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Published: January 27th 2023
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Our morning started with a heavy rain shower that dried-up just in time for breakfast – which was muffins and buns with yogurt and oranges, served in one of the suites. At 9:00 we set off in a taxi for St George’s, the north end of the country and a separate island. As we approached the (only) bridge, traffic slowed to a crawl and then to a stop. After about five minutes a police-woman rode by on a scooter informing drivers that a serious accident on the bridge would hold up traffic for two hours. Our resourceful guide switched days mentally and directed the driver to make an immediate left turn and to go to a nature preserve. St George’s another day.
We walked along a narrow path looking at plants and donning or doffing clothes as brief showers came and went. At the top of a hill, we looked over Harrington Sound, seeing all the way to Dockyards at the southern-most tip of Bermuda – the island’s shape is a big hook. Under the Sound, innumerable caves have been worn into in the limestone.
Beyond the reserve, we walked past many beautiful houses and yards. The houses were
Cochineal Cactus
Bright natural lipstick wonderful in saturated hues of lemon, tangerine, peacock, rose and apricot. From there, we entered the northern part of the Railway Trail, this time along the ocean. Tim mentioned that, although shunned by Bermudians, the railway infrastructure subsequently had a long life for thirty years in British Guyana, where the stock and rails were shipped.
About noon we stopped at a gas station and convenience store to get cold drinks and to use the (very clean) washrooms. Then we walked a short distance to another of the many small national parks. There we sat by some playing fields to eat. Both yesterday and today the lunch included inventive non-lettuce salads, but neither day did they travel well. Today, in addition to the chicken sandwich, we had a cod fish cake – salted cod and potato, just like in Newfoundland.
After lunch we walked to the end of the northern part of the Trail to the inlet of Harrington Sound. As we saw from the taxi that took us over to the bridge, when the tide is going out, the water rushes with great force out of the sounds, actually preventing smaller boats from entering at that time. (At
Hamilton from Fort Hamilton
Parliament Building on lower right high tide, big boats can’t get under.)
The taxi took us to Hamilton, the capital. In relatively quick succession we saw the Houses of Parliament, the Anglican Cathedral, the City Hall and Art Gallery, and a once-post-office turned into a garden. The Senate Building was a traditional Georgian Square stone building. The lower House was up a hill and much grander. Apparently, it used to be a Georgian box, too, but in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it was “modernized”. A tower was built on either end, and an arcade and balcony were added, all trimmed in non-Native terracotta, a favourite of Prince Albert. On the cream building, it looked very smart.
The Cathedral was designed by an architect, sort of. He copied the one in Caen, France - traditional and lovely. City Hall was a tall, striking, white building designed to honour the hall in Stockholm where the Nobel prizes are awarded. Inside was spacious with grand stairs and balconies trimmed in rich, amber Barbadian cedar. At one end was the worst-ever portrait of Queen Elizabeth, which Tim says they remove whenever she comes to visit.
Finally, we walked to Par-la-ville, a house built about
Par-la-ville 1840
Garden of the original Post Office 1840, where the post-master lived, and the annex built in 1850 for the post office. The post-master was a great gardener, so this was now a park with many colourful flowers. Most striking were the deeply coloured calla lilies.
Dinner tonight was at Pawpaw’s, down the road from the Surf Side Hotel. We had the set menu, which was available (if you know about it) to encourage dining out. For the same price as our single meal two nights ago, we had a delicious spicy red fish chowder (to which one could add very dark rum), Caesar salad, half a spiny lobster (not the same as in Canada, but a relative of the crayfish), and decadent dessert (chocolate mousse cake for me), and coffee. Needed the walk back to the hotel!
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Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
One of the advantages of a small group and a resourceful guide: the ability to adapt on the ground. Such a beautiful spot - the colour of the water is amazing. The combination of (what I think of as) desert plants and seaside ones is fascinating. That business of the low-rise buildings and the view of the cathedral - a happy accident or deliberate city planning?