Discovered in 1750 by a Welsh naturalist and author,the Animal Flower Cave sits at the bottom of the north cliffs of Barbados and opens to where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. Accessible by a set of steep coral steps, the cave boasts breathtaking views of a wild ocean landscape whose colors change at the whim of the intermingling clouds and sunshine.
The cave gets its name from the sea anemones, or what Barbadians call “animal flowers,” that live in the caves shallower pools. Named after the anemone flower, the sea anemone looks like a blooming underwater plant but acts like an animal. When it senses approaching predators, and it retracts its petal-like tentacles into its trunk and all but disappears.
During the winter,visitors can see the spouts and tails of humpback whales cavorting and fishing in the deep waters. The cave’s soundscape boasts the haunting echoes of waves crashing upon the cave’s rocky entrances. With every wave, water flows in and refreshes the pools of water dotting the floor. Visitors are permitted to swim in one of the cave’s deeper pools and frolic upon the rocks that bear the ocean’s rage.
Source: atlasobscura.com