Editor’s note: The World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup is being played this week at Sandy Lane Resort. While she is there covering the tournament, PGATOUR.com’s Helen Ross will be writing a daily blog.

ST. JAMES, Barbados -- I arrived in Barbados on Saturday afternoon after taking a 90-minute flight from Jacksonville, Fla., and another of 3½ hours from Miami. Considering that I later would meet a couple from Toronto who flew here non-stop from Canada in just five hours, all I can think is that our plane must have been traveling as the crow flies. We landed safely, though, which is all I ask of any airline.

Volunteers from the tournament greeted us at the airport and facilitated our entry through customs. When we arrived at our oceanfront hotel, we were greeted by a woman in a brightly colored dress who offered us cold towels and fruit punch. I could get used to such treatment. My first order of business was to book a tour of the island for Sunday so I could get my bearings and some fodder for this blog. I selected the Island Adventure Safari, which came highly recommended, and I was waiting for it in the lobby at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

Our guide’s name was Ron. His Land Rover 4x4 -- which was named Simba (a sister vehicle to Miss Piggy and Grover) -- was empty when he got there, but we soon added a British couple and two gentlemen from New Zealand, as well as the aforementioned Canadians, to the group. Ron started the trip by asking if any of us had back or neck problems that he should know about -- which was only slightly disconcerting. He went on to say a massage and a mud bath would be among our treats on Sunday. And more than once he said it would be the best day we’d spend on Barbados. I’ve got seven more here, but I’ve got to say, I think he was right on all counts.

Our first stop was Gun Hill, a signal station where soldiers used to relay messages about approaching ships with semaphore flags and Morse code. We walked up the hill to see the White Lion, which was carved from a single rock in 1868 by Captain Henry Wilkinson and four military laborers. The lion stands 7 feet high. We were joined by three other Land Rovers full of tourists there. Ron said they always traveled in a caravan -- and we would soon find out why.

Our various hotels were all on the south side of the island, which measures just 166 square miles. The more densely populated south is known for its pristine beaches and breathtaking sunsets. This safari, though, would take us to the east and north where the coastline is rocky and much more dramatic. We took a variety of paved and dirt roads to get there, often slicing through sugar cane fields, where the “road” was so narrow that prudence dictated that you lean into the Land Rover to avoid the sharp edges of the fronds. Not to mention, it’s the end of the rainy season, and turns out those roads were more mud than dirt. In fact, we got stuck once -- and Ron, after rocking the Land Rover repeatedly back and forth to try to dislodge the back tire from the quagmire, had to radio ahead for help. Soon another vehicle appeared. No wonder they travel in caravans!

The first order of business was to lighten the load. So the seven of us climbed over the seats and out the left side of the Land Rover, where we tried to find solid footing among sugar cane stalks that dwarfed each one of us. The other driver then hooked a strap between his 4x4 and ours and started backing up. It took about 10 minutes to finally get our vehicle free -- and we greeted the effort with applause. When we got to the rest of the group, everyone was sipping the trademark Barbados rum punch, and we eagerly joined in. The day had begun, as they might say in England, swimmingly, and there was much more to come. I’ll save that story for tomorrow.

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