We really slept in today. I didn’t wake John until 9:00! We dressed and went up to the Blue Lagoon, thinking that we could grab a quick breakfast there. Wrong. We ordered our breakfast and waited, and waited and waited. Finally, after 30 minutes John went and talked to the wait staff to find out what the problem was. Apparently when he asked for a slice of ham with his French toast it really threw the chef. They only have cubed ham to put in omelets. So John asked for scrambled eggs with ham. When they finally brought our food he got a ham omelet and French toast. I got the Blue Lagoon special with eggs over easy. It comes with bacon, sausage, beans, hash browns, mushrooms and grilled tomato. I wanted the mushrooms and tomato. Eeeuw, sausage stuck in a bowl of beans just looked gross. We finally got ourselves fed and ready to disembark. We headed for the transportation desk on the port and bought a full day pass on the bus/ferry. There was a ferry boarding so we got on and 20 minutes later we were in downtown Hamilton. THIS is the Bermuda I remember: all pastel colored buildings and turquoise water. We had to find the bus terminal and the #3 bus. We just took one wrong turn. We ran into a group of similarly lost people and found out that they, too were heading for the bus so we all trooped up to Victoria Place together. We found the slot for the #3 bus and moments later the bus pulled in. We had to wait while the driver had her break but we finally boarded the infamous Pink Bus. The streets haven’t gotten any wider in the past 25 years. The roads were laid out by a drunk snake and the buses zip along around hairpin turns. There’s only inches to spare when you pass a vehicle going in the opposite direction. Our first stop for the day was the Crystal Caves. 88 steps down, 88 steps back up, drippy stalactites/stalagmites and a cool underground pool in between. I hope my pictures came out. After catching our breath after climbing out of the cave we headed for the bus stop and the Aquarium/Zoo. The bus stop was in front of an ice cream parlor that I remember from our last trip to Bermuda 25 years ago. And across the street was the Rum Swizzle Pub. The bus pulled up as we rounded the corner so we were in luck for the 3rd time today. We found seats in the back of the bus and arrived at the Aquarium without mishap. One admission gets you into the aquarium, zoo and natural history museum. We spent about 2 hours looking at the exhibits. The zoo was undergoing construction so we could only see the flamingos from a great distance over the Galapagos tortoises. We left the zoo shortly after 4:00 and the bus pulled up as soon as we got to the stop. When we got back to Hamilton we headed for the ferry terminal and JUST MISSED the 4:30 ferry to Dockside. The next ferry wasn’t until 6:00. We figured we’d better get something to eat since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We stopped in several restaurants but they were all closed until 6:00. Just as we were about to give up I noticed a place called the Lobster Pot that I had heard a clerk in a bookstore we stopped in telling someone about. Good enough recommendation for me. They were open and serving dinner. We just ordered soups and a salad to share and two draft beers. I had conch chowder and John had lobster bisque. Very good. We ate and then headed to the ferry terminal. There’s a new ship in port: Celebrity’s Summit is at Dockside. We sat with some passengers and we were comparing our cruises. I told them how we sailed on the Summit in 2003 when we went to Alaska. The ride back to Dockside took a lot longer than the ride to Hamilton because we stopped at another terminal to let passengers off. Consequently, we didn’t get back to the ship until close to 7:00. I went upstairs to get in line for the chocolate buffet. It was nothing spectacular. I made a plate of treats for John and got him a cup of coffee and brought it downstairs. We went to Dazzles for Jose and Patti’s Country Western show. The lounge was already packed and we had to stand for a while until one of the bartenders found a seat for us in a hallway between Dazzles and Dazzles2. We stayed through the first set and then headed for bed.
Bermuda – Day 3
They saved the best for last. We had a glorious day today. It was breezy but we had clear skies and temperature around 70 degrees. We had breakfast in the main dining room. I had tropical fruit chunks and an egg white omelet. Sounds good, right? Well, then add the bacon, cheese, potatoes (ok considering I was going to be doing a lot of walking) and a croissant. Vacation will soon be over and I’ll get back on the diet. My new capris are starting to fall off of me so I don’t think I’ve done any major damage.
My goal for today was to take a glass bottom boat tour and send John to the Maritime Museum in Dockyard. The ship’s GBB tour was filled so I took my chance at the tour kiosk on shore. The price was a little less than the NCL tour and we went to the exact same places. Only difference: we had 11 passengers and NCL had more like 100. We also got complimentary rum swizzles (all we wanted). We all staked out our seats inside around the glass floor and then went topside for the first part of the tour (which took us through the Bermuda Triangle. It was pretty windy up top but it was a pleasant ride. When we got to the feeding ground we went inside and were given bread to feed the fish. They jumped out of the water to grab the pieces of bread. We floated over a shipwreck that is home to a 60 pound grouper, saw David Bowie’s estate, some long-tailed birds that have no legs and I saw a turtle eating a Portuguese Man of War. John kept in touch via our walkie-talkies and met up with me near the pier. We walked to Snorkel Park so I could say I went to the beach and then to the Bermuda Art Colony. We ate lunch at the Onion and Frog and then stopped at the Bermuda Rum Cake Factory to pick up some cakes to bring home. After a quick stop at the pharmacy for shoe liners for John we headed back to the ship, ready to set sail for home. I don’t know why we waited 25 years come back here. We had a very nice time. Three days is plenty. I now have more alcohol in me than I’ve had in years…two rum swizzles and a fruity concoction at the Onion and Frog. John is napping and I am going to relax up on the pool deck until Sail-Away. We’re going to sleep good tonight.
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