As usual it is quite difficult to find a place to go during Christmas time that is reasonable priced and this time the only choice we found was Bermuda where actually we were able to buy plane tickets using loyalty points making at least the flight cost part manageable. However because of this we have little choice regarding the connections and have to stay about twelve hours in NY in the airport, we spend the time having lunch and caching up on sleep before the evening flight to Bermuda.
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| Lunch on the way | Tasty dessert |
In Bermuda it takes a bit to pass through passport control and then we have to take a taxi which is quite expensive to our hotel - no rental cars allowed on the island. As a bonus the driver is quite interesting, she is interested a lot about different countries and has traveled to a few of them so we discuss about that until we arrive at the hotel. The hotel is quite beautiful and the room is looking like something from a turn of the 20th century movie and we explore it for a bit until we have to settle in for the night.
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| Four poster bed - looking luxurious | Sitting area |
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| Common area | Stairs to ground floor and breakfast area |
After a good night sleep we wake up in the morning quite hungry and are happy that the hotel also offers breakfast, while it doesn't have that much variety it has enough quantity which is the only thing that matters this morning :).
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| Breakfast table | First ones here this morning |
Our first foray in the morning is to a few nearby shops to buy provisions especially for Christmas Day when everything will be closed. The first shop is close by and we bring the provisions back to the hotel before starting on a larger loop through Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda.
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| Our hotel - looks quite impressive | Typical Bermuda building |
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| Interesting stairway to a city park | Royal Bermuda Yacht Club |
We continue a bit along the waterfront watching the ferry come in and then return towards the downtown area to pass the Birdcage, a former policeman hut in the middle of a major intersection that has become quite popular with tourists.
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| Ferry coming in | House sparrows are the first birds we see |
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| "The Birdcage" - old fashioned traffic control | Interesting detail near a shop |
Next we continue to Queen Elizabeth Park where we are planning to visit the Bermuda Historical Society Museum. It is a nice park to walk through as we explore it on our way to the museum finding no special birds but lots of people relaxing and playing and otherwise enjoying the park. Finding the entrance to the museum takes a bit as the library is close by and the entrances are not clearly marked but soon we are in - we are the only visitors at least in the beginning which makes for a quiet visit.
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| Queen Elizabeth Park | Bermuda Historical Society Museum |
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| Incorporates the National Library | Inside the museum |
The museum has actually a few interesting exhibits about some parts of the history of Bermuda that we aren't aware about like the fact that it was used as a prison for prisoners of war for the Boer war and also from the two world wars. The exhibits cover some beautiful wood artifacts created by the Boer that were interned on Bermuda and sold to the locals for currency.
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| It has exhibits - this one about James Bond's creator | And artifacts |
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| Artifacts done by POW | Also by POW as Bermuda was considered a safe holding place |
Another section is dedicated to the shipwrecks that happened around Bermuda and the artifacts that were found in the surrounding waters. It is always quite exciting to see what objects can be found from porcelain to typewriters.
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| Ships were commonly wrecked on the reefs | Artifacts from a wrecked ship |
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| Found underwater | More modern part of exhibit |
After exiting the museum it is back to sightseeing as we explore other known sights in the area like the old post office or the rubber tree supposedly also admired by Mark Twain during his visit.
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| Old post office | Huge rubber tree admired by Mark Twain during his visit |
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| Only possible rental car | Starlings - another bird to our list :) |
We continue to the City Hall which doubles as the Art Museum. We explore the inside a bit to understand the layout without entering the museum as we plan to do that the next day and then continue to the National Bank which has a small free currency museum that we visit - it is interesting the see the local currency which otherwise is a bit difficult to get. Afterwards we pass the Sessions House, where the Bermuda Parliament is meeting, which is quite a beautiful building as we continue through Hamilton towards the outskirts.
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| City Hall...and also the Art Museum | Inside City Hall |
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| Exhibit in National Bank | Coins for sale |
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| Bermuda Sessions House (Parliament) | Colorful church |
As we leave downtown Hamilton we start climbing towards our next goal, Fort Hamilton which protected Hamilton against any attackers as we learn when we pass tha cannon along the way. The walls are covered in ferns including endemic ones like Bermuda Maidenhair Fern.
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| More traditional one | Climbing to Fort Hamilton |
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| Cannon guarding the approach | Endemic Bermuda Maidenhair Fern |
The entrance to the Fort is quite spectacular as we pass on a new bridge over the former moat which is now filled with vegetation. The fort however is not that exciting with only a few new looking buildings visible so we decide to start our visit by descending into the moat.
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| Entrance to the fort - the moat is full of trees | View into the moat |
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| Fort surprisingly modern looking | Descending into the moat |
We noticed from above that there is a trail in the moat and we decide to continue along it and walk around to fort to explore the area a bit more. There is no one else around in the moat at least in the beginning so we are a bit surprised when we hear noises in the bushes but then the source walks out and it is a chicken only, phew.
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| Moat path passing under the entrance bridge | The fortress looks impressive from here |
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| Only birds in the moat | You can enter the fortifications |
More interesting is the entrance into the wall where we discover that a tunnel is running under the wall, for protection and ammunition storage. We have a choice between left and right after we enter and we choose the wrong direction and after a long walk we actually hit a dead end, quite unfortunate. Still it is very nice walk, cold and humid with the walls covered either with graffiti or roots from the trees above.
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| Of course we go left to explore :) | Quite impressive |
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| Ammunition was protected here | I think this is still considered graffiti - not old enough:) |
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| Not anymore | Starting to be taken over by nature |
Instead of trying the other direction we decide to finish the moat walk and climb back up using the same stairs we used initially. It is the right choice as we almost finished the circle walk around so soon we are up back in the fort area. Here we discover an interesting potable water dispenser that we haven't seen anywhere else and we decide to risk it - the water is good (and certainly didn't cause us any later discomfort).
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| Very luxurious vegetation in the moat | Bambus along the way |
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| Will we ever get back to our starting point? | Free potable water - very welcome! |
The top of the fortress walls are protected by some intimidating looking cannons which makes us assume that it was still used as a fort during the second world war. We explore a bit more climbing up and descending from the walls exploring the different guns that we discover as well as gun emplacements with missing guns which are also quite common.
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| Back inside the fortress | Guns were here |
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| Those were some big guns | Really big |
There are also a few interesting birds that we observe from the walls, with the Great Kiskadee being the most special for us as we haven't seen one before during our trips.
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| Great Kiskadee - our first one | American Crow - introduced and considered a pest |
We take one last look at the city from the wall trying to identify the buildings that we visited before but the view is towards a part of the city that we haven't visited yet so we decide to continue on towards the Arboretum. From the fort the sidewalk disappears which makes walking the roads a bit more dangerous but we continue on courageously passing colorful buildings as we follow our GPS towards the Arboretum entrance.
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| Views towards Hamilton | And towards the Harbour |
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| Bermuda house - sidewalks are optional | Brightly colored house |
Even before the arboretum there are lots of interesting plants including banana trees, lots of flowers and even a few mourning doves.
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| Flower along the way | Banana trees are quite common also |
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| And other flowers/plants | Mourning dove |
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| View from along the road | Inside the forest - some thrown garbage/cuttings |
The Arboretum is quite large on the map however much of it is taken by developed areas so we explore the more interesting areas for some time especially the ones that are beautifully landscaped before continuing on.
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| Our next stop - Arboretum | Inside the arboretum |
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| Very beautiful detail along the way | Old house - looks like a palace |
The last place we want to visit today is the Botanical Garden, one of the more well known tourist places on Bermuda. We are interested in it both because we want to see the gardens and also because it is one of the best places for birding in Bermuda. Walking to it using both sidewalks when available and on the side of the road otherwise we arrive at the main entrance where we first find the museum which is quite expensive so we decide to skip it and just explore the free gardens.
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| Entering the Botanical Garden | Visitor Center - closed when we arrive |
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| Cannon protecting the Botanical Garden | Where is the Botanical Garden? |
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| View over the gardens | Inside the gardens - beautiful fountain |
There are quite a few birds in the gardens most of them already seen by us but still it is quite funny to observe the kiskadees exploring the greenhouses and just linger about. However we still find a few interesting birds like the common ground-doves and bluebirds.
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| Kiskadees entering the greenhouse | Posing for us |
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| Eastern Bluebird | Common Ground-dove |
The majority of the garden is not as well maintained (it is winter after all) but there are some parts which are quite beautiful, especially the more formal British gardens.
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| One last look over the maintained part | Exiting the Garden |
Then it is time to return back towards the hotel passing wild chicken as well as the Underwater Museum that we want to visit the following day. We then continue along the waterfront watching the harbor which pays off as we notice an overturned boat in the middle of all the other anchored boats.
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| Beautiful chicken along the way | Underwater exploration vehicle - cool |
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| Harbor view | Hmm - that is unexpected |
Returning through the downtown area we stop into shops along the way buying souvenirs and window shopping as we are trying also to find a good and open restaurant where we can eat dinner.
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| Historic house along the way | Downtown Hamilton during rushhour |
There aren't really that many choices so we choose the restaurant that specializes in fish versus the one that specializes in Italian food and it is a good choice as the food is good and we enjoy it before returning to the hotel for a good night sleep.
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| Fish with plantain | Steak |
Today we initially planned to visit the island further away from Hamilton but given that the weather forecast was quite bad we decide to stay closer to the hotel and visit a few museums starting with the National Art Museum which is close by in the Town hall building that we visited the previous day. It is not a large museum and we start with the classical section spread across a few small rooms.
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| On the way to the Art Museum | Temporary Exhibit |
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| More traditional exhibit | Beautiful painting |
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| Most are by local artists | Inside the museum - going up |
We then continue to the modern art section which is even smaller but has some interesting pieces before continuing on our way through the downtown area.
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| More modern artwork | This is art too.. |
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| What can you see in it? | Inside the City Hall while leaving the museum |
Next stop is the most famous store in Hamilton, at least in our understanding, Gibbons Store. We browse inside for a bit before moving on. In the nearby park we watch the starlings for a while and take a few photos even though the pigeons are doing their best to photobomb the starling photos.
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| Famous store | Pigeon photo-bombing a starling photo |
We continue on our way towards the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute which we hope we can reach before the rain starts. Even though we are in a hurry we decide to stop at the large cathedral on the way and enter it - to our surprise it is completely empty of people so we can explore its nook and crannies and different Christmas ornaments, it is quite interesting.
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| The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity | Inside the Cathedral |
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| Approaching the altar | Close up of altar |
The stained glass is as usual quite beautiful but what we enjoy the most are the Christmas ornaments, there are quite a few of them including a nice manger scene near the altar. As we try to exit we try to find another open door, and there are many, and we fail quite a bit before finding one on the other side so we can actually walk around the church to see it from all angles before continuing on our way.
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| Huge stained glass windows | Smaller ones - and closer to the ground |
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| It is Christmas time | Not the right exit |
We stop today at the Post to buy some stamps for our collection, Bermuda has some beautiful stamps so we are spoiled for choice. Next we pass near the Sessions House (Parliament) again but today we have time to stop and admire it a bit more as the rain seems to be delayed versus the forecast.
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| Sessions House from the side | And from front |
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| We need to have these stamps :) | Some houses are under renovation |
However the rain is not delayed by much and we barely make it in time inside before it starts raining cats and dogs. We really hope that it will stop by the time we get out but for now we are safely inside so we buy a ticket, get the requisite stickers that show we are paying customers and in we go. The museum has quite a few interactive exhibits and is also focused on underwater exploration which explains the bathysphere right near the entrance.
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| Right in time before rain started | Entrance stamps |
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| Inside the museum | Bathysphere at the entrance |
In the first room there are also a few natural artifacts found in the water including roots that imply that the water level was much lower at some point in the past but our eyes are drawn to the various diving equipments exhibited here that give us an idea of what changed and what remained the same across the years.
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| Old tree root from the see floor | Bermuda is actually a mountain top! |
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| Old diving equipment | New(er) diving equipment |
One of the rooms that impressed as the most in the museum was the Shell Room. Here the museum has a collection of...what else....shells. But many of them are quite different from what we have seen before either alien looking or delicately beautiful and it is quite special to explore the collection.
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| Shell Room | Beautiful shell encrusted chest |
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| Spiny shells | ....lots of them |
Some of them are made into objects that can be quite beautiful or whimsical and some of them are actually used as inspiration for real world buildings like the Sydney Opera.
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| Shell used to inspire the Sydney Opera House | This does not seem real |
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| Nautilus - beautiful | Art made of shells |
Next on our tour is a imaginary journey using a futuristic craft exploring the Bermuda waters for UFOs (an interactive movie more or less). It is quite fun as it touches on different explanations for the Bermuda triangle before ending in an alien abduction. Afterwards the exhibit shifts towards the ships that sunk around Bermuda and some of the things that were found on them.
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| Ready for a "fake" dive | Right before diving |
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| Many ships were wrecked in the waters | Not a lot left from some |
The most interesting part likely is the one where they show the different ships that sunk in the Bermuda triangle (and actually quite a few outside it) and then go through the different possible explanations for the sunken ships starting with storms, methane bubbles and so on until you get to aliens. You can even test some of the ideas and we have fun sinking a few model ships before moving on.
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| Lots of wrecks => mystery => Bermuda Triangle | Interactive exhibit about the wrecks |
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| Possible reason for the wrecks | You can test some hypotheses |
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| Piracy is another possibility | And of course aliens :) |
The last area before the exit is dedicated to the different finds from ships that sank near Bermuda with some interesting artifacts. We like the treasure chest and are suprised to (re)learn that coins that stay some time under the water become unassuming clumps so only a close examination can reveal that the disks are actually coins.
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| Yay - a treasure chest | And then you find these... |
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| This is a more common find | Glass also |
Part of this section is also the treasury room which has the few gold objects that have been found and made their few to this museum. The most interesting story is the one attached to the Tucker's Cross a 22 karat gold cross discovered by Tucker and considered until 1997 to be the single most valuable object found in a shipwreck. It was sold to the Government of Bermuda in 1959 so it would remain on the island and then was kept in a museum run by Tucker. And then post his sale and before a planned visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the museum it was discovered that the cross was stolen with a fake left in its place - a real mystery.
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| Finding gold coins would be something special | Anything from gold really |
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| One of the more valuable finds in the area | This was the most valuable - and got stolen! |
As it is still raining outside and we are hungry as we exit the museum we decide to eat at the museum restaurant which at least doesn' require us to brave the elements. At least it has Bermuda chowder, which we wanted to try while on the island, and even though expensive the food we buy is good and we have a good view of the harbor.
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| Famous Bermuda chowder - when in Rome... | And some pierogies |
As the rain has stopped while we were eating at the restaurant it is time to make a dash back towards the hotel. Like the previous day we return along the harborfront admiring the boats and watching the water for birds. We even see a ruddy turnstone which to our surprise is spending its time near what looks like a sewage drain.
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| Harbor is full of boats | Wonder what happens if a storm hits? |
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| Is that a sewage drain?!? | Ruddy Turnstone nearby - wonder if it is healthy |
Arriving in the downtown area everything is open again so we enter multiple stores to examine the prices (mostly expensive) and goods (good variety for an island). We even buy a few souvenirs as we don't know when we will have time to hit the stores again. As usual it is quite interesting to watch the Christmas displays especially the ones that can be eaten - chocolate and lots of it makes our mouth water. And then we return at the hotel where it is time to settle for the night after some TV watching as the next day promises to be quite busy based on our plan.
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| Returning to the downtown area | Milk snails are common |
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| Downtown Hamilton | View the other way |
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| That looks delicious | Barely resisted not going in and buying something |
Today it is time to take the bus and explore the south and western side of the island. We buy a two day pass so we can use buses to our heart content both today and the next day and then we identify the right bus and on we go.
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| Passing by the City Hall on the way to the bus station | Beautiful mural |
Our first stop is Paget Marsh because we read that it is a good place to walk and watch for birds. The bus takes us to the nearby bus station and then it is a short walk to the preserve. There is no one else here so we have the area to ourselves and we start by exploring the grassy area outside the Marsh which has quite a few butterflies including to our surprise a Monarch butterfly.
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| Paget Marsh info sign | Boardwalk start |
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| Monarch - now we see them everywhere | Cabbage white butterfly - common everywhere |
The boardwalk seems solid but it is getting overgrown in a few places and we explore it to the end watching the kiskadees but otherwise we have no luck with birds on the trail.
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| Good part of boardwalk | More overgrown than we expected |
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| Kiskadees are everywhere | Marsh View |
However we find quite a few interesting plants including the endemic Bermuda Juniper but the most common plant in the marsh are the mangroves with the red mangrove being most common. Overall even though we didn't have that much luck with the birds it was a nice walk and we enjoyed it but now it is time to move on to the next site on our list.
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| Red Mangrove | Chinese Banyan |
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| Bermuda Juniper - endemic on Bermuda | Giant Leather Fern |
Walking here as almost everywhere outside of Hamilton proper is a mix of narrow sidewalks and street side walking with very rare crosswalks. If there are no crosswalks then crossing the street can be quite problematic as the streets can be quite curvy and the cars speedy so you don't know if something is coming and if it is how fast - but we survived :).
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| Sidewalk to bus stop | Bus stop |
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| Very rare crosswalk | View of houses on the hills |
Our next stop is the railway trail, the most famous trail on the island. It was created after the island railway stopped working and the tracks were converted to a bicycle/hiking trail that crosses across most of the island. Unfortunately as we exit the bus it starts to drizzle and there is no clear direction towards the trail but we soldier on covered in our rain ponchos and soon we find the trail crossing and the rain starts to fizzle out. The plan is to follow the Railway Trail for a short while to Warwick Pond but that is easier said then done as somehow it actually seems to never get as close to the pond as we expected. Finally we take the first path we find down towards where we assume the pond is and it is the right trail! Quite a shock to be that lucky...
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| Start of railway trail | Railway trail |
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| Warwick Pond - but where is it? | Somewhere in that area |
Even though we made it safely to the pond it takes some time to find a way to access the water so we can actually watch for birds on the open water. With some luck we finally a very shaky walkway to the pond - as it is raining again and we are wet we weight the risk of getting even more wet if falling into the water as negligible so we brave it and are rewarded with a good view of the water with a few teals and even a great egret in the distance.
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| Trail to view over the pond - not necessarily safe | View over Warwick Pond |
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| Common Teal | Great egret |
We then walk a bit through the forest near the pond before finding another trail up the hill and back to the railroad trail. On the way we spot our first northern cardinal on Bermuda and even a rock pigeon ;). From here we follow the trail and then roads over the surrounding hills with the goal of reaching the lakeshore which somehow seemed much more closer on the map than in reality when we have to actually climb and then descend over the unexpectedly steep hills.
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| Northern Cardinal - unexpected to see here | Rock pigeon - more expected |
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| Funny street name | View of the cliffs |
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| Barbuda Bank Tree Anole | Graham's Anole |
After reaching the shore road we walk a short while along the road before finding the public access to the beach. However we do not find the right one even though this one leads us to an overlook of the beach but it is impossible to descend to it. We decide to follow the ridgeline and soon we find another good descent and onto the beach we go but not before we discover a wild chicken nest full of eggs - luckily for the hen we are not hungry :).
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| Road on the other side of the hills - we made it | Trail to the shore |
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| Chicken eggs along the way | So close and yet so far down |
After finally descending onto the beach (we learn later it is the Warwick Long Bay Beach) we sit down for some time relaxing and enjoying the waves while watching the birds before continuing down the beach.
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| Finally on the beach | Rock formations in the water |
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| Ruddy turnstone | House sparrows - not expected near the shoreline |
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| West Indian Top Shelll | Sargasso Weed |
It is a surprisingly long beach with the path sometimes avoiding rocks or more difficult areas or detouring to interesting locations like bunkers or interesting rock formations.
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| Unending beach | Very few people in this area |
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| Looks like a defense bunker | Stones in the ocean |
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| Protected cove and our lunch spot | Green Button Polyp |
As we move between beaches the trail follows the cliffs and it is trench like seemingly dug into the ground by the many people using this coastal path. We pass a few secluded coves along the way but not secluded enough - there is always at least one noisy family in each of them so we continue on.
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| Lots of people passed through here?! | Protected cove |
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| And another one - lots of them | Looks dangerous for ships |
There are also quite a few butterflies along the trail including the endemic subspecies of the Common Buckeye, always cool to find an endemic species.
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| Bermuda subspecies of Common Buckeye | Gulf Fritillary |
As we are hungry we stop in the next empty cove to eat our lunch and also to peak through the crack in the wall at the next beach which looks spectacular. In fact almost every beach here is quite beautiful especially as many of them are quite devoid of humans.
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| View from one side | And from the other one through the crack |
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| Human remnants in the tide pools | Lots of weird rock formations on the beach |
The next beach, Horseshoe Bay, however is most certainly not devoid of humans, it has quite a few of them likely due to the fact that it is closed to a bus stop and a developed area and is also more well known and described in tourist books.
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| Horseshoe Bay from one end | Beautiful looking beach |
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| View of Bay from the top of cliffs | Protected cove afterwards |
It is also the end of our walk along the beach as we climb past curious anoles towards the bus stop to continue our tour of the island.
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| Time to get to the bus station | Quite a bit of climb on our tired legs |
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| Anole on the way | And another one - too many to count |
We take the bus to our next stop the Somerset Bridge or at least that is what we are hoping however when we exit the bus we are not sure how to best access the bridge so we start following the road towards where we expect the bridge to be.
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| Typical Bermuda street - but at least this one has a sidewalk | Where is the Somerset Bridge? |
Soon we actually see the bridge and decide to detour to a waterside park that seems to allow us better views of the bridge. we take a few photos and then continue over the bridge, which is the smallest working drawbridge in the world, and start following the railroad trail on the other side which in this area avoids the main road following a secondary road.
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| Former railway bridge | Somerset bridge - smallest working drawbridge |
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| Hmm where is the drawbridge part? | Here it is - just a small area in the middle for yacht masts |
The Railway Trail passes here through one of the most photographed stretches where the railway grade was cut through sheer rock and looks quite impressive. We also keep an eye out, with no luck, for any trail towards Fort Scaur which is our next goal and the planned end point for our hike along the trail.
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| Railway trail | House sitting area along the trail |
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| Most famous stretch of the railroad trail | This is beautiful too |
Just when about to give up we finally find the expected trail and soon we are at Fort Scaur which defended the vital Bermuda shipyards from attack. It is well fortified, so well in fact that we have a hard time to find the entrance but we get there in the end and we have the whole fort to ourselves at least for some time it seems.
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| Uhm...where is the trail | Arriving at Fort Scaur |
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| Passing under the wall | Where is the fort entrance? |
We continue exploring the fort and the few guns that are left and even notice the defensive trench that was cut across the land with the fort sitting at the top of the hill overlooking the trench. It was never used but still the effort is quite impressive to us.
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| Finally found it | View of the defensive trench that got the island in two |
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| Protecting the island (against the US) | That is a big shell |
Before leaving we read all the informational panels that we can find in the fort and then walk along the walls which are quite impressive when seen from below vs. when looking from the top. And then we have to leave to catch the last (or the one before last) bus towards the end of the island and the former shipyards.
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| Funny weather station | One of the informative panels |
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| Wall from the outside | Has a few cracks but still impressive |
When we arrive to the Dockyards everything is closed for the day so we miss out on visiting the National Museum of Bermuda even though are quite impressed with the fortress in which it is housed. While waiting for the ferry that will take us home we explore the area as much as possible, there are still abandoned areas but most are used by shops, restaurants and of course the visitor center.
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| Entrance to the National Museum of Bermuda | Our bus |
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| Royal Naval Dockyards | Some parts are not completely restored |
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| Inside the courtyard | Exploring while waiting for the ferry |
We also explore the seaside and enjoy seeing the countless yachts and boats that are moored here and try to invent a story for each of them while waiting for the ferry. It soon arrives and after a beautiful sunset trip over the harbor to Hamilton we are back in our hotel - no going out tonight as we are quite tired so we eat from our provisions before going to sleep.
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| Wall from the sea | Pirate ship (for parties not for attacking the fort) |
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| Too late to explore the area on the boats | Sunset before boarding the ferry |
This is the second day (and last) day of exploring the countryside of Bermuda. Today we have planned to visit the eastern side but in order to do so we have to start at the bus station after eating our daily breakfast of course.
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| Central bus station | Noooooo |
The bus takes us to Spittal Pond, one of the best nature reserves in Bermuda even though the only thing we see after finding the entrance and starting on the trail are domestic geese and hens.
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| Spittal Pond - probably the best birding spot in Bermuda | One of the informational signs |
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| Starting with domestic fowl first | Not sure if they are still domestic or feral |
As we enter deeper into the forest we start to see more and more birds and soon we see one of the few remaining endemic birds (a subspecies actually), the Bermuda white eyed vireo.
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| Typical view of Bermuda houses on a hill | Great Kiskadee requesting attention |
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| Starling in the forest | Bermuda white eyed vireo - endemic subspecies |
The trail is quite nice and there aren't that many people hiking so we take it easy until we notice the threatening clouds. We start to hurry but the drizzle catches up with us as we reach the seashore and start enjoying the views while eating some energy bars.
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| Trail around the lake | Chinese Fan Palm - it is quite invasive |
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| Ocean view | Native Prickly Pear |
Undeterred we continue on to one of the major attractions on the trail, the checkerboard natural rock formation which is quite close. We explore for a short time as the rain actually abates but the waves start growing threatingly and seem to be on track to reach the checkerboard quite soon.
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| Checkerboard from above | Should we enter it - it might be dangerous? |
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| Of course we should :) | Sculpted rocks |
Next we continue to the lake that sits in the center of the preserve to search it for birds. Almost immediately we see a few larger birds like mergansers and egrets and decide to explore it a bit more just in case some other birds are hiding in the shallows.
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| Lake shore | Scenic scene |
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| Red breasted merganser | Snowy egret |
And with some luck we find a few ore interesting birds like a belted kingfisher fishing from a perch above the water and a greater yellowleg skulking near the shore. Returning to the trail we continue observing new birds (for us in Bermuda) like cardinals and goldfinches for quite a good haul after only half hour of walking.
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| Greater yellowlegs | Belted kingfisher |
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| European Goldfinch | Northern cardinal |
The trail continues close to the water with some nice cliffside views. We keep our eyes peeled for the cave that is the next stopping point but it seems that we have no luck but we still enjoy the walk especially as we see some rock pigeons nesting on the rocks which is quite rare nowadays.
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| Coastal trail | Mini waterholes |
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| Back at water's edge | Rock pigeon in natural habitat |
And then we finally find the cave - or at least we think we do as it is quite close to the waterline and it seems dangerous to descend there. It is a historical cave where an escaped slave hid for an extended period of time and was caught only when someone followed the helper who was bringing him food to the cave. From above we can see a few historical graffiti which in time will become petroglyphs and after finishing the exploration of the rest of the area it is time to move on.
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| Should we go down here? | Or is this the cave? |
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| What is down there we wonder? | Historical graffiti of course :) |
Our next stop is at the first evidence of human visit in Bermuda, the Portuguese/Spanish Rock where the survivors of Portuguese shipwreck carved the oldest inscription found on the island.
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| View of the Sargasso Sea | Famous first evidence of humans landing on Bermuda |
The trail then leaves the shore and starts hugging the pond shore again with some good views over the lake however there are not that many birds on this side, only a few blue winged teals. What this side has in abundance is bugs both small and giant like the portuguese millipede.
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| Pond view | Blue winged teal |
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| Edge on our side is full of bugs | And portuguese millipedes |
The last part of the trail loops back towards the entrance, the hike on this stretch is through forest mostly but there are some exposed patches and in most of them we see at least one anole sunning itself.
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| Trail meandering around the pond | Trying to identify the trees |
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| Looping back to the starting point | Lazy Graham's anole |
From the trailhead we walk to the bus station where we wait for the bus towards our next stop, the Tom Moore's Jungle. It is a longer than expected drive where we detour through the rich area of town as pointed out to us by other passengers but in the end we find the right stop and continue on to the entrance to the jungle which is right after the Tom Moore's tavern which is empty during midday.
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| On the way - view from the bus | This is what we were looking from |
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| The tavern | Only guest today :) |
There is a lake right next to the tavern with a good mix of grey snappers and atlantic sergeant major that seem to be quite tame and then on we go in the jungle following different trails that we don't realy know where they are leading. One of them that we explore leads to a small waterhole full of fish that we decide makes a great lunch spot for us.
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| Lake near tavern | Mix of Grey Snapper and Atlantic Sergeant Major |
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| Waterhole in Idwal Hughes Nature Reserve | Wonder if there are any fish in them? Yes! |
As we eat lunch from our provisions we try to identify the fish but it is quite difficult especially with poor phone reception as we rely on the phone to determine the IDs. In the end we ID some and the rest we can only at home when we look again at the photos.
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| Bermuda Bream - endemic fish | Slippery Dick |
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| Longspine Squirrelfish | Parrotfish |
After our late lunch we continue on searching for the attractions that drew us to this jungle - the caves that are supposedly somewhere in the nature preserve.
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| Trail through the reserve | Walking through the jungle |
And then suddenly there it is - an entrance right off the trail and in we go. It is more of a grotto than a cave but it has some interesting cave formations that we enjoy and take photos with before continuing on.
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| Inside of the caves you can visit | Seems you can go even further |
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| Most formations have been broken at some time | Cave end |
To our surprise and delight however soon after we find another cave which is unexpected and this one is actually even more accesible with cement stairs leading to the entrance and then a rock trail continuing into a blue subterranean lake. It is beautiful and surreal and we sit there for a while just enjoying the silence which is interrupted only by the slow drip of water from the ceiling.
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| Another cave - impressive entrance | Beautiful color |
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| Should we do this? Not on our last day on the island | Stalactites are still growing |
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| Water can be quite deep | Back at the entrance |
From the second cave we continue on through the jungle looking for the more well known blue hole which is closer to the north exit of the preserve. The hike is quite enjoyable with only a few other people lost on the trails even though we see lots of signs of human existence including an aloe plants with lots of graffiti on its leaves - really weird.
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| Leaf graffiti | No one else on the trails |
As the trail passes near the shore we find a spur that descends towards the sea and follow it and soon we are at the water's edge watching small schools of fish swimming in the shallows.
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| Seashore | Lots of small fish in the shallows |
Returning to the main trail we soon arrive at the second blue hole (from our point of view) which is actually the main and only one from the point of view of the other visitors and also quite popular. However compared to the first blue hole the boardwalk is higher up and it is more difficult to see the fish but we do our best and notice a few interesting things including a lobster hiding in the rocks and a colorful fire sponge not that far away from the lobster that is investigated by a few fish.
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| Blue hole | There is a cave at the end |
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| Striped parrotfish | Atlantic Sergeant Major |
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| Fire sponge | Lobster in hiding |
And then it is on towards the causeway where we have to find the bus stop which is not that easy but we find it in the end and even have time to buy some soft drinks from the gas station nearby. The bus takes us over the causeway, the only link between the island where Hamilton is located and the island where St George is located and then into St. George, our last stop of the day.
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| The Causeway | Endemic Bermuda Buckeye |
St George is an Unesco World Heritage Site being an outstanding example of the earliest English urban settlement in the New World and we plan to visit the downtown area first which is the preserved area. Unfortunately we exit at the wrong bus stop, overshooting the downtown bus stop by one or two stops so we have to walk back towards the downtown area. But first we stop in a nearby park, Somerset Park, to finish our drinks and enjoy the holiday spirit as well just to orient ourselves. In the end we decide to first walk to the central church using a side street which seems to be stuck in the past with cobblestones and old houses lining it.
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| Somers Garden in St George - ready for Christmas | Somers Monument at the entrance |
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| Colorful central street | And a narrow side street |
As we walk through the historical area towards the church we admire all the well preserved buildings, for a few moments it feels like we are transported in the past towards the 19th century, especially with us being the only people walking the streets.
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| White-washed mansion | St George Historical Society Museum |
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| House with two chimneys - is that really needed? | St Peter's Church |
We cannot enter the church as it is closed but we can walk around and visit the cemetery which has quite a few historical graves. We see graves of epidemics victims, victims of shipwrecks and more recently the grave of the island governor's who was killed in an assassination attempt in 1973. The reason given for the assassination was "to make the people.....become aware of the evilness and wickedness of the colonialist system in this island", not sure if it worked or not as it seems the wrong way to go about it at least to me.
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| Historic cemetery | With some old gravestones |
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| Victims of epidemics are buried here | Burial place of governor killed in an assasination attempt |
From the church it is a very short walk to King's Square the main town square anchored by the Town Hall on one end and some stocks (that you can try on) on the other end. Just across a bridge from King's Square is the cruise ship terminal, luckily for us there are no ships in town so it is quite deserted.
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| King's Square | St George Town Hall |
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| Bridge to cruise ship terminal | View from the bridge |
The area being deserted has both positives and negatives, as a positive there is no one around so we can explore the reconstruction of the Deliverance, the ship used by Somers and his men to complete their journey to Jamestown of Virginia in 1610. Admiral Sir George Somers and his men were stranded at Bermuda after their ship Sea Venture strayed in a sever storm and got wrecked at a reef near St. Georges in 1609. He then built two ships, Deliverance and the Patience to complete their journey to Jamestown. The negative is that we can explore it only from afar as the ship itself is closed given that there are no other tourists around.
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| Reconstruction of Deliverance | Close up of ship |
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| On the small island | Large gun "protecting" the island |
Before returning to the mainland we examine the gulls that are sitting on the jetty and notice there are two species actually, the ring billed gull and the lesser black backed gull, both of them relaxing on the jetty.
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| Ring billed gull | Lesser Black-backed Gull |
Now it is time to go to a more unconventional attraction, the Unfinished Church which sits up a hill close to where we started our exploration of St George. As we climb the hill we explore the mansions left and right, this area seems to be doing quite well.
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| Mansion hidden in the forest | Impressive mansion on the way |
The Unfinished Church is an incomplete church as the name implies. The construction work began in the year 1874 when St Peter's Church was badly damaged by a storm and was thought to be beyond repair so a new church had to be built to replace St. Peter's. However due to opinion differences between parishioners as well as funding difficulties construction stopped in 1897 and it never restarted and now the ruins are a tourist attraction even though you cannot enter them as they are quite pictoresque even from outside.
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| Unfinished church - first view | Close up - would have been impressive |
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| View inside | This would have been the view from the main entrance |
From the Unfinished Church we return back downtown and now we are looking for a place to eat dinner, not easy in the days after Christmas especially with so few tourists in town.
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| Salvaged from the church | Free ramge chicken |
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| Going back down to St George | Ruined house alongside the road |
We walk for some time through the beautiful downtown area, it is very colorful and we completely understand why it was named an Unesco World Heritage Site as we examine the well preserved and beautifully painted houses.
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| Old downtown area | Colorful house |
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| Violet house.. | ....sooo many colors |
We finally find an open restaurant and we take the three course dinner. The food is good but not excellent but even so we are quite hungry so everything is soon finished and now the only thing left is to find the bus station that we missed earlier in the day.
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| Appetizer | Main course |
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| The dessert | Quite good |
We actually find the bus station almost immediately however we have quite some time to spend unless the next bus (last bus?) is passing by so we wander a bit around enjoying St George and its beautiful Christmas lights at night.
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| St George at night | Lighted narrow lane |
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| Waiting for the bus | Mansion near the bus station |
The bus ride back is uneventful and from the main bus station we have the short walk through the beautifully illuminated Hamilton downtown area to the hotel where we have to pack as the next day we have an early flight back to Phoenix.
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| Downtown Hamilton | Our hotel at night |
The hotel helps us by calling a taxi early in the morning that we take after breakfast to the airport from where our airplane leaves on time and we have one more look over the small but beautiful island before it gets out of sight. Overall we unexpectedly enjoyed our visit a lot as even though the island was small there was lots to do and see and there was quite a variety of things to do and see from forts, to caves to beaches and even some nice hikes.
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| Leaving the island - causeway below | One last look |
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