Bermuda Blog

Today we went to look at an apartment on the North Shore, very close to the airport. The drive along the North Shore was very nice. The house was at the top of a steep hill with some beautiful views:

On the way back we stopped for some gas, only to find a few a few chickens at the gas station.

As we continued on our way we stopped for a while at the beach at Shellys Bay on the North Shore. Later we stopped for a swim at Admiralty House Park.

Later, after going home for some lunch, we went to Deep Bay for a swim. The beach, which only exists at low tide, is at the bottom of a very high cliff. To get to it, you have to walk down a long staircase that has been cut into the rock. Very warm water there.

Today we saw a few apartments, and went to Warwick Long Bay Beach for a few hours. Actually, we were on our way to Horseshoe Bay Beach, but Warick Long Bay looked so nice as we rode by, that we decided to stop there instead, saving Horseshoe for another time. The beach was very nice, with pink sand. (Actually the sand didn't seem all that pink to us, but apparently some days it looks pinker than others). The water gets deep quickly, over your waist after several steps into the water. Because of this, there were less big crashing waves compared to Elbow beach last Saturday.

At 4pm, we went to Hamilton to leave on a Catamaran boat cruise planned by some of Michelle's co-workers. It was very interesting to see some of Bermuda from the water and meet some interesting people. In fact, of the 40 people on the boat, Michelle and I each knew one of them from back home. Michelle worked with one of the women on a client engagement a few years ago. And another grew up just 5 minutes away from my parent's house in Brampton - our sisters were good friends when they were little. Yes, it is definitely a small world.

After Michelle finished work, we headed to Elbow Beach for a party organized by people from Michelle's work. It included food and drink and beach volleyball at Elbow Beach. There seems to be a significant group of Irish people who work at Michelle's company. Several of them had even heard of Strokestown! One of the girls used to drive through Strokestown all the time on the way to Dublin.

Later, soon after the sun went down, something started to glow in the sky to the east behind some clouds. While some thought it was the moon, others believed it could not be the moon, to be such an orange colour, and so bright. As the clouds spread apart, it turns out that it was indeed the moon, appearing very large and very bright orange, like a rising sun. It was an amazing sight. We took some photos, they didn't come out very well with my camera, so we won't post them here.

At the end of the night, we had our first Scooter ride in the dark. All went well. I expected the roads to be a lot darker than they were.

Today I rode into Hamilton and met Michelle after work. We went for a bit of a walk around Hamilton.

We continue to look for a place to stay, but there are only a few one bedroom apartments available at the moment (in the area we would like to live). Here are some photos near one of the places we looked at today.

I met Michelle after work, and we rode out to Smith's Parish to see an apartment. The apartment was under renovation, but it seems like it will look nice when finished. It was the first one we have seen and we'd like to see others to get a better feel for what is out there.

On the way back we stopped at John Smith's Bay Park. There is a small nice beach, only a short walk from the apartment that we looked at (a potential selling point!)

We also stopped at Harrington's Hundreds, a large grocery store. They have Starbucks coffee there. I brought some Starbucks beans with me, but my grinder is slowly making its way to Bermuda in our shipment -- so I bought a pound of ground Starbucks coffee to last me until then.

Today we rode to a nearby park, Admiralty House Park. There is a small lagoon there with a couple of small beaches. The water was extremely calm, especially in comparison to Elbow Beach yesterday.

In the morning, after a french toast breakfast in the backyard, we spent some time practicing riding the scooter. We started off on a small quiet lane at the end of Spanish point. After practicing with me driving and Michelle as passenger, we decided to go for it, and ride into Hamilton.

The ride into Hamilton went fine, and Michelle wasn't even too scared of my driving. First stop was the bank machine and then....shoppping! My favorite. Actually, it was only two stores and Michelle bought a nice skirt.

Later we got a take out lunch from one of the delis (Mark's sandwich was voted "Bermuda's Best Sandwich" a couple of years in the row) and after consulting our map, we then headed out to Elbow Beach. South Road was very busy, and many people were passing us -- but that's okay. We made it to the beach okay and went for a swim. It was quite windy and the waves were large. It was fun. The sand on this beach is very white and the water is extremely clear.

This morning we took the bus to Hamilton, heading straight to the scooter rental place. They have a very small parking lot in the back, surrounded by stone walls. This is the place where you get to practice. It was not very easy, since you have to go very slow to avoid crashing into the walls, and the accelerator was a bit sensitive.

After some practice, I rode the scooter out of the rental place and parked it nearby. I then walked Michelle to her office. Michelle spent the afternoon on the company's annual boat cruise social event, even though she is not yet an employee. I rode the scooter back "home", and was able to do so in a safe and trouble-free manner. Spanish Point is about a 7 minute drive from Hamilton (about 15 minutes for me, I think).

August 11, 2005 - After a week of delay we arrived in Bermuda. After waking up at the crack of dawn, our flight left Toronto on time. After 2 hours and 20 minutes in the air, we landed in Bermuda.

It took a while to get through customs, as every one of our many bags were searched. :) We were the last passengers to leave the airport. All went went well though, and we were soon on our way to the place where we will be staying for the first 30 days, a studio apartment on Spanish Point (Pembroke Parish). There was much beautiful scenery on the windy drive from the airport: colorful houses, flowers, palm trees, and turquoise waters.

The studio apartment is attached to the back of a house. There is a large backyard, with many flowers, plants, and chairs to sit on. The apartment is small but also very nice. Later on in evening we met our landlords- they are friendly and easy-going couple.

Soon thereafter, we went for a short walk to Spanish Point Park for a quick swim. There is no long sandy beaches there, but in between the rocks there is small beach of sand where you can swim. Water was very clear and nice, but a bit cooler than we expected.

In the evening, Kim, from Michelle's new company, was very kind to invite us for dinner at Portofino Restaurant in Hamilton. Later she took us for a walk around downtown Hamilton, which is very beautiful at night.