at full speed. Driving through the little neighbourhoods here in the Southern part of Barbados, we see a lot of abandoned and half-finished buildings, garbage piled up, old cars. Shady looking men are hanging around with beer bottles in front of dimly lit shacks which have been installed as make-shift bars. After what seemed like a long drive we find a supermarket, which is nicely stocked, but we are shocked: prices are astronomical. Back at our house, we find that there is no air-conditioning in our rooms. The wind blows through the window but it is either too strong or not strong enough – impossible to regulate. We head to down to the beach, the ocean is rough and has a strong under-current, I am scared to swim, and dying from the heat. For kitesurfing you need enough wind to fight against the strong current. The heat is exhausting, I feel like sleeping all the time. The tropical climate is giving me a headache. I applied lots of 50 SPF sun screen when I explored the beach, but the same evening I discover a heavy sunburn on my shoulders, nose and back. It hurts, looks bright red, and prevents me from going outside. As the sun sets early, and there is no life around our beach house, we sleep early – or should we say we try to sleep. There is a penetrating loud sound, as if from a creaking old air conditioner, fire alarm, industrial machine. It turns out it originates from cicadas chatting to each other, and they seem to do this all night. At approximately 3 am they are joined by the local rooster who is trying to ensure that each and every member of the local community is aware of his presence and that morning is approaching rapidly (meaning in 4 hours). We wake up way too early (it gets light around 5 am) to the loud sound of heavy rain thumping on our tin roof, accompanied by heavy winds. Our clothes which we hung up to dry on the balcony are soaking wet within minutes. We are stuck in our apartment, with nothing to do. I want to go home!!!

GLASS HALF FULL

I arrive in Barbados with no expectation and very little information. From the time I get of the plane I open my senses. The first thing that hits me is the hot humid air, it feels like it is embalming my skin. I love the feeling of wearing very little day and night, mostly just board shorts. The salty warm air touches my skin. To cool off I jump in the ocean or take a cool shower. The local fresh water comes up through basalt rock and is of excellent drinking quality. Our luggage has not arrived and I have no clothes to change into – I make an interesting discovery: at first I get a sense of loss and need, but when I dive deep, there is really nothing you need here, literally board shorts, a rash shirt, flip flops, and a tooth brush. We have been provided with the opportunity to feel life with less physical possessions than we have fingers on our hands. Brian the legendary waterman has all the toys for playing in the water that we need: Naish surf boards of all sizes, twin tip and directional boards and Naish kites from 8m to 12m. We love exploring our neighbourhood in our little car on the sketchy roads, getting a glimpse of what life is like on the island. We see families and smiles, irrespective of the size or condition of the house. In general, driving reflects the life spirit here: very chilled and friendly – cars will stop and let you in, allow pedestrians to pass. Locals gather and chill in dimly lit shacks which have been installed as make-shift bars, there is a friendly chilled atmosphere. The Bajan accent is a bit hard to understand for us, but after a few beers we get into the groove. In fact, everyone we meet seems to be friendly and helpful and chilled. We get a senses that this island has a real community, people here help each other, hang out socially, make life enjoyable. The first day I come down to meet some of Brian’s crew and express the fact that we are bit slow today, upon which I get the response: “Finally” – this really says it all: tourists come from their life in the city and it takes time for them to adjust to the rhythm of slowness, to become chilled. Food is expensive but also offers a lot of yummy options – we find it easy to make smoothies, veggie curries, eat fresh stuff from the island. The restaurants offer massive plates of potatoes, rice, flying fish, chicken. We also find a raw juice bar and a vegan restaurant with yummy choices. At the gas station, we are greeted by friendly smiles from girls in their 20s with beautiful hair – I have never seen a gas station like this in my life. At the stalls we get fresh mangoes and coconuts. The air is hot, but since we got here the wind has never stopped, ranging from a gentle breeze to a heavy storm. I love the sensation of warm wind on my skin, in my face, in my hair. It keeps the mosquitos away and keeps me cool at night. The ocean is rough and has a strong under-current, but it is fun to play in the beach break, jumping into big waves crashing onto the beach. For kitesurfing you need enough wind to fight against the strong current, and we quickly get the hang of it. Most days there is plenty of wind to not have to worry about the current. The kite spot at silver sands turns out to be a dream, with a large lagoon and a great set of waves up to mast high outside on the reef. Brian introduces us to what must be one of the best family surf breaks in the world: Freights just a 5 min drive away. Gentle waves protected from the wind, no current, peeling nicely from right to left, and plenty of space to play around, some waves last over a minute. Per surf session we meet about 20-30 local turtles that pop up to say hello, sometimes just a few meters awayThe ocean is turquoise in front of white sand and warm, the perfect manifestation of a tropical dream beach setting. The sun is strong, so we protect our skin with rash shirts and sunscreen and cooling aloe vera at night. The cicadas singing keep reminding us we are in a new and exotic place, and after the first night they accompany our sleep rather than wake us. The sensation or tropical rain is a welcome cooling, I fully give in to the sensation of warm drops of water hitting my skin. Even better is a tropical rain in the surf lineup. It is a beautiful spectacle to watch the little impact waves each drop makes, the body senses a cool shower in between waves. In the evenings we head down to the beach, feel the warm wind, and get immersed in our meditation and yoga exercise. My mind is empty, free and ready for inspiration…

As you may have guessed, the GLASS HALF FULL has been our experience. And the FULL section has a lot more content simply because you open your senses. And yes, that is an incredibly yummy green smoothie with fresh mango banana pineapple and spinach, and an incredibly sweet birthday cake.

All it took to get the half full version was a lack of expectations, a positive attitude, and willingness to open your senses to see feel touch hear stuff. Most of the time when I travel, I feel like a little boy, driven by curiosity and amazed by wonder…

Our days start early with sunrise as we are still jet-lagged.  We pack our boards and go for an early surf session. Freights is a gentle spot.

Arriving at DEACTION Silver Sands we feel already the vibe of this very special place…. http://www.briantalma.pro/deaction-beach-apartment/

We feel like in paradise in our Caribbean beach hut. In bed we listen to the wind and waves, from the terrace we see the kiters playing in the turquoise ocean.

Brian has created a true soul spot for a community loving the ocean, nature, art and music. His art is everywhere, his writing on the walls sets the spirit for a community, that cares. 
Brian, known for his amazing windsurfing career, is a real family man with 5 kids with the beautiful names Sunshine, Starlight, Ocean, Rainbow and Lion and a man of deep values.

“Action Man” smiles most of the time while working on “De Action Shop,” his line for Chiemsee clothing and continuing his beach culture world tour. In 2000, Brian along with David Kirton created the song “Irie Man Action“, which allowed him to use another one of his well-honed passion, poem writing.
In his booklet “Beach Culture: A way of life“, Brian recalls his first memory in the sea as riding on his father’s back.

He shows us the true meaning of the word “action” which he uses every other breath. “We are all searching for passion,” he notes, “with life if you don’t have passion, you are not living.”

Caring about how we feel, getting fully into our Stream of Source Energy.
This is where our clarity, our joy, our flexibility, our balance,
our great ideas and our growing into our best selves comes from.

Abraham-Hicks

Facts:
Palma – Frankfurt – Barbados

Our luggage is a perfect mix for a GIGI summer trip:
1 bag for summer clothing and sun screen
1 bag full of games, books, creative tools, beach toys, slack line and a laptop
1 bag for the surfboards and a kiteboard
1 bag full of kites

A beautiful morning – only the taxi does not show up… Getting there just in time, the airline gave us 2 extra hours as a lightning hit into the plane, so that they had to find a new one that could bring us from Palma to Frankfurt. Now, the chance to catch our Barbados flight from Frankfurt was close to a miracle.
What to do? Having a – as good as it can get – airport breakfast, getting inventive about other options and dreaming about other destinations – as the next Condor flight to Barbados would leave only one week later….

So we decided to take the flight to Frankfurt and make miracles happen. Thanks to Condor pilot and real friend Bernd the plane waited for us although we arrived 7 minutes before departure. THANK YOU Bernd!!! Only our luggage could not run as fast as we did and had to stay in Frankfurt.

Then we arrive at night in Barbados.