Several ‘summer false starts’…but I think we might just have spring!

I wrote this last weekend but never got round to posting it…..

So it’s now April, Happy Hours have started and we still haven’t got any sign of the summer. Even the Bermudian’s are complaining it’s been a long winter – so it’s not just me folks! 🙂

Last weekend had the trappings of a summer weekend…

It was Easter weekend so we had 3 days off work and a packed schedule. Kite Flying on Horseshoe beach on the Friday, Whale Watching all day on the Saturday and Easter Brunch on the Sunday. A busy schedule is a sign of summer! And better than that, some people couldn’t make certain aspects because they were DOUBLE BOOKED! (We’d obviously have preferred it if they could make it though!) This is it – summer!

However, by the Friday the weather wasn’t looking great and while we grabbed the kites and set off, it didn’t quite have the same feel as last year with the bright blue skies, bikini and suntan lotion on, picnic for the afternoon packed. As Toby pointed out, we didn’t have the same expectation! We sat on the beach in jeans and hoodies and patiently waited while not one, not two but three showers passed. Mmmmm, this isn’t what we signed up for! However, the sun did eventually come out, our crew came together and it was certainly fun! The wind wasn’t quite strong and consistent enough but as you can see Toby got the kite quite high.

Spectators required jeans and hoodies!

Here you’ll see Toby’s little kite dwarfed by the kite owned by someone with something to prove! 😉 Although not caught on camera, Toby managed to clip the edge of the big kite and take it down!!!!

Saturday was whale watching with Ninjo. The weather looked as if it would be cancelled for sure. 7-11ft waves outside the reef is not ideal. We weren’t expecting to go and indeed hadn’t bought any picnic ingrediants. Then at 9am we got a call to say it was on, we were to meet at 10:30am. Mixed feelings at this – whale watching was a highlight of last year so a chance to go out again was exciting….but the weather didn’t seem ideal! So we got ourselves ready, arrived, boarded and set off. The whales tend to congregate around Challenger Bank, so that’s where we set off too. Through the waves! The boys braved the back of the boat for a bit…

But soon returned when the spray was more than the seat was worth!!

Anyway, battling to Challenger Bank proved too much of a challenge. Black clouds were approaching from multiple angles and there were no other boats out. We opted for a lap of the island which was never going to be a great route for whale spotting. Disappointing. The only cool thing were did was drop a microphone into the water so we could ‘hear’ them! Good, but not $170 and a day of our life good!

Next up was Easter Brunch. This was never going to fail! We’ve had a Lido brunch for both the Christmases we’ve been here and they know how to feed us well! Having none of the several bottles of Christmas champagne there was no swimming in the sea and rorcous laughing….we did have a great time though and the sun even came out to allow us chance to enjoy a cocktail in the sun after. It felt like the start of summer….

Of course the following week was only ‘OK’ and this weekend is stormy again!!! Arrghh!

………So ended last weeks post…..

And now we’re another week on, I’m daring to think it might be spring! Yesterday was lovely (if windy at times) and we got out to the driving range and then a surprise birthday party for Katie and today I’ve been sat outside having lunch with the girlies and have got a little sunburned despite the suntan lotion….. What will next week hold? Dare we hope for spring?!

First day of Summer?!

No excuses for not writing sooner.  This is now clearly not a regular blog!

The last few weeks have gone by like a blur.  Work’s busy and as promised, the mythical thing that is summer has been approaching and the extra activities are springing into the calendar.  We were warned as soon as we got here that the summer is something special and today marks the first day of the summer for many locals – May 24th is Bermuda Day, a national holiday and the unofficial start to the summer, the beach parties, the BBQ’s and the fun!

Bermuda Day

Bermuda Day apparently started as a celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday and over the years has changed, developed and is now an excuse for Bermuda to have a party – one thing done very well here!  Parades, music and food!  It’s also the day when hundreds of athletes complete a half marathon; our friends Liz, Jamie and Robyn included.  Wow – I’m impressed!  It was a super humid day today and I was feeling uncomfortable just walking from where we parked the scooter to the finish line.  In true Bermudian community spirit, people had set up hose pipe showers for the runners to pass through and cool off!  People lined the streets to cheer the runners on and it was a great atmosphere.  Having cheered our three over the finish line it proceeded to pour with rain.  (On the ‘first day of summer’ – how rude!)  The parade and fun was going on but with Toby due to fly out to Toronto (stag do), and the rain pouring, I decided to return home with Toby and leave it to the Royal Gazette to take the pictures – probably a mistake as I’m now disappointed but I can plan to go next year.  In the afternoon Liz, Karen and I passed a few lovely hours in the Hamilton Princess hotel eating burgers and drinking tea!  Here’s Liz the super-star!

 

Now to give to a quick run down of what we’ve been up to in the past few weeks….

Whale-watching

March-April is when the humpback whales pass Bermuda on their migratory route from the warm Caribbean waters to Iceland.  It can be very hit and miss whether you get to see anything – it’s a big ocean out there!  I’m pleased to say we were incredibly lucky.  It took about 1 1/2 hours to get out to where we needed to be and after that we soon saw a whale break the surface for air.  We then started following at a discrete distance and over the course of the day we all became experts looking for the tell-tail signs of what to look for.  We’d loose a whale, but pick two up and so it continued.  We even saw several tail slaps;

We even had one go under the boat!

We were high as kites and had loved every minute – it was far better than we dared hope for when all of a sudden, an unfamiliar dorsal fin appeared…we had dolphins!

How lucky?!  Great, majestic whales in our vicinity for most of the day and then a pod of fun loving and playful dolphins.  Brilliant!

Ag Show

The following weekend was the ‘Ag Show’ – essentially a country fair as we think of it.  Over the course of 3 days 20k people visit – not bad for an island of only 65k!  It was a baking hot day and Toby and I wandered round for a few hours before heading to Robyn’s BBQ.  As you’d expect, lots of photos like this;

A few like this;

But at least Toby was;

Just before we were leaving the Horse and Trap racing started and we were fascinated!  So much fun.  I can’t remember the exact words but the judge would request ‘trot’, ‘road speed’ and similar things an then ‘RIDE ON!’ which Toby translated to ‘Organised Carnage’…they were so fast!  This guy didn’t win but he was our fave – super cool!

End-to-end

We’d heard people talk about the ‘End-to-end’ race where contestants walk, run or cycle from one end of the island to the other on May 4th.  It sounded like a great idea and something we’d like to do while we were out here but with everything going on, we forgot about it.  So on May 3rd we were in the office and Jamie suggested we sign up…and we did!  Excellent planning and preparation there then!!!  We then looked into the options to get our bikes to the start line…a ferry had been arranged to take 75 cyclists to the start from Hamilton where we live (for 800+ contestants…mmmm, maybe we’re not the only ones without great planning!).  At this point we realised we were going to have to cycle mid (where we live)-to-end-to-end!!!  18km to the start line and then 40km for the race (obviously, as I was participating, I need to put this in km as the numbers are larger!).

We were joined on the day by Jon as well.  Here he is with Toby, don’t they look the part?!

The lovely Simon Jones was making a particularly big effort with his get-up

I have to admit my aging body complained for much of the way.  I’m not 20 anymore!  The lads bless them sped ahead, would wait for me but when I caught them up I’d have to keep riding – I knew once I stopped the joints would seize!  I made it though and glad I did it.  Thankfully just in time to catch the Chelsea v Liverpool FA Cup Final – I’m a good wife!

Curry and games night

Our life in London seemed to often revolve around food, drink and games.  The food and drink with friends bit we’re good at here – but eating out as the apartment only has enough plates for 4 people!  We decided to push the boat out, buy a couple more plates and have a party for 6!  Liz, Steve, Naomi and Jon (Ninjo) turned up for a curry buffet and we introduced them to Gambling Trivial Pursuit.  I’m sorry London Crew – I feel like we’ve betrayed you…it was a lot of fun though!

Quiz and Wine Tasting

Last weekend we went to a wine tasting followed by a quiz in Masterworks, one of the art galleries – how very high brow do we sound?!  Unfortunately the wine tasting coming first did warm us up to being a little cheeky but team ‘Hoof-hearted’ – Liz, Ninjo, Trina, Dan, Toby and Chelle came 2nd and were awarded with a Masterworks goodie bag – chuffed!