I got to finish my summer work term a week early and visit my friend Jordan - who conveniently lives in beautiful Bermuda. His fantastic family welcomed me and taught me everything they could about the island life - and didn't even seem to get annoyed at my many (many) questions!
My flight was scheduled for 6am Sunday morning. At 2pm on Saturday, after a delicious lobster lunch (the perks of being home!) and while getting ready for a wedding that evening, Jordan bbm'ed me in a slight panic - due to the wonderfulness that was Hurricane Irene, my flight (due to a stop in Philly) was cancelled. However, Jordan's father Joe saved the day by booking me into the last seat available to Bermuda - for the same time, even!
So the wedding celebrations went a teeny bit later than expected, leading to my sleepy self pressing "dismiss" instead of "snooze" - why are the buttons so close together?? Jordan's "how did check in go?" text arrived before we even arrived at the airport. Oops!
One very bumpy ride to Toronto later (and hilarious flight attendants - when we landed one said "after that flight, your bags definitely shifted - please be careful!"), and an amazingly smooth flight to Bermy (this time, Mr. X was wondering if his dog was safe below - the attendant came over the loudspeaker to announce that "Mr. X's dog is fine and says woof woof") and I arrived!!
Picture paradise - bright blue waters, vibrant pink and yellow flowers, shockingly white roofs - that's actually what my first glimpse of Bermuda was. It's not photoshopped, people - the island actually is that beautiful.
With hurricane season taunting the country, we decided to jump right in the pool (with our swizzle - the tastiest cocktail of life - of course!)
After a quick swim, we drove to Devonshire Bay, one of Bermuda's national parks. Tropical Storm José was creating some pretty huge waves, so we ventured out and got completely soaked! It was like a warmer, more colourful, less foggy version of Peggy's Cove.
Then we headed to a resort (can't remember which one it was!) and Jordan began his tour guide duties by explaining every plant we passed that he knew - which is a lot, seeing as his family owns a bunch of farms there! Then we walked along my first Bermudian beach. The sand there is such a pretty pink - I guess it's "new" sand - you can still see the pink coral pieces if you look closely!
Then it was home to clean up for dinner - a delicious Portuguese meal complete with lots of wine. I kind of lucked out with my accommodations, no big deal. Below is Jordan's house (every house there has its own name, in addition to the street address!), and some of his family's stunning garden. One flower that I can't find my picture of is this small little white beauty that only releases its fragrance at night. So, that evening we ventured out (dodging giant toads) to smell them - completely worth it. Then you've got the view - no big deal, but it kind of beats the one I've got here in Halifax! Finally, in the back of the house is a ladder that leads to his grandfather's house next door.
