Day One

Inevitably, I was a bit fuzzy headed last night, but still didn't sleep that well, in a strange place. I was awake at 4am, but at least I didn't have to do a Teams meeting as did L who was working a long morning, but on UK time. So he was finished by around 10am.

It was grey and fairly cool in the morning, with little sunshine. Fine for a bit of a day out. We drove around the island to the far tip to visit the Royal Naval Dockyard and the Bermuda National Museum, which was quite interesting. Lunch was a toasted fish sandwich from Wayne's. Apparently that's a local speciality. We shared a grouper sandwich and a snapper sandwich between us. I preferred the grouper, but both were delicious. Coming back around the island, L took a few detours from the main road for me to see some of the beautiful beaches as the weather got sunnier (see second extra), and also to get a better understanding of how the island is 'shaped'. The whole thing, including various reefs out to sea, is obviously a caldera. There are no freshwater sources on the island, so rainwater has to be collected and used. I am not sure how waste disposal is done... There isn't much sign of economic activity apart from service industries, but we did see a dairy farm. There is no countryside as such, but a few bits of remaining subtropical forest, especially on the many uninhabited islands which are not connected to the mainland by causeways and bridges. We also visited a sort of farm shop, also a farm, growing various fruits and vegetables, but also selling imported wares, albeit organic ones free of plastics. I tasted Bermudan bananas. Small and delicious.

As today would probably be the only opportunity for this, L decided to take his boat out for a spin, not least because swimming from the boat is one of the best options. It was quite choppy in the Sound, opposite Hamilton, where the boat is docked. I wasn't much help in getting the boat away, but I did manage to get on and off it without too many alarms despite it involving an awkward step for me. The route out towards the islands in the Sound, called the Lakes, was pretty choppy and quite exhilarating. After poking around a few corners, we found a reasonably quiet and sheltered place with a buoy to tie up, and then we took a swim (see extra for me swimming). The water was of course very warm - initially it felt like a warm bath. But after floating around for 20 minutes or so, I was actually quite glad I had a silver backed Zoggs swimsuit on. The water in the Sound is also much saltier than the North Sea in Easter Ross, which I guess is unsurprising as it is (a) not the open sea, (b) subject to evaporation because of the sun and (c) not diluted by any inflow from rivers. After that, it was back to the house, where the other L had returned from work in the electric vehicle which they have loaned for a few days (each household is only allowed one car, to reduce congestion).

We spent the evening quietly at home, which was good as I was fading a bit by then. L and L have an Ooni pizza oven and they made delicious pizzas (well mostly La did, with Le assisting). It's lovely to spend time with them now, as they are expecting a new addition to the family in February next year!

I've created an album on Flickr for additional photos. I am rapidly running out of extras.