Jumpin' in Barbados.

The island of Barbados conjures up an image of a tropical isle with a stiff upper lip--very formal, very proper and very traditional. But this former British colony also enjoys a lighter side of diverse interests, from fine art to yachting. Bajans also know how to throw a good party, and perhaps their best--and biggest--party is the Crop Over Festival. For Barbados, Crop Over has become like Carnival on other islands--a chance for revelry in the streets by locals and tourists who want to take part in the action.

The roots of the festival originate from the 19th century when plantations were a way of life and sugar cane was king. Crop Over gave slaves a chance to celebrate the end of the harvest season and forget the hardships of everyday life for a day. Today, it has evolved into a three-week festival of parades, bands, concerts and parties, held every year from mid-July through the first week of August. This year, it runs from July 10 through Aug. 2.

The celebration begins on a Saturday with the ceremonial delivery of the last harvested load of sugar cane. Staged on a plantation, the cane is delivered by mule-drawn wagon and blessed, signaling the start of the festivities. The plantation yard is then transformed into a country fair complete with music, food and arts and crafts for sale. The biggest draw are the calypso bands, called "tents," held throughout the festival. Judges go around the 11 island parishes judging the best calypso tents to be finalists for the Pic-O-De-Crop, where the "Calypso Monarch" is crowned.

The grand finale of the celebration is Grand Kadooment Day--a national holiday and the last day of the Crop Over Festival. Kadooment is a Bajan word that connotes a "significant happening." Always held the first Monday in August, more than 30 costumed bands depicting themes of Barbadian life parade before judges and packed crowds of onlookers at the National Stadium in St. Michael's parish. After the judging, the crowd proceeds into the streets singing and dancing to pan bands, while making their way to the Spring Garden Highway in Mardi Gras style. The revelry continues with picnic parties on the beach near Brighton. The day ends with a burning of an effigy called "Mr. Harding," symbolizing the hard times brought by the end of the sugar crop, and a fireworks display over the harbor.

During Crop Over, you'll have a chance to sample the best in Bajan cuisine, music and culture. But you needn't wait until July to savor the flavor of "Bimshire," as Barbados is known. Barbados, which gained its independence from England in 1966, is one of the most scenic islands in the Windward Island chain. It is also the most easterly of the Caribbean islands. The calm, sky blue Caribbean Sea is inviting and soothing, but it's the wild Atlantic Ocean side of the island that's a photographer's dream. This rugged coast is defined by its crashing azure, foamy surf and dramatic cliffs.

A coral island, Barbados is pear-shaped with verdant and flat terrain on its western coast, which dramatically inclines into a cliff on the northeastern Atlantic coast near Bathsheba. Limestone caves populate the island. The population is 254,000; most of the people dwell in or near the capital city of Bridgetown.

Majestic cabbage palms line the roads along the way to the countryside and sugar cane fields still blanket parts of the island. Barbados, with its English gardens, homes and activities, has been called the "Cornwall of the Tropics" because of its British history. And driving is still on the left side of the road.

Unlike some of the French- and Dutch-influenced islands, you won't find nude sunbathing, glitzy casinos or blatant debauchery. But music and dance are everywhere. Barbados boasts a variety of performance venues, such as "1627 and All That Sort Of Thing," a colorful revue depicting the island's history, staged at the Barbados Museum--one of the best in the Caribbean.

Although you'll see signs of the nouvelle Caribbean cuisine that's sweeping the West Indies, Barbados proudly clings to the tried and true. Once you've had your fill of the tender, ubiquitous flying fish, you can select spicy shrimp or chicken dishes, sea urchin or stuffed crab backs. Bajan rice and peas is a "plate cleaner," especially if its accompanied by pumpkin fritters or sauteed christophine. A side dish of cou-cou (coo coo)--a polenta-like cornmeal pudding--and a thick slice of coconut pie, and you're in business.

Don't forget an icy Banks beer or a syrupy rum punch laced with Barbados' own Mount Gay or Cockspur rum. No trip is complete without downing a shot or two of the local spirit in one of the hundreds of tiny, quaint rum shops around the island.