cruise to bermuda, 2003

In May of 2003 Andrea and I took a cruise to Bermuda. We do not recommend cruises, though the Norwegian Majesty was a nice ship. The main reasons to take a cruise are gambling and eating, which Andrea and I try to keep to a minimum. Probably the only circumstances under which I would recommend a cruise are if there are frequent stops; The Norwegian cruise from Boston to Bermuda has only one stop. Still, cruises give you a good deal considering they are all-inclusive.

The port lifeboats in their davits, as viewed from Deck 7 of the Norwegian Majesty. In the background the Boston Skyline disappears into the horizon.

Andrea poses on Deck 7 as the Majesty enters St. George's, one of the two major urban areas in Bermuda. All of the houses have very clean white roofs; this is because the slopes of the roofs are used to catch rainwater. There are no natural springs in Bermuda, and all the drinking water comes from rainfall.

A sunken barge in St. George's harbor. This barge was laden with lime. When it sank, the lime hardened into cement, making salvage impossible. The people of St. George promptly stripped it of any useful items and left the rest to rust.

St. Peter's church is the oldest continuously operating Anglican church in the Western Hemisphere, dating back to 1620.

The churchyard at St. Peter's.

Tobacco Bay is the closest Beach to St. George's. It's a short walk away on the other side of the island, and has both great snorkeling and unusual rock formations.

Ed and Andrea at Tobacco Bay.

We took a kayak trip near Castle Island, which is several miles from St. George's by boat. Castle Island is so named because it once held forts that the English used to guard the island from Spanish attack. The Spaniards never came, so the forts fell into disuse.

The Clock Tower at the Royal Naval Dockyards, which is at the opposite end of Bermuda from St. George's.

Neptune watches over the courtyard of the Royal Maritime Museum, which was once the heart of the Dockyards.

A bastion and magazine overlooking the Atlantic.

The Commissioner's House at the museum has a wonderful gallery showing the military history of the island, which was of strategic importance in World War II. Many American families living in Bermuda originally came during the war; it's now much harder to emigrate there.

The view from the Commissioner's House.

Horseshoe Bay beach is one of the better public beaches in Bermuda.

Another view of Horseshoe Bay.

Ed and Andrea at Horseshoe Bay.

More Horseshoe Bay beach.

The Crystal Caves were discovered in 1905 by two boys who were playing cricket. They explored them with lanterns and very long ropes. The island of Bermuda is a fossilized coral formation built atop an extinct underwater volcano, and the caves feature many coral formations mixed with stelagmites and stelactites. Stelagmites cannot form underwater, so since the water in the caves is at sea level, this underwater stelagmite dates from a time when the Atlantic was much lower.

Another view of the Crystal Cave.

A view of the Fantasy Cave, not far from the Crystal Caves. Both caves feature occasional fish visitors, who swim in from the ocean through a vast network of underwater caves.

Dating from a time when the land level was lower, this fossilized tree root pokes into Fantasy Cave, and is probably millions of years old.

A massive column in Fantasy Cave. Columns form when a stelactite merges with the stelagmite beneath it. This takes a long time: stelactites grow about an inch per century.

Ed and Andrea in Fantasy Caves.

Hamilton is the capital of Bermuda, and this is a view of the city from Fort Hamilton

A gecko climbs down a fence at Fort Hamilton. Geckos change colors depending on their surroundings; this one was black before I took a photo of it.

A view of St. George's from the Majesty.

The Cathedral at St. George's was started in the late 19th century, but storm damage and a lack of interest caused it to fall into neglect, and it was never completed.

More of the abandoned St. George's Cathedral.

As we depart, a lifeboat is loaded into its davit.