Two days at sea go by quite quickly. The Haven amenities are great to have, and we’ve been using them all as much as possible. The special seating in the theater is a huge bonus – one we wouldn’t normally use, but since it is so packed in there, we are taking advantage of having decent seats saved for us every time we see a show there.Food is, as always, excellent. Staff lovely. And the weather has been fine for us – a little on the cool side, which we prefer.
This morning in Bermuda the weather is less than optimal though. It is cool, windy (as in gale force windy) and spitting rain. We feel sorry for the people who haven’t been here before or have planned on a beach day (we hear one guest complaining as we leave the ship that the beach excursion has been cancelled – duh). We had planned all along to stay in the Dockyard area, walking to the glass beach for our morning exercise, eating lunch on the ship then going to the national museum in the afternoon. Due to the weather, we’ve rearranged the order of our plans and head over to the national museum first during the worst of the rain.
We’re one of the first visitors this morning and have the place pretty much to ourselves for a while. The museum is located in a collection of buildings within the Dockyards fortress. Most are armories that have been converted – so the buildings themselves are also interesting from an architectural perspective.
The first exhibit we visit is the shipwreck island special exhibition. Divided into multiple sections in an enormous armory, the exhibition details all the known shipwrecks around Bermuda, including the grounding of the Sea Venture, which was how Bermuda was founded. (An interesting fact we didn’t know from our history – Shakespeare’s The Tempest was written about the Sea Venture’s voyage to save Jamestown, and its grounding on Bermuda.)
More displays explain how the sailors released pigs onto the island, and how the wild boar population grew. Still more displays showcase all the different artifacts discovered from different shipwrecks. Video presentations show scuba divers lifting artifacts from the sea bed and show the different techniques used in preservation. All in all, it is a very fascinating way to spend a rainy Tuesday morning.
The next exhibit we visit has a collection of sailing boats and paraphernalia used in different regattas and world cup races.
Then it is up the hill to the Commissioner’s house where a series of basement rooms explain Bermuda’s military history, complete with a video presentation with WWII survivors from the island.It is all very interesting, but not necessarily photo worthy. Although the gun wales do make for interesting views over the dockyards.
Upstairs, we wander through the traditional rooms of the commissioner’s house, reading the history of Bermudian slaves and looking at impressive service plaques and sailing artwork collected over the years. In the back stairwell there is the wall of history, which turns out to be an incredible 2 story tall mural depicting all of Bermuda over time. It covers every square inch of the stairwell and is a little overwhelming. There is so much detail, you could spend hours just studying each segment/cityscape of the painting.
Back outside, we wander around the upper portico for a while, taking overview shots of the dockyards and trying at artsy photos of the cerulean blue water against the battlements and rusted red steel of the portico supports.
Afterward, we explore the grounds, walking along the battlements looking for the herd of sheep that are normally on the property. We can’t find them – although we do find evidence of them on the pathway! After wandering aimlessly in the wind, we head back to the ship, passing by the hidden cave on the way. It looks like a pretty grotto, but at its base is a complex of tunnels and rooms that were used to store weapons and ammunition.
It’s high on noon and we’re getting hungry, so back to the ship we go for a nice lunch before walking over to the glass beach. The skies are clearing, and it is actually warming up fairly well by the time we get back outside. The walk takes us all the way through the Dockyard complex and across a short bridge where we spy – of all things – a Steelers logo on the side of a gas refinery/repository. Steeler fans are everywhere!
After crossing the bridge, we veer off on the side road that takes us to the glass beach, but it is fenced off a few hundred yards up, which is odd, because the road and intersection look brand new. Oh well, we’ll just go cross-country! Following a path through the scraggly woods, we drop right onto the beach at the opposite end of where we have accessed it in the past. It is still the same little dumpy beach, with sea glass sprinkled here and there. Just like Sanibel shells, the volume of glass on the beach must depend upon the tides, because its a fairly light day today – not like we’ve seen it in the past.
We wander down the beach to the old washed out jetty, talking to a few folks along the way. Enjoying the finally sunny skies, we spend a pleasant bit of time just sitting in the sun, staring out at the water. Finally rousing ourselves from our sunning perch, we make the trek back to the pier, passing through all the gift stores and the craft market (without buying a thing) on the way.
Back on board, we hang out at the “Beach” bar for a bit, then retire to our cabin to watch sailaway and begin our 5 days at sea.
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