Bermudaaaaaaa

 So, basically. . .

(Facebook messenger, April 2015)

Anna:  Hey, do you have some time this Sunday?

Me:  Loads. What's up?

Anna:  This is probably crazy, but I want to win a trip to Bermuda and I need your help.

If I win, I'll take you with me. . . 

Me:  Let's do it.

And we did. Shockingly.

 Mostly because Anna is a prize-winning genius, and I happened to have a camera, a free Sunday morning, and a reputation for going along with crazy ideas. 
(Fun fact: our first hang out in college involved handing out twinkies and hohos to random strangers all over town.) 

Anyway, that's how I ended up in Bermuda. For free. And kid-free. (For the first time since before I had kids!) It was just what I needed. And pure bliss. And so much fun. Also, a lot of spontaneous singing of, "Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama to key largo, montego . . ." well you know the rest. :)

Us.

Our home for 4 days, Grotto Bay Resort:

   

On our first full day in Bermuda, we headed to Hamilton, Bermuda's capitol.

We souvenir shopped, and ate lunch at this wonderful new Indian restaurant that was tucked away in a surprisingly beautiful alley. We would never have found this gem, except we got really lucky because there was this magical hot tub at the resort where we met the most interesting people every single day.  (Seriously!) 

And the very first day we met Barry, a lonely old bachelor and Bermuda native, who gave us spot-on advice about where to go and what to eat. So wherever you are, thank you Barry!

 

The next day we headed to historic St. George's. We traveled by bus and tried to see who could snap the best pictures out of the dirty bus window while moving, albeit at a pathetic 35 km/h (23 mph) which is the speed limit on the island. Here's one of my shots of the local houses, the bright colors made me enormously, and probably disproportionately, happy.

We spent a couple hours wandering around the little town, full of interesting old buildings, and more than its fair share of unfinished or dilapidated buildings. It sort of felt like a strange ghost town. Maybe it was just off season.

A replica of the British ship that settled the island.

(Or took over and resettled it, depending on who you ask.)

And the ducking stool, used for punishing gossips and other naughty women.

An unfinished church

And a finished one.

And whatever this is/was . ..

Creepy, much?

We also had an awesome lunch near the docks at a place called Wahoo's. (Thanks Barry!) Where we met pretty much the whole family that owns the place, and a retired farmer, whose name is possibly Huberth, but since no one can pronounce it, they call him Mr. Smith. He comes every single day for lunch, orders the same thing, at the same table, and always feeds his bread to the fishes. Except on this particular day, an eagle ray swam past right as he was feeding them, which according to old Mr. Smith has never happened before. I guess there's always something new to look forward to.

Back at the hotel, the day was still overcast and rainy, so we headed to the underground caves to swim. This was seriously one of the neatest things I've done, and one of the highlights of our trip.

 

On Saturday the sun came out. FINALLY!!!! So we headed to the beach. We asked the cab driver for a recommendation and he took us to this beautiful little beach on the south shore with pink sand, clear water and total privacy. It reminded me of how much I love the ocean, and how healing it can be.

  

On our final morning on the island, we decided to venture into Tom Moore's Jungle. Apparently this poet came and wrote some poems while sitting under a tree, and they named the whole jungle after him even though he was only there a couple months before he fell for a married lady and had to flee before the husband killed him. Or something like that.

Anyway, it was raining, but we forged ahead. We found the blue hole and some cool caves, then decided to head back to our favorite hot tub to get warm. Instead we got lost, found Tom Moore's Tavern, and then hiked all the way around the jungle on the terrifying roads with no sidewalks. Spoiler alert: we survived.

Then it was time to head back home to schedules and responsibilities. And I was so excited to see Drew and the kids, that I wasn't even that sad to leave! I think that's what you call the perfect trip. Just long enough to relax, make memories, satisfy your wanderlust, and then head back home with renewed appreciation for the comfort and joy of your normal, boring everyday life. 

At least for a little while. :)