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July, 2005 ~ "Life is a Beach"
August 2005 ~ Bermuda!, Fire Fighting Training
September 2005 ~ Bermuda Highways, Gone Fishing, John Smith Beach, Hurricane
October 2005~ Imagery, Visiting Bermuda
November 2005 ~ Hello - We are still Here, Our Place, What do I Do?
December 2005 ~ "All I want to do is Catch a Big fIsh"!, Our First Visitor, Peugeot Cabriolet
January 2006 ~ Happy New Year!, Sonesta Beach
February 2006 ~ Winter in Bermuda
March 2006 ~ BRrrrrrr!
April 2006 ~ April Showers?
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Bermuda Highways
This posting has to tell the story of Bermuda's highways and byways, the roads that connect one portion of one island to another. These roads are often narrow, always twisty and hilly. More the norm than the exception, these roads are carved through limestone giving them solid "walls" on either side. The one lane highways are divided with a single line; yellow meaning not to pass as it is on a blind corner and you would have to be suicidal to cross it, or white meaning you can pass, park, have a picnic or whatever, right there in the middle of the road. There are no sidewalks on these roads, as Lori would tell you after attempting to walk to town and barely escaping with her life. There are very few signal lights and those few in down town Hamilton.
So you can understand it when I say that the universal speed limit for all Bermuda is 35 Kilometres per hour maximum. You can also understand the Government of Bermuda restricting the size of automobiles. It wasn't until the 1940's that this country even allowed cars! Most people ride scooters. Any tourist over 14 visiting the Islands can rent a scooter under 50cc. There are "no" car rentals. Those who "live" in Bermuda must take a test and pay registration, testing, insurance and licence fees in order to drive. For cars, the bigger it is, the more it will cost you, and this amounts to hundreds of dollars per year.
We expatriates from BC stifle our laughter when we see the "Bermudian bike gangs" with their Harley type Hogs which by law have their cylinders sleeved down to 150 cc. But the laughter is cut short when we actually experience what it is like to drive on the roads here.
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Other than a helmet, no protective gear is worn. It's sandals, shorts and T-shirt. Very often it's a mini skirt and stiletto high heals for the girls! The speed limit of 35 klicks an hour is a joke! Everyone seems to travel at least 55 k's/hr and often much faster than that. It's not the speed that is astonishing but the fact that everyone on the road thinks they are invincible! Go for a half hour ride and you'll experience at least one or two very near calamities involving yourself. It doesn't matter how defensive you drive. Many of the scooter drivers are Kamikaze Pilots! Part of the reason is the road regulations, which allow passing on the right or the left. It is very common to see scooter riders take their life in their hands and pass on totally blind corners. It is also common to have someone "stop" in front of you, on a major road, to pick someone up or shoot the breeze with a passer by! Try driving the speed limit and you'll have vehicles, including cars, passing you on the right and the left.
Yes, the commute here is a trifle hair-raising. To start with, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. When there "is" a traffic light, the sequence is Red (stop) then Yellow (rev your engines) and then Green (peddle to the metal and pass anyone who lags!) It is not uncommon to see young Bermudians on their scooters, riding sidesaddle, passing cars on the centre line with a cell phone jammed up inside their helmet. The whole thing is to be "cool", even if it costs your life. And it does. Not a day goes by without hearing about someone getting creamed! One of the first questions asked upon arriving here is; "Have you got your Bermudian Tattoo yet?" Of course this refers to skidding down the asphalt in your shorts. It is inevitable. Sooner or later it will happen. I'm constantly astonished and alarmed when waiting for a chance to turn, on having a suicide rider brush by me at 60 with no idea what is ahead. Often these are the miniskirted girls in high heals!
Only one car per dwelling is allowed here. Each home is issued an "assessment number". Therefore, most everyone rides a scooter. No point in taking a car to downtown Hamilton anyways as there is no parking. We bought a Yamaha 115 cc scooter. We are trying to be careful but I'm afraid that the inevitable may happen. Some of the side streets we have to navigate are almost perpendicular and often very wet with ten foot high walls of limestone and no shoulders. It's a very different commute than the lower mainland of Vancouver, BC. It is also very beautiful with brilliant skies and lush tropical vegitation often converging above the road. We are now into October and still zoom about on our small scooter in a T-shirt, although Lori has yet to try her driving skills wearing high heals.
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GONE FISHING
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So what does one do when living on a small Island in the middle of an ocean? Find a boat and "Go Fishing!" We've lucked out in that our friends Mark and Anne bought a 25 foot boat! Our first day on the water was spent circling the Island and checking out the beaches, atolls, bays and harbours. Of course we got lots of sun and swam several times as well as drank a cooler worth of wine and beer. The next day we went snorkling for "lobster", which entails diving about 10 feet down to look under ledges of coral with a "noose on a stick" lobster catcher. Pictured above, Lori returns as empty handed as we all did. You have to know where to look, we found out later.
This area of the world abounds with fish. Put on a mask and take a look. Throw in a "hand line" with a hook and some bait and you'll have dinner within a few minutes. As a matter of fact, most of the Bermudians fish with a hand line only.
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If you want to catch the "big" ones, you have to go offshore, beyond the reef, about 9 miles, where one trolls (often with outriggers) at 15 knots. This is where you can catch the Tuna, Marlin or Wahoo! Pictured at left is Mark with a 50lb Wahoo he caught last week. This week we fished "within" the reef as the rollers were a bit too high. We caught about 35 "Silky Snappers" and 2 Turbots and had a meal of snapper that evening, which I cooked and Lori said tasted fabulous. |
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There is no requirement for a fishing license and no limit on how many fish you can keep...except for lobster. A lobster license is $115 and for this you have access to 2 lobsters per day, providing you can find and capture them. No easy task as no tanks are allowed. Just free diving. Hold your breath!
Of course, the best thing about fishing is spending time in a boat with friends, with clear blue skies and the sun beating down on your shoulders.
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John Smith Beach
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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I read a posting to my last blog on "hurricanes" from sister Jude in Squamish, BC, stating; "Hmmm, that's odd. Nothing but bright blue sky, brilliant crisp mountain air, a peaceful hammock and gentle breezes up this way." So I thought it is time to do a blog on another Bermudian beach. Jude's comment may also be in retribution for my earlier statement that the weather here is is better than watching rain out the window for days. We are still getting used to the varying and sometimes dramatic weather changes here. I suppose it's because there are no mountains to "hold" the clouds or continents to change the weather patterns, so we are at the mercy of whatever comes our way for a short time... after which it blows over and it's back to the beach under sunny skies. One can wake up to torrential downpour and by the time you have your morning coffee and are ready to go out, the sky is clear and the sun is blazing hot. Even when it's raining, the temperature is in the high 80s, so if you get wet, no big deal, it'll dry out soon. I wear sandals, t-shirts and bathing-suit or shorts always. Only once have I had to wear raingear so far.
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John Smith Beach is on the South side of the Island and the closest to our residence; about 4 minutes away. It is where we go for a quick swim and to cool off at the end of a day. The water is refreshing in that it's cooler than the water on the North side of the Island by a few degrees. It is quite common to stand chest deep in the ocean with friends, drinking an ice cold Heineken. The sand is the famous "pink" colour and very fine in texture. The ocean is a clear aqua blue with enough surf to make it fun. The reef is out about 150 feet offshore, in easy reach for snorkeling fun and abounding with sealife, as well as being littered with many shipwrecks. One has only to be aware of the strength of the sun and use proper sunscreen, especially if one is follically challenged. (If you are wondering where my chin hair went, I had to shave it off for the SCBA training ... it's growing back now). |
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John Smith Beach ~ Bermuda
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HURRICANE
Hurricane Fabian
We had everyone back home worried about "Hurricane Nate" which was to make a direct hit on our small Island. Turns out it passed 107 miles to the South and the headlines here state that we had a "narrow Escape". The winds only gusted to 50 mph, which was enough to "wobble" the scooter and give me a fright on the way to work last Thursday morning. Coming home in a torrential downpour the next day was even hairier when I had to navigate the 50cc machine through sudden lakes that appeared on the road and oncoming traffic completely submerged me for a second or two. Luckily, I just got issued rain gear from work and I kept reasonably dry. We had also just purchased new "Full face" helmets which served more like a diving bell that day.
Hearing stories of destruction and loss of life from hurricane Fabian in 2001; I don't dismiss worry by the natives in Bermuda of potential storms headed our way. Although most of the destruction from these storms is concentrated in the Mexican Gulf and do not have a direct impact on Bermuda, it's a fact that we are in "Hurricane Season" now and it is also a fact that we are a very tiny island in the middle of the North Atlantic with the highest landmass at 30 meters above sea-level. It's all a bit intimidating to new-comers from mountainous British Columbia.
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