Legion Magazine presents a series of blogs in the Witness To Remembrance series by Legionnaires and others on a 14-night Caribbean cruise offered by Carlson Wagonlit Travel in conjunction with the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL). For every cabin booked, Carlson Wagonlit is donating $100 to the RCEL Fund which The Royal Canadian Legion uses to help Commonwealth veterans living in the Caribbean.

by Sheldon Taraschuk, program manager, Carlson Wagonlit Travel

The Barbados Legion outdid themselves in welcoming members of The Royal Canadian Legion. Four bus loads of Legion members were given an amazing three-hour tour of Barbados, with special Barbados Legion guides. Even though being tour guides is not their daily job, the amount of knowledge and information that they were able to provide to us about their home was amazing.

Our tour ended at the Barbados Garrison, where we were greeted with a special Changing of the Guards ceremony, complete with marching band and commentary. After the 20-minute ceremony, we were served a scrumptious lunch of grilled chicken and fish, breadfruit, salads with a little rum punch to wash it down. The Barbados Legion had a variety of great souvenirs for sale and most Canadian Legion members snapped up pins, golf shirts, hats and cook books.

It was an amazing day and everyone could not say enough about the fantastic day with our Barbadian hosts!