ST. PETER, Barbados -- ''You see the monkey?" asks the woman working the snack bar. I turn and stare into an empty cage. ''Up, up," she points. I tilt my head back and there, jumping from branch to branch, are five monkeys, wild and loose like most of the animals that call this thick forest of mahogany trees home. So many tortoises mosey about that it's hard not to step on one; deer rest in the shade, and small, funny-looking furballs with rounded ears called agoutis huddle on the brick paths. Thankfully, the massive python is not free to roam. He sleeps peacefully inside a large glass enclosure.
On Barbados, ecological wonders offer an exotic alternative to the beach
The allure of Barbados has always been the stretch of soft white sand on the west coast that serves as a soft welcome mat for the warm aquamarine waters of the Caribbean Sea. Hotels line the shore north and south of the capital, Bridgetown, appealing to a predominantly British clientele who are content to while away their hours with a book in one hand and some version of the storied local rum in the other. Certainly, nature beckons on this part of the island in the form of hawksbill turtles, stingrays, and the kaleidoscopic array of fish that feed on a very much living reef. But it's the ecological wonders in the northern and eastern sections of the island, namely the Barbados Wildlife Refuge, Andromeda Botanic Gardens, and Harrison's Cave, that differentiate this country from its neighbors.
Since Barbados is relatively small, 24 miles long by 14 miles wide, you can visit all three of these sites in a day. We hired a taxi driver and paid him the equivalent of $150 to take us around. Glimpses of the island's British heritage can be seen in the cricket fields and Colonial-style homes that dot the rolling countryside on the way to the Barbados Wildlife Refuge. Sugar is still the island's main crop, as evidenced by row upon row of cane lining the road. As we meander high up into the hills, the manicured farms are replaced by a dense bush of banana fruit, banyan, the ancient baobab, and mahogany trees -- ideal canopy for animals who want to keep cool in the hot midday sun.
The green monkeys first came to Barbados from West Africa in the mid-17th century as pets of the slave traders. They number around 5,000, spending most of their time in the reserve and adjacent Grenade Hall Forest. Since they are wild, the only time you are guaranteed to see these agile white-faced animals is at feeding time, from 2 to 3 in the afternoon. And there are other creatures worth the trip: Flamingoes and pelicans slurp from shallow ponds, toucans blurt ''hello" from inside an aviary, and the peacocks squawk at the slow-motion red-footed tortoise.
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