Day 1 in Bermuda!
I have to admit, I didn’t sleep much the night before our 8am arrival into Bermuda. As soon as I started seeing it get light outside, I headed out to our balcny to see what I could see. I knew from checking the weather before we left that there was a chance of showers off and on throughout the day. Yeah, it was pretty murky out. Warm and humid. The balcony was wet with rain, and I had noticed that we had slowed considerably.
After two days of seeing nothing but endless water and nothing else other than a distant ship here or there, I finally had something to see! I wasn’t entirely sure of it at first, so I had to grab a short video and zoom in to be sure.
This could only mean that we were getting very close! Bermuda is surrounded by a very imposing reef, especially from the North, that extends out over 10 miles. Over the years, there have been hundreds of shipwrecks from those who have tried to navigate through the labyrinth of razor-sharp coral. Where most cruise ships dock (and especially the larger ones) is at the Royal Naval Dockyard, on the far East end of the island. The only safe way to get there is to enter into the reef system on the far west end of the island. The approach comes very close to Fort St. Catherine on the extreme Northwest corner. Then after rounding the corner, the channel heads almost due East. If you didn’t know, it would almost seem like you’re passing the island by because when you first see land, you get VERY close to it. Then, it fades away as you’re again miles offshore until the ship makes the 90-degree turn to the South to enter the Great Sound and the dockyard.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of my first glimpses of the beautiful pastel homes. I was too busy taking my phone off of airplane mode to connect to the internet via cell service. I had full bars, at least for a moment. I had to double-check the weather in order to plan our day. Here are two of the most useful main links I use:
I had been watching the webcam at the Royal Naval Dockyard for weeks, trying to get a handle on which way the ship would dock. Having an Aft Balcony, we would either be facing towards the North with nothing but open water as our view, or to the South, with views of the island across the bay. The good news was that our ship was the only one to be in port during our 3-day stay. It was one of the deciding factors when booking this cruise. You can find out what will be in port when HERE. It’s a very valuable tool.
Our thought for today was to get off the ship about as soon as we were cleared to disembark. My wife and son were to get in line for the NCL-owned high-speed catamaran ferry that took us over to St. Georges and the other side of the island. Meanwhile, I headed over to the Bermuda Information Center to purchase 2-day Bus/Ferry passes for the three of us. It is a 45-minute trip over to St. Georges, and the next ferry wasn’t running for another 2 hours or so, so I was a little stressed out about buying the bus passes and also making the ferry. Turns out I had plenty of time and didn’t need to walk quite as briskly as I did. It’s OK though, as I certainly needed to walk off some of the great food I’d had while on the ship. I thoroughly enjoyed looking into the crystal-clear turquoise waters and seeing all of the fish. It was something that my son had never seen, and I was thrilled he could experience it. We even saw several Seargeant Majors, which are one my personal favorites.
Once we got off the ferry in St. Georges, we had to make a decision. We had each brought raincoats packed in our backpacks, so we were prepared should it rain (spoiler alert, it did). Should we explore picturesque St. Georges, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on our way to Tobacco Bay Beach? Or should we get on a bus and head to Clearwater Beach and Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve?
We chose the bus ride to Clearwater and Cooper’s Island. According to the bus schedule, we could take Bus Route 6. The bus schedule was a little confusing, and I did not realize that there are TWO different bus routes that are called Route 6. One directly services Clearwater Beach. The other does not. Of course, the bus that we hopped on doesn’t service that area. It was about a 10-minute walk past the far end of the main runway of the airport. The bus driver was more than helpful and asked us how long we were planning on staying there. We weren’t sure, so she told us where to get back on the bus since the bus 6 that actually heads to Clearwater Beach won’t start arriving there until after 2pm (like 5 hours away). Not ideal, but certainly not the end of the world.
I knew that the vehicles drove on the “wrong” side of the road, and they were set up like they are in the UK with the steering wheel on the right side. I knew that the stereotype was that people drove like maniacs. I also knew that the roads were very narrow, and seldom straight, but I was completely unprepared for the white-knuckle ride. Wow. I would think that to drive in Bermuda, you have to be completely on your game. I doubt anybody ever falls asleep at the wheel down there. I think it requires your complete concentration.
I was really enjoying the scenery, as it was a completely different place than I’d ever been. The flora was very unique. I had never seen these types of trees before, and we got an up-close and personal look at them on our bus ride. The bus clipped many branches and limbs as we twisted our way from St. Georges to the beach.
Getting on that bus was also really the first true interactions we had with Bermudians. Bus 6 isn’t really a bus that most tourists frequent, and it’s typically used by locals. I was absolutely amazed at how genuinely friendly everybody was, from the bus driver to the locals heading to their jobs. Conversations flowed easily. Locals asked us where we were from and where we were going. As a new patron got on the bus, everybody on the bus would greet them. I was blown away. It seemed much farther than the 700 miles we traveled from New York; it was like we traveled to a completely different world. I loved it.
I find it amusing that there seems to be different etiquette for different situations. If we’re hiking on a trail, it is almost as if we are expected to greet everyone we encounter. Or at least acknowledge them with a “hi” or a nod. But, if we’re in an elevator, everyone is dead silent and facing towards the door. From what I could tell, Bermudians are far more polite than we Americans are.
A tip for other first-time visitors to Bermuda:
If you need help, before asking a Bermudian a question, be sure to greet them. Say “Hello,” “Good Morning,” or “Hi, how are you doing?” I’m pretty sure that they consider it rude if you don’t. It is surprising how much it makes for more pleasant interactions.
Clearwater Beach and Turtle Bay
I’ve been to many beaches up and down the East Coast of the U.S. and there’s many that I love for many different reasons. From the bustling boardwalk of Wildwood, NJ to the solitude of the Cape Cod or Canaveral National Seashores, I love them all. Well… except for “Poopy Beach” or “Bug-Infested Beach” or “Tick-Infested Beach,” but those are stories for another time. I can’t say that this area had the solitary beauty of a Gilligan’s Island type beach like Hawksnest Beach in St. John USVI, but it was pretty breathtaking. Maybe it was the weather. I’d love to visit it again on a day that wasn’t so drab.
We changed into our bathing suits and wanted to check out the snorkeling with the gear we bought from Amazon. I’m glad we now own snorkeling gear, even though we didn’t use it nearly as much as I would have liked. The weather was in the low to mid 70s, and for New Englanders like us whose “home” beach is Ogunquit, Maine, the water was pretty brisk but tolerable. Unfortunately, our masks kept fogging up. In hindsight I should have brought with us some lens de-fogger like Cat Crap, which I’ve used with great success on my ski mask and eyeglasses.
I did bring my DSLR Camera, but the photos posted here were taken from my cell phone. We’ve come a long way in the past 25 years since my honeymoon where we brought disposable waterproof film cameras! I had researched ways to take pictures and videos underwater and realized that the most cost-effective was to buy protective lanyards for all of our phones. I had chosen these Pelican Waterproof Lanyards. They exceeded my expectations! I needed 3, so I had purchased a two-pack and a single. They worked so well that my wife ended up lending one of them to a co-worker of hers who spent the summer in Hawaii. I haven’t seen any of those pictures, but I hear that they were very happy with it too.
We ventured from Clearwater Beach to Turtle Bay, to many of the other beaches in the Cooper’s Island Nature Preserve. Each seemed to be better than the previous one. Still, we were alone and didn’t see anybody else the entire time we were there.
I was busy taking pictures of the rock formations and the waves crashing upon them and did not notice that I was walking and standing in a place where several Portuguese Man-O-Wars had washed up on the shore. Whoops! l had read that they were a common occurrence in Bermuda, and whether or not you’ll see them washed up on the shore depends on the wave action and wind direction. Once I noticed one, they seemed to be everywhere. It was time to get going anyway, as it was starting to rain steadily.
We made our way back to Clearwater Beach and changed back out of our bathing suits. We walked back to the bus stop and took the next bus into Hamilton. It wasn’t a very long wait. Honestly, we were glad to get out of the rain.
Our bus took us past the caves, The Swizzle Inn, and Bailey’s Ice Cream Parlor. We should have stopped. It was almost 2pm, and we were hungry. We didn’t really have a desire to see the caves, as we’ve been in plenty (From Howe Caverns in NY to Lost River Caverns in PA). They do seem pretty spectacular, though… I’ve also heard very good things about the fish sandwiches and pitchers of rum swizzles from The Swizzle Inn, and the ice cream right across the street. Maybe on our next trip back here which is coming up in April.
From the bus terminal in Hamilton it was a very short walk to the waterfront to catch the ferry back to the Dockyard. We were planning on heading back to the ship, grabbing a quick bite, and then taking the ferry back to Hamilton. It was Wednesday afternoon, and it was scheduled to be the very first Harbor Nights, a summertime street fair that takes place every Wednesday night along Front Street in downtown Hamilton. It features food, crafts, and Gombey dancers. I’m pretty sure we heard once we got back to the ship that it had been cancelled due to the weather.
Once we returned to the ship and changed, we realized that we were pretty tired. We had gallivanted all the way across the island and back, and after we had an early dinner, we ended up just crashing. We wanted to get a good night’s rest, since the weather on Thursday was going to be spectacular, and we had a full day planned.
Note: Just wanted to take a moment to mention that some of the links that are posted on this site are affiliate links, which means that should you click on a link and make a purchase, Mike’s Barbaric Yawp may receive a percentage of any potential sales (at no additional cost to you). I will only ever link products that I have specifically purchased and found value in. I typically do my homework and read reviews and buy only buy quality products that suit my needs. I will only recommend products that I think are an outstanding value.
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