The Isle of Bermuda

I am finally getting around to pictures of Bermuda! We've been back for two weeks - it's about time. To be honest, Bermuda is not a place I would have ever thought to take a vacation. There are too many other more popular places that would have enticed me. But Bermuda won my heart! I loved it! For those of you who were as ignorant as I was about Bermuda - let me enlighten you!
Although Bermuda is located only 600 miles East of North Carolina, it is actually a British territory - the oldest British overseas territory, in fact. It is an archipelago of 138 islands that are connected by bridges. It is about 20 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point. It is further north than most realize, however it still has a tropical climate with pink sand beaches with the most beautiful crystal blue waters! The population is around 60,000 but they usually get close to 500,000 tourists a year. Because they depend so highly on tourism for business - they have a reputation for being very friendly and accomodating. We definitely witnessed this! Several Bermudians said "hello" or "have a nice day" as we passed them in the street. Bermuda is also a renowned center for international business and has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. It is also very clean and safe.
Because of limited space, it is not possible to rent a car (Bermudians are only allowed to own one car). However, the best way to see the island is on one of these: And don't forget - Bermuda belongs to Great Britian. Keep left!
We zipped around the islands on our scooters and had a lovely time. I was unaware of the characteristic pastel colored houses that Bermuda is known for. The streets are lined with pastel pink, blue, purple, orange, white, yellow and green buildings - all with white roofs. The roofs have two functions - they are very sturdy and can withstand the winds during hurricane season and also the roofs are designed to collect rainwater and drain it into cisterns under the ground. They depend on this water collection because they have no fresh water source. Being surrounded by this Easter-egg colored architecture with the bright white-washed roofs felt kind of surreal in a way! Like out of a story-book.

This is the view of the island as we were arriving early Monday morning (photos compliments of Brad)

Kings Wharf - where the ship was docked for 4 days. The white stone buildings were once used to store equipment and supplies for the English Navy.
Here is a view of the many pastel colored houses with white roofs

A close-up of the terraced roof

For some reason - the idea of taking our helmets off for pictures didn't cross our minds!


The city of St. George - very European, huh?
Church's Bay - the one and only day we spent at the beach. We were completely prepared with wetsuits, snorkles and fins - and the hubby had a wonderful time. Unfortunately the water was too rough for me and after a near-drowning experience (ok, I am exaggerating just a little bit) - I spent my day reading a book on the beach.
He discovered this - did it belong to a marlin or swordfish??? Who knows? The city of Hamilton - the capitol
It was a delightful place!