Saturday, May 20, 2006

St. Georges, Bermuda

Well, we're off to sunny Bermuda from dreary, overcast and wet New England. Sailing from Boston on the Norwegian Majesty tomorrow. I am looking forward to being a lazy, alcohol imbibing, sunburned lay-about for the next eight days. I will go on my bi-annual scuba dive and hopefully withstand the searing pain as my eardrums implode. It's worth it though, there are just no words to describe that other world beneath the waves. The 200 or so sunken ships, that met their unfortunate fate on the coral shoals surrounding the island, make it exciting. Especially since these ships started coming to this island way back in the 1500's and most of them are in shallow waters. No fear of the "rapture of the deep" here. Beware though, the authorities do not allow us tourists to cart away any "souvenirs" (artifacts) from these wrecks and if you have a well stocked "goody bag" be prepared to give it up and await a full cavity search after your dive (only kidding). These wrecks are considered a national treasure and are guarded jealously.
Bermuda is a very expensive island to visit. The best deal (for those of us with limited resources) is to visit on a cruise ship. That way your lodging and meals are already paid for and all you need to spend money on are souvenirs, booze and side excursions. It is the most "civilized" place on earth with no real "poor" sections anywhere. It's middle-class and up!
I will take pictures and try my hand at posting them here when we get back. If using the ship's internet is less than $100 a minute, I will post from the ship.
Oh, BTW, for you folks who do not scuba dive, there is a side-excursion on a boat that offers a "helmet dive". Highly recommended but do accept and wear the "shorty" wet suit when offered. Keep in mind that this is the North Atlantic and at 20-25 feet under, it gets cool fast. It's a tethered dive with continuous air flow to a helmet which rests on your shoulders. The helmet has a clear glass face shield and the person can "walk around " under water and look like one of Captain Nemo's guests in that old Hollywood depiction of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Underneath the Sea".
Anyway, till then, Cheerio, blog mates.

7 comments:

DagoodS said...

Have a good time, roman.

(Did I mask my jealousy? Could you hardly tell?)

Frank Partisan said...

Sounds great.

San Nakji said...

Awesome, I have friends over there, say hi to them for me!

Asma said...

thats cooooool...have a great time

Oricon Ailin said...

Have a wonderful time! Take lots of pictures!

Pete said...

Beware the triangle, the sharks, the giants squids and over-indulgence but enjoy yourself Roman.

roman said...

I'm back but hung-over, sunburned and exhausted. Need a vacation from my vacation.
Thanks for all the good wishes.