Bermuda 10/6

10/6-7 BERMUDA 

This cruise itinerary is what is called an inaugural cruise. This means it will be the first time Disney Cruise Line will be sailing to Bermuda. Oft times our greetings in port are special, we shall see how we are welcomed into port. 

We have wanted to visit Bermuda for many years, so when this itinerary was announced we made a booking. 

The history of Bermuda is rich due to it’s Portuguese emigrants, British Settlers, and Slaves. It is one of the most densely populated islands in the world with 3,000 people per square mile. We are also told it is expensive. 

Today Bermuda is very British, with driving on the left, and afternoon tea, cricket and football. It is one of the oldest British territories, yet today is completely independent.  Only Bermudians can own property, and only Bermudians can drive cars on the Island. Hence tourists are allowed to rent only scooters, this seems like a dangerous combination.    

One must mind their manners on Bermuda as there is an unwritten code of greeting one and all with a “good morning” or “good afternoon” followed by a “how are you?”. 

A traditional dish is Salt Cod Fish and Potatoes. This dates back to the 18th century when cheap and plentiful salted cod was brought to the area by Newfoundland sloops.

Bermuda came into view at about 0700 and we are expected to be cleared at 1000. 

Goombay dances greeted us. 

Our plan for the day is to get a day Bus/Public transportation pass and explore hither and yawn. The pass will cost $19.00 each and is also good for the Ferries. The cost for a single trip is $5, so it should be worth it. 

I am afraid we are back in the land of typical cruise port shops, which we avoid, AND WE DID !!!!!

We were cleared to go ashore just a bit before 1000 and off we went. We learned the Bermuda Public Transport system added ferry service between  Royal Navy Dockyard and St. Georges because of the ship being in port. This is great so we rush and buy a one day pass for bus and ferry service,  and run to catch the first ferry to St Georges. This was about one hour ferry ride which took us the east end of the island. 

St Georges is a lovely little community, established in 1612, it is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the new world. Here tales of the US Civil War, yellow fever, shipwrecks, gunpowder theft and Spanish attacks, come alive.  

We walked among the streets soaking in the ambiance of the town. I should say the people of Bermuda are pleasantly polite, one is greeted with a Good morning/afternoon quickly followed by How Are You? Be prepared to follow suit and see how the local people warm up to you by extending this greeting. 

We had stopped into a local shop and entered into a 30 minute conversation with a 7th generation local couple. We talked history of Bermuda and how intertwined the history of Bermuda and the US actually are. In many ways, we might not be the US if not for Bermuda and their running of the blockade and providing US with valuable gunpowder during the revolutionary war. The couple run a couple visitor apartments and we received a card from them.  After a very short time on the island we feel there is so much to explore we might need to return. A week here would be about right. 

The couple recommended a local restaurant named the White Horse Pub.  This pub takes one back to the 1600’s with it’s dark wooden interior. The building was once the Merchant Hall. Yes, we had lunch there and it was great. We split a very large fish sandwich served on raisin bread. Sounds strange but is was excellent. 

Time was getting close for us to catch the #1 bus to Spittle Pond Nature Preserve. This 60 acre nature reserve has great potential for bird watching. Sadly, we were there mid day and there was little to no bird activity. This would be good in the evening or early morning, and with a little research, see the migrating birds stopping here. It was a nice little hike down the hill to the ponds. 

Hiking back up the hill, we waited for a bus to continue our journey. Our information that the bus was to be there every 30 minutes was a bit inaccurate. So this gave us time to visit a local nearby grocery, where we purchased a ginger beer. 

Back on the bus, we traveled to Hamilton. Hamilton is a busy city where there is a bus hub. Here we transferred to the #7 bus as Lynn wanted to visit one of the pink sand beaches. She had chosen Horseshoe Bay, figuring there would be good bus service there as it is well known. There is a nice boardwalk which leads you to the beach area. Here there are vendors with food and beach chairs and umbrellas. There are also changing rooms and showers available as part of the National Park. 

Here one does find the pink sand in this sheltered bay. Yes, it is very popular and there were a lot of people there enjoying the cool water and sun. I did learn there is an annual Kite Flying Festival there on Good Friday. 

We walked along the sand dipping our toes in the water before we hiked back up the hill to catch a bus back to the Dockyard. 

The bus and ferry service works very well and should definitely be considered a good transportation option. 

Back at the Dockyard, we stopped into a pub for a snack before our sunset cruise. Well, our sunset cruise is just a ferry ride over and back to Hamilton. 

On the way over, a young girl asked if I was going to take a picture as I had my camera out. She asked if I would take her picture, her guardian was there and said ok. So here she is. 

On the ferry over to Hamilton, several folks asked us where we were visiting from and sincerely wanted to know how we liked Bermuda. One thing for sure is Bermuda is a place where striking up a conversation with a local is really easy, and enjoyable. 

At Hamilton we stayed on the ferry for the return trip. The ferry was packed on the return, so when arriving at the terminal we simply sat and waited for the masses to debark. Here we struck up a conversation with a young man, who happened to be a PADI Dive Instructor.  We talked about the diving in the area and he payed us a nice compliment, stating we were not the typical tourists, he said he never suspected we were on the Disney Ship. 

We walked back to the ship and watched the sunset from Deck 10. Dinner and bed were on the agenda for us.