Sunday June 22, 2019 – In Hamilton Bermuda. We decided to go to a local cafe for an English Breakfast, juice and Coffee near the church. While the meal was delicious, it was a shock to pay $120.00 at the Devil’s Isle Café for breakfast!!!! We then wandered up the road to St. Theresa’s Catholic Cathedral for the morning mass. The place was packed with some 300+ people, many appeared to be from the Philippines.
Our next venture was to rent a couple of motorcycles for the three days. Bermuda does not permit non-Bermudians to rent automobiles. This is one of the many restrictions that Bermuda has enacted and makes the place in many ways, one of the nicest of the islands. People are friendly, courteous, willing to help etc. Another restriction is that “foreigners” are basically not permitted from purchasing property. I say basically as there is a lower threshold of US$ Two Million, below which price, no foreigner can buy a house or apartment. Also, there are restrictions as to which buildings can be bought by non-Bermudians. So, with very high prices and a lot of restrictions, the type of tourist that Bermuda attracts, makes the place very enjoyable, elegant and quiet. A quick story – Anne stopped a person in the street and asked, “Where is The XX restaurant”? The answer from the middle-aged lady – “Good afternoon, I hope you are enjoying your stay in Bermuda. As far as the restaurant, you need to …..”. It is impolite to not start a conversation without a Good Morning / Afternoon / Evening as the time warrants.
Back to Transportation. There are various ways of getting around, a good bus service (pink stops / stations towards Hamilton, Blue away from Hamilton), Taxis, or Motorcycles. As of about a year ago, small 2 passenger electric cars (one seat behind the other) are available but have to be booked at least 6 weeks or more in advance. ( Electric 2 passenger vehicles – Current vehicles – 441-532-2277 Piers Carr – Founder & CEO – piers@currentvehicles.com) Their Web Site is www.currentvehicles.com. So, we decided on motorcycles / Mopeds available from – Smart’s Cycle Livery Ltd. – 74 Pitt’s Bay Road, Pembroke HM06; Phone 441-295-1180 near the Hamilton Princess. Other offices are at the Fairmont Southampton – 441-238-7800 and at Tuckers Point – 441-297-1180. www.smattscyclelivery.com
After receiving some basic instructions from the Austrian rental agent, we gingerly and wobbly took off in what we thought was a short tour of the area of the island around Hamilton. However, as signage is relatively unnecessary and one cannot read a map and keep both hands on the cycle, we ended up going to the furthest end of the island where the Cruise ships dock, known as the Royal Naval Dockyard where we had a very nice lunch at a pub – Frog and Onion Pub.
We returned to the Hamilton hotel along what we thought was the middle road, turned off where we thought we had done before, found ourselves on streets in a nice neighborhood but not where we expected. All in all, a fun day.
Roger & Anne Travels 