The "7 wonders of Barbados" - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

canarymoon · 12-02-2007, 09:41 AM

This is from the

Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia's

Seven Wonders of Barbados

Barbados has a number of sites of historical, architectural and natural interest and it is these that make Barbados special and unique!

Most people know of the Seven Wonders of the World..... now discover the Seven Wonders of Barbados during your Caribbean vacation...

FROM The Seven Wonders of Barbados

canarymoon · 12-02-2007, 09:43 AM

Of the seven it appears from the map that three of them would be near to the cruise ship terminal -

The Jewish Synagogue
Cannon Galore
Baobab Tree

This site offers information on the last two, from which which I'll post excerpts and links following this.

canarymoon · 12-02-2007, 09:49 AM

The Caribbean is still full of secrets. One recently revealed is that Barbados has the world's rarest collection of 17th century English iron cannon

Not too long ago it was decided to create a National Ordnance Collection of all the old guns on the island and to date more than 400 have been unearthed.

. . . the reason there were so many guns on the island was that during the 17th & 18th centuries Barbados was an important military base which the British used to protect their interests in the southern Caribbean

. . . a treasure trove of ordnance was revealed. More than half the cannon were cast in the 17th century. The oldest cannon found was cast in 1620 and the youngest, dated 1870 is one of the rarest: called the Victoria Gun (in photo) is the first rifled muzzle loader made in England. Not all the cannon found were English, with Dutch, Spanish and Swedish cannon coming to light.

. . .
Twenty-six of the most important pieces in the collection are mounted in front of the Main Guard House and make a fine photographic display.

LINK: http://barbados.org/garison.htm

canarymoon · 12-02-2007, 09:51 AM

It was said that the baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) was brought to Barbados around 1738 from Guinea in Africa. It is also known as the "Monkey-bread tree".

Two magnificent trees with possibly the widest tree-trunks to be found in the Caribbean, grow in Barbados! The largest can be seen in our Queen's Park in Bridgetown. To give an example of the size of this tree of great distinction, it takes 15 adults joining with outstretched arms to cover its circumference.

LINK: Barbados Seven Wonders: The Baobab Tree