Bermuda
The customs officer at the airport in Bermuda asked us if this was our first trip to the island. When we responded “yes,” he said “what took you so long?!”Our taxi driver asked us the same question as she gave us a mini tour on the way to our hotel, clearly displaying her national pride.
This tiny little archipelago of seven main islands is 650 miles east of North Carolina in the mid-Atlantic, and is officially a British Overseas Dependent Territory.
It feels a bit like the Caribbean, a bit like the east coast of the USA, and a lot like Britain.
It is beautiful, friendly and expensive. It is also famous for being the northern point of the Bermuda Triangle, the other two points are Miami and San Juan and supposedly responsible for mysterious shipwrecks, disappearances and air crashes, but we won’t go there!
Bermuda takes the color pink seriously! Churches, buildings, homes, and even the island buses are pink.
The only source of freshwater on the island is rainwater so the roofs of buildings and homes are tiered to collect the rain and store it underground in a tank.
Apparently, when a roof is completed, a celebration is held. Owners, developers and contractors scramble on the roof and pour some Gosling’s Black Seal Rum on it!
We preferred our rum in the national drink, a Dark and Stormy…rum, ginger beer and some lime.
We spent four nights on the south shore of Bermuda in an overpriced resort that thankfully we weren’t paying for. Ron was presenting at a conference so I tagged along to explore the island. The resort provided a free ferry to the town of Hamilton so I took advantage of the boat and participated in a walking tour with the Town Crier.
Historically, the job of Town Crier fell to the person who could read and write as they would deliver local announcements and news in the town square. Now the job is mainly to be an ambassador and provide an entertaining tour of the city.
The beaches are beautiful,
the water is warm
and the sand is a little bit pink!
We climbed the 185 steps to reach the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse for the panoramic view of the island. Then enjoyed a delicious lunch at the base of the lighthouse in The Dining Room restaurant.
We found the food on the island expensive and the automatic 15-17% gratuity annoying, particularly when the service wasn’t very good. We adapted by having our Dark and Stormy’s as part of Happy Hour and having appetizers for dinner!
Tourists cannot rent cars so getting around the island is challenging. I generally like to explore on foot but the roads were very narrow which made walking them hazardous. Once again we adapted by limiting most of our walking to the beach!
We spent an afternoon in St George’s arriving just in time to see the historic re-enactment of the public punishment of a woman for being a nag—her punishment?—getting dunked in the harbor!
We ate at Wahoo Bar and Grill on the patio over the water and had delicious local rock fish. Then we strolled the historic town until we couldn’t take the heat any longer and rode the air conditioned, pink bus to Hamilton.
Bermuda is only a two hour flight from Boston making the trip very easy for an international destination.
Did we enjoy Bermuda – yes. Would we return – not likely. With so much of the world still to see, this wouldn’t make the list for a repeat trip. The high cost and the difficulty getting around made it less than ideal, despite the natural beauty.
