Bermuda

Bermuda

January 1982

[This is a precursor of what would become routine journals of our trips.  It was written as a letter addressed to “Dear Family,” mostly by Marjorie with Russ adding in some things here and there. It’s been revised into my journal “style.” This was our first travel “splurge,” in memory of, and funded by a small inheritance from, Russ’ Aunt Jessie. We pulled our then little Matthew out of school; didn’t think missing a week of kindergarten would stunt his intellectual growth too much.]

           

Yesterday we left Albany in 15º weather.  After good flights (Albany to Newark and Newark to Bermuda) we step off the plane into a 65º downpour!  By evening the rain has stopped but there are gale force winds.  Plus Matthew has a bit of a fever.  I go to dinner in the hotel (Mermaid Beach) and bring stuff back for M & M.  Our room overlooks the ocean so it’s quite a noisy night between the roaring winds and the crashing surf.  

By morning everything has calmed down and we have a lovely day: sunny & 70º! Beautiful views of the rocky shore and beach from our little balcony. One of our morning routines is feeding bread to little birds on our balcony; almost any time anyone goes out on the balcony they start lining up.  A cute little lizard also visits occasionally, even posing for pictures. Breakfast in the hotel dining room (the food is great!).  Matthew feels fine this AM but has a rash that we think might be chicken pox.  What a start that would be to our island vacation!  The hotel calls in a local doctor (very British), who says Matthew is fine, not chicken pox.  She asks what our plans are, and kindly gets us started by driving us to the Aquarium. 

             Lots of interesting things there – both inside and out in lovely sunshine.  After lunch at one of the “pubs,” we catch a bus to the Blue Grotto Dolphin Show.  Out of all the children in the audience, guess who is picked to be in the show?  Matthew and an older girl ride in a rowboat to the platform where the trainer is putting dolphins through their routines.  The boat, of course, is being pulled by one of the dolphins.  Matthew shakes hands (or flipper) with a dolphin and feeds him a few pieces of fish.  He really enjoys it, Russ gets a few pictures.  After the show a bus to Hamilton for a little window shopping.  Back at the hotel Russ & Matthew go for a walk on the beach.

           

Bermuda is lovely and we are having a great time.  It’s very different from any place we have ever been!  There is very little open space – houses are built right up to the roads and down the sides of hills.  Everyone uses a water collection system that involves the roof – so they all look the same.  Beyond that, color takes over and anything goes!  Lots of pinks, blues and oranges.  This seems to be the time of year for planting gardens and there are lots of citrus trees loaded with fruit.  Not too many flowers, but lots of green – everywhere!

 

We are feeling sorry for ourselves today because it’s in the low 60s and cloudy . . . then we buy a Boston newspaper and read the headlines about the USA weather! Sounds like we picked a great week to come to Bermuda.  After breakfast we take the bus to a beautiful cave – stalactites, stalagmites and mightytites (a little cave humor there).  

 Then on to St. George’s and most of the day there.  St. George’s is a different sort of place from what we have seen so far – very old and quaint.  Lots of interesting shops, a couple of replicas of ships at the dock.  A town square complete with stocks and town crier.  Marjorie buys some sea shells – one that you can hear the ocean in.  

A beautiful church and cemetery.

  In the afternoon out to a restored fort on the eastern-most tip of the islands.  By the time we get there it’s raining lightly, wind picks up considerably.   

Another bus to the perfume factory in Bailey’s Bay.  This small factory has been in operation since 1930, making 5 perfumes from native Bermuda flowers.  Unfortunately, the scents are very flowery and quite overpowering.  It would have been nice to buy something completely native to Bermuda, but there is very little craft work done here – mostly because the tourists are interested in buying items at relatively low prices from England, Scotland, and France.  Most shops are filled with English china, woolens and fancy perfumes.  The craft work is mostly produced with imported materials – except for the Bermuda cedar.

      Next day begins w/ a bus ride to the Bermuda Botanical Gardens.  The bus system here is very efficient  ̶  tourist can’t rent cars; there are lots of motorbikes, but we remember our friend Diane took a nasty spill on one. The buses are themselves a real experience!  Bermuda is very hilly, roads very narrow.  Needless to say, most of the bus drivers go like crazy – especially around the sharp curves.  The easiest way to tell the natives from the tourists is to look at the ones gripping the backs of the seats – those are the tourists.  Everyone else is taking naps. 

The gardens are lovely – lots of different palm trees and a few flower gardens, tho not too many things in bloom right now.  There are some wild morning glories and the pretty hibiscus seems to be everywhere. 

On to Hamilton for a walking tour and then split up – Russ and Matthew to the dock area and Marjorie to the stores. 

Matthew is being a model 6-year-old – very, very good.  He seems to be enjoying the trip as much as we are.  Since breakfast and dinner are eaten at the hotel, he has made friends with many of the dining room staff and some of the guests.  He seems to be the only child here, so he is getting lots of attention.  The meals are excellent.  Lots of things are offered at each meal.  We’ve been eating a big breakfast, light lunch, and much too much for dinner.  Hopefully we’re walking some of it off each day. 

   On Day 4 Matthew and Russ go early to Fort Hamilton while Marjorie enjoys some nice sun at the hotel beach. The fort is surrounded by a moat with towering vegetation that dwarfs little Matthew! We meet at the fort at noon for a “skirling ceremony” (bagpipes and Scottish dancing). And panoramic views of Hamilton.

After a light lunch of tea and scones, a walk to the docks to catch a “sea gardens” cruise (glass-bottomed boat out to the coral reefs).  Matthew and Russ then head back to the hotel, quite tired from a tour of the fort’s catacombs; Marjorie does a little shopping.

    Next day we learn again to ignore weather forecasts (predicted cloudy today w/ occasional rain).  At breakfast it’s very windy & cloudy, but a bus ride to the western tip brings beautiful, clear, calm sunny weather (low 70s) while we wander along a beautiful bay. 

Marjorie goes back to the hotel after lunch, M & R to a lighthouse.  It becomes very windy and rather hazy (but still no rain) – Russ thought he would be blown off the top of the lighthouse, but braves it for some photos of spectacular views.  Matthew & Russ walk along the shore road and, just as they are getting rather tired, Anthony (one of our waiters) happens along and gives a ride the rest of the way to the hotel.  He is a real favorite with Matthew, who drew a picture of Anthony waiting on us which now decorates the hotel dining room.

  During the night there’s a big downpour w/ very high winds.  Rain continues until noon, we get pretty well drenched on the walk from the bus stop to Verdmont, a National Historic preservation. But it’s well worth it –a lovely old Bermuda estate occupied up to 1953 when it was turned over to the government.  We’re the only visitors, so a very personal tour of the house by an extremely pleasant guide, who seems very glad for the company!  Too bad the weather prevents touring the surrounding gardens.  After our tour a cab into Hamilton.  The rain stops, sun comes out.  

 We split up after lunch: Russ & Matthew to the Maritime Museum, Marjorie to the hotel for some beach exploring. 

Just 5 minutes west of the hotel is a stretch of absolutely lovely beach along Warwick Long Bay (on which we have seen people on horseback).  This is a lovely day to be out, lots of sun and just enough wind to make good waves.  The beaches in Bermuda are extremely clean w/ stiff penalties for littering.

Everybody is still talking about the weather in the rest of the world.  It must be very difficult for the people who are natives to comprehend temperatures as low as those that are being reported.  We’ll be in for a real shock when we get back.

Sadly, we’re coming to the end of our stay.  We’ve had a lovely visit and hate to see it end.  Part of our enjoyment has certainly been Matthew’s wonderful nature.  He has been a great travel companion – hungry at mealtimes, sleepy at bedtime, eager to see and do everything.  He’s really enjoyed being outside in the fresh air, and has acquired a rather nice tan.

The best thing that could have happened on our last day would probably be to wake up to rainy, windy, cold weather. That would have made leaving a whole lot easier!  Instead, we’re blessed with the most beautiful day of the whole trip so no one wants to leave.  After breakfast west along the beach for a last look at the lovely Bermuda shores. 

One last sand castle for Matthew, a chance for Russ to finish a roll of film.  Tho the water is quite warm, Marjorie can’t get Matthew to go in with her.  Maybe the waves are a bit much for him. 

            Just as we’re packing up to leave the hotel there’s a knock at the door.  It’s a brightly dressed white-haired older gentleman (who we had seen swimming in the surf at the hotel every morning) who says he’s from the police and wants Marjorie – as a witch!  Earlier in our stay we were at a fort that had a “treasure hunt” in a little witch museum  ̶  visitors could stick pins in a map of that part of the island, the closest pin to where a treasure was hidden winning a prize.  Marjorie was the winner; of course, only a witch could have done that!  There’s no time for jail before our flight, so Marjorie instead gets a lovely scarf w/ a map of Bermuda on it, inside a very official looking envelope, as a going-away present.

 

We leave Bermuda at 2:45 – a beautiful view of the island from the plane.  No hitches on the way back, except the 6-hour layover at JFK becomes over 7 hours because of a flight delay.  Matthew is exceptionally good in the airport, keeping busy with games, puzzles, snacks.  He sleeps on the flight to Albany and thereafter every time we sit down.  Back to Albany at midnight: it’s -3º (quite a shock after the beach in the morning).  Everything is fine at home – our neighbor had shoveled snow for us, no frozen pipes, the car starts next morning.  A wonderful time was had by all!  The weather could not have been much better – even fairly cloudy days had nice periods of sun.  And, of course, we will have lots of pictures.