Josh in Bermuda

Welcome to Bermuda

2007-10-08T22:00:00.000-03:00

Firstly, for the benefit of those of you who have randomly entered this blog while skiving off work, my name is Josh and I've recently moved to Bermuda from New Zealand.

Secondly, for those who have been unfortunate enough to miss out on me talking about Bermuda non-stop for the last few months, a few basics:

Not in the Caribbean, but east of the US. Close to New York, Boston, Washington and Miami and much closer to London than I was before (refer scale map below)

Is not in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle - is one point of it, the others being Florida and Puerto Rico

Capital is Hamilton - roughly three by five blocks in size

Population around 65,000; approx half white and half black; half male and half female; a third expats

The Island is 22 square miles in a sort of crescent shape. I thought it'd be easy to walk across but it turns out it's a lot bigger than I was expecting

Great people - probably the friendliest I've ever met. Everyone says good morning / afternoon to everyone they pass on the streets

It's hot.

Every now and then I'll update this blog with interesting little tidbits to try and entice you all to come over and visit... it's a chance in a lifetime... you'll never have the same opportunity...

Toronto

2007-10-07T21:00:00.000-03:00

When work needed someone to hand-deliver a package to Toronto, I put my name forward in a second. It meant I would have to miss the All Blacks quarter-final but this proved to be a blessing in the end.

So with two day's notice I boarded the plane mid-day Saturday, metal suitcase hand-cuffed to my wrist. Four hours later with package delivered I had 20 free hours to enjoy Toronto. Brilliant.

Andy, who had recently moved to Toronto, kindly put me up in his 27th floor apartment (view from balcony below):

On closer inspection, we were somewhat short of the 27th floor with the oddly superstitious Canadians leaving out floor number 13 and any number including the digit 4. The photo below shows the elevator buttons. Very very odd. I see they did have P4 though - I wonder if it was a less popular parking level?

After a bit of a swim and a few unbelievable texts by an English mate in Bermuda trying to tell me that not only had England beaten Australia but the All Blacks lost to France (surely it's still a nightmare), Saturday night was spent having a beautiful dinner (well a bit of dinner and a lot of drinks) at one of the local restaurants. We ended up staying there 'til well past 1am (that's how good the drinks were) before heading back to Andy's apartment to watch some real rugby - highlights of the Mighty Hawkes Bay defeating Waikato in their quarter-final. A great result.

The next morning only left us a few hours to play with before my flight home so we headed into town early to see some of Toronto's sights. Unfortunately the weather didn't come to the party and from ground level we couldn't even see the top of the Toronto Tower (second highest free-standing tower after something being built in Dubai). Expecting nothing but grey from up top, all I could do was take a couple of photos from below:

We then wandered alongside Lake Ontario before a clear highlight of seeing a mounted policeman (not to be confused with a Mountie - unfortunately I didn't get to see one of them). Seeing something truly Canadian was a real treat.

And then the long flight home - Toronto to Bermuda via JFK - definitely not the fastest way home but the last leg was my first flying business class... fantastic. You really get looked after, and definitely worth having to make boring conversation with American businessmen.

Makin' Time

2007-09-30T21:00:00.000-03:00

After an extended, unplanned break and a hefty bill, Makin' Time is back in action. It hasn't been the summer I planned after only being out on it about half a dozen times in as many months but it's going to get some serious use now. Great fun and a great way to see some of the outlying islands of Bermuda.

London

2007-09-16T17:00:00.000-03:00

After being back at work less than two months it was time for a holiday again to the much-anticipated London. I had a fantastic week with barely a cloud in the sky and plenty of time to catch up with some great mates. Unfortunately photography took a bit of a backseat so not many photos of people were taken... must've got that from Fraser...

Was able to spend a couple of days with Naomi before the school term started fully. We walked through the central city, taking in the tourist spots and eating and drinking all day. It didn't take long to get back into holiday mode.

Naomi in front of a lion in Trafalgar Square:

Westminster Abbey:
Big Ben. Beats me why they put a big clock in the middle of the city for it not to be working...
The London Eye and the Thames:
The Tower Bridge:

The rest of the week was spent catching up with friends, seeing the Lion King, watching a bit of rugby and twenty20 world cups and other cricket-related activities. A day-nighter at the Oval between Southampton (la-la-la) and Surrey:

A tour of Lords:

And a day down Southampton-a-ways at the Rosebowl to see Shane Warne's Hampshire. Unfortunately Hampshire's batting let them down and the day we were there they followed on so we missed out on seeing Warne bowl. We did see a very brief cameo with the bat - though he only lasted a couple of overs or so.

A big thank you to everyone for their hospitality, and making it such a great holiday - my fifth this year. Looking back, I have no idea how I survived in NZ with only three weeks leave per year!

Cup Match

2007-08-07T20:00:00.000-03:00

After being here close to a year I've realised that Bermuda has its fair share of drawbacks, but how can you fault a country that declares two public holidays for a cricket match?
Cup Match takes place on the first Thursday and Friday of August and the only thing people and the press talk about for the week leading up to it is cricket and crown and anchor. The match is played between St George and Somerset Cricket Clubs (essentially East vs West) and has been contested for over 100 years. Somehow the game celebrates the abolition of slavery too, but I don't quite get the connection there.

The ground was absolutely packed, with scaffolding erected around most of the ground to ensure enough seats for everyone. Probably an accident waiting to happen but great for the atmosphere.

The game was quite different to cricket back home - I was there for about 40 overs and during that time Somerset scored at close to 10 an over - it's all about hitting the ball with technique and patience seeming to come a distant second and third.

Two batsmen reached 50 while I was there and I was amazed to see the field stormed by hundreds of kids - each not only congratulating the batsman for his achievement but also filling his pockets with money collected from the crowd. One of the guy's wife works with me at the Bank and she said he was given over $800 in this way. Unbelievable but great to see.
The other highlight of Cup Match is that it's the only time that gambling is permitted on the Island - and only in the form of 'crown and anchor'. It's a pretty simple dice game - three dice are shaken, each with clubs, spades, diamonds, hearts, anchor and crown on a side. You place your bet on a suit and if one dice shows that suit you double your money, two dice triple your money and three dice quadruple your money. So behind one stand was a huge tent with probably a dozen tables of crown and anchor - each table apparently costing $10k for the permit. This is actually quite a bargain because each game only takes about 30 seconds (bet, shake dice, pay or collect money) and on each roll the table would make hundreds of dollars. Incredible to see so much money thrown away so quickly. Played a few rounds to give it a go but blackjack's definitely still my game of choice.

Cricket update

2007-07-29T21:30:00.000-03:00

We're now two-thirds through the cricket season so thought a quick update would be in order. We've now won seven in a row to sit second on the table (though I've only been around for three of those games with my recent traveling).

It seems as if something strange happens in every game of cricket in Bermuda - something you'd never see anywhere else. Today's was a delayed start by an hour because the pitch was too wet. It hasn't rained here for days so the groundsman watered the pitch yesterday and then forgot to turn the tap off. Not smart.

A couple of weeks ago (I missed this one as I was in NY), the groundsman had just rolled the pitch (with the big steam roller in an earlier blog update) and then the roller conked out. Both teams together could only move it an inch so a truck had to be brought to the ground to tow it off the pitch, resulting in a two hour delay to the start of play. Nowhere but Bermuda would you see things like that!

Today (pictured below) was a fairly non-eventful day for me - faced one ball to finish with 1*, bowled one ball to take a wicket and end the game, dropped a hard catch and took an easy one. So not much action for me in seven hours of play!

New York

2007-07-24T21:00:00.000-03:00

Naomi and I then headed to New York for four action-packed days. The clear highlight for me was a helicopter ride up and down Manhattan and around the Statue of Liberty. Absolutely loved it.

Our chopper:

Naomi before boarding... looking very nervous:

In the chopper:

Looking down on New Jersey:

Looking down on the Statue of Liberty:

Looking down on Madison Square Gardens, our hotel and the Empire State Building:

We managed to fit in a whole lot of other tourist destinations, including Chinatown, Little Italy, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Times Square:
The Empire State Building:

And of course the Statue of Liberty from the ground:

So, another great holiday. And again, just as hard to get back into the work routine afterwards.

Visit from Naomi & Chris

2007-07-21T22:00:00.000-03:00

It didn't take much, but I was able to convince Naomi and Chris to pop over to Bermuda for a short break. And in eight days Naomi managed to see more of the Island than I have... I really need to get my act into gear...

All the usual spots were visited, Gibbs Hill Lighthouse:

the beaches - it was perfect weather for the whole trip:

and exploring by scooter:

I was fortunately treated to dinner at the Waterlot Inn (thanks again guys), which apparently is only one of eight steak restaurants in the world with a four-diamond rating - not that I know what that is... but it's a great restaurant nonetheless. Naomi and Chris before dinner:

And we also visited Harbour Nights one night to check out a few local market stalls and traditional gombey dancers.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

2007-06-29T19:30:00.000-03:00

The final stop was Ocho Rios on the Northern shore of Jamaica. Jamaica was very different to our other destinations, I guess because it's much poorer than islands like the Bahamas and Cayman. We were hassled a bit to buy souvenirs, take taxis or buy drugs (or seeing Bob Marley as they put it), but it was nowhere near as bad as places like Bangkok or Indonesia.

I'd been told by friends that a visit to Dunns River Falls is a must so we headed out early to beat the crowds. We weren't disappointed as it was like nothing I'd ever done before. Groups were formed of about 20 people and we proceeded to literally climb the falls from sea level to 180 metres above. Through most of it everyone's linked together and led by guides who rev up the group and take photos and film the climb as shown below.

At several spots there were compulsory dunkings which were great fun, especially as the water was nowhere near as cold as waterfalls back home.

After visiting the falls we headed to the beach for the afternoon, but not before Jody succumbed to having her hair braided (she'd been um-ing and ah-ing and finally went for it).

The beach - again just beautiful.

Cayman Islands

2007-06-27T19:30:00.000-03:00

Second stop was the beautiful Grand Cayman Island. Here, we were tendered to shore and met by a lovely couple we met on our first cruise, Noel and Charmaine (thanks guys). Noel took us around the sites of the Island, first stop Hell, a rock formation to the north. Apparently it was a big tourist drawcard, but to my untrained eye it was just a lot of rocks. But there were iguanas too which were cool.

We then drove around the Island (there aren't really any roads going through the centre - I think it's pretty much swamp) towards Rum Point. It was really interesting getting local commentary as we traveled, especially on the affects of Hurricane Ivan just under three years ago. The highest point on Grand Cayman is something like 60 feet above sea level so it's easy to see why the Island was totally decimated.

Rum Point was a beautiful spot which we'd definitely return to if we had some spare time. Once again, the perfect example of a tropical paradise (seems to be a recurring theme on this holiday). Beautiful sandy beaches, the warm crystal-clear Caribbean and lots of water activities and rum-based cocktails. Again, what more can you ask for?

We then had lunch at a local restaurant. I was tempted to try the local delicacy of turtle (turtle soup, turtle steak and turtle burgers all feature on many menus there) but in the end couldn't turn down a buffet including jerk chicken and pork. I just love that stuff! Thanks again Noel and Charmaine.

We were then dropped off at the infamous 7 Mile Beach. It absolutely bucketed down for close to an hour but then cleared up for some much-needed swimming and lying on the beach, actually in the beach for me...

Cozumel, Mexico

2007-06-25T19:30:00.000-03:00

The first stop on the Triumph was Cozumel, a small island off the coast of Mexico (and a part of Mexico). Aboard the ship, we'd signed up for "Jungle Kayaking" which was a great choice. We were bused then ferried to another island (Isle a la Pasion I think?) where all of our expectations were exceeded. We had unlimited Mexican food and cocktails for the day on a tropical island paradise.

After a quick couple of cocktails, we set out on our kayaks. We paddled back over to Cozumel then through mangrove swamp.

And of course, what would jungle kayaking be without salt water crocs - this guy was a good 8 feet long and not worth messing with. Unsurprisingly no-one got into the water at this part of the island (and there were nets around the swimming area now that I think about it).
We probably only kayaked for an hour and a half (by then all the Americans had had enough) so we returned to our island for more food, cocktails, games and swimming. We were definitely living the good life!

Alas, eventually we had to return to Cozumel and the crusie ship, but not before a beautiful Mexican dinner (with a couple more cocktails) and another cheesey photo: this is Senor Frog, apparently a bit of a personality in the Caribbean.

Carnival Triumph

2007-06-23T19:30:00.000-03:00

The Carnival Triumph had much the same facilties as the Majesty of the Seas, though was a little larger. The top deck also had a waterslide and a mini golf course as well as the usual assortment of pools and jacuzzis (we were seasoned cruise travelers by now).

Jody looking very excited at the muster before sailing. Her Emirates experience clearly gave her the advantage if an emergency was ever to arise.
Several of the ports were too small for the ship to dock, so we were tendered to shore. This photo shows just how enormous our ship was:

The cruise had a couple of formal nights - we cleverly had photos taken before the Captain's drinks began...

Miami, Florida

2007-06-22T19:30:00.000-03:00

We had a couple of days in Miami between cruises so got a little time to explore. Our hotel was across the road from Miami Beach, which was everything I expected. Just stunning and a lot of serious money around the place.

We also had time to wander through the art deco district, along South Beach. Very trendy (we felt out of place) and clearly nothing on Napier's art deco.

Key West, Florida

2007-06-21T19:30:00.000-03:00

Key West is the southern-most point of the US, and that's pretty much all there is to it. Basically just a whole lot of touristy shops and an equally large amount of large and noisy Americans. We explored for a few hours, taking a few random photos then returned to luxury aboard the ship. Oh, and I had a great slice of Key Lime Pie.

The "world famous" conch train:

Jody and President Harry Truman's head (I'm guessing he was from Key West, but didn't stop to read the plaque to confirm):Myself and what I'm guessing is supposed to be a local:
And for those who've been to Bermuda, there is just as much of a chicken problem in Key West as here. Was very amusing (and brought back great memories) seeing other people trying to corner and chase them down.

Cococay, Bahamas

2007-06-20T19:30:00.000-03:00

The following day we arrived at Cococay, an island in the Bahamas owned by the Royal Caribbean cruise line. This was a day of relaxation in paradise - swimming, hammocks, beach bbq on your own island - what more can you ask for?

Nassau, Bahamas

2007-06-19T19:30:00.000-03:00

First stop on the Majesty was Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. We learnt pretty quickly that the cruise loved taking cheesey photos everywhere so we got into the spirit of it:

The Island was absolutely beautiful, though we didn't see too much of it - instead choosing to spend the day at the luxurious Atlantis resort. This photo was actually taken opposite the resort, but loved the pastel coloured buildings - very Bermuda-esque.

I'd seen the resort on movies before but spending a day there was just incredible. There were dozens of pools, waterslides, private beaches and water activities, it was pretty expensive just to hang out there for the day so I'd hate to think what the room rates are.

The resort also had probably the best aquarium I've ever seen - many huge pools that could be viewed both below and above water. Apparently it's especially famous for its predator pools which contained (among others) some absolutely huge sawfishes, hammerhead sharks and sting rays. A couple of the water slides went through these pools too which was great fun!
The day ended a little early when a pretty vicious thunderstorm hit the Island. All the pools were immediately evacuated because of the danger if lightning struck. I'd never heard of evacuating pools during a storm before, but I know I definitely wouldn't want to be struck by that lightning!

As with most Caribbean storms, it had passed within an hour and we were treated with a nice sunset as we left the harbour.

Majesty of the Seas

2007-06-18T19:30:00.000-03:00

Jody and I boarded the Majesty of the Seas on June 18 for the first of our two cruises. The ship was just incredible: three pools, several jacuzzis, a dozen restaurants, cafes and bars, a theatre, casino, night club, shops and a climbing wall all featured and were pretty top-class. There were organised activities including bingo, art auctions (= free champagne), dance lessons and shows meaning that the trip could be very full-on if you chose. Staff were excellent, as was the food - a definite recommendation from me as a holiday idea.

The Majesty of the Seas:
Looking down on part of the top deck:

Deep sea fishing

2007-06-01T21:00:00.000-03:00

On Saturday a group of eight of us hired a launch to go deep sea fishing and it was one of my greatest days on the Island so far. We were up at the crack of dawn and headed south for about an hour until we were off the reef - the skipper told us on one side of the boat it was 200 feet deep and on the other 1,000 feet, so apparently the perfect spot for fishing. On the way out we were escorted by a pod of dolphins which was just brilliant (and reminded me of home). The edge of the reef was out of sight of land and for the geography buffs, in the Bermuda Triangle. Fine in the launch but I don't think we'll take our boat out that far!

We were pretty successful for our 6 hours fishing time - catching a tuna, a wahoo, a 6 ft shark, a barracuda, several bonito, a few rainbow runners and countless small fish that were unlucky enough to be live bait for the day.

Highlight for me was clearly this 65 pound bonito - took about half an hour to reel him in and even though I was wearing a harness, my back was aching for the rest of the day and for cricket the next. Worth it for the snap though (note I had no strength left to lift it off the ground!).

The near miss of the day went to Dave who fought a 50 pound yellowfin tuna for about 45 minutes to get it alongside the boat, only for it to snap the line - here he is looking pretty dejected and pretty buggered.

Also, Rich with his barracuda:

Heather with her wahoo:

The shark:

And Rich with his little bonito:

At the end of the day we had a good couple of kilos of fresh fish each (the skipper kept my bonito damnit) and went straight to Dave's for a bbq and a few celebratory drinks. I have the feeling I'll be eating fish for some time now...

Bermuda Day

2007-05-25T23:28:00.000-03:00

May 24 is Bermuda Day and coincides with the first day of summer (it's now trendy to war Bermuda shorts again which is brilliant).

A half marathon is held, famous (well in Bermuda anyway) for runners having to handle the three 'H's - heat, humidity and hills. There was also a big parade which I sacrificed in order to spend some much-needed time at the beach. Typical of Bermuda though, I heard that there was up to half an hour between floats in the parade - "Bermuda time" at its worst.

Cricket in Bermuda

2007-05-24T23:04:00.000-03:00

Summer is here which for me means the beginning of cricket season. I'm playing first grade here (one below premier grade) for an expat team called the Legtrappers. Like all cricket teams, is a fantastic group of guys and always keen to celebrate or comiserate appropriately afterwards.

Cricket is taken pretty seriously over here - we play two day games in whites and one day games in colours. One day games are played with full ODI rules (power plays, white ball, duck-worth lewis and strict wides), which is pretty ridiculous considering the level here but that's just how it is.

This does come with its advantages though - two umpires are provided, we're sponsore by gatorade and have unlimited drinks, we get a cooked lunch and tea, we get newspaper and radio coverage and we get decent crowds watching. Unfortunately with the crowds comes an unbelievable amount of abuse - we're the only white team on the Island so get a fair bit of stick every time we take the field.. For those used to the gentlemen's sport in New Zealand, you wouldn't believe some of the things you hear.

Our home ground is Sea Breeze Oval (pictured below). You can't really tell very wellf rom the photo but the Atlantic is to the left, a small Island straight ahead, the harbour to the right and the main islands of Bermuda behind you. An idyllic place to play cricket with the ocean on two sides (though not very idyllic when you get hit into that ocean).

We've got a pretty handy team but are yet to prove that on the field with two losses and a draw to date - we'll definitely improve though, especially with one of Bermuda's opening bowlers (Saleem) playing for us. Is great to play alongside and against people who actually played at the cricket world cup only a few months ago.

Makin' Time

2007-05-05T23:00:00.000-03:00

Everyone who owns a boat in Bermuda says it's the best decision they ever made and that they wished they'd bought one earlier. After hearing this for several months, Dave and I got the hint and between us bought a nice little 18 foot Wellcraft centre console with a 115 hp mariner engine (basically a little speed boat).

We're fortunate to know lots of people with boats so have had practice mooring and docking (which can take a bit of practice in rough seas) so we're pretty set now. Unfortunately we don't have a punt yet, so every time we want to use our boat we have to swim about 200-250 metres just to get to it!

Haven't got any photos yet, but will post some soon of "Makin' Time" and some of the beautiful places in Bermuda you can only access by sea... also another drawcard for anyone thinking of visiting...

Cricket World Cup

2007-03-25T21:00:00.000-03:00

Bermuda's national sport is undoubtedly cricket, and ever since the Cricket World Cup started everyone is talking about it and Bermuda's chances. Unfortunately Bermudians don't have very realistic expectations of their team. Despite losing by 243 and 257 runs to Sri Lanka and India respectively, this excerpt featured on the front page of the paper before their final pool match against Bangladesh:

Unbelievably, Bermuda the smallest country ever to qualify and the biggest outsiders in competition history, are mathematically still alive and in with a chance of qualifying for the next stage... the door into the so-called Super Eights remains slightly open.

I'm willing to bet anything they don't go through.

On the positive side, Bermuda have been one of the more colourful teams of the competition primarily through Dwayne "Sluggo" Leverock. This guy underwent a vigorous training regime before the Cup started and dropped 2 stone to his present weight of 19 stone. Despite not looking the part of a cricketer, he's probably performed the best of Bermuda's players by bowling economically and taking this fantastic catch:

And then doing this jig:

When the team returns to Bermuda later this week, this guy's going to be a super star.

Bermuda Holiday

2007-03-24T21:00:00.000-03:00

This is the reason we all work - to save some cash to have great holidays with great mates.

Fraser and Woody, both "in-between jobs", came over for a week of the good life. And it was the good life. The staple of each day being beach cricket...

swimming...

scootering...

and BBQs.

As well as all this, we cycled the rail trail...

visited the Crystal and Fantasy Caves (appropriately discovered by a couple of kids looking for their cricket ball at the beginning of the 20th century)...

hired a boat for a day...

discovered an abandoned castle (sortof)...

and chased down a couple of ships with our mighty 30hp motor, the NYK...

and the Millenium...

And of course we had to hit town too...

All in all, a fantastic time, and we managed to see more of the Island in one week than I've now seen in six months (can you believe I still haven't been to two towns here - St Georges and St Davids!?!).

Home

2007-03-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of March I finally moved into a permanent apartment. It's absolutely huge - upstairs is a gigantic bedroom with walk-in closet, master bathroom with jacuzzi bath and balcony (everything in this photo is my apartment).

Downstairs is the living room, kitchen, dining room (sortof) and second bathroom. It's perfect for having guests, so anyone in the area let me know...

Town is 5 minutes away in one direction and the beaches 5 in another. Perfect. For anyone interested, my address is:
40 Astwood Road
Paget
DV 04

Odd Spot

2007-02-09T20:50:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of odd things about Bermuda, so much in fact that it'll require another instalment another day. But to start things off, this is Johnny Barnes:

This guy stands on the roundabout entering the city of Hamilton and shouts "I love you" to each passing motorist on their way to work. I've gone past the roundabout as early as 5.30am and as late as 9.30am and he's always been there, rain or shine, expressing his love for everyone and everything. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a really nice gesture and puts a big grin on my face every day before work but it is definitely a little odd.

He's actually been doing this for as long as anyone can remember (at least 25 years), and I have no idea what he does with the rest of his day... one day I'll get around to stopping and having a yarn with him. Anyway, the peope of Bermuda love him so much that about 20 meters further on from his roundabout a life size statute has been cast in his honour. I've never heard of statutes for people while they're still alive (except Saddam and Hitler of course), but everything n Bermuda is a little different.

Mexico

2006-12-27T21:00:00.000-04:00

Christmas was spent in Mexico City with the lovely Jane, Ainsley (pronounced Arna by the Mexicans) and Jacky. It was an action packed three days that I would highly recommend anyone in the area repeating.

December 24

I arrived in the early hours after two delayed flights and finding that Mexicans are just as reliable as Bermudians - as our flight got in late, most airport workers had gone home for the night resulting in it taking 90 minutes to unload our luggage from the plane. Not ideal.

After a quick nap we hit the markets (shown below) for secret santa presents and did a little exploring. The markets were pretty crazy with everyone doing their last minute shopping, it was great how venders were much less pushy than in Asia.

Our hostel was in the centre of the historical district, alongside the Cathedral and main square. Christmas lights and crowds were everywhere, ensuring a very festive atmosphere.

We had been invited to spend Christmas with a local family who were family friends of Jacky's. A driver picked us up in the evening and took us to their home on the outskirts of the city. We were greeted warmly and introduced to the family (about 20 of them with much better English than our Spanish) before attending Mass at their local church. When we returned, the tequila flowed - it was much nicer than tequila back home but too many bad experiences still ruins the taste for me! We had dinner at about 10pm, followed by fireworks and present opening before returning to the hostel at around 3am. It was a fantastic way to spend Christmas and we all felt just as at home as if we were back in NZ.

December 25

After a lengthy sleep-in, we set off to see our first bullfight. I use the term 'bullfight' very literally here as it was pretty much a slaughter from my viewpoint. The stadium was very impressive - it probably could seat close to 100,000 though being Christmas Day without the top matadors, the crowd would've been much closer to 10,000.

The bullfight itself was not really what I was expecting. It was conducted in three stages - firstly the bull was released and was tainted by several assistants, seemingly to tire it out a bit. Then two guys came out on horses with ten foot long spears. The bull was enticed to charge the horse (which had protective padding) whereby the horseman would spear the bull in the back. Once it was decided there was enough blood, the horses left the ring.

Next three guys each with what appeared to be batons with some sort of hook on them would have the bull charge at them and stab these hooks into the open wound made by the horseman. The photo below shows a couple of these things dangling from the back of the bull.

It's only at this stage that the actual matador comes out. He puffs his chest out and prances about a bit before having the bull charge him a few times. After about 10 minutes of this he gets a sword and if he's good, he'll kill the bull with one thrust into the bull's back, leaving only the hilt of the sword showing. Unfortunately only two of the six bulls got it this easy - the others had to be stabbed several times and the sounds of pain the bull made were fairly unpleasant to say the least. It almost goes without saying to say that after watching a couple of minutes we were cheering for the bull and did see matadors knocked over three times including one of them getting a nice gash in the thigh. Interesting to see, but probably don't need to see another one too soon and definitely very different to my usual Christmas Day back in NZ!

December 26

We'd booked seats for a trip to the Pyramids an hour out of the city, and as an added bonus dropped into Guadalupe on the way. Guadalupe is the site of the Virgin Mary's appearance three times to (now Saint) Juan Diego. The local bishop did not believe Juan's story so asked for proof. The Virgin Mary then gave Juan many roses (it was out of season so therefore proof of a miracle), Juan wrapped up the roses in his cloak and returned to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the roses fell out and the likeness of the Virgin appeared on the cloak. A shrine has been built and the cloak and picture is on permanent display for visitors.

A couple of interesting points (well I thought so anyway) were that apparently 24 million people visit the shrine each year compared to 20 million to the Vatican, and that the Catholic Church has taken the stance that because the picture of the Virgin Mary was a miracle, it can therefore not be damaged so the use of flash photography is allowed. Below is the shrine and the cloak.

After the obligatory tourist shopping stop, we finally came to the pyramids and they were definitely worth the wait. Authorities are not sure who built the pyramids - they do know that the Aztecs discovered them and thought they were built by the gods so treated the site as a holy place. Apart from that, not much is known. Very impressive though.

The pyramids are known as the pyramid of the moon (approx 55 metres high and featured in the first photo) and the pyramid of the sun (approx 65 metres high and featured in the following two photos).

And of course, a couple of touristy photos were necessary - Jane and Ainsley posing as pyramids in front of a pyramid and me with a bit of cheese.

Half day Christmas shopping

2006-12-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, all Bank employees are given a half day to catch up on Christmas shopping. This was the perfect opportunity for a mate from work, Dave, and I to put our hours of practice on the driving range into action at the Southampton Princess. The Princess is the hotel in the photo below, and is also the location of one of Bermuda's six golf courses.

This is teeing off from the first...

then driving the cart a few metres for the second shot!

The local wildlife were also out in force to watch some quality golf...

At the close of play, I was pretty happy - first time I'd ever played 18 holes and carded a 90. Not too bad for an amateur...

My Wheels - part 2

2006-11-20T20:34:00.000-04:00

After a 6 week waiting period to sit my Bermuda driving licence, I was able to take the 3 minute test which consisted of driving in and out of a dozen cones and turning both ways using indicators and arms. Another display of Bermuda efficiency.

As a result though, I was able to return my 50CC rental and bought myself an upgrade to the dominating 100CC Yamaha Axis.

Isn't she a beauty...

2006 Rugby Classic

2006-11-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

Each year Bermuda hosts the World Rugby Classic - an Island holiday disguised as a tournament for past rugby players. Teams from NZ, Australia, Argentina, US, Canada, France, South Africa and the Lions contested the Classic with players such as Tony Daly and Matt Cockbain (Aust), Emile N'tamack and Philippe Bernat-Salles (Fr) and Steve McDowell, Charlie Reichelman, Junior Tonu'u and Frano Botica (NZ) featuring in the tournament.

Unfortunately NZ has a tradition of not taking any penalties or conversions and this counted against us big time. We lost our semi-final to eventual winners, the Lions.

Overall though it's fair to say the tournament is little about rugby and mostly about partying - the perfect example being a few years ago when the Aussies were banned from the Classic for running down Front Street naked after winning the tournament! The Classic is held over a week with big parties every night and probably more players being hung over than anywhere near peak physical fitness - not that anyone's complaining though. It's great times!

The 'Classic All Blacks' shaking off hangovers while performing the haka:

Home (temporary)

2006-11-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

Home at the moment is in Warwick Parish - about 15 minutes from Hamilton and work. As you can see from the photos below, it's very cool!

Downstairs is the living room and kitchen...

And upstairs the bathroom, laundry and bedroom...
Both levels have balconies and thankfully, air conditioning. I got a really good deal - getting the place fully furnished and inclusive of electricity, water, phone, cable, wireless internet and most importantly... less than 200 metres to the beach!
Perfect.

Work

2006-11-05T20:40:00.000-04:00

Butterfield Bank – head office on Front Street...

and my less-glamorous branch on the right (where all the real work is done...).
My job is as an account manager for Butterfield Fund Services. We basically look after 100 or so hedge funds so the job is mainly pricing and trading for these funds. I can’t really tell you any more than that because it’s fair to say I don’t know what I’m doing at the moment!

The hours are great:

Monday 8am-6pm
Tuesday to Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday 7am-10pm

And anything over 35 hours is at time and a half... I can get used to this!

There are about 80 staff and luckily for me there are only a couple of us who also have law degrees which means that I’ll also be working part-time in the legal team once I’ve found my feet a bit.

Bermuda shorts

2006-11-05T20:30:00.000-04:00

What you’ve all been waiting for… I think summer’s officially over so Bermuda shorts numbers are probably down from their peak a couple of months ago. However probably one in six guys here still wear them at this time of year and I’m loving being one of them! Here are a couple of photos of what I’ve got so far… they’re pretty styley!

There’s actually quite a lot of thought in deciding colours. Apparently you’re supposed to match either socks with shorts, socks with shirt or shorts with tie. I found it pretty confusing at first, but after seeing people wearing bright red, pink and yellow I’ve decided not to take it too seriously. Unfortunately I have to wait ‘til next season for more of the bright colours…

My wheels

2006-11-05T20:20:00.000-04:00

Car ownership is only allowed if your house has an "assessment number" - it's like a right attached to land. As a result (and the cost I guess), most people get around the Island by scooter or motorbike.

The speed limit is 35 kph everywhere but it's fair to say everyone travels at around 50. You've got to be a little carfeul though because a taxi driver I had was telling me how he was caught going 57 a few years back and he lost his licence for a whole year. Also. any speeding violation results in a court appearance - something that I'd quite like to avoid!

After a couple of days of getting the bus to work, I had to hire a scooter. The bus trip (from door to door) took over 45 minutes in rush hour traffic (!!) while the scooter takes 20.

Using a 50cc scooter like this one doesn't require a licence - hence all tourists and newbies to the Island use these. Most people who live here own at least a 100cc scooter or motorbike - these require a licence, which consists of a medical, written and practical tests.

I've had the medical, and surprisingly you have a blood and urine test, yet they didn't test my eyesight from further than half a metre. Very strange.

Beaches

2006-11-05T20:10:00.000-04:00

Well, all the beaches I've been to have been pretty incredible as the photos suggest.

For those interested in some geology and biology, only Bermuda and parts of Scotland have pink sand beaches (apparently). This is because the skeleton of a tiny organism known as the red foram helps form the grains of sand on the beaches (I clearly plagiarised this information).

And the water is turquoise in colour because of low levels of phytoplankton. So there you are, file those two pearls away for later use…

Warwick Long Bay

Horseshoe Bay

Somerset Long Bay

Astwood Cove

Other Southern Beaches

Prices

2006-11-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

Everything's fairly expensive here, which is understandable given that everything is imported to the Island. People don't seem to mind too much as the lack of tax clearly outweighs the higher prices. Below is a bit of an indication of what prices are like (in US dollars):

Miscellaneous

Average 2-bedroom house $700,000 - $1,000,000
Recent model second-hand car $10,000
New 100cc scooter $3,000
One month hire of 50cc scooter $450
Monthly rent $2,000 - $3,000
Monthly expenses (electricity, water, cable, phone, internet) $400
Night in a hotel $250 - $600

Food

KFC (the only international fast food restaurant on the Island) quarter pack (though they don't have potato and gravy for some reason) $7.95
Cadbury choc 200g (only three different flavours of chocolate here!) $4.00
Fruit is pretty much $1 per piece, no matter what the particular fruit
Veges expensive too (haven't even seen carrots here yet) - generally $4 - $5 per piece
Meat and fish fairly similar to NZ but in US dollars. Sausages are the exception though, $10 for six of them!

Cruise ships

2006-11-05T19:50:00.000-04:00

Several cruise ships pass through here each week during summer. Town really livens up at these times as street carnivals take place with bands, traditional dancing and souvenir shops open everywhere. Of course, the pubs and night clubs get pretty good too!

Here are a couple of them - The Empress of the Seas

The Norwegian Crown

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse

2006-11-05T19:40:00.000-04:00

I think the top of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse is the highest point on the Island (it sure looks like it) so I had to go up there for a couple of photos.

Firstly, the lighthouse itself:

And a couple of shots from the top:

Random photos and comments

2006-11-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

This is for you, Bex.
There are a lot of lizards over here.
These are two of them.

Loitering and car washing are big problems in Bermuda... Actually, it can get a little worse than that - apparently there are one or two murders here each year and the other day I read in the newspaper (yes, there is a newspaper) that some people were throwing Molotov cocktails at cars. Despite this, there’s definitely a lot less crime here than back home.

This is looking up the main street in Hamilton, aptly called Front Street.In the foreground is the ‘Birdcage’. Apparently, when it’s really busy, a police officer directs traffic from in there. I’m yet to see it myself though.

This is Somerset Bridge, the smallest drawbridge in the world. It is only large enough for the mast of a yacht to pass through. The title of world's smallest drawbridge is a bit of a scam though - a taxi driver I was talking to said he'd been here for eight years and had never heard of the "drawbridge" being raised.

Believe it or not this building was intended as a storage warehouse. Apparently what happened was that Bermuda needed a storage warehouse and one of the Caribbean islands needed a town hall a hundred years ago or so. As there were no architects in the region plans for both these buildings were drawn up in England. The plans then got mixed up and Bermuda ended up with this building as a storage building and whatever Caribbean island it was must’ve ended up with quite an ugly town hall. I obviously can’t
confirm any of this, but it’s a good story.

Bacardi Limited. I’m sad to say that Bermuda is the headquarters of Bacardi (probably for tax reasons) and not the producer – otherwise it might be a bit cheaper here. As an aside, I can personally attest that the fountains at either side of the building do not flow with Bacardi…

You'll never guess what this is... drive-thru banking. That's right, if you want to withdraw some cash or send a wire then you can do it here from the comfort of your own car. I can't even imagine this happening back home!

My apartment in Wellington

2006-02-05T22:15:00.000-04:00

For those of you who visited my apartment in Wellington, here's what it looks like after repainting, recarpeting and refurnishing. As you can see, it's much nicer than when I was living there! Bring on those tax losses!

Avignon

2006-01-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

Nice

2006-01-22T21:00:00.000-04:00

Monaco

2006-01-20T22:22:00.000-04:00

Playground of the rich and famous... you guessed it, also a work in progress...

Lyon

2006-01-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

The Rock of Gibraltar

2006-01-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

Also a work in progress...

Malaga

2006-01-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

A work in progress...