On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Elma
Bermuda on the Ultimate Around the World Cruise on Serenade of the Seas was the last “new” port for me, where I had never been before.
The last three pictures in this post are not from Bermuda. They didn’t seem to fit anywhere else in the series, but were stories worth telling, so we will let them be a coda to this. In May, I am taking another epic cruise, Tokyo to LA. Lots of pictures of the wide Pacific, but I’m not sure what else there will be.
Bermuda is not in the Caribbean (or whatever the VBM has decided to call that body of water today); rather it is out in the Atlantic due east from North/South Carolina. So I was a little surprised at how hot it was. Our introductory lecture was delivered by a Gent in a business suit with Bermuda shorts. Maybe that should have been a clue. As we sailed into our port at the Royal Naval Dockyards, I came out of the very air conditioned ship with my camera to take some pics, and the lens immediately fogged up. Thus the quality of the first picture. FWIW, it did not seem to affect the camera on my phone
What the Royal Naval Dockyards really looked like.
As if the Royal Naval Dockyards was not enough of an indicator of the British-ness of the place, the Town Crier came out, in full kit, to welcome the arrival of the ship.
There is no fresh water source on Bermuda, except for the rain. All the buildings have roofs designed to catch and purify the rain water. We stopped at a pub for lunch and, because it was very hot, pounded down a couple of glasses of iced water. Then it occurred to me to ask the waiter whose roof it came from and should we be more respectful and less profligate of the scarce resource. He laughed and said it came off the pub’s roof, was well filtered and purified, and no one worried about scarcity. Apparently it rains a lot in Bermuda.
This was at the beginning of our cruise, the Serenade of the Seas sailing into Amsterdam, many hours late. She had been sitting out at sea, twiddling her azipods, because protestors had chained and glued themselves to the lock gates on the canal leading into the city. They objected to the big ships coming into central Amsterdam. The week before, they had successfully blocked a different Royal ship from entering the port. It was forced to dock at the freight port; and all the passengers, embarking and disembarking, had to be transported by bus many miles away from where they were supposed to be. So pretty much everyone at the hotel next to the cruise terminal was waiting to get on Serenade, if it ever got there or figuring out alternative arrangements. Finally the Dutch police moved in and cleared out the protestors, so the ship could enter. Sailing out the next day, the only evidence was the painted graffiti on the lock gates. Also of note, the protestors must all have regular jobs, because they only protest on weekends.
We spent two days in Iceland as our first port of call. While we were there, the volcano decided to act out. Here is a view over Reykjavik, from the deck of the ship.
Finally, I have had many towel animals made by many excellent stewards on my cruises. But Mr. Frog was simply the best I have ever seen.
West of the Rockies
Thank you for the pics & descriptions! Is Mr. Frog made with just one towel? I wonder how long that takes (and how much practice is involved).
Baud
Iceland is an amazing place. And that’s one handsome frog.
eclare
@West of the Rockies:
When I went on a cruise about fifteen years ago, there was a different towel buddy on my bed every day, and they consisted of multiple towels.
eclare
That is an amazing photo of Reykjavik! Have fun on Tokyo to LA. Are you breaking up the around the world cruise into separate legs at different times, instead of doing it consecutively?
NotMax
You mentioned docking at Pier 88 in NYC yesterday.
“Where have I heard that before,” said I. Took all day for the memory to coalesce. That’s the same pier at which the Normandie burned and capsized during WW2 while being refitted as a troop ship.
Elma
@West of the Rockies: One bath towel and two hand towels. I carefully moved him off the bed to the back of the sofa, where he sat for two days. But eventually, he got bumped and fell apart. On some of the early cruises I have been on, the stewards gave demos of making towel animals. They were very quick, but I would have taken much longer and not achieved the same result.
Elma
@eclare: No grand plan for circumnavigation. My sister and my daughter both keep an eye on cruise websites, looking for interesting opportunities. I used to be the one making all the travel arrangements; but now I let others do and just show up with my suitcase and passport. I do admit that I am a little nervous about re-entering the US this time.
stinger
Great photos! I so enjoy following you around the world at secondhand!
Betty
Bermuda is a unique and quaint little place. The climate is very mild considering its latitude. I wonder if climate change will affect both the temperature and the water supply. So much is in flux these days.
Old School
I found Mr. Frog!
He’s cute.
Mom Says I*m Handsome
I literally said “Wow” out loud when I saw that Iceland photo. The world is an awesome, awesome place.
West of the Cascades
@Old School: You are aware of all internet traditions!