OK going to do the next two posts as big ones. End of Bermuda and all of Cuba! (and no pics Got only a few mins before off to Ecuador after 18 hours of flights yesterday!

Hoobies
The standout thing about the Bermuda leg of our trip was the fact we found ourselves very much integrated into the whole local Bermuda thing pretty much as soon as we got there. With only 65,000 people, (a quarter of the population of Brighton which seems small enough) we were really bumping into people in the street we knew by the end of it. Some people we met couldn’t go more than a few streets without a wave or a hello.
Outside of Hamilton, the main town, the first few times a stranger said “hello”, I must have sounded like an idiot in response, muttering flustered gobbledygook! Everyone from the man digging up the street outside our little cottage to the old lady off to the shops would give a passing “how are you?”, to which I’d invariably return a startled something sounding like a cross between a grunt and a splutter. And if you ever go to the tiny (oh so English country village) post office at Bailey’s Bay you wont leave without knowing everything there is to know and telling everything there is to tell.

Hoobies was the point of this post! Hoobies is a Jazz Club, I doubt any tourist would ever get near which is all the shame.

The man in red is 85 and a bit of a ladies man, working his way though most of the ladies at our table!

Beaches
The image of Bermuda I think of is very much idyllic beaches and luxury pampering, and why not! Public transport is really good in Bermuda, there’s one transport company that runs all the (salmon pink) busses and all the ferries. As is the official Bermuda way.. everything is clear and organized (if only on the scale of a small village, but what’s wrong with that?)
In a single day we bussed up the northern coast taking in most of the bigger beaches, Horseshoe Bay, Elbow Bay and ….

St Georges
At the very east of the island is St Georges. A world heritage site and general lovely place. Like most of Bermuda, if it weren’t for the sun and heat it could easily be a little Cornish village in the UK. From the red telephone boxes, post boxes and road signs to the stone walls and brick houses. Here are some pics
Two things very strange things here; an internet café where I’m sure the bloke greeted me with a “Hello Tim” and said “goodbye Tim” too. And the other was finding Kath’s severed head on the floor at an old unused café…

It might not look like Kath immediately but if you ever get the chance you’ll see why I was concerned if you check out her old PADI ID card from her braided hippie days! That wouldn’t be the last time I’d experience some potential time line disturbance on this trip!

Dockyard
We got the ferry, which was great, up here to the north west point of the island. The old British fort here is worth a visit. We wanted to see the exhibit on slavery there and I wanted to see the big guns . Slavery is a huge part of Bermuda’s past and present really.
This was our last day and we were running out of time but there’s loads of stuff to see from Military stuff to coins and art and free Bermuda cake.
When we got here to the island, Bermuda seemed possibly like the ultimate integrated culture and colour seemed to play no part whatsoever in the jobs or positions people had. I really think that is case here more than most places in the world but, as we learned there are still problems.

This is just a big toad I found in a tree stump.

Showing that someone is actually reading this blog too I was asked to write a review for festivalpreviews.com. That was quite a while ago so not sure if they want it anymore but we’ll see! Someone also wanted to see some pics so I’ve uploaded some here (click pic below).

Utilizing our new found Jedi mind tricks one night we went for the ultimate…. Moonlight hot tubs in the fanciest hotel on the island.

It happened to be the night before the Bermuda Music Festival too and Beyonce was staying there so security was tighter. We didn’t bump into her, but, past gate security, reception, through a maze of corridors, out into the garden while getting rather lost and back in past the pool reception to get our free towels we made it! I’m sure no one cared but we felt some satisfaction, sitting there bubbling away in the moonlight for free. This time those bubbles weren’t coming from Kath either! And what a swimming pool too, all very nice.

Crystal Caves are one of Bermuda’s most famous attractions aside from the amazing beaches and general luxury. There are other caves though and these alternative caves are just a bit away in the grounds of a hotel and are open to guests. As Cleo so rightly implied, the difference between a guest and someone who is not a guest is merely a state of mind. With our Jedi minds tuned we infiltrated the hotel and entered the caves. Far too cold and un-chlorinated for most hotel guests we pretty much had them to ourselves. Freezing like a new years day dip off Brighton beach but crystal clear!

After some pretty hectic days it was great to come back in the evening and watch the rehearsals in some lovely air-conditioning. We even got credits in the program, but they printed my name as “Tim Mintes”, hmmm!

We would be leaving before the opening night but got to see one of the final run throughs. We met so many lovely people in front and behind and around the stage thanks in no small part to Cleo. Great stuff.

Nudity is a deportable offence in Bermuda and, at the time of leaving, the decision on whether to go “full monty” or use rather fetching flesh coloured jock straps hadn’t been taken. The police wouldn’t commit one way or the other.

That’s our lovely little Bermuda cottage in the background.