Bermuda - Day 4

This morning was the morning for us to get in the water. We suited up in our wetsuits and snorkeling gear and hit the beach. I should have tried out snorkeling gear before getting into the ocean – I could breathe just fine, but I sure did have trouble with the fins! JB and I spent a very short time in the ocean – the water was cold! (even with our wetsuits). Interestingly enough, there was another gentleman who had been sunning on the beach who took right off into the water in just his swimming trunks, and swam around with comments of how wonderful the water felt. As JB and walked down the beach, Jonathan asked the man where he was from, the artic?? It was hilarious – the fellow was from Canada. We went back to the caves because I just had to swim in the cave. JB wouldn’t get in the water with me because he was certain the water would be just as cold as the ocean, but it really wasn’t. The water was cool on the top, but it was quite pleasant deeper down.

We spent some time at St. George’s today – the original capital city. We ate at a restaurant overlooking the bay. The food was good, but the service was quite relaxed. Gratuity is automatically added to the bill here, so they don’t necessarily have to provide exceptional service to get their tip. We walked around the city of St. Georges and saw some of the historic sites including:

• the old town hall
• ordinance island – where the British army stored gunpowder and cannons
• a replica of the ship Deliverance

• a replica of a pillory and stocks – used to punish criminals

• a dunking chair – which was used on 17^th century witch trials to dunk accused witches into the harbor
• St. Peters Church – the oldest Anglican church in the western hemisphere

• and the unfinished church. Construction on the unfinished church was started after the original St. Peters Church was destroyed by fire, however it was never finished because the people wanted to rebuild the church at the original site.

We wanted to go to Fort Catherine today too, but the minibuses were not running today and we weren’t up to walking 2 miles without certainty that the fort would be open on Sunday. We’ll try to get back there before we leave. We came back to the hotel and relaxed on the beach.

The view is breathtaking!

For dinner, we had the concierge make us reservations at an Italian restaurant in the Flatts. As we got on the bus, we told the bus driver where we needed off, but he was deep in conversation when we passed the restaurant and he forgot to stop. So, we ended up all the way back in the city. We were afraid we wouldn’t be able to find anywhere open to eat since it was Sunday, but the bus driver pointed us in the right direction and we ate dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant in Hamilton.

We stopped at a grocery store today for me to compare prices for things we use back at home. Here are some of the prices that I found:

• A half-gallon of milk $4.35
• A box of Captain Crunch cereal $5.15
• A loaf of bread $6
• A 12-pack of toilet paper $20
• A box of cake mix $4
• Hi-C juice boxes (10) $6.40
• Minute Maid Apple Juice boxes (10) $8.20
• A 2-liter Coke $4.15

I was also interested in how much rent would be on the island. On the bus this evening as we missed our bus stop, the bus driver was talking with an auditor from E&Y who just moved here to work – he’s paying $1500/month for rent. That is reasonable rent from what the bus driver said. Some folks pay $2000 - $5000/month for rent. The cost of living is really high here, but I guess it is worth it for some to live on such a beautiful island.

We are having a great time but sure do miss our kids. For everything we’ve done, we seem to talk about what the kids would think of it and we’ve checked out the kid’s menus at every restaurant we’ve eaten at. Thankfully, chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese are staples for children over here too, so Nathan and Reagan wouldn’t starve if they were with us.

On our way back in the resort tonight, as we greeted the doorman (custom is to greet everyone over here), he turned and asked JB if he was a minister. Jonathan responded, “Yes sir, I am. How did you know that?” The man said he saw a glow about Jonathan and that he had noticed the way JB spoke with the lady at the front desk as we left for dinner tonight. We talked for a few minutes and he wished God’s blessings on us. It was a delightful conversation.