Bermuda

Bermuda

Bob did a quick count of his trips to Bermuda over the years and concluded that it was, by virtue of his visits, his favorite place on earth.  Bermuda is a twenty-one-mile-long, one mile or less wide, sub-tropical island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  It is a bundle of contradictions.  It is a British Territory with a clearly British flavor, but it is exactly opposite Britain in weather.  It is a blue-water island that seems like a Caribbean island, but it’s not one.  It is warm, but not overly hot.  Tourism would seem to be the biggest industry, but actually banking and insurance are bigger.  It’s a vacation spot, but it’s a business spot as well.

Bob first went to Bermuda in 1979, forty years ago.  That was a business gathering for a company for whom Bob was a banker.  The company had its reinsurance subsidiary in Bermuda and used it as a good excuse to do a bankers’ trip to a nice spot.  The Southampton Princess Hotel is a landmark and the in-room, on-terrace English breakfasts are legendary.  The scooters, the pink sand and the balmy weather were memorable.  Watching the corporate CFO take a drink of water from a glass set on his forehead without ever touching the glass with his hands was perhaps more memorable.  Bob noted that he would have to have a similar party trick if he ever made it to CFO.

While Bob was a motorcyclist and found the scooters easy and fun, to most tourists on Bermuda, they are a cause for excitement.  They were exciting to ride and exciting on the twisty, coral-walled roads which criss-cross the small island.  Many tourists discover what all motorcyclists learn early-on, that sand on the road is not a fun thing.  The Hamilton, Bermuda hospital has an entire wing dedicated to tourists with road rash from hitting a patch of sand on the road and, at that moment, learning the drawback to Bermuda shorts.

Since rental cars are non-existent and taxis are scarce on the island, scooters are the transportation of choice.  Besides the sand on the road, there is the Swizzle Inn.  Rum Swizzles are a favorite for an afternoon relaxation at this roadside bar where everyone who has ever visited the island has tacked a dollar bill to the ceiling.  The problem quickly becomes the degree of dexterity needed while intoxicated to keep a scooter with the rubber side down.

Bob had counted fourteen visits to Bermuda over the years.  It is a short two-hour flight to Bermuda and while it is only swimming weather from April to October, it is pleasant all year long.  Bob had stayed at probably ten different boutique hotels on the island.  There are pros and cons to all locations and hotels, but the heart of the island’s appeal is the boutique hotel scene with settings in countless quaint coves.  If not for the “Swizzle” effect, a day could be well-spent going by scooter from one small hotel to the next for a swim and a rum umbrella drink.  Scootering adds excitement to a Bermuda visit.

Bob had also traveled to Bermuda with three different wives and three different girlfriends over the years, so it was a bit of a relationship boneyard for him.  His most memorable visit was with a woman who was very intelligent, but very insecure in her exotic nature.  She was more a Caribbean sort of gal than a Bermuda sort.  That meant that she was decidedly not a pink-and-green country club type that frequents the island.  She was more free-flowing Reggae sort.  In line at the airport on arrival, she saw Bob glancing at a Connecticut woman and unleashed her fiery and articulate Latina venom towards Bob.  That made a pleasant visit a bit more challenging since the island is populated by the pink-and-green set everywhere you look.  Women always make Bermuda an exciting spot for one reason or another.

Bermuda is also a big convention and sales meeting venue.  Bob recalled a visit in the early 90’s when he went with his whole team from Toronto.  They wanted to party hard and he wanted them to stay sober, not only for the meetings, but also because they were trying to certify as scuba divers.  It was a lost cause and the island life is a strong pull and staying sober on Bermuda is a challenge under the best of circumstances.  They proved the concept that one can vomit through a scuba regulator if necessary.  It made for an unusually colorful dive as half of the Atlantic Ocean’s tropical fish quickly gathered to partake of the party second-hand. Bermuda lifestyle has plenty of excitement in store.

In 1995 Bob was heavily recruited to become the CEO of a large reinsurance company headquartered in Bermuda.  He pondered how he would feel living on the island rather than vacationing there.  He traveled there for several interviews.  In the final analysis, Bob withdrew not without great harm done to his state of mind.  The damage had nothing to do with the choice not to pursue, but rather to his view of Bermuda as a retreat.  Once he had gone to Bermuda as a working venue, it lost its charm as an escape from New York.  It took several years before he was ready to return for a holiday.

Bob’s life has now settled down and Bermuda is back on the agenda.  They have a new form of transportation, which is a four-wheeled vehicle that seems to be a cross between a mini-car and a scooter.  It seats two in pillion position but has four wheels and a roof.  Bob will try that out to avoid any possibility of Bermuda road rash, but he is sure there will still be exciting moments on the road.  The weather report bodes a combination of warm and sunny and warm and rainy.  Bob knows that a few days of rain on Bermuda can be a long slog, but even with a little sunshine, Bermuda is heaven.

If you remember the opening of the movie The Deep, Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset showed us that Bermuda can be an exciting place as they get chased by the bad guys.  I don’t know that Bob wants that much excitement in his life at this stage, but he’s sure Bermuda will always have some sort of surprise for him.