Ocean windows
The Atlantic right in front.
JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK — CC BY 2.0
The Animal Flower Cave is a sea cave under the cliffs of North Point, at the northern tip of Barbados, and it is the island's only sea cave you can enter. Through its wide openings you watch the Atlantic surge in front of you, and inside are clear rock pools. Two English sailors found it from the sea in 1780. It formed at sea level but now sits about 2 m above the high-water mark, because the island is slowly rising. Coral steps were built in 1912 to lead down through an opening in its roof. Its name comes from the sea anemones living in its pools, which islanders call animal flowers. The cave floor is coral thought to be 400,000 to 500,000 years old. You walk across the smooth, rippled floor to a clear pool the guides call the swimming pool, then to openings that look out over the ocean. The anemones pull in if touched, so leave them alone. The cave is 10 km in a straight line north of Speightstown. A 2023 listing gives entry at BDS$40 for adults, and cash may be needed. In rough seas the cave may close as water fills it, and the floor is slippery.
The Atlantic right in front.
Still water in the rock.
The animal flowers.
North Point, Saint Lucy parish, northern Barbados
Yes, in rough seas when water fills it.
Yes, wear shoes with a good grip.