Bermuda

When we left NYC, I finally go a good photo of the Statue of Liberty. The first time we were in Manhattan, we took one of those tours for tourist that takes you right by it, but of course I didn't own a digital camera then, in fact I don't think I was carrying a camera, at all. I was just tired of developing film and deciding what to do with all those photos.

We cruised for two days, on calm seas before arriving in Bermuda. When we went to Bermuda 4 years ago, I investigated flying from NYC and staying at a hotel; I discovered it was less expensive, by half, to get on a cruise ship and go there. Because Bermuda is isolated and has very few natural resources, everything is pretty expensive.

This is our 12th cruise, we think!, and we've seen cruising change over the years, especially the last 6 or 7 years, some for the good, some not; we still enjoy it and I'm sure we'll keep cruising, in the future.

While in Bermuda, we did what Bermudans do, rode the buses and the ferries. I have fascination with lighthouses; on our first day in port, we visited the famous Gibb's Hill Lighthouse. From the top, you can see most of Bermuda. Once we got off the bus it was a long, hot, beautiful walk to the lighthouse. We were accompanied most of the was by a young woman, on her way to work, who wanted to make sure we went the right way. One of the great things about traveling is interacting with the locals.

We didn't visit St. David's Lighthouse, maybe next time, but I managed a photo as we left the harbor. Don't you just love all the colors of their houses?

We learned that most Bermudans don't own their own homes, they rent for all their lives.

The next day we went to the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo. It was small and very interesting.

We saw fish and animals that were new to us, and the flamingos were brilliant.

There were some great statues on the grounds, too.

Bermuda is such a lovely place, pink sand beaches,

every building must have a limestone roof, to filter the rain water.

This year, Bermuda is 400 years old. We missed the celebration, but here's a commemoration from 100 years ago.

Photo ops abound, it was hard not to snap away, all day long.

Our last day in port we rode the bus and ferry, again, to the Crystal Caves. The were discovered in 1905, when two young boys, 10, lost their cricket ball, down a hole. Instead of writing it off, they went in after it. I've been to many caves, and what was interesting about this one, was it wasn't cold! Caves in most of the world are frigid, but this was was about 70 degrees.