The weather this morning is not the best. While it isn’t raining yet, the forecast is calling for rain all day long, so we are rethinking our plans. Our original itinerary included a morning walk to the Botanical Gardens for the weekly farmer’s market. It is supposed to be a huge affair, with tons of products and we thought it would be fun to go and see. But it is a 30 minute walk, and a portion of it does not have sidewalks, so we would be on the road, and well, you know, we’re bagging it! I just know if we try, we’d get there and the skies would open and we’d be drenched trying to get back.
So, after breakfast on the balcony, we rearrange our plans. Cooling our heels as much as possible, we finally leave the ship a little before 9 to visit the Fort of Hamilton, which opens at 9:30. Of course it is only a 15 minute walk, so we dawdle our way down Front Street, pausing for the obligatory Cabinet building photo…
…then stopping in at the grocery store and marveling at the prices. Well, really gasping. How do people live here and afford to eat? Prices are crazy high – candy bars we were buying in Europe (admittedly cheap) were 6x the price. Bags of popcorn were $5.25. Fresh strawberries were $8.99. Argh. Sadly, crew will not be stocking up here. At least they are going to South America next where they will find much more hospitable costs on cabin supplies.
The trek continues through what is now a more steady rain, up a steep commercial street lined with retail shops not open this early on a Saturday morning, to a more residential part of town on a large hill overlooking the bay.
Arriving at the Fort, we are still too early, but we figure we’ll walk up to the gates and hope there is somewhere to shelter. But, to our surprise, the gates are actually open already, so we wander right in. There is absolutely no one here – no one. There is a scooter parked under a verandah in the entrance, but that’s the only sign of life, so we take advantage of our luck and start to explore. The Fort was begun in 1868. As a result of the American Civil War, the British Garrison began a massive fortification program. This Fort was created to protect the Royal Navy Dockyards and the town of Hamilton before construction was halted after 20 years, leaving the fort unfinished.
About halfway around (we think we’re halfway), there is an entrance to the lower part of the Fort which are the underground ammunition room and galleries. It’s a long dark hallway that runs parallel to the Fort walls and moat with gun embrasures all around and little peep holes.
We walk the entire length, following a directional sign that showed the upper fort – but we can’t find anything but dead ends and one staircase that leads to a passage under the moat. So, we end up just going back out the way we came and walking all the way around the moat. It’s not a bad walk, even through the rain, and you can imagine how lovely it would be in good weather. We find the entrance stairs and walk up into a true downpour. What was once a little damp is now completely soaked. Ah well…umbrellas up and at ready!
It is beautiful up here – but sadly there is absolutely no shelter. It is just a series of ammunition areas, and walls, enclosing a beautifully green lush garden area with flowers and picnic tables perfect for sunnier skies. And the view over the harbor is wonderful as well, you can see why they situated the Fort here on a strategic knoll.
But alas, it is pouring. It is time to make our march back into town and along the seaside to the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).
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