We had originally planned to try and get to the Beach on Wednesday afternoon, but the plans changed to shopping in Hamilton.

Hamilton is the booming metropolis of the island. Big city and shops galore. Traffic zipping all over the place. We stopped for lunch in a nice Irish Puband then went back for more shopping.

We went back to the ship and did the eating, show going thing agaion. The shows were very good on the ship- comedians, singers, jugglers, dancers.

We got up on Thursday and got an early start as we had a planned excursion in St George's. We were taking a water tour of the area.

The Ferry took us up to St. George's Harbour where we met our smaller boat for the tour. We rode around St George's Harbour looking at the beautiful homes along the area. St George's is the oldest part of Bermuda and the original Capital.

It's also the best part of Bermuda. the streets are narrow, the buildings range from the 1600's to the 2000's including the oldest Anglican Church this side of the pond.

We continued on to St. David's Harbour where the guide pointed out some more of the homes. He indicated that St. David's is the melting pot of Bermuda- there are all types of homes and people there. The median price of a home on Bermuda is $800,000 (not a misprint). A starter home with 2 bedrooms in fixer upper condition with no water front or water view would start at $400,000 and the sky is almost literally the limit

Larger homes can run $1,000,000 to upwards of $8-10,000,000 and then there are the mansions which are even more costly.

We got some views of St David's Lighthouse from the Harbour, but the pictures wer not the greatest.

After the tour was over we went to lunch at a restaurant reccomended by the guide. It was right on the Harbour with a view of the Harbour between two Cruise ships that were docked there. They were celebrating Octoberfest and it was a German restaurant so I got into the celebration and had some Bratwurst and a brew.

We walked around St George's fro a bit and then hired a cab to take us out to St David's Lighthouse. It was built and first illuminated in 1879. It's 55 ft tall and the Lantern has a Focal Point of 208 ft.



It's in a lovely setting right at the edge of the island. Unfortunately, it's one of those Lighthouses that it's difficult to get a picture without wires.

I did get one though.



Also, unfortunately the Lighthouse is only open until the end of August. We were unable to get into it to climb it.

We spent a bit there looking around and then went back into St George's and walke d around the city a bit and went back to the ship to get ready for our dinner with J.P.

We had a nice visit with him and went back to the ship and ran into his mother, Wendy, on her nightly delivery of packages to our ship.

We finally did get to the beach on Friday in the mornign before we left for home at 1 PM Friday afternoon.

We ran into Kyle again on the way back and got hit with 40 MPH winds and seas of 6-8 Ft. It calmed down a bit by the time we went to bed, but it never calmed down completely.

All in all the trip was a great one and we got back in one piece.

Dennis

Great picture of St. David's! From the osund of your narration you had a great trip. Great to have you back on the forums.

Bert

Thanks for taking us along Dennis! Great pictures of the lighthouses too. Neat to see some of them from your ship.

Gee, Dennis, if you had only thought to tell the folks that you knew Saint Dave, maybe they would have let you into my light. Thanks for the wireless picture of it! Thanks for sharing your cruise adventure and pictures with us. Glad you and Esther had a good time, in spite of the ride down and back.

Dave

Unfortunately the only person around that day was the guy fixing the refreshment stand for next year.

I don't think he would have bought my Saint David connection. I do admit i never thought of it,though. I'll have to try that the next time I'm there.

Dennis

Hey Dennis, ...Nice pics and thanks for sharing with the commentary.

Is that a Radar I see on the rail of the lantern room? I don't think I've ever seen a Radar on a lighthouse before.

Remember, Radar spelt backwards is Radar. We got you coming and we get you going!

Bob

Wow! That's an interesting lighthouse. All the windows, the coloring, and the two different walks - I like how the lower one is made. I would be interested in climbing that one too. (But then again - I'm interested in climbing ALL lighthouses. ). I love how all lighthouse are different - it kind of gives them their own personality!

All were Great Pictures Dennis - wish we could have been there too. Happy to hear the rest of your trip was just as nice. Thanks for sharing.

Bob,

I'm not sure what that is. Unfortunately there was no one around who knew anything about the Lighthouse.

The gentelman I spoke with was very friendly, but he was just there doing some carpentry work to the refreshment stand.

BonnieJean,

Same answer- no one around to ask. I have tried to get more info online, but have not found much about the Lighthouses of Bermuda. It looks like the Tower was made taller at some point. this is not an uncommon practice- many lighthouses have been modified after being put into service.

I'm going to keep looking and if I fail I'm going to put the Master on the case- I'm going to call in the Lighthouse Sleuth.

Dennis

Glad you all like my namesake lighthouse! It is a neat light. Like BonnieJean, I like the extra cat walk at the half way mark.

Bob, I thought the same thing about the radar when I saw the picture. If you think about it, what better place for the Harbor Master to locate their radar - probably the highest ground around and affords a good overall sweep of the harbor and its surrounds.

Dave

Hi Dennis,

Sounds like a highly enjoyable and successful trip; especially the "all in one piece" part.

I'm with you, though, regarding cruises. I believe that a place like Bermuda can be enjoyed more if you actually stay there and can control your own schedule.

I took a similar picture of St. David's Light last year:



I noticed that there was another apparatus, between the upper and lower decks, that was gone by the time you took your photo. Now if they get rid of that radar thing, they'd have one picturesque lighthouse.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Bruce

Bruce,

I saw that in the pictures on another site. I'd say that it's probably an antenna for the wireless web service on the island (my daughter's friend was talking to us about it). It's very popular due to the cost of running wires for it otherwise.

It could also be a dish for sattelite tv service.

As for your suggestion about getting there a different way- I agree with the part about more time and control, but there's a downside to that method also- the cost can be much higher than a cruise.

Hotels and food (especially) are costly on Bermuda and the flight can be very expensive if you don't get a deal.

You can get a bed and breakfast or small private hotel for less, but they are harder to find and have less amenities.

My wife is ready to go back next week. I'm not- especially not by boat.

Dennis

You're right, Dennis, it CAN cost an arm and a leg. Fortunately, the last time we went, it only cost me a LEG

Bruce

Is that where you had your motorcycle accident?

I'll say this much- the traffic there is crazy- the roads are narrow and when you get two buses passing each other if you have your arm out the window you could literally lose it.

There are parts of the island that you are literally an inch away from rock walls if you have someone on the other side of the road.

Those resident scooter drivers are fearless. I would not even think of renting a scooter over there.

Dennis

Bruce,

Been a while since I worked with comms stuff, but the dish antennae is probably as Dennis pointed out, some kind of a satellite link. It is gone in Dennis' picture, but if you will look in front of the door in the red stripe you will note a new antennae has been added.

I still like "my" lighthouse. . . Maybe I should be charging rent to the antennae owners??

Dave

Dennis,
It is great to see pictures of Bermuda again. My wife and I stayed there for our honeymoon about 2 1/2 years ago. We loved it! The lighthouses were great. I climbed Gibbs Hill and what a view! We hope to go back soon, but you are right it costs an arm and a leg.