Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Celebrity Summit / King’s Wharf
85 F and humid/sunny
Tim celebrated a birthday today! By about 9:15 a.m. all fourteen of us were boarding a Winsome bus with our driver and guide, Julie, for a tour of Bermuda.
The view from our balcony in Bermuda for 3 days!!
First discovered by the Spanish in 1511, Bermuda has a population of 67,000 people and we learned that they have strict limits on immigrants. The island is much like islands in the Caribbean, but we are in the Atlantic Ocean. It is coral based with white sand. The island was first settled by the English in 1609 (the Spanish only returned once in those 100 years).
Water is at a premium and if one runs low on water, it can be purchased from the government for $90/1000 gallons. Julie’s water comes from a well, but it is partially salt water. Occasionally she has to buy water.
The average house is $1.2 million, gas is $9/gallon, and bread is $9/loaf. She owns the 14 passenger van and said it cost $100 diesel to fill. Some say Bermuda is the most expensive place to live in the world. She paid $350,000 for her home and it is now worth $1 million ---it seemed like the situation in California.
She also mentioned that they dread hurricanes—because Bermuda is on the Atlantic it can get hit quite hard. She also made a comment on how climate change is affecting the island.
Mayor Bloomberg and Ross Perot own multimillion dollar homes here, as the President’s son. Steven Spielberg keeps his yacht in Bermuda. As we traveled we observed huge mansion-estates, immaculate golf courses, red hibiscus, red, pink, lavender, and peach oleander, and native cedar. In one area the coral reefs go out 10 miles (I was not clear how much of the island this applies to), which is why there were so many shipwrecks (over 300) over the years.
Our first stop was Crystal Caves near Hamilton. We had a very knowledgeable and animated guide! After a very steep walk, we came to “floating pontoon pathways that span a large 55 feet deep azure blue underground lake.” The size of the beautiful stalactites varied from pencil thin to the size of tree trunks. One stalactite under water the “Lighthouse”) looked about 5 feet tall but was really 14 feet tall according to our guide. The top of the water is potable, but a few feet down it is salt water.
Inside Crystal Cave
The next stop was the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo. Highlights included creatures of the Sargasso Sea like the HUGE spiny lobsters, the colorful fishes, the biggest tortoise that I had ever seen (eating loads of lettuce), the flamingos, and the sea anemones.
We had lunch at Swizzle Inn in Warwick. Most had the fish sandwich, but I had Southern chicken, the freshest chicken, probably without antibacterial injections, very tasty. Some tried the trademark Rum Swizzle.
One of my favorite spots was a sea glass beach. What a glorious sight! We were allowed to collect sea glass here and what a bonanza it was! Three different greens, frosted, amber, and white glass covered the beach. Everyone got into collecting the glass, but we were conservative.
Glorious "sea glass" on the beach!!
Our last stop was St. George. In February 2017 there was an article in Victoria magazine about the Bermuda Perfumery, now owned by Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone. I had the magazine article and recognized Isabelle and had my photo taken with her! She told me that when Victoria people visited it was a bad hair day for her. The scents were heavenly!
We also got a quick view of St. George Anglican Church, the oldest Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles.
On the hour ride back to the ship, Julie filled us in about Bermuda. In the 1700s the industries were shipbuilding and whaling. They transitioned to being pirates and privateers, then agriculture, including the Bermuda Onion! Tourism became a big industry, but now International Affairs and “Re-Insurance” are the money makers. Greg explained re-insurance, but I wasn’t completely clear—sounds somewhat like the housing bubble that collapsed the market before 2010.
We noticed that the Bermudans take great pride in their island and keep it very, very clean. We passed over the world’s smallest drawbridge (and it is in the Guinness Book of World Records) and shortly we were back at the ship, hot and thirsty.
At dinner Tim was given a birthday cake with candles and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to him!
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