Nicole was up early today. I evidently slept later to the sum of something like nine and a half hours. It felt a bit cooler this morning and a bit breezier. When the sun was shining, it did feel significantly warmer, which then sort of explains the official uniform of Bermuda — shorts and high socks. You want to wear shorts, but also suspect a light breeze, so you put on the high socks. It’s an outfit that is incredibly fashion blind anywhere else, but strangely makes sense here.
After our breakfast that consisted of some pastries we ordered yesterday when I was still trapped inside, we got a shuttle to a scooter rental place. Like most things we’ve encountered in Bermuda, you have to get tested before you can play. I had to ride down to a nearby church parking lot, turn around, make a stop, then return to the rental spot —once by myself, once with Nicole riding on back. We were soon on our way. The scooter sounded like it was laboring a bit, but it was . . .functional.
Our first stop was Horseshoe Bay Beach, the most famous beach in Bermuda. It is named for its shape and would normally be packed, but there were only five people present. The sand is supposed to be pink, but it didn’t look that way to us. Perhaps some special filters and editing make the sand look more pink in photos. We did see a few flecks of pink in the sand, but they weren’t enough to change the hue of the beach. It was, a bit cloudy, though, so perhaps it’s pinker in direct sun.
From there, we continued our drive westbound, headed toward another beach when the engine sputtered and died while driving. After pulling to the side, we were able to restart it, but it eventually died again. And ultimately, it wouldn’t restart. We called the number of the rental company who said they would be there in 30 minutes with a new scooter. In that span of time, I received a call from the Scottish NHS who were cross-checking my address while in Scotland. I then informed them that I had left the country and was now in Bermuda, which seemed to simultaneously befuddle and amuse the officer. We had been able to pull over on a fairly quiet road, but no fewer than twenty different people asked if we needed any assistance. Friendly isle this.
With our new scooter arriving just ten minutes later than expected (not bad for island time), we were back on the road. Our next stop was West Whale Bay Park. It was a quiet place. Our scooter was the only vehicle in the parking lot. We walked down a hill to a small, yet scenic beach with more rock formations.
We spent about twenty minutes walking between the rocks and watching the blue waves. Eventually I balanced my camera on a rock and set up a self-timer shot. After spending all this time on the beach by ourselves, I go to look at the picture and there’s a random woman slowly entering frame like a monster in an old sci-fi movie. Where did she come from? Why that moment? Where was she going? She continued her slow trudging, but we left the beach before determining her fate.
There was also a nearby fort that used to have some cannons on it that have since been removed, but we were able to walk along the ramparts and explore the rest that remained.
We then continued on a coastal road for the next fifteen minutes or so. It was a very scenic drive with ocean views and quaint bridges. We stopped at what was supposed to be a glass beach, but I think someone cleaned it up. We ended up eating lunch near a town called Somerset. We had $15 sandwiches, but for oceanside dining, I suppose that’s reasonable. A rain shower also passed while we were eating under a tent, so our timing was perfect.
After lunch, we headed back toward Horseshoe Bay Beach to confirm whether or not it is actually pink. It is not. This is apparently a very popular beach at other times, but we were the only people on the sand. We walked toward the other side of the horseshoe this time.
Once there, we saw more interesting rock formations. I suppose they all start looking the same in my photos, but it’s neat to watch the water flow over the rocks. It reminded me a bit of some of the state beaches near Big Sur / Monterey.
We then drove to Elbow Beach, which didn’t warrant much of a stop. It appeared that erosion has pretty much wiped out most of the beach along with the wooden steps that would have led down to it. We did, however, see one of the gentleman from the elderly folks walking group as we were parking our scooter. We will probably see Barry or Gene, or whatever his name was (maybe some kind of Steve?) again tomorrow.
We went back to our hotel and ordered a pizza to go with our microwavable mac and cheese. We would have liked to have eaten it on our balcony except the maid somehow broke the lock so we are now unable to use it. Someone is coming to repair it tomorrow at 10, thus no breakfast on the balcony either. Sadness. It’s going in Nicole’s review. She’s a level five on TripAdvisor, a level four on Booking.com, and a Hilton Honors gold member, so her reviews are totes important.
passports & pepto bismol 