Thursday 19th October 2023
Hamilton, Bermuda
Mary wrote: We were late arriving in port at Hamilton, so getting up early at 0710 was unnecessary. I was meant to be in the Neptune Lounge at 0845 for an 0900 start, but the boat did not get clearance. We finally set off at 0930 in a minibus with the driver/leader, Paul, and 17 passengers.
It started badly, as a man on a back seat accused the Fred Olsen tour leader of taking the two best seats on the bus for himself. The Tour Leader explained that the seat did not have a reserve notice on it and anyone could have sat on it
We stopped at the top hotel on the island, the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, which has a private beach cove to which it ferries its guests in a minibus. We saw the cove later on the tour. We are in minibuses as there is only one very short stretch of dual carriage way and one roundabout on the island. The houses all have limestone roofs and a strategically placed bar on the roof to funnel all rainwater into a huge water tank used for all purposes at the house, including drinking water.
Our next stop was at Southfields, where we walked into an area that seemed like a rainforest but apparently had originated just there. The trees grow roots that hang from the branches and then root and produce a jungle of trunks, branches and more roots.
We stopped and went inside the cathedral which is Anglican and which suffered an arson attack and was rebuilt in the late 1800s, and only consecrated in the early 1900s. It has tremendous stone carvings behind the altar of Saints. It is made of Bermudian limestone with gothic style windows and tremendous bright blue stained-glass windows which showed up brilliantly because of the bright sunshine outside. I understand you can climb the tower for good views, but we were not given the opportunity. We kept seeing glimpses of lovely coves and there had been a train track which is now used as a walking and riding trail. Our guide did drive down a short section to show how it had returned to nature.
We then went to the lighthouse for a 10-minute stop and had some good views. It had a shop, but T-shirts were still $19.00 upwards. We drove over the smallest drawbridge called sunset bridge which can open by hand to give a gap of 32 inches, to allow a sailing mast to get through. It dates back to the 1600s.
We then arrived at Saint Georges Dockland and were given 30 minutes to explore. All the old buildings used by the British Navy have been repurposed, and I made a beeline for the pottery I had seen from the bus. It is a working pottery, and a man was checking a kiln. There were lots of pieces I liked, and quite a lot were depicting Bermuda glazed inside with the blue of the sea and natural rugged finish on the outside. Priced at $500 upwards.
After taking photos of the buildings and popping my head in a diamond merchants, I had to get back to the bus. We passed the Bay where the Americas Cup Yacht Racing had been held and the golf course where the PGA Championship has been held and are also to be held against this autumn.
Our final stop was so see the pink sand beach but it did not strike me as very pink. We were late getting back by one hour, as Paul gave us 30 minutes extra tour time to include the beach. I met up with Mel at 1300. He had got back on time from his caving. Taxis had been used for his tour since the roads was two narrow for a bus. We had a quick lunch and then went back into the town and had a walk around. I really needed some more summer trousers, so I went into Marks and Spencers, which I was surprised to see, but they had nothing suitable.
We got back onboard our ship at around 1545 and we went onto deck 7 so I could take photos of the Sail Away. Everybody on board for 1630 for a 1700 sail. It was lovely sunny weather and we stayed on deck for all of the Sail Away Party with Funky Blue playing and some people dancing – (60’s POP music).
Cocktails were handed out but I refrained as they were very orange in colour! We did not go to the after-dinner entertainment. The clocks get moved forward an hour tonight.
In Hamilton, families can only have one car, usually used by the wife to get children to school, and the man uses bikes or scooters to get to work. Petrol is $13 per gallon.
