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| Clock Tower at the Royal Naval Dockyard |
Our ferryboat splashed and jumped over cerulean waves as it sped from the Royal Naval Dockyard toward the historic town of St. George’s. In the distance, a colorful palette of pastel houses with white roofs were nested into the hilly green landscape of the Bermudian shoreline like hidden Easter eggs waiting to be discovered by eager children.
On board the boat, an equal mix of American tourists and Bermudian residents swayed back and forth with the gentle motion of the large vessel. I shared a small table for the 45-minute ride with a local man who was reading the day’s newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. He introduced himself as Peter as he folded the paper and we began to exchange small talk. He beamed with a warm smile as he shared stories of his many grandchildren.
When Peter stood up as our boat docked in St. George’s, I noticed he was wearing Bermuda’s iconic knee-length shorts, complete with long black socks pulled up high over his shins. As he politely motioned for me to exit before him, I couldn’t stop myself: “I love your shorts,” I quipped.
His dark brown eyes widened suddenly as he said, “Don’t ever say that to a Bermudian man.” Then, slowly, a sly grin spread across his face, easing the tension of the awkward moment. “When you compliment my shorts, you’re not saying anything about how much you like my legs!” he concluded with a wink.
Like my new friend with the handsome legs, the people and places of Bermuda are a perfect mix of classic English charm and endearing island flavor. While Bermuda has a long history of high tea and celebrating its “stiff upper lip,” it was actually discovered by Spaniard Juan de Bermudez in the first years of the 16th century.
Even following this first European sighting, Bermuda’s largest island remained uninhabited for more than 100 years. It wasn’t until British colonists, headed for the New World settlement at Jamestown, became shipwrecked in the extensive rocky reefs of the mid-Atlantic archipelago that this island paradise was called home.
For travel-planning convenience, Bermuda is sometimes lumped into a category with the Caribbean islands, but its 150-plus islands and islets are not a part of the Caribbean Sea, or even near it. Bermuda is actually about 600 nautical miles off the shore of North Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean…a quick flight or just a day’s cruise out of New York harbors.
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| Bermuda is known for its pink-hued sand. |
Today’s visitors will find that while it’s certainly not a “dry heat,” the climate in Bermuda offers a lovely shade of warm and a healthy dose of sunshine. Soak it up on one of several sugary-soft beaches, famously pink because of a unique blend of crushed white coral and the red-tinted shells of a single-celled organism called foraminifera.
Its beautiful beaches, quaint towns, great shopping and proximity to the States has made it an increasingly popular cruise destination for East Coast departures, like Royal Caribbean out of Bayonne, Princess out of Brooklyn, and Norwegian out of New York and Boston. In December 2008, Holland America Line announced that its ms Veendam would more than double its planned number of 2010 Bermuda sailings from New York, from 11 to 24.
I cruised to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas with an eclectic group of 35 AAA members from around Western and Central New York. Our experience together started when we boarded a luxury motorcoach in our hometowns, bypassing busy airports for a convenient bus ride directly to the ship’s pier at Cape Liberty, NJ. Although I was with the group, for the first time in my life I was traveling alone. No golfing husband, no chatty girlfriends and, mercifully, neither of my two exhausting young children. The sense of freedom was exciting.
After saying goodbye to Peter at the ferry dock in St. George’s, I set out onto the aged red brick streets to explore Bermuda’s original capital city on our first day in port. The town crier loudly announced a historical re-enactment at high noon, and women in period costumes walked the streets, greeting the tourists, posing for pictures, and offering directions.
I casually wandered around St. George’s for over an hour, in and out of stores, and up and down narrow lanes, admiring the quaint storybook appeal that has drawn so many to Bermuda.
On Duke of York Street, I walked the aisles of St. Peter’s Church, originally built from Bermuda cedar in 1612 and still used today for Anglican worship services. Outside in the churchyard I studied the weathered tombstones of slaves and soldiers who laid Bermuda’s earliest foundations so many years ago.
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| The Unfinished Church |
Not far from St. Peter’s I came across the picturesque ruins of what is called locally the Unfinished Church. When construction started in the 1870s, it was intended to replace St. Peter’s, but financial difficulties and a damaging storm left it abandoned on the eve of its completion. Today, it is a protected historic monument and a fantastic photo opportunity for tourists.
As I stood in front of the Unfinished Church, I noticed a young woman jogging towards what I thought was a dead-end street. Hopelessly curious, I packed away my camera and followed her around the corner, past the church ruins. As I made the turn, I was surprised to see that she was gone, and the walled street actually went up and over a steep hill. I decided on a whim to see where this adventure would take me and continued walking down the unfamiliar road.
Been There, Going Back
After a short trek up the hill, I passed a lush green golf course and soon found myself descending towards Tobacco Bay, a narrow beach sheltered by limestone rock formations on Bermuda’s East End. I chose a lounge chair and kicked off my sandals, resting my feet in the warm sand. I watched for several minutes as a handful of families splashed and played and snorkeled in the shallow turquoise water. My kids would like that, I thought to myself. I’ll be sure to bring them with me…next time.
Following my spontaneous side trip, I was happy to have found my way back to the ship and the comfort of my cabin. When I met up with my AAA group at dinner, we shared stories of our excursions into Bermuda, and they all enjoyed a good laugh as I recalled my encounter with Peter.
Throughout the cruise, we had gotten to know each other and enjoyed passing a familiar face on board the large ship, dining together on occasion, and playfully comparing notes on Bermuda’s most famous cocktails—the Rum Swizzle and the Dark & Stormy. “If you don’t like the first Dark & Stormy, you’ll surely like the third,” a fellow traveler suggested when I turned up my nose at the thought of mixing ginger beer with dark rum.
As it happens, I never did make it to that third drink. I’ll just have to add that to my list…for the next time I have the chance to be charmed by old Bermuda.
For a lot of cruisers, the stress of flying to a departure destination—with additional baggage fees, layovers, lines and expensive parking—is not the preferred way to begin a vacation. If this rings a bell, you will love the convenience of AAA’s group cruises, which deliver you and your bags directly to the ship dock. And best of all, one price covers everything: your cruising accommodation and meals—even taxes and motorcoach transportation to the pier. These two cruises feature itineraries with the Bermuda traveler in mind: offering plenty of time in port to explore the islands…and to bury your toes in the warm pink sand beach at Horseshoe Bay.
For more information or to make reservations, call 1-800-242-4244
or click AAA.com/GroupTours.
