It’s Bermuda day!!!
This morning we woke up early and had breakfast in Cabanas- the buffet on deck 11. We were able to watch our ship dock in Bermuda.
We then went back to the room to get ready for the day.
We debarked early at 9:30 am and found a taxi driver named Rene Bean to take us on a taxi tour today. Rene’s minivan was parked right near the ship so we took off on a 4 hour tour of the island! Rene is a tour guide descended from many generations of Bermudian tour guides and he knows his stuff!!! If you ever are in Bermuda and want to take a taxi tour- be sure to ask if they are Blue Flag taxis- if so then they are regulated by the government in regards to price etc.
First up on our tour was this random looking bush on the side of the road. Rene picked off 3 leaves for us and cracked them then passed them out to us.
It smelled like Christmas! Turns out Allspice grows wild on Bermuda!
Almost immediately after the allspice tree, we were about to round a corner on this narrow street. A big bus was coming the other direction. When I tell you we came SO CLOSE to this bus — we could hear the bus passengers gasp and curse while Rene and the bus driver were trying to figure out the logistics!!!
Once we escaped (barely) with our lives, we made our way to this sweet little chapel that used to be a slave home. Apparently in Bermuda, everything is made of limestone- hence all the white.
So I found this interesting- there’s no city water system in Bermuda. See the grooves on the roof? They filter the rain water that goes down the tube and collects in the tank. Then a pump pumps the water out for you. The limestone helps to filter the water and clean it! If you run out of water you can buy it from the government, but most people just rely on the rain!
Next we went to Fort Scaur. There used to be over 90 forts in Bermuda (which is made up of many connected islands)! I’m not the biggest fort fan, but the views made it worth it!
The water is just insanely blue! I did not use any filters on any of my photos.
Plus it was a spectacular day! Barely any clouds in the sky and the temps hovered around 72*with a constant breeze. Just perfect!
Next up on our tour was Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. There was a small (and reasonably priced!) gift shop where we picked up some water and our Bermuda magnet.
You can climb the 182 stairs to the top if you’d like to (we were paying for this tour by the hour so we skipped that) for $2.50. There are gorgeous views from the grounds.
Back in the minivan. Just look at that water!!!
The gray blobs in the above picture are ash mixed with cement that the Bermudian government puts out to protect the reefs. The ashes come from when they burn all their garbage that can’t be recycled. Love that!
They drive on the opposite side of the road from us in Bermuda (which is a little disconcerting at intersections and roundabouts!).
We drove past the Unfinished Church in St. George. They were building this church but then decided to move the capital to Hamilton so they just left this church unfinished. Wild!
Saw this gorgeous swimming hole that’s only there at high tide.
Very cool rock formations all around the coast!
MIL had fun sitting up front with Rene! He tells some wild stories!!!
Check out this WILD huge compound we passed! Apparently it used to belong to John J. Astor!
We drove down by the airport- this is the welcome sign there.
Beautiful golf course with celebrity homes up top. Apparently Michael Douglas has a home here.
We passed this wild cemetery. All the graves are above ground because of the water table and they are all made of limestone.
We then made a stop at one of Bermuda’s famous pink sand beaches! Rene found us this amazing and practically deserted beach to visit.
Just LOOK at this water!!!
A close up of the pink sand in CSP’s hand. You can see the pink granules.
After the beach we headed toward Hamilton. On the way Rene drove us by his house. We wrapped up our tour in Hamilton, the capital. We thanked and payed Rene and I snapped a picture to remember an unforgettable tour!
Bless Your Heart 