‹ Back

Tourists aren’t allowed to rent cars here in Bermuda (there are more than enough cars on the roads already!), but you can rent an electric Tizzy – which looks like a toy – and holds 2 people.  It’s a $140 per day!!!  Nope.  Can’t do it!

You can also rent a bicycle or moped – but the island is full of hills, very narrow roads, and sharp corners.  Plus – they drive on the left here!  Since we don’t have a death wish, we didn’t do that.

They have an app for the public transit which is pretty convenient.  Since each ride basically costs $5, it is more practical to buy a pass.  We were able to get a 4 day pass ahead of time for just under $50, and it works for all the busses and for the ferries.  Great!  You can google directions on the island and it will tell you when the bus is coming, which route it is, how many minutes walk to the bus stop (which is indicated by either a pink or blue pole, depending on what direction you are going).   This is one of the amazing views from the bus!  (and yes, I had to sit in the front to keep from getting motion sick on the very twisty hilly roads!)

Busses run every 30 minutes,  except weekends and holidays when they only run hourly, which of course was when we were there!   Cup Match (a gigantic Cricket tournament, St Georges vs Somerset) started July 31, and runs for 2 days.  The whole island shuts down to watch the cricket tournament, and it is a holiday.  Apparently betting on the match is a very big ticket item here.  Our driver told us that $25 million changes hands through the betting pools over the 2 days.  People are so into it that they go camp out (in actual tents) in the parks and all around wherever it is that the match is being played.  So we ended up with 4 of our days being held on the holiday hourly schedule for the busses.  It very much makes you sloooowwww dooowwwnnn, and plan when you are going to leave the house/beach/store.  The first day we sucked at that, and ended up just walking from place to place, including carrying our groceries home.  Not that we bought much – since the stay was short, we thought we would enjoy some restaurant meals.  But the first day was our travel day (up since 3:30 am), so naps got in the way and we were hot and tired, so we ate bagels for dinner.  The second day we played tourist and ended our day at the beach, where all the nearby restaurants and food trucks were closed because of Cup Match.  So we had peanuts for lunch.  By dinner we were tired, so actually got about 6 meals delivered all at once so we don’t have to deal with that again.  That’s how I deal with my own food insecurity!

The Crystal Caves

After breakfast we took the bus out to the Crystal Caves, and did a couple of tours.  Being 120 feet underground when it is 40 degrees outside is actually quite refreshing! 

     

The caves were discovered in 1907 by a couple of young boys who were playing cricket in the area, and their ball rolled into a hole in the ground.  They ran home and got some rope and a kerosene lantern, and went down the hole after it.  They ended up falling into a pool – and there went their lantern!  So they are now in the water in a cave without a light.  They decided it would be a good idea to swim around and explore it for the next few hours, even if it is dark as pitch down there.  Eventually they made their way out – and the family who owned the property explored the caves and opened it for tours.  Originally there would have been some rappelling down, and you would take a row boat across the water.  Back then people were allowed to cut off a piece of the stalactites (which really do look like icicles or hanging tallow candles) as a souvenir.  Now, they have a strict “do NOT touch anything here!” policy, as the oils on your hands will cause the minerals to break down.  The stalagmites and stalactites are still growing, averaging about an inch every hundred years, as the rain water leeches through the limestone and brings calcium carbonate with it.

The first caves we went into were the crystal caves.  The entry way was pretty wide, so about 3 people could walk side by side, and the first section was a ramp.  Then there was 88 steps down the staircase, which is broken up with some landings.  The water in the cavern at the bottom is about 15 feet deep by the bridge, and about 85 feet deep over by the outside wall.  The water goes underground for another mile after the main cavern ends.  The bridge is like a large floating dock system, which rises and falls with the tides.  Since we arrived around noon, the tide was out and we were able to walk upright everywhere, but apparently you have to duck a lot at high tide!

The second cave system we went in had concrete walkways, but they were very narrow, and the staircases were steep!  83 steps.  The water in this cavern was even more clear and bright than the first one.  It looks shallow, but it is very deep (and apparently cold.)  Although everyone is warned to not drop anything, the guide pointed out the area at the end where there were several pairs of sunglasses, about 6 cell phones, and a passport – all dropped in the last month!    They will send in a diver for the passport, as the poor man does need to depart next week.  Otherwise, they send in a diver over the winter to pull everything out, so they can start the next season fresh.  Our tour guide says that is how he gets all his new sunglasses, lol! I don't know if the tour guides have seen this little pool, tucked in behind the very end of the walkway in the Fantasy caves.  Maybe at the end of the season they have a way to scoop it out.  Gives new definition to "Tip Pool!"