Geeky Yet Waterproof

Yesterday we had our first port of call: Bermuda. I can’t tell you how crazy it is to literally wake up one morning and see a tropical island outside your window that wasn’t there before.
We went ashore at about 10am. There was a guided tour available, but we had something better: Grandma Nini. She spent four days wandering around Bermuda just last week on their other cruise, so she knew the whole island.
It was about 80° and sunny — a nice change from the Almost-But-Not-Quite-Snow™ in Oregon.

Bermuda is shaped like a ‘J’. We landed on the short end of the J, then took a ferry to the middle of the long part, which is where Hamilton (one of the two main towns) is located.
When we got into the town, I was struck by the fact that about 50% of the buildings were pastel colors. Not only that, but everyone drives on the left side of the road and has a British accent! But coolest of all: the Bermuda businessmen wear a suit with shorts. That’s right, a tie, a jacket, dress socks, and shorts.

The first place we went to was a little restaurant called the Hog Penny, where all four of us (Grandma Nini, my mom, Isa, and I) ordered Bermuda Fish Chowder. It was heavenly.

Next, we walked to Fort Hamilton. Fort Hamilton is a stone fortress built by the British in the 1870’s to defend against American forces. It’s the Bermuda equivalent of the Philippines’ Intramuros, with cannons, ramparts, and creepy dark tunnels (really). The fort also has a deep mote surrounding it, which is now completely filled with jungle.
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a walking path the whole way through in which we thoroughly indulged. I’ve never seen tropical plants concentrated so thickly around me. I think the best variety we saw was the Monstera Deliciosa, or Delicious Monster, which is also the name of one of my favorite Mac software companies, named after said plant.

After Fort Hamilton, we took the bus a little way up the island. Now, “taking the bus” is not a trivial thing: the Bermudian bus drivers are insane. We almost got run over while crossing the street, and when we were riding one it just about flattened two people — against a wall. But you know what they say… “When in Rome, speak Latin.” When in Bermuda, drive like a madman!

We took the 2:30 ferry back to the ship to have lunch, then went out again to explore some more. We watched some people making glass, and then took one of those little “road trains” around the area. Now, I guess I can’t blame it completely on the driver this time, but Isa and I both almost fell off. It could have been partly due to the fact that we were basically sitting on the equivalent of the back bumper, with no seat belts… But the rapid acceleration wasn’t our fault!

We now have five days at sea, during which time I’ll be desperately trying to learn Portuguese before we get to our next destination: Funchal, Portugal. (Which is actually not in Portugal, but on an island in the Atlantic closer to Africa.)