Crystal Caves

These Caves were discovered by two young boys in 1904. They were playing cricket and lost their ball, which fell down a hole in the ground in the field where they were playing near their homes. Wanting to find that ball, they ran back home and got a bunch of rope and a small lantern and lowered themselves down this hole. And this is what they found!! Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.

Some more aquarium pics

Bermuda Aquarium

> The aquarium was small, but very nice. Interesting fish. I especially loved the blue parrotfish and the seahorse.
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Bermuda Aquarium

The aquarium was small, but very nice. Interesting fish. I especially loved the blue parrotfish and the seahorse.

Bermuda Zoo

We visited the Bermuda Zoo this afternoon on a ship tour. Combined with aquarium and the Crystal Caves.

Taking the Ferry to Dockyards

We hopped on the ferry this morning from Hamilton out to the Dockyards. A short five minute walk from the ship and we were paying our $9 round trip and walking onboard for the 25 minute ride.

The Dockyards is where the bigger ships have to moor. They can't fit through the narrow passage (see my picture with the boat's wake) but the Veendam can! There's not a whole lot in the Dockyards other than a small shopping mall. You can grab yours from here, though, to take you out snorkeling and swimming at local beaches. Otherwise the passengers from these bigger ships must rely on either the ferry or taxis to get them to Hamilton and St. George.

We wanted to ride the ferry and kill some time shopping. We certainly accomplished both this morning. We returned in time for lunch on the ship and this afternoon we have a tour scheduled to visit the Crystal Caves and the Aquarium.

The funny looking glass bubbles you see in one picture is a nod to
The old British shopkeepers when they were taxed by how much light came into their shops. Weird, right? Anyway, the shops made their windows with these bubbles because it cut down on the light and therefore, their taxes.

End of Twizy

Had to say goodbye to Miss Twizy this afternoon. Just a one day rental. We could have held on to her longer but then we would have missed dinner. And as anyone who cruises knows, you can't miss dinner!! It's free and it's filling!! Especially after a long day in the Twiz-mobile.

I included a picture of the Princess Resort where Snort attempted to paddle board while Adrienne and sat under the umbrellas and sipped flowery and fruity iced teas, and waited for the Twiz to charge some more. The resort's on a beautiful little beach with a protected cove, allowing guests to swim and frolic without worrying about dangerous riptides and the like. I sure could get used to laying around in a water hammock all day while handsome waiters in Bermuda shorts brought me pretty drinks on trays. Yes. Yes. Yes.

When we dragged our asses out of the resort and arrived back in Hamilton, I dropped Adrienne off in front of the ship and then drove the few blocks back to Twizy's home. Handing over the key to the every most good looking attendant ( in hot pink Bermuda shorts by the way, AND with that suave British accent), I toddled on back to the ship. I stopped along the way to grab a final few snaps - a very cool sculpture and the birdcage, a literal metal cage that sits in the middle of this crazy 3-way intersection. When traffic gets really busy, a policeman comes out and gets into the cage and directs traffic. Sadly, the cage was empty this afternoon. It's relatively quiet here, I guess, at this time of day or this time of year. They don't allow you to rent cars in Bermuda but tourist season does bring more people and I suppose more tour bans, scooters and Twizys.
By the way, if you want to rent a Twiz, you'd better make reservations far in advance. They're very fun and easy to drive. The hardest part is remembering to drive on the left, like the British do, and make sure you put the tallest person in front, to drive it. You sit tandem, and there's not a lot of room in the back if you're tall. It's not that you can't fit once you're in there, it's the getting in that's the struggle. Even with that caveat, I'd urge anyone to give it a twirl. It's great fun.

Last thing for today, they said we were docking right in town in Hamilton. And they meant it. Our ship looks like it's sitting right in the middle of the street, which it almost is. Great location!!