Bermuda, a little paradise

St.George's street view

As you may know we stay already more than a week in paradise, eh Bermuda. It's true, Bermuda is simply gorgeous. 

It's basically a mix of the Bahamas and the Caribbean with an English high-end touch. Another reason why it looks so picturesque is for sure that this is a very rich island. Did you know that they have the highest GDP per capita in the world?  No reason to elaborate why, but you can see and feel the money and it's for sure well spent.

First of all, all the houses have a similar white roof; mix that with all the different colors of the houses, the green landscape and you get the perfect postcard picture. New to us is as well the fact that every house here has a chimney which proofs that we are much more up North already. The famous Bermuda roofs are stone made and designed to collect 80% of every raindrop that touches it. And they need to withstand at least wind speed up to 100 miles an hour. That’s the law and it looks just perfect.  

roof with rainwater collection drain

Besides the architecture, the landscape and gardens are well maintained, the people are unbelievably friendly and the island offers an amazing variety of restaurants, shops and sightseeing options, easy accessible by bus. Even though Bermuda doesn't come cheap - a pint of beer sets you back seven dollars and the liter of diesel is currently 1.88 USD (compared to 85 cents in Puerto Rico) - it has a touch of “perfect ville” out in the nowhere of the Atlantic Ocean. Together with our German friends Sybille & Hugo on s/v Brigo we started to point out houses we could imagine ourselves to live in ;-)

when can we move in?

Worth mentioning as well is the national business dress code for men. Try to wear this somewhere else in the world: It consists of a pair of Bermuda Shorts which need to end exactly six inches above the knee, preferably in a fancy color like salmon pink, yellow or so. Combine that with a pair of so called “Bermuda Hose” which are basically socks up to the knee, mostly in navy blue. Then you wear a traditional shirt with tie and a jacket, again preferably in navy blue. Together with business shoes you're perfectly dressed. And you see this all over here. It's not a tourist thing, stand in front of an international bank or office building and just wait and see….

official Bermudian dress code

Since the weather is once more a bit confused and our next trip will be again 600nm or so we may spend some more time here to hopefully find the perfect weather window. We'll keep you posted.

view of St.George's from our anchorage

PS: Cruiser Information:

There is a lot of writing about checking into Bermuda. We think it’s a fairly easy and painless process: Due to the reefs all around the island "Bermuda Radio" has a 24/7 Radar and Radio Watch. As soon you're 30nm out, call them on channel 16 or they will contact you to guide you into the channel. They like to know a lot of information about your boat. You can do this over the Radio, it will take at least 15min, or you send them before your departure to Bermuda the “pre arrival” documentation by email (download it here). If you have done this, the call only takes 2 minutes and you can proceed fast forward to customs dock in St. Georges after Radio Clearance. Customs and Immigration is quick and easy done with a lot of friendly chat and smiles.