Clare McCaw loves Barbados. If there’s any doubt about that, she has 41 passport stamps to our island in the sun to prove it.
And Clare, who originates from Nova Scotia in Canada, loves Barbados so much that she has never even bothered to travel to any other destination in the world.
“I love Barbados and that’s why it’s my 41st visit here. It’s just a wonderful place to come I always come in January and stay until April but now I only spend two months,” she said.
In a relaxing interview with Easy magazine at her cosy guest house in St Lawrence, Christ Church, surrounded by her family, Clare, now 87, spoke of her love for the island and all she has done here.
“The people and the surroundings, everything is just so wonderful I can’t get enough of it. I love going out to dance at night especially. I love the fishcakes from here. I eat it every time I go out. This time around, I went to all my usual places . . . Crystal Waters. I went dancing at Cloud 9, which was formerly Lonely Hearts,” she said.
To celebrate her 41sts visit, her family hosted a party for her at the guest house which coincided with St Patrick’s Day. The very bright and bubbly Canadian said 80 people, both visitors and locals attended.
“It was a great party. Everyone had a great time and I was glad to see everyone. I’ve met a lot of people since I began visiting. Heather the limbo dancer – she’s pretty amazing,” she said.
The highlight of this trip thus far, however, was meeting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart during his reception for repeat visitors.
“I was glad to meet the Prime Minister. He’s a very nice man and he’s single too. It wouldn’t do me any good but I just thought it was worth mentioning. He’s a very good-looking Prime Minister. I wonder why he’s single,” she said to the delight of everyone in the room.
Clare has since brought her family and friends to the island so they can experience a little of what she calls “my second home”.
“I brought one of my daughters here with me in 1978. My other daughter began coming 11 years ago. Now there’s four generations coming now. It’s now a family tradition. A couple of my friends came here in 1978 and encouraged me to come and now I come ever since. I just loved it the first time I came. It’s just like my home in Nova Scotia,” she said.
And in light of the recent bad press surrounding the issues on the South Coast, Clare said she does not mind it one bit.
“This is a beautiful island. The negative talk about the sewage has not deterred me at all. That was something that happened and you can’t stop that. I don’t usually experience it where I am. Sometimes you would get the odd smell at night but that’s it,” she said.
In fact, Clare intends to keep coming to Barbados.
“As long as my health keeps up I’ll be here. And I’m pretty good right now. I don’t have too much wrong with me. I’m going to be 88 in June. Age will tell how much longer I get to come here,” she said with a bright smile.
And Clare, a self-proclaimed ambassador, had just a few words of advice for anyone who has never been to the island: “I would tell anyone who has never been to Barbados to come here. It’s a really wonderful place. It’s the best place, it’s better than Mexico and I’ve never even been to Mexico.” (DB)
