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| The happy couple celebrating in their roomy abode! |
Gifted by my handsome Sweetheart with an amazing anniversary
trip for our 32nd, I was able to cross off an item rather highly
positioned on my ‘bucket list’. Who
could have guessed that when we postponed our trip to Bermuda
a few years ago that we could now visit this incredible island many times
over? Thank you NCL and Lyle, I am most privileged
and grateful!
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| Lyle with Dockyard lights |
After years of imagining, Bermuda
did not disappoint. It has a unique feel
unlike any island we’ve been on, and we have visited one or two! Bermuda is a curious blend of formal British
culture, ‘hang loose’ Caribbean friendliness
and Bible Belt South ethics and morals.
How can you beat that? Combine
this with 21 square miles of beautifully manicured tropical flora, brightly
painted homes with limestone white roofs and pristine pink sand beaches
sporting clear blue waters and you have a fairly accurate picture of this
renowned Atlantic island paradise.
Priorities first, I signed up for the trip to
Horseshoe Bay Beach. Rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world,
I marvel as to why it is not number one.
Dry, the sand is powder soft white and where the waves rush ashore and
back again there are continually changing swirled designs in various shades of
pink. The beach is a combination of
clear dark blue water, lighter blue sky and large decorative limestone rock; a
natural habitat for the white long tail seabird which nest within the natural
holes and crevices. This was the scene
from my own ‘private’ place on the beach.
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| This was 'mine' for 45 min or so :) |
Lyle and I also dined at a restaurant overlooking the harbor
in the picturesque seaside town of Hamilton. It is located in the center of the island and
appears to be the main business hub of Bermuda. However, due to strict codes enforced by the
government it seemed more like a tourist town.
Very few buildings have received permission to be over 3 stories high
(highest at 6 stories), there are planted flowers all over the town and
literally a ‘rubbish bin’ every 50 yards or closer. Bermuda is clean, and they take pride in this fact.
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Statue of St George who at his request,
had his heart brought back to Bermuda to be buried |
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| St Catherine's Fo |
Next, we saw St George, located at the eastern end of the
island and is a UNESCO World heritage site.
Founded in 1612, it is one of
Britain’s oldest colonies
celebrating 400 yrs of fascinating history.
Permanently settled 5 years after
Jamestown,
VA, it is the oldest continually inhabited
English speaking town in the
New World. The two settlements have a close relationship
in history. The
Sea Venture, one of a fleet of nine ships carrying settlers and
supplies to
Jamestown, was blown into
Bermuda and wrecked on the reefs. The ships 150 passengers survived and came
ashore for 10 months at the place where St Catherine's Fort now lies, surviving on fish, turtles, birds and Spanish hogs. During this time, they built 2 new ships, the
Patience and
Deliverance out of the
Sea
Venture’s rigging and the
Bermuda
cedar. These ships then set sail for
Virginia, arriving in May of 1610 in time to save
Jamestown’s starving
colonists. This is a life size replica
of the
Deliverance.
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| The Deliverance |
St Peter’s Church is the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World. Originally built in1612, it houses a baptismal font from 1450 brought over by settlers from England. The church has most recently been honored by the title of ‘Their Majesties Chappell’ by Queen Elizabeth during her Diamond Jubilee year.
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| Upper left balcony was added in the early 1700's for slaves |
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| St Peter's Church, St George |
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Here you can see how the rainwater is collected
from the roofs |
The Seventh-day Adventist’s have a large church overlooking
the St. George cemetery. The way in
which the Bermudian’s bury their dead is rather interesting. The cemetery is located on prime real estate
overlooking the ocean. However, it is
never in need of enlarging due to the fact that they have mass grave sites. Initially, a hole 8-10 ft deep is dug, then
they bury their dead one on top of another with a few inches of lime dust
thrown in between (the grave is covered between burials). When the grave is ‘full’ it is left for the
appropriate length of time (years), then dug back up and these remains are now buried
again, requiring a much smaller area. It
was not elaborated on how this was accomplished…mass grave site? The former grave is then ready for use again. I suppose when you have many people living on
one small island, you must get creative!
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| Talk about a view on Resurrection Day! |
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| Town Hall where all business is still conducted today |
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| The town drunkard and gossip |
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Dunked several times while screaming
her innocence...very true to life! |
A fun display of yester-year that the town of St George does almost every day
is a dunking ceremony. The former town
dignitaries who worked in Town Hall made the decision as to whether or not one
should be dunked according to the accusations made against them. You were
dunked with the purpose of humiliation for crimes as petty as drinking to much
or simply gossiping.
Bermuda is also place you
can hike in beautiful nature reserves, explore underground caves and grottoes,
visit aquariums and museums and participate in every water sport from para sailing to kayaking, from scuba diving to a sunset catamaran tour. Now that we've tasted a piece of Bermuda, I am wishing for more than just a taste…but
that’s the beauty of life, no matter how much you are blessed to experience,
there will always be more to look forward to!
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The fancy Ferry we took between our boat
in Dockyard and the town of St. George |
More Interesting
facts:
There are more than 100 churches within Bermuda’s
21 square miles!
The government requires all building to have a roof of
limestone and have collecting tanks below ground for the rainwater that falls
onto the roof. The limestone purifies
the water for drinking.
The national bird of Bermuda
is the long-winged Cahow, which spends most of its life in the open ocean,
returning only to the island to breed.
Bermuda actually lies on the fringe of the Sargasso
Sea…yep, there is such a place!
This sea is named after the Sargassum algae; a yellow, floating self
sustaining seaweed that shelters 145 species of invertebrate and 125 species of
fish. This seaweed is where the Cahow
collects its food and rests.
I learned something new about Lyle after 32 years of
marriage! In spite of the need for
coercion in order for him to partake of Asian food, he is actually very adept
at eating with chopsticks! Who
knew? Not me!!
