Visitors from another planet…?!

**I know it’s been FOREVER since we blogged and there are a few things to catch up about so in the interests of pretending we’re good at this and blog as things come to mind, I’ll do them in different posts over the next few days!  I guess this is the sly ‘marketing’ part of my personality coming into play…**

 

Anyway, first bit of news is that we had visitors and they certainly weren’t from round here.  They were Nick and Leki!  This was back in September, straight after the paralympics and they were joining us for a well earned break.

As our first guests to the island it was very exciting!  Toby was probably a tad more relaxed but I was thinking about the things they might want to do and getting everything in order for them to have a great trip and for us to enjoy it too.  Having visitors is great because it’s like we start looking at the island through a fresh pair of eyes.  Yes, it really is beautiful.  Yes, it really is a great way of life.  Yes, the people really are that friendly…  Oh, how lovely Bermuda is!

I love how when you catch up with good friends it doesn’t mater how long it’s been since you saw them, you just start off where you left.  We chatted, drank, ate, relaxed, sun-bathed, swam and chilled.  It was like having a holiday ourselves.  Bliss!

 

 

 

I could talk you through the many and varied things we got up to.  But there really is only one story to tell….

 

Seeing Bermuda by boat

For Toby and I, one of our favourite things has to be getting out on a boat.  It’s so relaxing and peaceful.  You can find your quiet little piece of paradise, away from the crowds on the beach, anchor up and just bob along enjoying the crystal clear waters, a cool beer and excellent company.  This is what we wanted Nick and Leki to experience.

In the past we’d hired larger boats for 10+ people but we decided it would be good to have a smaller group for this trip.  We invited along Jon and Naomi to make a group of six which fits perfectly into the Boston Whaler boat and is also much cheaper.

We set off with coolers filled, armed with suntan lotion and 3 boys eager to show off their captaining skills.  Toby started us off and it was clear that this smaller boat, filled with 6 people and all their belongings was sitting lower than the other boats we’d been in and was getting more buffeted by the wake of other boats.  That’s OK though, we had skills between us and we knew by cutting through the wake, we’d not tip the boat side-to-side and it was much safer.  We were soon cruising along.

We had a couple of stops and in true Bermuda style saw a couple of ‘International Women’ out on the water so Naomi and I were waving like crazy people and laughing at how small the island was.

Off we set again, Jon at the helm.  We’re heading to Pompano beach where the sea is calm and a gorgeous turquoise colour.  To get there we go through deeper waters and nearer where larger boats travel much faster.  All is calm till we spot a large wake from a passing boat, and it’s heading for us.  This is REALLY large.  Jon calmly turns into the wake to stop it tipping us but a surprising amount of water splashed over and into the boat.  For a split second we’re all shocked and silent then start laughing.  Jon, as current captain, is thinking to himself that it wasn’t ideal and probably pulling from the back of his memory of wise old comments such as ‘slow and steady wins the race’ and he slows right down…..the bow lowers and the second wave deposits half it’s water into the boat – we’re now half full.  This is now not a laughing mater and Toby’s shouting “throttle, throttle!”, but it’s too late and wave three takes the front of the boat under the water line.  Nick who was at the front of the boat shuffles back and as the boat levels out, the top of the boat is level with the water.

We’ve talked about this since and at this point we all thought there was no going back.  It was only the sunshade, boat controls and our upper bodies out of the water.  It had happened so quickly, it felt like the whole boat would be gone in seconds.  We were all mentally calculating the swim to shore….

At this point Naomi shouts, “should I get out?” and on hearing “YES!” out she jumps, beer can in hand.  Wait a minute….the boat steadied…..next I hear “Michelle, OUT!”…..the boat’s now reached some sort of equilibrium and is not going down any more and the top of the boat is breaking the surface of the water.  Hope springs into everyone as the four remaining crew bail for their lives.  Bags are emptied and used as bailers, Jon collected electronics and they’re all hanging from his mouth trying to keep them dry.  In a fit of genius, Nick uses his stubbie leg as the biggest and most effective bailer ever!  In the throws of saving the boat, the engine was left gently idling along and continued to cruise away from Naomi and I swimming along behind.  Naomi not been an overly confident swimmer isn’t too happy about this but pleased the see the team appear to be winning the battle to save the boat.  We’re shouting “throw us a noodle!” but aren’t heard….so we keep swimming.

All this commotion and frantic activity definitely looked like a boat in serious distress, I think we had three boats come over to check we were OK which was heart-warming indeed.  (Small island!).  After I don’t know, maybe half-an-hour, the boat was emptied and and Naomi and I caught up to climb in and set off again.  Everything was of course soaking wet so we set about lying the clothes of to dry and checking the damage.  Nerves were frazzled and the adrenaline was still coursing.  We felt unstable…are we lower in the water?  I opened a hatch where you can store rope, lifejackets and other nautical things and of course it’s full.  Another 50 litres still to go!

We finished our little trip, headed back and tried to disguise how wet everything was to the boat owners and why the deck was so clean!  That said, I’m not sure who was more to blame.  I think the ‘6-seater’ I booked was really a ‘4-seater’ and we were sitting lower in the water than we should do.  Just saying.

Anyway, we evaded discovery and headed across the road to a little part where we laid our clothes out again like we’d been ship wreaked and calmed our nerves a little before braving the journey home on the bus!

Our first hurricane watch

It was early on during our time in Bermuda that the first talk of hurricane’s started.  Thankfully they don’t pass very often but a few people we got to know early on had lived through ‘Igor‘ in 2010 and many Bermudian’s will talk to you about ‘Fabian‘ which hit in 2003 and was the worst hurricane to hit Bermuda since 1963.

Having arrived towards the end of the ‘hurricane season’ last year (different information from different places, but roughly June-November), the worst we saw was tropical storm conditions and despite staying in a studio guest house at the time we managed to while away the time uneventfully.

Earlier this week, we heard about a ‘tropical depression’ that was due to build into a ‘tropical storm’ and then ‘hurricane’.  And so it was we started to get up to speed on the terminology and joined the discussions.  Our little storm was to be called ‘Leslie‘.  She sat south east of us for some time and built in strength to a Category 1 hurricane with models predicting she’d reach Cat 2 and even Cat 3 as she approached.  Better still she was on path for a direct hit and as she was only moving between 1 and 5 mph she’d be staying a while to cause some damage.  The Bermuda Emergency Measures Organization said; “Leslie could be a historic storm for Bermuda as it is very large and forecast to intensify rapidly as it approaches, the island could experience hurricane force winds for a sustained period of time, possibly up to two days.”  It looked like we might get to experience our first hurricane!

Thankfully, our early conversations with friends had calmed our nerves that Bermudian houses are built to withstand such winds and while necessary caution was needed, the main advice was ‘prepare to sit it out’ and ensure we have ‘some snacks and drinks’…boredom is the thing to worry about!  Hence when we were asked for quotes for an article Liz was writing she didn’t quite get the drama she was hoping for!  Still, the article seems to have been well received – as I write this I can find nearly 3000 references to it! 🙂  Liz said she’ll get us some fame counselling if needed.

Others didn’t feel the same though and panic buying was in action!

As the working week drew to a close, Leslie’s path started moving east and it looked almost certain we wouldn’t be getting a direct hit.  It was now just a matter of time to see how much the outer reaches of the weather system would reach us.  As you can see from a recent model, we’ve just been glanced!

 

That said, we’re still getting some charming weather!  With the worst weather due to hit Sat night/Sun morning we opted for a group lunch out on Saturday, figuring the weather wouldn’t be inviting us to do much more!  (Don’t worry Mum’s – we kept it local for everyone so no-one had to travel far…sensible in our old age!)  In the evening it was getting muggy and the wind was picking up but there was still not much to show.  We actually had a BBQ!

Over night the rain came in and today has not been a day for going out, but nothing too bad either.

 

If I’m honest, we have heavier rain on a regular basis and it was windier back in October 2011 when we were staying in the guest house!

 

The hurricane season’s not over yet though! 🙂

Bermuda Cup Match

Ever since we arrived in Bermuda, it seemed like everyone was suggesting the best event of the year would be ‘Cup Match’.  All we were told was that it was lots of fun, cricket was involved and we’d have two days off work.

We’re now a little more informed!

‘Cup Match‘ is an annual cricket game between the ‘west’ and ‘east’ of the island.  Week’s before, people start showing where their support lies with flags, badges, wing-mirror gloves and general chatter!  Once it arrives, it appears some people opt to camp…we don’t have much green space so you’ll find tents on roundabouts, along the sides of the road, anywhere!  Interesting!  Another chunk of people head to the host end of the island to watch a couple of days of cricket, drink a little, catch too much sun and maybe play a spot of ‘Crown and Anchor’ – a gambling game of chance where $1000’s can be won or lost!  What always amazes me is where all the ‘stuff’ comes from.  We’re a TINY island and from somewhere enough scaffolding and planks had been rounded up to create the stands!

Rain stopped play and then the teams were back out;

The boys, who were actually interested in what was going on, soon settled into it;

Having rained in the morning it was ridiculously hot and humid and we didn’t last till long after lunch when we decided a dunk in the ocean was required.  It was time to head off to Beach-fest.

This was where the third group of people in Bermuda were.  There were thousands!  There was music, games, dancing, drinking, sunbathing….anything seemed to go!  We gladly welcomed the relief of the ocean and bobbed round in the water for a few hours, only returning to land to reapply sunscreen!

A long and full day, we headed home to cool off.

The next day we decided to be ‘sensible’.  Some returned to Cup Match to repeat the experience but learning from others mistakes we opted for a day off rather than go ‘crazy’.  We are getting on a bit after all!  We watched the Olympics in the morning and managed to catch up with some of the action.  I’ll take time here to have a bit of a whinge.  I’ve heard all about the 10’s of channels the BBC are putting on for you guys back home.  We have two channels.  One Bermudian and one Caribbean (all our US and Mexican sports channels have been blocked for some reason).  With all the parallel activities you think it would be a problem to decide what to show….not something we worry about here – they show REPEATS!!!  We’ve missed so much!  Arghh!  Anyway, whinge over.  We have Cup Match!

So in the afternoon Toby and I headed off on a lovely walk along the cliffs near St George (opposite end of the island to Cup Match!).  Gorgeous.

On the way up the hill Toby stops in the shade outside ‘the unfinished church’;

Once on the coastline we were a little hot and sweaty but enjoying exploring!

As with most activities we ended the day with a swim!  It’s very hot and humid at the moment – did I mention that?!  We went to Tobacco Bay – one of the best spots for snorkling.  I wouldn’t say the number or variety of fish was amazing, but it’s got several rocks and alcoves to explore which definitely makes it interesting.  We’re going to have to get an underwater camera to share some of this with you.  We’re snorkling addicts now!  Toby got stung by a jellyfish which was a slight scary/negative point, but it was soon forgotten.  We headed off to our ‘final-final’ stop of the day and made our way to Tavern By the Sea for a Sam Adams and a Strawberry Daiquiri.  We love this place!

The next day we were out on a boat.  Karen and Jamie had booked a boat for the day and amazingly with no sea knowledge or skills we were sent on our way!

We headed off round the island stopping off at various places for a swim or just to enjoy the view or the culinary delights that had been brought along.  The water babies were definitely Toby and Jon who we could never get out of the water.  Here they are with the only 4 noodles supplied on the boat!

On the way home, Captain Jamie hung up his cap to kick back and relax, even allowing the unlikely duo to take to the wheel

It was a long day and unfortunately despite getting through 3/4’s bottle of factor 50 sunscreen, Toby and I are RED!  Too much sun, a few beers and glugs of sea water to help with the dehydration and we were exhausted when we got back.  Definitely getting old!

Today’s now Sunday and it’s tradition to go to the ‘non-mariners’ race.  The point seems unclear.  It’s not actually a race but an opportunity to hang out on the water, raft up with other boats to make a super boat party and continue with the weekend.  There’s also lots of political themes to the boats to have a dig at anything you might not have agreed with during the year!  Toby and I however had a lazy morning of Olympics watching (still recovering!) and he’s now playing golf while I relax.  Maybe next year!

Mini-break to Boston

A few weeks ago Toby and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary (the legal part, not the celebration with family and friends!) and we took ourselves off to Boston for a long weekend to celebrate.  For all Bermuda is located in apparently the middle of nowhere, we’re well serviced by several 2-3 hour flights to the USA and Canada.  Hopefully we’ll get change to visit them all!  We landed and quickly found a local bar, complete with ‘beer menu’ to settle ourselves into the city and decide how we’d be spending our time;

 

I was getting involved with the beers myself and being my typical self, went for something ‘fruity’… It was delicious!

 

As much as we love living in Bermuda, it was great to head to somewhere with more choice and variety and we instantly felt at home.  Planning done and a couple of beers drunk (they were only small!) we set off.  Boston having such a rich history, we headed off on the equivalent of ‘Boris bikes’ to explore the Freedom Trail.  We loved it so much over the weekend we repeated parts of the trail by ‘trolley bus’ and boat.  My Dad tried to get me and my brother and sister interested in history and sadly it fell on deaf ears…and now I’m doubling up on my history tours!

We also took a flying visit of the USS Constitution.  Toby posing nicely…

One evening we headed off to Fenway Park to cheer the Boston Red Sox along against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Unfortunately the result didn’t go in Boston’s favour but we surprised ourselves with quite how much we enjoyed it.  We taught ourselves the rules from first principles and happily whiled away a few hours.  Great stadium and great fans.

 

Unfortunately our enthusiasm didn’t last and when we tried to watch it the next night while getting ready to go out, we again found the sport a little boring!  We’re not converted!

We also managed to get ourselves up the Prudential hotel for the ‘Top of the Hub SkyWalk‘  Great view and a reminder just how small Boston is.  What a lovely little city!

Bermuda Summer – It’s a tough life!

A couple of posts ago I was saying how the ‘official start to a Bermuda summer’ (May 24th) was a little rainy.  It stayed that way for a while but I can now say summer is well and truly upon us.  It’s warm, it’s humid and it’s busy!

To get over the warmth, we try to eat and cook outside as much as possible.  Liz started the trend when she was house-sitting Dorcas and Stewart’s gorgeous house.  No pictures of the house because we were sat outside enjoying the view but here’s their dog Bandit enjoying a fuss!

 

Since I ‘rescued’ a BBQ our old neighbours left behind, Toby and I have been BBQ regulars.  We’ll cook for ourselves, we’ll cook for friends, Toby will even cook just for himself!  The power of gas!

Another option to deal with the heat, is getting in the water!  A few weeks ago Jamie organised the first sea kayaking trip of the year.

Toby’s hat’s now a regular on trips…

Liz before her dunking!

We found a beach;

And larked about in the water a while;

I loved it so much I was out again within the week with Denzel and Rob from badminton!

It was a great workout for the arms and we paddled out round the islands along the south shore, starting at Tuckers.  As we like to do in these blogs, here’s your map!

The first time we got as far as Nonsuch Island (circled), not realising until we got there, that’s what it was.  As a nature reserve we weren’t allowed on it – no rest for us!  The second time with the badminton crew it was a fish bonanza!  We saw fish jumping, corraled others into little inlets to get a better look and were generally surrounded by pretty big fish even at the shoreline.  So many fish!

Talking of fish, Liz kindly arranged a boat trip out to ‘Blue Hole’ a great spot for snorkling a few miles out, north west of Bermuda.

We definitely need to do this more often.  So much fun and the reef was amazing.  The coral was doing very well for itself compared the other places we’ve been where it’s damaged in places and humans have left their mark.  The other difference was the size of the fish.  Plenty of mid-sized fish and such variety!  We’ll get an underwater camera to show you!

And then last week we went looking for Glow Worms!  We started off at Naomi and Jon’s for some food before heading out.

Toby was just LOVING the view!

It is amazing what you can see though.  This man appears to be paddeling his friend in a large desk drawer!

As it approached sunset it was time for us to board our very own boat.  It being two days after a full moon, the time was right for the little grubs to think about reproduction and put on a little show for the fascinated humans sat in boats watching!  I have no photos for you because we spent a couple of hours sat round on the boat eating cheese and drinking wine before the ‘display’ started.  As brilliant as it was, with lots of we’re-watching-fireworks ‘ooooh’s and arrhh’s’, it wasn’t something that could be caught in camera!  I did get this though!

I’d been very strict about my wine intake as I was designated driver for the night – no drink driving for me!  Unfortunately that didn’t seem to help.  On the way home, up a steep hill, going over a ridiculously aggressive speed bump I decided to go super slow to stop the bottom of the scooter scratching as it always does.  My slow reached ‘stopped’ so I gave it some gas and with Toby on the back the weight distribution meant we did a wheelie on the spot and we both feel off the back!  A 0 mph crash!  Oh dear.  I seem to be a queen of minor injuries these last few months, I’ve managed a dislocated toe (thought it was broken so struggled for 4 weeks before it popped back in!), a very mild concussion (getting a volleyball out of a cupboard!) and now a split toe!  All pathetic!

Beach Volleyball – it’s the taking part that counts

Last week was our first experience of beach volleyball.  We left work a little early, we were down to the beach for 6pm and with no substitutes it was a full-on evening of games, laughs, dives….and learning the rules!

The league is run on a ladder system and depending on how successful you are you move ‘up’ or ‘down’ the nets the following week.  We’d initially been drawn on net 7 (of 8).  I’ve no idea if they realised how bad we were or it was random.  Anyway, we lost the first game 18-5, the second 18-6 (improvement!) and then, wait for it, we won a game!  We were chuffed as anything!  We were feeling confident for the next game but unfortunately the team left early and we missed the opportunity to play them….however that did mean we were listed as winning 18-0!!  Another team failed to show so we clocked a second 18-0!!  So technically we won 3 of 5 games – an impressive start!!

Today we found ourselves jumped straight up to net 3…really not where we deserve to be!  We’d also strengthened our ranks from 4 to 8 people.  There were three people from last week and we’d all really enjoyed playing…how would we feel being substituted?!  Actually, great!  This league is for socialising and we had such a laugh mixing it up, drinking beers (thanks Matthew) and cheering the team on.

Here we are in action;

The full team happily cheering on any game in front of them;

And finally Liz with her ‘Bermuda socks’ as we’ve named them following a lot of diving for balls;

This post is about ‘cheering on’…needless to say we won no games but as team coach for the night, I can honestly say I saw guts, determination and great improvement…I’m proud! 🙂  A resounding 0-5 defeat but I do feel we’ll be back down the beach next week and able to ‘build on our strengths’ and other similar things!

A Bermuda Stay-cation

What with sickness, holidays and unexpected work, last week turned into a CRAZY week, particularly for Toby.  He essentially just worked and slept with no time for anything else.  I did my best to keep him fed and watered, but as I saw how the week was shaping up I decided something else was needed.

My go-to, default answer is normally to go to the spa.  Unfortunately it wasn’t Heather I’d be going going with and when Toby had recovered from the “how much?” he reminded me for just a small amount more we could go to The Reefs for their ‘locals package’.  This involved us checking in at 3pm, having afternoon tea at 4pm, an evening meal, staying overnight and then breakfast in the morning.  In-between all that we could be using the facilities, making use of the private beach and generally relaxing.

And so it was, we booked our first Bermuda Stay-cation!

As you can see, Toby was pretty tired and a little confused.  This is the first thing he did!

Meanwhile, I was checking out the view;

It’s very strange having only driven 10miles from where we live to be pitching up for the night, but I have to say we stepped through the doors and relaxed.  We were on holiday!

First things first, a dip in the pool and a chill in the hot tub to get us in the mood;

It was then time for afternoon tea and to soak up the view.  It wasn’t great weather but we really didn’t care!  We pottered around, as you do when you’re on holiday.  There’s no chores to do or food to cook.  So much time!  And then we rocked up for dins at Royston’s.  It was so nice to be treated the way only top hotels do – “you’re on holiday and I’ll do everything I can to make your stay enjoyable.”  Great service and the best steeak Toby’s had in a while.  Nom nom nom!

Being backgammon fiends now, we were next off to the lounge for a cheeky cocktail and a game or two;

It was only about 11pm but we were tired and nicely sloshed so we headed back to relax on our balcony…..

…..that reminded us of the hot tub so the swimwear went back on and in we popped!  Why not – we were on holiday!  A group of 4 people in their late-50’s walked past and commented on “love’s young dream” or something similar.  They said their goodbyes to one another and the next thing we knew, 2 were back out in just their underwear and with towels round them.  Aparently it was the last day of their holiday and they thought ‘why not?!’  Their swimwear wouldn’t dry in time so underwear it was!  They were a lovely couple and we had a good chat and a laugh until it got to 12 midnight and the bubbles were turned off.  Home time.

Back to the room and into the huge, cloud-like bed.  Oh my, I haven’t slept that well in ages!  Breakfast then down to the beach to enjoy the last few hours of our holiday!