Bermuda Short

If the current state of the world economy has affected Bermuda its hard to tell by the elegant homes, manicured lawns and yachts that greeted us as we sailed into Hamilton.



We docked in the centre of town at Front Street, an area of well-patronized shops and restaurants - even a Marks and Spencer.  With most goods imported from the UK and Ireland, prices are high.  That coupled with a median house price of $1 Million and gas selling for $9 a gallon, Bermuda is an expensive place to live.

Hamilton Waterfront Home

Walking through the main shopping area vehicle traffic moved efficiently - a mixture of compact cars and trucks and a veritable sea of scooters.

A small bus depot in the heart of town disgorges its blue and pink buses to all parts of the island - the bus service does well since residents are only allowed to own one car, but as many scooters as they like. 

And then I spotted my first one:  a businessman in Bermuda shorts with long socks to the knee and of course jacket, crisp shirt and tie.  He carried a briefcase, wore a smart hat and obviously had places to go.

Trooping the Colour on Front Street

Hamilton’s very existence stems from Bermuda’s privateering history. The island's reefs caused the demise of many a sailing vessel bound for the New World.  The booty rescued from shipwrecks was redistributed by privateers who agreed to pay the appropriate taxes to the authorities for their haul.  However, Bermuda’s original capital of St. George’s was just too far away for the powers of the day to collect the taxes from what in effect was sanctioned piracy.  So the capital moved to Hamilton.

St. Peter's Church

Hamilton is a smart little town that bustles with activity, but the jewel of the island in St. George’s.  Founded in 1612 and the oldest continuously inhabited England settlement in the Western hemisphere, St. George‘s is reminiscent of a Cornish seaside town with its pretty church of St Peter’s and attractive buildings. St. George’s is a community of colourful cottages awash in pastel colours.  All bear the same ridged rooflines covered with white limestone designed to reflect the heat but most importantly to collect rainwater.  There are no rivers or streams on Bermuda. 

As we examined the well-worn headstones in St. Peter’s graveyard, the Minister, looking sporty in his Bermuda shorts passed us and wished us a pleasant good morning.   The headstones do an effective job of telling the island’s past, the graveyard the final resting place for the rich and powerful as well as slaves and privateers. 

Ceremonial Stocks

St. George’s winding cobble-stoned streets and alleys converge into the main square where ceremonial stocks and a ducking stool serve as a reminder of how punishment was once meted out to non-compliant citizens.

Driving south west from St. George’s to Tucker's Town one realizes what real money can lease. 

On St. George's Waterfront

Despite the fact that many of the homes cost upward of $20 Million, there are strict residency laws in Bermuda and a 99 year lease is the best an offshore billionaire can do.  The ranks of Tucker's Town’s well-known residents include international politicians, movie stars and sporting celebrities.  The community’s golf course is immense and pristine even though roosters and chickens roam the greens at will, disinterested in the cost of the high-priced grass they are scratching through.

 Hamilton Waterfront Home

Bermudans value tourist trade - after all with no income tax visitors provide healthy tax revenues to the Island.

Everyone we met was friendly and helpful - when we couldn’t find a public washroom in St George’s, the local postmistress beckoned us into her office to use the post office’s facilities.  Stepping over unopened mailbags we thanked her profusely.

As the ship slipped its moorings from Hamilton’s Front Street at the end of our stay, three scantily clad teenage girls waved frantically as we pulled away.  They shouted “we hope you had a good time!” 

We had.