3/20/2013 – Bermuda Photo Safari, cont.

On days two and three of the photo safari in Bermuda, we toured the island in a taxi, stopping whenever we saw something photogenic. You can well imagine that in such a scenic spot, we made lots of stops.

Bermuda appears to be a prosperous and thriving nation. The picture below represents  the thousands of brightly colored homes.

Bermuda fits in 21 miles of land on 8 large and many smaller island, connected by bridges. The roads, constructed for horses and bicycles, are extremely narrow, windy, and twisty with few sidewalks, pull out or parking areas. Bermuda has the sixth largest population per square mile in the world, and more vehicles per square mile than anywhere else in the world. To prevent driving chaos, foreign visitors are not allowed to rent cars. As a matter of fact, foreign drivers’ licenses are not recognized in Bermuda. Because of the lack of sidewalks and safe pedestrian zones, except for small areas, Bermuda is not a walking island.

Quandary: how to get around Bermuda for the photo safari without a rental car or the ability to walk safely? Although there are buses and ferries, we opted for the flexibility of hiring a taxi by the day. This proved to be an ideal solution which allowed us to stop when we spotted photographic opportunities. Plus, our taxi driver provided us with running historic and cultural commentary.

Our taxi driver and guide for the Bermuda photo safari was Myron, an extremely knowledgeable and entertaining person. Myron expertly showed us his island and quickly became our friend as well. Myron has fared well in his taxi career. He and his wife own one of the colorful homes in the photo above. They are well traveled, not only to the states but to other countries. He has put his children through private colleges in the States.

Some of the beautiful flowers on Bermuda in March

One astonishing feature of Bermuda is the colors in the water.

Our second day touring Bermuda was sunny and sparkling. The sea was amazing deep blue and turquoise. The third day was stormy, with dark, foreboding seas and dramatic clouds.
Needless to say with all of the scenic vistas, Bermuda has a thriving tourist industry with many lovely resorts.
 Bermuda was “discovered” in 1609 by a fleet of ships from the Virginia Company of London sailing to Jamestown, Virginia. A horrific storm blew the ships upon the rocky reefs of Bermuda. The survivors built new ships to continue the journey, but Bermuda was claimed by the Virginia Company for England. The thriving town of St Georges was developed near the site of the shipwreck and is oldest continuously occupied English town in the Northern Hemisphere.

An historic sailing ship being restored in St. Georges.

St. Peter’s, completed in 1612, is the oldest Anglican church in continuous use outside England.

The very cute and scenic St. Georges town hall

There are two sea glass beaches on Bermuda. The first, Alexandra Battery Beach, is a small beach covered with sea glass, but there are no regulations to prevent professionals from harvesting huge quantities of glass. While we were visiting Alexandra Battery Beach, there were two women from New England harvesting glass for their jewelry business. They had been there for hours and claimed most of the area as their personal turf.

The second sea glass beach is near the dockyard. This beach is also covered with sea glass, but there are signs warning visitors that removal of glass may lead to legal problems.

My daughter, Daria, is a professional photographer. For two years, we met up at Photoshop World for their huge conference. In 2013 we decided to join forces in Bermuda for a private photo safari. Below is Daria at the Dockyard Sea Glass Beach.

The Dockyard is a fascinating, very historic area, filled with scenes of boats, wharfs, forts and of course the sea. All of the many visiting cruise ships dock at the Dockyard. You may read more here.

Part of the old fort.

This clock tower is part of the old wharf building, which now houses shops and restaurants.

One of the charming aspects of the Dockyard area were the hundreds of old ship crests painted on the walls of the industrial buildings. We learned sailors from visiting ships would paint their crest on the walls, a tradition going back for decades. Many of the crests were fading from exposure to weather so school children repainted many of the crests. Daria and I went nuts running around taking pictures of these crests on the quaint old historic buildings.

I would highly recommend a trip to Bermuda. It was still chilly when we were there in late March, but on the other hand there were not a lot of other tourists around. I have a feeling a visit during the warmer days of high tourist season would not be the laid back Bermuda that we experienced and enjoyed.

Although Team Finnegan has had many fun and exciting adventures in between blog posts, there has been a certain lack of devotion to posting pictures of our wanderings and discoveries. I know you have heard this before….yawn….but I have resolved to correct the wide space between blog posts. Do check back before long to see pictures from another adventure. Also, it is very rewarding for us to see who has enjoyed our adventures so do leave a comment below. Thanks a bunch for sharing with us!!!