Holiday in Transition # 13: Have a Bermudaful Day!

After six long and rough days at sea, we woke up this morning to find we’d arrived in paradise at last.  I know that description sounds a bit over the top, but it’s the way I’ve always felt about arriving in Bermuda, and I still feel that way right to this day.

It’s hard for me to think about Bermuda without sliding into a lyrical mood – which some people might consider maudlin.  Well, let them.  For me, Bermuda is a place of so many memories.

First, memories of my parents.  Both Canadian, they were thrown together in Bermuda by the fortunes of war in 1944-45, and married there.  Then, my sisters and my brother.  When I was 13, our family went all together for a winter holiday in Bermuda.  So often, I recall to mind a visual image of us – at a much younger age – posing, playing, perfecting our own very weird sense of humour.  All the time, my parents right there – watching us, but also reliving their own memories.  Particular memories of my mother and father dancing to the live orchestras found in those days in all the major hotels – and how they loved to dance together!

That first trip hooked me on Bermuda – the island paradise which is truly like no other, anywhere.  I’ve been back so many times that I’ve lost count.  And here come more memories – of people I’ve met, shows I’ve seen, wonderful meals in local restaurants, quiet times of peace and contentment in parks and on beaches.

Then, later in life, I finally married – and my husband loved Bermuda as much as I did.  We travelled there together, twice, and created wonderful new memories for each other in the process.

Now, he’s gone too (cancer, Christmas Day 2013) and it’s just me and my memories.  But that’s such a rich treasure that I always feel uniquely “at home” in Bermuda.  Other places, I go and need to busy myself with visiting attractions, historic sites, churches, castles, whatever.  In Bermuda, it’s enough for me just to be there.

And that’s what I did today.

This was the first time I’d ever arrived in Bermuda by sea – and it created a whole different perspective for me.  When you ride the local ferries or tour boats, you’re always close to the ocean.  Now, I was many stories in the air on my cruise ship, and looking down on buildings that I’m used to staring up at!

As the map shows, Bermuda is a chain of islands occupying the southern quarter of a large oval area – a worn-down seamount – ringed and covered by coral reefs.  They’re the most northerly reefs in the world, thanks to the warm Gulf Stream.  There’s only one safe passage through the reef, and a long winding channel to finally reach Hamilton Harbour.

Most cruise ships today are so large that they have to go to the newer cruise terminal at the former Royal Navy Dockyard.  But my ship, the Ocean Princess, was small enough to work through the narrow gap at Two Rock Passage and come right into a berth on Front Street in Hamilton.

I actually spent most of my day in and around Hamilton.  Explorations of other areas just can't be crammed into the few short hours we had.  Most of the pictures I took today are inspired by the odd experience – I’ve never had it before – of arriving by sea and then viewing a cruise ship docked right in the heart of downtown.

Those cloudy views were taken in the morning from the Paget-Warwick ferry which circles around the inner part of the harbour, serving five different stops across from the city.

The sunnier pictures, later in the day, include two views of the Cathedral of the Church of England on the crest of the city at Church Street – a small but nonetheless austere, dignified and stately example of 19^th century Gothic.

Front Street itself is lined with shops, often with restaurants on the second floor of the buildings.  Together with Reid Street and Church Street, this comprises the heart of Bermuda’s famed luxury shopping district.  Right at the foot of that tall flagpole is the spot where my parents used to meet in 1944-45 when they were courting.

At the west end of Reid Street, the Par-la-Ville Gardens provide a lovely oasis in the heart of the city.  An old traditional moongate reminds us that honeymooners (or any married couples) are to join hands, make a wish, and step through the moongate together.

Of course, the most spectacular views of Hamilton, and of its lovely gem of a landlocked harbour, come as the ship eases away from the berth in the later afternoon and begins the lengthy journey (about 1.5 hours) back to the exit from the reefs.

The highlight of this all-too-brief visit was a streetside patio lunch with a long-time and valued friend, a born-and-bred Bermudian -- or, as some locals pronounce it, “Bermujan.”  Traditional Bermudian accents soften many consonants in a very musical and easy-listening kind of way.

Welcome to one of my several "home" lands, and one that holds many of my most treasured memories.