Ok, it seemed like a good idea at the time. We went to Bermuda for a 5 day pet sit at the end of July, when it was a heat wave at home and the daily temperatures were “feels like 34”. Well, that was a cool day in Bermuda! We got off the plane and checked the weather and it said “feels like 41!” In fact, even the overnight low still is over 30 with the humidex. It’s so hot! I think my shoes were melting.
Our taxi driver said visitors would be much better off packing only a bathing suit and filling the rest of their suitcase with groceries.
The grocery prices were out of this world. The Bermudian dollar is tied to the US dollar, so you can pay with either currency. We did bring a couple of packages of bagels, and some snacky things, like Pringles. Bagels here were priced at about $8.95, and I don’t think there was 6 in the package. Our pet parents told us that they gave up eating bread when it was $9 per loaf. So why was I surprised that they didn’t have any toaster or toaster oven? Silly of me. But frying up bagels in the frypan works fine in a pinch. We also brought individual packets of peanut butter, jelly, and cream cheese. And we had a bag of granola bars and a tin of peanuts.
Unfortunately the one kitty here has food insecurities. They were both rescues – siblings – but the boy had been conditioned very early that food is scarce and should be stolen whenever possible. So their kibble is kept in the freezer (also it keeps the ants out of it). But I set our granola bars and the jams and peanut butter in a cute cup on the counter, thinking that would be fine since everything was still sealed up. Then we headed out exploring for a couple of hours. I was wrong. When we got back, the kitty had tasted all of the jellies (apparently they weren’t very good, so just had little puncture marks in the tops), but the peanut butter was delicious, and so were several protein bars – right through the wrappers! Now we have less snacks… And everything remaining was put in the fridge or in the cabinet.
By the way, the kitty is a master criminal – he has no problem opening the kitchen cabinets and stealing snacks. The pet parents had to put child locks on all the cupboard doors where food is kept, as well as the garbage can! He is stealthy – he dashes in everywhere (and swears at you if you scoop him up and pull him out of wherever he has gotten into.) After just a couple minutes in our bedroom when we were unpacking, the 2 kitties found the presents we had brought for them (2 catnip mice with feathery tails) and had them out of our suitcase and were playing with them in the single minute it took me to put my cosmetic bag in the bathroom!
We also have to learn to read the Amenities listing more carefully. They don’t have a coffee maker! Oops. They are a lovely Asian couple though – from England – so there is plenty of tea in the cabinet. They also don't have a toaster or toaster oven - they said bread is too expensive, so they don't eat any. We were able to "toast" our bagels by buttering them and then frying them in the sautee pan. They actually turned out really well that way.
The home was more of a traditional Bermudian home, with exposed beams, everything made of concrete.
The exteriors are painted pretty colours, and all the roofs of the buildings are white, with grooves in them to collect the rain water. Bermuda doesn’t have any natural source of drinking water, so each home has a cistern to collect the rain. If there is a drought, people have to pay for a little water truck to come and refill it, at a high cost of $100.
The little laneway shown here? That is a 2 way street! And it is on a hill - good thing they don't get snow here.
We were staying in Pembroke, which is basically a suburb of Hamilton, so we were able to walk everywhere. Here are some of the views we were enjoying.
