Today we arrived at our destination Bermuda, the only stop on this cruise. This gives us three full days to explore the island. The really great thing is that because the ms Veendam is a small ship, Holland America is the only cruise line that docks in the capital city of Hamilton. That means we do not have to travel too far for shopping or for transportation to other parts of the island. Our rooms face directly onto Front St., where all the action is.
We had breakfast once again at the back of the ship while watching the scenery of the Bermuda Islands float by. The first thing I noticed about Bermuda is how colourful the buildings are and how turquoise the water is.
While doing some research on Cruise Critic, there were a few names of private taxi tour guides that kept coming up and one of them was David Fox. Fortunately for us, he was able to accommodate us for a five hour tour of the island. The taxi rates are set by the government … up to four people is $40/hr, five plus people is $55.50/hr. Kris and Becca decided to explore Bermuda on their own so it was the four girls with David. As soon as we got off of the ship, there was David with a friendly smile and dressed in traditional Bermuda shorts with long socks.
We started out by going to the northern part of the island to St. George. The drive was beautiful. You would have to be a brave soul to drive in Bermuda. The first thing is that they drive on the left, there are many roundabouts and a lot of the roads are windy and very narrow.
On the way to the town of St. George, we stopped at the sea glass beach near Alexandra’s Battery Park. When I read about the sea glass beaches, I was expecting tons and tons of sea glass. We learned from David that there isn’t as much as there used to be due to the tourists taking it. We did manage to get a few nice pieces.
We arrived in St. George and David said that we would stay there for about an hour and a half. That would give us time for lunch and some sight seeing. Lucky for us, we got there just in time to see the re-enactment of the dunking of the wench. In the past, if a woman was found guilty of gossiping, they would dunk her in St. George’s harbor. It was quite funny watching this young girl get dropped into the water.
David suggested that the Wahoo Pub was a good place for lunch and he was right. We had something called Wahoo Nuggets. Wahoo is a white fish that tastes really good. After lunch we had just enough time to go to The Bermuda Perfumery and St. Peter’s Church. We also saw some outstanding golf courses, many beautiful bays with lots of yachts, and homes of the rich and famous, including NYC mayor Bloomburg, and Michael Douglas.
We got back in the van and headed towards the southern part of Bermuda. This part of the island is home to some of the best beaches in the world. We did not stop at any but did see many that we will investigate tomorrow. We got as far as Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse. From this spot, you get an excellent view of the island.
During our tour, David told us a little bit about living in Bermuda. It is very expensive to live here. The cost of a loaf of bread is $5.00 and gas is $8.50/gallon. Each home can only have one car but getting that car will cost you quite a bit. If the purchase price of the car is $10000 or under, you will pay a tax of 75% of the purchase price. That means that $10000 car actually costs you $17500. But it gets better. If the purchase price is more than $10000, the tax is 150%. They have no income tax or sales tax, but the government will tax you in other ways. Before we knew it, our time with David was over. He dropped us back at the ship with a much better understanding of Bermuda.
We met up with Kris and Becca who also had a fabulous day in Bermuda. They got to Horseshoe Bay Beach which they said was very beautiful. It is rated one of the top 10 beaches in the world, according to National Geographic.
We all decided that we wanted to do some shopping in downtown Hamilton before dinner. We did manage to get into a few stores but then hunger overtook us and we went back onboard. We learned from Teresa and Marie that the menu did not look that good in the main dining room so we decided to have dinner at the buffet. Everyone was pretty tired from that day, so a few of us decided that a nap would be best before tonight’s festivities.
Karen, Marie, Theresa and I headed up to the Crow’s Nest for tonight’s “Name That Tune” which was songs from the 1980’s. Unfortunately Team C.C. lost on a song that technically was released in the 1990’s. We only got 1/2 question wrong which gave us 33 out of a possible 36 points. Oh well, more practice is necessary. We ended the night at the late night buffet enjoying Italian night. I think tomorrow is going to be a beach day.
EVERYDAY should be a beach day!