By David Gourley
Around the start of 2015, Cathy and I had a rather
agreeable problem. We
had accumulated a substantial number of air miles and we weren't sure what to
do with them. We had so many that we
could have a free return flight with BA across the Atlantic, even upgrading to
business class in one direction. I must
qualify the word “free”: since the old Air Miles company changed to Avios in
2011, you have to pay airport and fuel taxes as distinct from the actual
fare. These were not exactly nominal in
our case, but even so the cash value of our free flight was substantial.
We
decided to return to Bermuda. We had
been there all of 47 years previously.
As newlyweds in 1968 we embarked on a round-the world trip, centred on a
stay in New Zealand and including a coast-to-coast journey across the USA by
Greyhound Bus. This might have been the
Swinging Sixties, but the British economy was in a sorry state, one result
being that the Government had imposed a draconian exchange rate, allowing one
to take out of the country no more than £50.
This sum was worth rather more than £50 today, but was still woefully
inadequate for our purpose. There was a
“get out” clause: the restriction did not apply if one was travelling within
the Sterling Area. Thus we commenced our
trip by flying out to Bermuda where we were able to change our money before
carrying on to the States. We had had
just two nights there, but managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing.
We
thought it would be interesting after all this time to go back to Bermuda and
also see more of the island. We booked a
week at the Fairmont Hotel in Southampton.
We were familiar with the Fairmont chain, having enjoyed stays in six of
its hotels in Canada and also, a bit closer to home, the one in St Andrews,
Fife. The chain has two hotels in
Bermuda, the other being in the capital, Hamilton. We had a look at this and were sure we'd made
the right choice. The Fairmont
Southampton is a fine hotel located in extensive and beautiful grounds, with
complimentary shuttles to and from the coast roads and beaches on either
side. Southampton lies towards the
western end of Bermuda and is one of the nine parishes into which it is
divided. Confusingly there is a Hamilton
Parish which does not include the capital - they are named from different
people.
We
flew out business class. Quel
différence! It was nice to walk past
the massive queue snaking its way towards bag-drop and get immediate service at
the dedicated desk before proceeding through fast track security to the lounge
where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of champagne and tasty snacks and soup. We liked too the comfortable seating and
legroom in the flight cabin. For our
main course we had a delicious “panfried beef fillet steak, crushed celeriac
with peas and a red wine and peppercorn sauce”.
I'd love to say this is our normal mode of flying but sadly that is not
the case: our return journey was an overnight flight in steerage!
The
friendly taxi driver who transferred us to our hotel - nearly everyone we
encountered in Bermuda was friendly - drew our attention to the distinctive
white roofs of the houses. These are
stepped and designed to catch water, of which there is no fresh supply in
Bermuda, apart from the rain. Our hotel
room was standard, or in Fairmont parlance moderate, but it was huge, with a
walk-in wardrobe, and in just about any other hotel would have qualified as an
upgrade, even a significant upgrade.
We had
prepared ourselves for the fact that Bermuda is expensive. This reflects its isolated geographical
position, a small island, or more correctly archipelago, in the middle of the
Atlantic, the closest land being Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, 640 miles
away. The standard of living is one of
the highest in the world, being up there with the Scandinavian countries. The currency is the Bermuda dollar, used
interchangeably with the US dollar which is equal in value. Bermuda does not, I would say, have a
European feel or a North American feel.
Nor, contrary to what some would assume, does it have a Caribbean feel,
being in fact a thousand or so miles to the north. The feel is, well, Bermudian.
Our
stay was on room only terms and, predictably enough, the various dining options
at the Fairmont were fairly expensive. I
had thought that, for our last night, we might push the boat out and dine at
the hotel's prestigious Waterlot restaurant.
But I now examined the menu more closely and realized that the
vegetables were separately charged meaning that, with taxes also to be added, a
main course alone was somewhat over $100.
We enjoy dining out but this was getting to be silly money. By and large, though, we ate well at the
Fairmont and particularly liked their lovely Italian restaurant, Bacci. The house speciality, Macaroni alla
Buttera (macaroni with spicy sausages, sweet peas, tomato sauce and
parmesan), is recommended.
The
view from our room took in Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. I am something of a lighthouse addict and
this is as fine an example as I've seen anywhere. It's open to the public and was within
walking distance so we went there on our first morning. One is rewarded with a magnificent view
taking in much of Bermuda, with the capital visible in the distance. The main island is a rather curious shape
that resembles a fish hook with the westernmost part, at the tip of which is
the Royal Naval Dockyard, thus looping round.
From our vantage point we could see how densely populated Bermuda
is. It is beautiful, but there is very
little countryside.
We had
been wondering how we were going to get around the island. The hotel operates complimentary shuttle
boats to Hamilton but we found that there was just one trip out and one back,
respectively in the early morning and late afternoon. The lady selling tickets at the lighthouse
put us straight. The island has an
extensive bus network; services are frequent and fares are surprisingly cheap
given this is Bermuda. We took a bus
into Hamilton. We did not this time
tarry in the capital, getting a boat across to the Dockyard. This no longer serves its original
purpose. Its historic buildings remain,
with some tastefully converted into shopping malls. Nowadays large cruise ships will normally
dock here rather in the capital. Right
at the very tip of the island is its most popular attraction, the National
Museum. There was no time for a visit,
so we returned the next day.
We
experienced at the Museum one of two disappointments during our stay regarding
attractions. We particularly wanted to
see the Commissioners House, with its many rooms, and the surrounding ramparts
but both were closed, due to damage caused by Hurricane Fay, which had ripped
through Bermuda several months previously.
Mercifully there had been no fatalities.
There was enough else in the Museum to make the visit worthwhile.
Curiously
perhaps, the Museum includes the “Dolphin Quest”. We don't as a rule go to see captive wild
animals, our aversion going back to our safari in Kenya some 25 years ago. We have been of the view ever since that wild
animals should be born free and stay free.
But we got talking to a bubbly young lady who was one of the staff. It was clear to us that she genuinely loved
the dolphins: “If we opened the gates to the Atlantic they'd huddle in a
corner, frightened.” Star of the show
was a baby dolphin that was just a few days old. On our return to the hotel we diverted to
Horseshoe Beach, a public beach which is adjacent to the hotel's private
beach. Some consider it to be Bermuda's
loveliest beach. We have not checked them all out, but I think
this might well be right. The island's
Kite Festival, a wonderful sight, was taking place there.
The
next day we purchased an all day bus pass.
We used this to revisit a couple of the places we'd been to back in
1968. We had on that occasion visited
two caves, Leamington and Crystal. The
former is now closed to the public, but in any case it is the latter that are
truly impressive. You descend to a
subterranean lake which you cross using a pontoon bridge. Utterly beautiful. Rather as with the Terracotta Warriors in
China, discovery was accidental, in this instance the result of two teenage
boys hunting for a lost cricket ball. A
few months later we visited what in my book are the most spectacular caves
anywhere, those at Postojna in Slovenia.
Even Crystal Cave must take a bow.
As in
1968 we continued to the former capital, St George’s. Most visitors to Bermuda will find their way
here. It is a pleasant, if somewhat
touristy, place whose attractions include a ducking stool. If the timing is right one can watch a
re-enactment. We did not see this and I
am quite glad we didn't. Back home I
stumbled across a YouTube video and felt just a bit uneasy watching a young
black lady undergoing a ducking though obviously she was a volunteer who was, I
like to think, enjoying the experience.
Mind you, having lately retired, I can think of one or two ex-colleagues
whom I might, given the chance, sentence to a ducking!
If St
George's is in the northwest part of Bermuda, St David's is in the
northeast. We went there because we
could. There's no other reason to go
there. There was no discernible centre
and it was really a case of hanging around for the next bus back. It does, it is true, have Bermuda's other
working lighthouse. Like Gibbs Hill, it
is supposed to be open to the public but its doors were resolutely shut. It is not as impressive. We returned to St George's then took a scenic
route back home. This took us along the
far side of Harrington Sound. Bermuda
might be tiny, but it boasts this large inland body of water.
We
had, back home, been keeping an eye on the weather forecasts for Bermuda and at
one point these seemed decidedly discouraging.
In the event we enjoyed good weather every day, except for one. We had decided on the day in question to
attend a church service which was scheduled to take place on the beach. Rather ominously this had been moved inside
the hotel, albeit it was not yet raining.
The rain was not long in coming and persisted for the rest of the day. But we enjoyed the service, a lively affair,
whose congregation included locals as well as hotel guests. The preacher was introduced to us as someone
who could “preach the paint off the walls”.
He undertook not to do so this time, since he wanted to remain on good
terms with the Fairmont!
We had
planned to visit one of Bermuda's main attractions, the Aquarium. This seemed like a good rainy day
option. But we were in for the second of
our two disappointments: it was, the concierge informed us, closed. Nothing to do with the Hurricane, it was
undergoing refurbishment. We ended up
having a lazy day in the hotel. This was
rather pleasant and something of a change for us. We have in other places said that we should
just unwind and enjoy our hotel only to find other things to do. The Mena House Hotel in Cairo comes to
mind. During a week’s stay, a day or two
of lazing round the pool was planned.
But, hey, the Pyramids were just across the road!
It was
good weather again the next day, enabling us to go ahead with our plan to walk
along part of the Railway Trail. Yes,
Bermuda did once boast a railway. This
ran almost the length of the island, from St George’s to Somerset, on the way
to the Dockyard, with a spur into Hamilton.
It was open for just seventeen years, closing in 1948. This was despite the fact that it had been,
on a per mile basis, one of the most expensive railway lines ever built. Until 1946, cars had not been allowed in
Bermuda; their unbanning seems to have sounded the death knell for the
railway. But the money was not entirely
wasted since the whole line, apart from the Hamilton spur, has been converted
into a long distance footpath.
The
Trail runs through our hotel grounds.
From there we set off for Paget Marsh.
In terms of parishes this took us from Southampton to Paget crossing the
length of Warwick. We stopped a couple
or so times to talk to locals. One chap
responded, when we mentioned the previous day's rain: “We don't call it that
here, we call it liquid sunshine.” In
Warwick we regrettably didn't realize that, if we deviated a short distance
from the Trail, we'd find Cobbs Hill Methodist Church. This is of historical importance as it was
built in the early nineteenth century for slaves and free blacks. Most of the churches at that time allowed
only whites or had separate doors for blacks.
It forms part of Bermuda's African Diaspora Heritage Trail.
Looking
at our map, I’d assumed that Paget Marsh was on, or at least close to and well
signposted from, the Railway Trail. But
there was no sign of any signs! We ended up being driven to the Marsh by a kind
lady. The Marsh is a nature reserve that
is unchanged since the first settlers arrived.
There is a boardwalk, otherwise there is no tourist infrastructure so no
cafe, no toilets. We got a bus back to
our hotel and spent the afternoon on Horseshoe Beach.
Our
last full day was spent in Hamilton, sightseeing and also buying presents. We went across on the shuttle boat and were
expecting to get an ordinary bus back since we weren't expecting to be long in
the capital. However, our visit was
sufficiently long for us to find that the shuttle boat back, in late afternoon,
was well timed. Arrived in Hamilton we
decided first to have a more leisurely cruise around Hamilton Harbour so did a
round trip on the ferry which crosses over to ports of call in Warwick and
Paget parishes.
Back
in 1968 Hamilton, nowadays a thriving commercial centre, was a rather sleepy
place. Picturesque Front Street, the
main thoroughfare which runs alongside the Harbour, is pretty much
unchanged. We tried without success to
locate the Bermudiana, once one of Bermuda's best hotels but long closed and
converted into a commercial building. We
had had lunch there in 1968, when we were based at a smaller establishment
across the Harbour in Paget.
We
made use of the main supermarket, described on the outside simply as
Supermart. A surprise awaited us when we
went inside: evidence of the Waitrose brand was all around. But we were not able to use our Waitrose
cards so there was no free coffee, no free newspaper. It is in fact a family business who are “the
exclusive retailers of Waitrose products from England” They had a tempting array of hot and cold dishes
for taking away or eating outside, including goat curry. We have yet to see this at our local Waitrose
in Surbiton!
If
Hamilton in 1968 was rather sleepy it was also rather troubled. Not long before there had been riots. There were to be more riots in the future and
in 1973 the Governor, Sir Richard Sharples, was assassinated. It so happens that he had previously been the
MP for Sutton and Cheam, a constituency that adjoins ours. Race relations was the problem. Bermuda divides roughly 3:2, black: white,
yet had been ruled by a white elite whose record was rather like that of its
counterparts in the southern states of the USA - abysmal. As in the States, the sixties saw the rise of
a civil rights movement, manifested in
the Theatre Boycott, a protest against segregation in theatres and other public
places.
Obviously
tourists can only get the most superficial of impressions, but nowadays it does
seem that the races rub along reasonably well with both enjoying full
rights. The current Prime Minister,
Michael Dunkley, is white but there have
been several black prime ministers and his cabinet comprises a mix of
races. Certainly today's Bermuda is a
safe destination. The local paper deemed
worthy of a headline the fact that a man had admitted to the theft of a $7 sea
bass!
We
ventured into a government building on the off-chance that it might be open to
the public. It wasn't, but a friendly
lady chatted to us. It turned out that
she was the Health Minister and the sister of the country's first female prime
minister (who was black). A chap said
hello to us as he passed by on his way out.
“That was the Prime Minister,” she told us.
The
nearby Parliament building was open.
Here we had a complimentary tour conducted by the Sergeant at Arms. He was, somewhat to our surprise, in casual
gear: Parliament was not sitting and clearly he was not of a mind to put on his
finery just for the likes of us. The
chamber is a Lilliputian version of its Westminster counterpart, with
Government and Opposition thus on opposite sides, rather than arrayed
Continental-style around a semi-circle.
Bermuda is, in terms of population, the largest of Britain's remaining
overseas territories. It has full
self-government, with Britain appointing its Governor. In a referendum in 1995 independence was
decisively rejected (cf Scotland!)
Our
sightseeing in Hamilton also included the Cathedral and the historic Perot Post
Office, named from Bermuda's first Postmaster General who in 1848 produced the
country's first postage stamps. Only
eleven of these are known to exist today so they are extremely valuable. Having decided against our hotel’s pricey
Waterlot Restaurant for our last meal, we returned to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
which has a cosy restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal.
We had
one of those curious last days where one can still, because there is a late
flight, be in holiday mode in the morning, on this occasion enjoying some more
time on Horseshoe Beach, before reality asserts itself and one is going
home. Our transfer to the airport gave
us one last chance to admire Bermuda's luxuriant vegetation.•
