It is a windy but otherwise beautiful day here in Hamilton with a temperature of 71. Again today, let me start with what happened last night. As I mentioned we met Goran in the Compass Rose dining room for our special dinner consisting of veal parmesan and spaghetti with marinara sauce. The chef prepared enough for 6 people! I did my share and ate two big pieces. It was very good so Goran called the chef to come to our table so we could thank him properly. Our executive chef is from India. After a lovely dinner and conversation with Goran, we headed to the showroom. The production show, "Dawning of Aquarius" was REALLY good. It was so nice to hear all the songs from the 1960's that we grew up with. I took some photos during the show which I will have to send out via email as I did yesterday. Since we were in port over night (and will be again tonight), I think most of the crew abandoned ship after they finished work last night to go party in town. One of our stewards just said he was out until 2 am. They work so hard so really deserve to have a little fun away from us passengers.
I think everyone and their dog, so to speak, is on the ship's internet this afternoon as uploading photos is near impossible. I will have to wait until they all go feed their faces this evening. You know how important food and dining is to older folks. We were up at 7:30 this morning with room service breakfast at 8:00 am. We met in the showroom at 9:15 for our 3 1/2 hour excursion, "Scenic Southern Shores". There are only public buses on the island so our tours were done in taxis. Six passengers per van and Earl, our driver, was also the tour guide. We were very fortunate as Earl was very knowledgeable and funny. We thoroughly enjoyed our riding tour of the southern part of Bermuda.
Bermuda was discovered and colonized by the British back in 1609. Today the island is self-governed as the British turned it over in 1994 and closed the military bases (the US also had bases here which they also closed). The island is 22 miles long and only 2 miles wide with a population of 65,000. There are thousands of motor scooters because each family can only have one car. There were no cars here at all until 1945 (WWII). Public buses, ferries, and 600 taxis are the main modes of getting around. Of course, tourism is the major economic source of income with banking and insurance also supporting the economy. There are no car rentals here as tourists are not allowed to drive. As in the UK, they drive on the left side of the streets here. The one and only fast food restaurant on the island is a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Everything here has to be imported so it is very expensive to live. There are some fishermen and we passed some small gardens but not much land for raising food and none for raising animals. All the roofs are concrete with a limestone solution painted on making all the roofs are white. The roofs catch the rain water which is purified by the lime and stored for the family's use. This is their main source of water however they now have a desalination plant but have to pay for that water. In my photos you will see the white roofs and also the colorfully painted homes. Earl says there is a lot of unemployment because of the 2008 recession, and hence, there is a lot of crime. The nice homes along the water and on the hillsides over looking the water cost in the millions. Property taxes are the government's main source of money as they have no income taxes. A 2004 hurricane with 130 mph winds really tore the island up. Diesel is the fuel for the one turbine powered electricity plant. They are in the process of burying all electric lines so there will not be power outages during hurricanes. Gasoline costs $8 per gallon here!! Cars are all small and fuel efficient. Remember this island is only 22 miles long so they don't have to drive far.
It is now 4 pm and as I write the crew is up on the pool deck clearing it as there will be a barbeque dinner up on it this evening. This is another "Regentism", for lack of a better word. With their smaller ships they can do things like this. Sorry, but Rebecca & I are not "dining out on deck" people so we will be dining in Compass Rose. Deck party with dancing later so no formal entertainment. They will be showing the movie "Gravity" in the showroom however. The ship remains in port again tonight so I am sure quite a few crew members will be on shore partying again.
At 6:15 tomorrow morning we will depart and move up to St George on other end of the island, arriving there at 8 am.. The ship will be there until 3:00 pm before departing for Charleston, SC.
I think everyone and their dog, so to speak, is on the ship's internet this afternoon as uploading photos is near impossible. I will have to wait until they all go feed their faces this evening. You know how important food and dining is to older folks. We were up at 7:30 this morning with room service breakfast at 8:00 am. We met in the showroom at 9:15 for our 3 1/2 hour excursion, "Scenic Southern Shores". There are only public buses on the island so our tours were done in taxis. Six passengers per van and Earl, our driver, was also the tour guide. We were very fortunate as Earl was very knowledgeable and funny. We thoroughly enjoyed our riding tour of the southern part of Bermuda.
Bermuda was discovered and colonized by the British back in 1609. Today the island is self-governed as the British turned it over in 1994 and closed the military bases (the US also had bases here which they also closed). The island is 22 miles long and only 2 miles wide with a population of 65,000. There are thousands of motor scooters because each family can only have one car. There were no cars here at all until 1945 (WWII). Public buses, ferries, and 600 taxis are the main modes of getting around. Of course, tourism is the major economic source of income with banking and insurance also supporting the economy. There are no car rentals here as tourists are not allowed to drive. As in the UK, they drive on the left side of the streets here. The one and only fast food restaurant on the island is a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Everything here has to be imported so it is very expensive to live. There are some fishermen and we passed some small gardens but not much land for raising food and none for raising animals. All the roofs are concrete with a limestone solution painted on making all the roofs are white. The roofs catch the rain water which is purified by the lime and stored for the family's use. This is their main source of water however they now have a desalination plant but have to pay for that water. In my photos you will see the white roofs and also the colorfully painted homes. Earl says there is a lot of unemployment because of the 2008 recession, and hence, there is a lot of crime. The nice homes along the water and on the hillsides over looking the water cost in the millions. Property taxes are the government's main source of money as they have no income taxes. A 2004 hurricane with 130 mph winds really tore the island up. Diesel is the fuel for the one turbine powered electricity plant. They are in the process of burying all electric lines so there will not be power outages during hurricanes. Gasoline costs $8 per gallon here!! Cars are all small and fuel efficient. Remember this island is only 22 miles long so they don't have to drive far.
It is now 4 pm and as I write the crew is up on the pool deck clearing it as there will be a barbeque dinner up on it this evening. This is another "Regentism", for lack of a better word. With their smaller ships they can do things like this. Sorry, but Rebecca & I are not "dining out on deck" people so we will be dining in Compass Rose. Deck party with dancing later so no formal entertainment. They will be showing the movie "Gravity" in the showroom however. The ship remains in port again tonight so I am sure quite a few crew members will be on shore partying again.
At 6:15 tomorrow morning we will depart and move up to St George on other end of the island, arriving there at 8 am.. The ship will be there until 3:00 pm before departing for Charleston, SC.
