Day 6 & 7: Kings' Wharf, Bermuda
We arrived in Bermuda around 1pm after traversing Bermuda famous reefs. Most cruise ships now dock in Kings Wharf, which is at the north end of the country and, as described by a local, "the ugly part". Sam was very excited by the maritime museum in the old British fort, so we had to visit.
The fort and original wharf were build by convicts (i.e. the Irish). The original wharf is still used and as been expanded to accommodate cruise ships. The fort seemed pretty robust especially given the island is surrounded by reefs. No wonder the British used Bermuda as their Atlantic naval headquarters until very recently.
The magazine was underground near an inland underwater cave. The magazine was definitely built for smaller people.
The upper portion of the fort had cannons laying around everywhere. Here are a bunch of 18th century cannons, but they also had a variety of more modern cannons as well as some WWII guns.
Unfortunately, there really wasn't much about maritime history at the fort. It was mostly as history of Bermuda, which was interesting but not what Sam was looking for. Probably the oddest thing was the dolphin experience inside the fort. Pretty weird, but you could swim with dolphins.
The magazine was underground near an inland underwater cave. The magazine was definitely built for smaller people.
The upper portion of the fort had cannons laying around everywhere. Here are a bunch of 18th century cannons, but they also had a variety of more modern cannons as well as some WWII guns.
Unfortunately, there really wasn't much about maritime history at the fort. It was mostly as history of Bermuda, which was interesting but not what Sam was looking for. Probably the oddest thing was the dolphin experience inside the fort. Pretty weird, but you could swim with dolphins.The next day we decided to see the pretty part of Bermuda, so we got up early and headed into Hamilton (the capital). It was refreshing to be in a city where people are just going to work in the morning. We even saw a few bankers in the classic Bermuda suit (Bermuda shorts, knee high socks, shirt, tie, and jacket). Before heading to the beach, we stopped by the Anglican cathedral. The stone looked like it was all imported!
We took a bus to the south shore, which is basically a national park along most of the shore or tennis clubs. These were definitely the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen. All the beaches were connected by trails so you could walk the length of the park. It was rather odd and British, but the park was mowed along the trail with picnic tables and barbecues. I'm used to national parks in a more "wild" state, but this was definitely manicured and maintained.
Since Horseshoe Beach is so famous, we thought we'd check it out for awhile. It lives up to all the hype and then some! Since it was still spring in Bermuda, the only people at the beach were cruise ship passengers. The water was pretty cold, but it was warm and sunny. The beach was great for swimming because you could walk out really far and still be in knee deep water.
We brought our masks and snorkels and snorkeled around some of the rocks. It is really hard to take pictures while snorkeling, but Sam got a few good shots of parrot fish.
The best part about Bermuda was the incredibly friendly and polite people. It was British without being too stuffy. I was also very impressed with how well the society is integrated. There are a lot of different ethnicities in Bermuda, but it was culturally homogenous. It was a really family friendly place, too. Definitely worth a second visit.
We took a bus to the south shore, which is basically a national park along most of the shore or tennis clubs. These were definitely the most beautiful beaches I had ever seen. All the beaches were connected by trails so you could walk the length of the park. It was rather odd and British, but the park was mowed along the trail with picnic tables and barbecues. I'm used to national parks in a more "wild" state, but this was definitely manicured and maintained.
Since Horseshoe Beach is so famous, we thought we'd check it out for awhile. It lives up to all the hype and then some! Since it was still spring in Bermuda, the only people at the beach were cruise ship passengers. The water was pretty cold, but it was warm and sunny. The beach was great for swimming because you could walk out really far and still be in knee deep water.
We brought our masks and snorkels and snorkeled around some of the rocks. It is really hard to take pictures while snorkeling, but Sam got a few good shots of parrot fish.
This guy was pretty big
The coloration was pretty crazy
The best part about Bermuda was the incredibly friendly and polite people. It was British without being too stuffy. I was also very impressed with how well the society is integrated. There are a lot of different ethnicities in Bermuda, but it was culturally homogenous. It was a really family friendly place, too. Definitely worth a second visit.
What beautiful pictures!
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