Bermuda, "Isle of Devils"

Bermuda , Known officially as the Bermuda Islands or Somers Islands is a British Territory located approximately 650 miles  off the east coast of the United States.

Being settled in 1612 , it's capital , Hamilton, is  most populous and oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas

Although usually referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 20.6 sq mi. The largest island, Main Island, is sometimes itself called Bermuda. Compiling a list of the islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name .

With finance being it's largest sector, Bermuda has a very affluent economy, tourism is the second largest industry on the islands..

Discovered in 1503 by Juan de Bermudez, it became a stopping off place to replenish ships with water and meat. Because of legends concerning spirits and demons, it soon gained the name "Isle of Devils" The many stories of ships and airplanes disappearing in confines of the "Bermuda Triangle " soon fed more fuel to the fire. To this day a certain mystic surrounds the whole area of Bermuda as well as many miles to the south.

Judging from first hand exerience, the seas can be treacherous. While on a 7 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Bermuda and Nassau, we experienced 20 foot seas for 30 hours,all the while the weather was perfectly sunny and beautiful. I can appreciate how ships from an earlier era would not survive.

 Surviving the high seas, landfall was made at the Royal Navy Pier around 4 pm on Sunday. Upon walking ashore , it was soon discovered that despite that fact a large cruise ship had just docked, all the stores were closed and wouldn't open until the following morning. It was nice to see there is still somewhere on this planet where the observance of Sunday and traditional values out weight the power of the almighty dollar.

Spending an enjoyable evening rambling around the Royal Navy Pier and discovering the many unique features thereof , it was time to retire and await the next day's adventures.

One of the nice things about Bermuda is the inexpensive transportation, a full day's fare on all the available forms of transportation, everything from water taxis to buses can be had for a paltry $6.
Hamilton , the capital of Bermuda is a modern , clean upbeat city, with all the amenities and shopping found in any American city, combine this with the British formality and one has a recipe for an enjoyable experience.

Our excursion to St. George's was delightful with the driver filling us in on all the history and unique features of the island.

Following a sea side lunch and a walking tour of the town of St. Georges,it was back on the bus for the returning ride to our floating hotel.



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