
On the second day in Bermuda we did the five hour tour of the island. This was fantastic. We were picked up right by the ship and there were about 21 of us in the van. Out driver and tour guide was Samual. He was absolutely fantastic, so funny and very informative.
Samual give us the play-by-play for the entire area as we left the Royal Naval Dockyards. He provided history of the area plus some funny antidote.
Our first stop was at the Cambridge bridge. We learned on our tour that Bermuda is made up of six main islands and I believe about 130+ small islands. They’re all connected by seven Bridges. What makes the Cambridge bridge unique is that it is actually a drawbridge. The drawbridge section is about a foot to 18 inches wide just enough for mast of a sailboat To get through. When we stopped at the bridge it gave us all a chance to stretch out a little and Sam brought along some bread to feed some of the fish in the canal. I forgot what these fish were called but as soon as he threw the bread in the fish were practically jumping out of the water to get it.
Our 2nd stop was at the Gibb Hill Lighthouse. I did climb the 185 steps to the top and climb out on to the balcony around the light on the outside. The views were fantastic. It was very windy. And the climb up was a little tough, but the descent down was easier.
The lighthouse was built in 1846. It is madeout of cast iron and oldest of its kind in the world. Where there for about 10-15 minutes with a bathroom break.
Next onto Hamilton, Bermuda’s Capitol. I have been to Hamilton before some high end shopping and nice places to eat. We were given a little more than 30 minutes. Samuel pointed out a few places of interest, as well as, where the restrooms were. DH and took a walk around checking out a few shops. Hamilton has not changed much in 16 years. You can catch a ferry from the Dockyarda yo Hamilton and vice versa.
We then head on with Samuel pointing out the Govenors house. We learned the Queen Elizabeth appoints a new Governor to the island every 4 years. Samuel said, he is in charge of all the parties.
We also learned that from Bermuda has over 400 churches on its 21 mile long island. We passed many of them some very simple and painted, while others were more elaborate.
We learned the island has no freshwater and that they get all the water from rain. They use their roofing systems which are pictured above* Every house has this beautiful white painted lime stone roofs that are designed catch the rainwater, which they collect in systems that located in their basements.
He also talks about the many celebrities that live on the island or should I say halve houses, Like Oprah, Michael Bloomberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
We next stopped by the aquarium, which is located in the area that they called The Flatts. It gave us the opportunity to stretch our legs and we went to see the giant tortoises which are in a display outside of the aquarium.
Then on to Saint George, which is a UNESCO historical site. Saint George is the original capital of Bermuda. We were there for about 30 minutes, just in time to see a reenactment of a woman being fla UNESCO historical site. Saint George is the original capital of Bermuda. We were there for about 30 minutes, just in time to see a reenactment of a woman being flogged.
There are many historical things to see in the St. George area. Our time did not allow us to see some of the forts, etc. We did get a chance to see the beautiful Saint George church which was built in the 1600s. And we wandered down a few of the very narrow streets with the beautiful colored buildings. Photo above is a Replica of the Deliverance Ship.*
Oh, I forgot to mention when we got off the bus and Saint George we were given delicious Portuguese donuts. It was just enough to hold us over till we go back to the ship for lunch. If we had maybe an hour in St. George we would have time to get a bite to eat. There were some very cute restaurants.
On our way back to port Samuel Provided us with many great facts about Bermuda. We did stop at one stop at John Smith Beach* (pictured above) And later he pulled over to shoulder of the road so we could take photos of Warwick and Horeshoe Bay Beaches.
We were back to the port a little after 2pm. I think we were very lucky to get such a great tour guide.
I keep trying to add photos that I took along the way but I’m still having a problem where it says the file is too big. Every once in a while one of my photos will download. Any ideas?
The only downside to the cruise was when I got back to the ship after the five hour tour I had a splitting headache and wasn’t feeling too good. Then as the ship sailed we had some very rocky seas and I felt worse. It was pirate night and not that my husband and I were not looking forward to it, but it was kind of like been there done that. And since I wasn’t feeling well we decided to stay in and order some room service.
After a hot shower room, a good BLT and a nice hot cup of chicken soup, I was feeling so much better. The ship was very rocky that night but luckily it didn’t bother me. We just kept waking up because it was that Rocky.
I will keep trying to load some pictures, fingers crossed.