Before looking at a map I believed that Bermuda was somewhere in the Caribbean. Imagine my surprise to learn it is east of South Carolina about 800 miles. More surprises included that it is only 20 miles across and a mile wide. I stopped here for just part of a day on my way across the Atlantic. The four hours that I had in port at the town of Hamilton was plenty of time to traverse the island and get a sense of its personality, look and feel. I have never been to a more ritzy foreign destination. Huge mansions costing tens of millions of dollars and painted in bright pastels seem to be scattered everywhere. Something about being a tax haven attracts both the wealthy and insurance companies here.
Since November is the offseason and the weather was unfortunately cloudy, I wasn’t given a sense of what a bright, summery beach day entails here. I think it is preferable to the loads of tourists and crowded roads that must congest this island that only has 65,000 residents. The whole place reminded me of a James Bond film location — beautiful houses, exotic cars and yachts, country clubs and golf courses. I think it’s only inevitable that a Bond film will be made here! I visited a small, photogenic cave that added to the mystery and intrigue of this strange Atlantic destination. We all love to travel to interesting and surprising places — to me Bermuda fit the bill fittingly as an unexpected, mysterious surprise. I would love to return someday (as a millionaire Bond Villain).
