BERMUDA

We spent three weeks in Bermuda. Bermuda is a wonderful place to visit but hard to describe. Over 60,000 people crammed on the ancient remnants of a string of subtropical coral atols linked together by bridges and causeways and sitting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Believed to have been discovered by the Spanish and Portugese sailors as early as 1503, its settlement dates from 1611 and for a number of historic resons it is more British than Britain. After sailing from America it seemed strange to make our first contact through Bermuda radio and hear very British accents. They play cricket, football (soccer) and netball and in spite of the fact that the majority of people are not white anglophiles they speak with a variety of British accents.
"Bermuda is very expensive", everyone told us, but we didn't find it too bad at all. We anchored in St Georges harbour so our accommodation was free. We bought a monthly pass for public transport and travelled on almost every bus route and ferry route they have. With the number of trips we took the average cost per trip was about $1.The roads are very narrow and wind between rows of houses and small inlets crowded with boats rather like ancient English fishing villages. The way the drivers whip the buses around those roads makes you think every ride may be your last.
In spite of the fact that they are constantly invaded by thousands of Tourists, the people are friendly, greet everyone they meet with a "Good Morning" and are very helpful. Among the many highlights were visits to the old British Navy Dockyards built by convict stonemasons in the 18th Century, worship in St Peter's Anglican Church (1612) and snorkelling amongst brilliantly coloured parrot fish in limpid turquoise pools of warm (26C) water.
Perhaps the most unforgettable experience was to be invited to a traditional Sunday Brunch in the home of one of the long term Bermudian residents. Bob Doe picked us up mid morning in his outboard driven sleek dinghy he designed and built himself and took us to his (and Fiona's) magnificently restored home on Smith Island for a wonderful meal of boiled cod fish, vegetables and trimmings. There were several other couples there for brunch and before we left we visited another magnificently restored old two storied mansion owned by another couple.