Oistins is a very historic market town on the south coast of Barbados, and is popular with locals and tourists for its famous fish fry and thriving fishing community.
Here you will see many boats bringing ashore fresh fish such as Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Kingfish, Marlin and the local delicacy of Flying Fish, which is sold in the market at very affordable prices.
The area was named after a wealthy landowner called Austin, who is reported to have been a raucous rum drinking character that frequented the towns, many public houses.
One such public house was the Mermaid Tavern, which no longer exists, but it was in this public house that the Charter of Barbados was signed in January 1652, which shaped the future of Barbados as a British colony for the next 315 years.
Oistins has a shopping complex selling more local goods than tourists items, here you can buy groceries at the large supermarket, rent video's, purchase hardware items and refuel at one of the gas stations. Oistins is a friendly town with quite a village feel to it with a large fishing community.
Here you will see many fishing boats hauled up in the dockyard being worked on ready for the fishing season, which starts in November when the fisherman start to see the flying fish go through the air.
There is a big fishing complex complete with an ice factory for the fisherman to fill their boxes and go out for a week at a time, only returning when the ice boxes are full.
Many local men are descendants of generations of fisherman who have passed on knowledge of the sea around Barbados and of the skills required to catch the fish. They use some interesting methods such as hand lines, nets and fish pots.
If you are interested in fishing then some of the fisherman are happy to take you out with them for the day to see first hand how they earn their living, they will make a small charge but this is not as expensive as game fishing, which is much more of a sport.
When walking around the fish market you will see the vendors gutting and scaling the fish, ask one of them for some scraps and then venture out to the jetty.
Here you will see the fisherman off loading their catch of the day, and if you go just before sunset, you will also get the rare treat of seeing the turtles swimming along the boats hoping to get fed. This is where your bag of scraps comes in handy, as the turtles with then multiply before your eyes.
Oistins is also well known as a great nightspot at weekends with many shacks next to the fish market selling freshly cooked fish, salad, and the delicious Bajan dish of macaroni pie.
There is always music playing and many tourists and locals drink the local beer or rum and dance in to the early hours either in the car park or out on the beach.
The facilities here are currently being rebuilt and modernised (Nov. 2007), so at present there is a temporary facility across the road from the beach, but the food is just as good as ever.
The great thing about Oistins is that you can get fantastic food there any night of the week and at very affordable prices, you can usually expect to pay about $15 BDS for a full dinner.
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