Bermuda Blog

Today I ran my first 10K, as part of the Bermuda International Race Weekend, and annual event that also includes events for the mile and half/full marathons.

The weather was miserable, raining before, during, and after the race. I wasn't cold during the run, but almost as soon as it was over, I was freezing. I start out the race at a fairly quick pace, doing my first mile in 6:20. While I felt like I ran a pretty consistent pace for most of the race, quite a few people passed me. In the last 400 meters I sped up and passed 3 or 4 people, including one person in a sprint to the finish line. As I neared the finish, I spotted the clock and realized I had shot at my goal for the race, but it was going to be close. So I sprinted faster right through the finish, just beat my goal of sub-45 minutes, with a time of 44:54.

Next step is to start running further distances. 10K is about the longest distance that I have ran, but my goal to to run the Bermuda Day Half Marathon in May, which is about 21K (13.1 miles). I have a long way to go before I can do that.

Today I joined Richard sailing 420s in the "Frostbite Series" sailing, so-named due to the coldness of the air and water. (No, it really wasn't that cold, cold water in Bermuda is defined as anything less than 80 degrees F).

It was windy and gusty, which made it quite fun. Taking the helm on our way out to the course, I made the mistake of cleating in the main sail. Then a gust hit. Uncleating the main was not as easy. Several attempts failed, during which the boat slowly keeled over and capsized. Suffice it to say that Richard helmed from that point forward, although we did capsize once more during a race, and endured a hard collision, causing another boat to capsize (it was their fault, not ours, of course).

All in all it was quite a full day.

Today was the second day of the annual "Cup Match" holiday, and we went to watch some of cricket match in Somerset. We met up with Richard and Aurea and watched from high up on the scaffolding. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze up there.

It has been a while since Mark has updated this blog, so I am going to give it a try. My goal is to post at least one entry per week. I am also going to go back and add some entries for the past several months. Obviously, it will not be possible to fill in all the gaps, but perhaps our photos will help remind me of the most memorable events.

So, I will start with today:

After three beach parties in 24 hours, today was a quiet day. Not much happened, unless of course you count a minor ant invasion and a major clean-up that followed. A few hours later and after a short nap, Mark made a nice tabouli salad for a late lunch and we went for a swim at John Smith's Bay.

It was late in the afternoon that we arrived there, but, really, it was fine since we got too a little too much sun yesterday at the Canada Day Party on Chaplin Bay beach (more about that later- hopefully!) The sea temperature has increased significantly in the last week or so, so the beach was a lot busier with people, even late in the day.

I read my book and Mark took yet another nap, while being serenaded by a ghetto blaster a short distance away.

On Warwick Long Bay Beach:

At Greg's Steakhouse:

Here are some of the photos from Mom's visit to Bermuda. Click on each for a larger version. Or click here to view a slideshow.

This week my mother has been visiting us here in Bermuda. My mother and father actually met in Bermuda, about 35 years ago. They were both working at the Inverurie Hotel (now known as The Wharf). After spending a few years in Bermuda, they moved to Toronto, were married, and soon thereafter, I was born.

And many years later, it just so happens that Michelle and I decided to move to Bermuda ourselves. We have been here for 1.5 years. My mother came this week for a visit, her first time back to Bermuda in 35 years.

Continue reading "Bermuda Reunions - 35 Years Later" »

Bermuda is expecting hurricane force winds today. Here are a few videos:

Today we had lunch a Coco Reef. After passing the "open daily for lunch" sign hundreds of times, today we decided to give it a try. Next to Elbow Beach on the South Shore, the restaurant at Coco Reef Resort has a great view of the ocean. There is an indoor dining area with large south-facing windows. We at outside on the large terrace. The lunch menu was short but innovative. The dishes seemed to have slight twists here and there. Michelle decided to go with the Lobster Club Sandwich, with lobster salad, bacon, lettuce tomatoes, and grilled pineapple on a panini bun - served with fries. I went for the "Tuna Taco": medium rare tuna with lettuce and salsa on a soft tortilla, served with a tasty salad of mixed greens. Both were very good, and serving sizes were adequate. I think we will have to return to try their version of Bermuda Fish Chowder. Here are some photos of the food and the view:

Tonight we watched the annual boat parade in Hamilton harbour. Last year we watched the parade from All Buoy's Point on the Hamilton side of the harbour. Michelle took a million photos, though I am not sure if we ever posted them here. This year we watched parade from a friends' boat -- the boat wasn't part of the actual parade, but we went out on the boat to watch the other boats go by. This year didn't seem as good as last year, but some of the boat looked quite good. This year we had great view of the fireworks afterwards, as we were practically below the display, which was quite good.

I will try to post some of Michelle's photos here soon, but in the meantime, you watch this video posted by Limey: