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Published: June 15th 2014
South-shore Beach
Yeah we were the only people thereWe should be ashamed to say I guess - we honestly thought BERMUDA was much closer to the other Caribbean islands. Surprised were we when we booked our flight a week before departure and saw the flight was only 2 hours (no fear of the Bermuda triangle here). Almost directly east from New York. Our timing could not have been better. We just got hit by hurricane Sandy and have been without electricity for quite some time so it was time to get out of dodge. Flying out over the New York area was a shock. The area was devastated as far as we could see.
We landed in HAMILTON very late. The taxi cab ride to the other side of the island to CAMBRIDGE BEACHES HOTEL RESORT took just under an hour. We winded our way through narrow streets at a crawling pace (the speed limit in the country is 35km per hour). Do remember that the entire country really only takes an hour and a half to go from the one side to the other. The windows were down, our cab driver - an old lady - gave us the grand tour of who is who and who
Bermuda
Sights from the air lives where - so life was good.
I guess we kind of went during the off-season. Cambridge Beaches is definitely one of the more well-known resorts on the island so we were lucky to get some discounted rates for a couple nights. We arrived, were served some DARK N' STORMY'S (our introduction to the drink and it was instant love). We were whizzed-away to our cabana in a golf cart and settled in. The cabana was nice, but a little outdated. It was extremely spacious with a separate sitting area. The next morning it was evident why the price - the view was incredible. We walked out onto the balcony and just stared at the endless views of the Atlantic Ocean. We sat down and had a good cup of coffee and walked to the breakfast room where we sat down with an incredible view of a quiet bay filled with luxury yachts. The breakfast spread was incredible. Cheeses, meats, fruits and juices with personal chefs making omeletes, waffles or whatever your heart desires.
Next up was a very Bermuda thing to do - rent a scooter. I guess you can say it is probably just a very
island thing. They definitely try and regulate the traffic on Bermuda and a couple ways of doing that is to allow each family only one car and no car rentals. So the only way to get around on the island as a tourist is either by scooter or a taxi. So scooter it was. We just rented it from the property. These do not come cheap, but they are awesome to drive around. SOMERSET town was our first "destination" as it is practically right next to the resort. A couple bars, a couple cafes. Not that much going on so we kept going winding along pretty much the only road on the west side of the island. The views were pretty driving on a single road, across bridges that cover the Atlantic, on a road where on both sides you see the Atlantic. Just an awesome experience.
Food is always top of our priority list. Nikkie read about the Swizzle drink (Bermuda rum with a bunch of fruit juices) that originated at the Swizzle Inn so we had to stop. We parked and started with a pitcher of the swizzle. It was good on a warm day. Not as
good as the dark n' stormy, but a good drink. We ordered the daily curry and the bay fish sandwich. The curry was really good. The fish sandwich was ok. And off we went. We just drove all over the island - got rained on a couple times, but that is all part of the fun right? Probably one of the most beautiful drives is the drive along THE SOUTHSHORE BEACHES. The road runs high above the beach and all you see is the turquoise blue waters stretching as far as you can see with the sun breaking its head through the clouds every once in a while to give this majestic sight of rays through the clouds. We were there in early November and the beaches were really deserted. At WARWICK LONG BAY BEACH we were the only one's there. The water was beautiful. The sand was even prettier. Bermuda is known for its PINK SAND BEACHES. Over the years the pink shells are grounded down/ breaks/etc. and the result is that all these extremely fine tiny pink shells are mixed up with the sand. You do not know that it is shells since it has the exact same
Bermuda
Enjoying the swizzle on a sunny afternoon texture as the sand. Definitely something to see. HORSESHOE BAY was next on the agenda. A couple more people there, but still pretty much just us and this beautiful beach. It was just not warm enough to lie out so we just took a stroll along the beach. Definitely one the prettier beaches we have ever been to. We also squeezed in a quick visit to the lighthouse, walked all the stairs to the top and had a beautiful view of pretty much the entire island with all the little specks of land and million dollar yachts. Back at Cambridge Beaches we sat down for TEA AT CAMBRIDGE BEACHES RESORT. A grand affair (not really) but very, very British as this really is an extremely British island. Beautiful china with tea and all the tea deserts your heart can desire. We met another couple who just flew out for the weekend and ended up swapping travelling stories. The sunset was magnificent with clouds, sunrays bursting though and at times the clouds just lighting up in bright orange colors.
Dinner was at TAMARISK RESTAURANT AT CAMBRIDGE BEACHES RESORT. Since this really was our first time in a resort type setting
Bermuda
Native cooking via the British and the Indians I guess this is what most resort restaurants are like. Set on the bay with beautiful views, a slight breeze blowing in and people willing to do whatever needed to keep you happy so that you will keep coming back for more. We had a good time. We had the scallops w/ green pee puree and bacon and sea bass w/ chutney and mashed potatoes. We also had a nice bottle of wine and finished it all off with a souffle w/ pecan ice cream. A really nice dinner at a pretty good price. I'm pretty sure you probably will not get any fresher seafood unless you catch it yourself and cook it right there on the beach.
The next day was just very relaxed after another big breakfast spread. We lounged around the pool and the PINK SAND BEACH AT CAMBRIDGE BEACHES RESORT. It was time to move on to our next destination - not very far as we are on an island that is really small. In the taxi we got and made our way to Hamilton to the ROSEDON HOTEL. A beautiful property in downtown Hamilton with beautiful gardens and rooms - right next to the
Bermuda
Enjoying the beach and the sunshine at South-shore Beach Bacardi sales room.
GOLFING IN BERMUDA is really the reason you go to Bermuda (maybe also for the sun and beaches) - very expensive golfing in Bermuda. We made a last second decision to try and get on at the PORT ROYAL GOLF CLUB. The hotel was great and got us a tea time at 2. Back we went to the same side of the island we came from. The guy at the front desk was really helpful. At roughly $200 a pop (including clubs and shoes) he was nice enough to tell us that if we waited and teed off 30 minutes later we would save quite a bit. So we sat down at the bar, chatted up the bar man, had a sandwich and beer and went to hit some golf balls before teeing off. The Grand Slam championship of golf was held at the course just a week earlier where they bring the 4 grand slam winners of the year and they compete against each other. The course was beautiful and very hard. On many of the holes you could see for miles and miles over the ocean. The last couple holes were played with the
South-shore Beach
Our lonesome prints in the sand sun setting. The famous PORT ROYAL GOLF CLUB 16th HOLE was pretty amazing. Located right on a cliff you tee off right next to the ocean, hit it over the ocean to a green that seems the size of a stamp in the distance. The locals will tell you that you need to aim about 30 - 40 feet left of the flag as the wind from the ocean will bring your ball back onto the green. That is easier said than done as 30 - 40 feet left of the flag seems to be the middle of the ocean. Well we lost quite a few balls on the hole, but it was pretty awesome. What an experience the course was - very, very hard.
We headed back to the hotel and wandered around trying to find some food on a Saturday night - Little Venice seemed like a good little Italian place. The checkered red and white table-cloths and family run business gave it a pretty authentic feel. The mussels and linguine shrimp were good dishes. Nothing spectacular, but pretty good. The raspberry desert was the best part of the meal. It was good friendly service by various
members of the family and with what seemed like limited dining options that seemed just fine.
We were treated to BREAKFAST AT THE ROSEDON HOTEL right in front of our room overlooking the pool and gardens. You just let them know when you want breakfast and they show up on time laying out your spread on the table right outside your room. Fruit, coffee, juices, eggs and bacon - yes it is a good way to start the day. As always we got in a rush as we tried to catch the ferry to the Dockyard on the other side of the island. At first we completely missed the dock as it is fairly non-descript, but we managed to get on at the last second as we always do. A pretty ferry ride full of beautiful views, houses on the water and the sun beating down on you. The dockyard is extremely touristy, but on a Sunday there is very little going on in Hamilton so this seemed like the only real option. We found a glass-bottom boat and took off for our adventure to see beautiful fish. As is the case most of the time - these guides
South-shore Beach
Views from the beach were very knowledgeable and shared a lot of interesting facts about Bermuda. No real immigration, people make good money, but once again it's all relative as this is an extremely expensive place since everything has to be imported. They took us out to an old ship wreck where we say many colorful, beautiful fish swimming around. They also fed some of the fish and it was a complete feeding frenzy that was pretty cool to see as these fish are literally fighting each other to get a hold of the bread. It would have been pretty cool to have gone snorkeling, but the time was unfortunately just not there.
We headed back to the dockyard where we walked through all the touristy shops and dealt with all the obnoxious tourists (we have become very anti-touristy places). We sat down and had a good cup of coffee and desert before heading back to Hamilton on the ferry. The one thing that was ever-present during our time in Bermuda is the fact that it was pretty cloudy the entire time we were there, but every afternoon the sun will stick its head out through the clouds and you see these beautiful
Bermuda
Yeah the sand is actually pink reflections off of the ocean. This ferry ride was no exception. Back at the hotel there was another treat for us - TEA AT ROSEDON HOTEL. Very basic with tea and scones. Again just a nice little touch adding to the culture of the island - being a former British colony and still to a degree being under British rule. Dinner on a Sunday night in Hamilton can be a challenge so we settled down at the Hog Penny Restaurant & Pub - one of the first places we saw open. I had the BBQ ribs which were good and Nikkie had the seafood chowder which was really good. I sealed off the night and visit with my favorite drink with a little twist - a dark n' stormy w/ mint. A good visit, a good break, a very, very relaxed culture and beautiful beaches with good food and friendly people. That about sums up our visit.
Really nothing to a visit to Bermuda. It is extremely developed and there really are no challanges for any trips here. We were there for 3 full days which seemed plenty as the island is really small and there just does not
Bermuda
Scootering away seem to be that much to do.
The first island for us as a couple. Three things to cross-off including golfing in Bermuda, the Southshore beaches, and Bermuda. 215 down and 5,566 to go.
Til next time from golf heaven
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