Quite a day. I am knackered and ready for bed but know if I skip writing a quick blog tonight that I will just fall further behind. If I had to write a simple summary it would go something like "panoramas, reunions, champagne, rainbows on beaches, friends, and pink sandcastles in my shower." That doesn't even quite cover it, so I guess I will start typing.
I started the day with an abundance of kitty snuggles and extra coffee that I indulge in on days off. I met up with my friend Dev.
Oh, who was I kidding, I went to bed without finishing the blog. It's morning so will try again. I met up with my friend Dev with the intent to go and take some pictures. The first stop was here so he could say hi to the kitty kids...Lexi hissed at him and the Panthers hid out. Our friends Steve and Louise had arrived in town --they are the guests of honor this week they both lived here, met here, and have returned to get married here. The plan evolved from going to explore St. David's to exploring the Cathedral and sites around town so that we could meet at Spring Garden for some cuisine in the Barbados or Bajan style...specifically roti.
 |
| The smaller side of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity |
We paid the $3 admission to ascend to the top of the tower in the church and get a nice lookout of the island. There are just as many stairs as I remember from last time, but it's not too bad if you are mobile, but the elderly couple ahead of us were having second thoughts at the beginning. As an aside if you don't like stairs, it is always free to roam about the interior of the main floor and see the architecture and stained glass.
 |
| Some of the stained glass side windows |
 |
| About 2/3 of the way back from the altar |
 |
| A view of Hamilton from up top |
We headed down to Albouy's Point, checked out the view from there as well as a nice yacht that was in town for a visit. Mostly I tried to get closer to this Kiskadee that was atop a statue. The statue is called "We Arrive" and was unveiled in Barr's Bay Park in 2010 to commemorate an incident from a darker time in history back in 1835 when a slave ship called the Enterprise was forced into Bermuda's waters by storm. Britain had banned slavery in the colonies, so when this ship travelling from Virginia to South Carolina was forced out to sea in a hurricane it had to seek assistance from the British base in Bermuda. The British orders were to release the 78 enslaved men, women, and children -- they were then interviewed by the local court officials and given the option to remain in Bermuda or return to America with the ship. Oddly enough only 72 remained, This was the most famous such event, but not the first on Bermuda's shores, and not uncommon on other colonial islands at the time. Nonetheless, this is the story that was chosen for this statues, and here it is, with and without a Kiskadee on top.
 |
| With Kiskadee |
 |
| "We Arrive" statue without Kiskadee |
 |
| Just some pretty boats in the harbour |
And then it was off to Spring Garden. The last time I ate there was about a year ago when Dev was also on island for a visit. Despite the lengthy time between visits, the waiter broke into a huge grin and came over, shook our hands, and asked if we wanted the usual round of Lemonade, and if Dev would be having Lamb Roti. A few minutes later Steve and Louise walked in and received a similar warm welcome. Everyone remarked that this is one of the nicest things about Bermuda -- walking into an old haunt and the staff being genuinely happy to see you, as well as walking down the street and running into multiple people you know, etc. I have not seen Steve for 3 years, but it could have been yesterday. The reunion was just an immediate return to old patterns of conversation, summed up nicely in this Blackberry photo. Anyone who knows this crew can pretty much make up the dialogue from the expressions on their faces.
 |
| Caption this as you will |
After that the decision was made to go out to Marley Beach for a swim. We picked up bottle of Prosecco, and walking down the road I heard my name called. I looked across the street to see Lisa from Boston, freshly landed on the island for the wedding, and Laura. Soon thereafter, we were all frolicking on the sands of the private beach at Marley. The day certainly brought up some funny memories -- and as I have mentioned before, one person isn't enough to remember all the crazy and funny stories...it takes a collective memory between friends. No sooner had we hit the water than Steve stopped swimming for a moment and said "Oh my....I have just remembered the last time we were all on this beach..." and loads of other memories came flooding back. We took a little swim out to a coral boiler, and then back to shore. Some of the south shore beaches have a riptide, and I am not a good swimmer, but apparently if you are a diver you also understand that the water around Bermuda has a higher buoyancy than some places due to what I think is a higher salt concentration. This means I made a pretty easy swim there and back, which isn't bad for "a flatlander' (aka person from landlocked Saskatchewan). When almost back on shore I made the same rookie move I always make...turning my back on the waves while playing in shallow sand, getting pummelled by an unforeseen rogue beach wave, getting knocked off my feet, dragged back into the ocean for a quick churning, and then slowly spit back up on the sand face first by the next returning wave. I almost thought no one was going to catch this awkward moment, but Steve pointed and laughed, drawing every one's attention to the moment about 3 seconds before I would have been within the reach of dignity. Thanks for that Steve.
 |
| Scene of the crime -- literally, as we had some murder mystery parties here...and loads of other ones too |
Back on solid ground, I sheepishly retreated to my towel, and we sat around to dry out and plot the pirate map. Missing this week is our friend Simon, who is in Malaysia today, en route to who knows where. Simon, Dev, and Steve all lived at Marley, so it's their home base and semi private playground. When Simon left the island last fall, he got a bottle of special reserve rum from Goslings, the Bermuda rum company, and buried it. He sent the treasure map to Steve so that he would be able to hunt for it and dig it up later. So we were sitting on the beach plotting probable locations to find the buried treasure, but, no one had a sand shovel available at that moment (although I suspect Steve just wanted to dig it up after we all left).
Just as we climbed back up stairs on the cliff to make it back to the patio, we got yet another light shower of rain. At least this time I was already wet. We opened the Prosecco, toasted the bride and groom to be, and caught a beautiful rainbow shining over the beach. It was a beautiful day with lots of beautiful scenery -- the parrot fish were so large that we could see them in the water from the balcony several hundred feet away as well.
Finally we were off, time for a quick shower which resulted in enough pink sand in my shower to build a small sandcastle mansion (must have been acquired when I get dragged along the beach by the rogue wave). Of course it was only a theoretical pink sand castle, because moments later it was time to mobilize to Coconut Rock for sushi and meeting up with a few more friends. Andy came out, as well as Steve and Erika (Erika is awesome, she had a picture of her cat in a snowsuit --in Bermuda -- which makes my level of crazy cat lady get downgraded, plus she is just a really cool girl), and Mike. Again, fresh faces in the reminiscing and a whole slew of other stories were able to be enjoyed again!
 |
| Back in C-Rock after a long abscence...yes that is a water in front of me |
And that was my day in Bermuda yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment