Date: 22.02.2022
Author: May
Position: Bermuda
Geographical Position: 32° 22.73′ N 064° 40.81′ W
Etmal: 0 (11.005)

Today was our second entire day on Bermuda and I very much preferred it to the first one because we were able to see a lot more from the islands nature and social life than on the day before as we stayed in St. George’s for free shore leave.

Crystal Caves

First challenge of the day was to get all students, the three teachers, the watchleaders and Justus into a bus, no, three busses (because we didn’t all fit into one because of the covid regulations) in order to go to our first stop of the day: The „Crystal and Fantasy Caves of Bermuda“. We’d all got three bus tickets beforehand which we were told to look after very carefully. The busses here go about every ten minutes so when we arrived (I was part of group one), we waited for the others in a large park that was part of the property and included goats. In the centre there was one of the biggest trees I’d ever seen and we decided to climb it and take a group picture and then another one when the second group arrived and joined us.

At 11 o’clock we were called into the cave, where a guide was waiting for us. We were led down stone stairs into a tunnel and already saw some of the crystals along the way, but it got better: The staircase ended in front of an underground lake (which we found out was connected to the ocean through two underwater tunnels) and the water was, well, crystal clear and had the most beautiful colour.

We were told that no life could develop down there due to the lack of fresh oxygen, warmth and especially light and any life forms that entered the lake through the tunnels would choose to leave again immediately. We learned some other interesting facts about the discovery of the place, the stalactites (the ones that hand from the ceiling) and stalagmites (the ones that grow from the floor) that we saw all over the cave, above as well as underwater and also what absolute darkness feels like when the lights were turned off. Something that I found particularly fascinating was realizing how old this whole natural construction really was and how unchanged (aside from the footbridge and the lights) it has remained for such a long time. Overall it was very informative and I enjoyed the visit.

On our way to Hamilton

We didn’t wait for the others to catch up, because there were plenty of authorised adult people for both groups and started making our way to the capital city. We went along the shoreline a little first and saw several other small open caves with water in them, but didn’t stop until we found a larger waterhole with a wooden platform in front of it and decided to stay for a while.

A few people even jumped into the water and took a swim. This was when we split up again: The people who didn’t go into the water went on toward Hamilton while the others stayed there. Once again, I was part of the first group and I was really glad to have gone with them. We were eight people including Kristina, who led us through a landscape of trees and bushes to the next bus station. We took another group picture on the way and perpetuated ourselves in a green plant we found, which had already a lot of writing on it.

Hamilton

We went off the bus right in front of the tall ship „Alexander von Humboldt“ that was just about to leave Bermuda and talked to them a little. Apparently they’re going to the Azores as well so there’s a good chance we’ll meet them again when we get there.

Then we split up one last time for our free shore leave in the city. We spent our time visiting the shops we found in the streets (including one where we all bought identical Bermuda sweatshirts that simply look awesome, using the public Wifi and eating fish and chips that were really good. In the end we went into a bookstore and I was very tempted to buy about a hundred books there but especially a copy of „Pride and Prejudice“ with the most beautiful cover that had arrived on the same day (along with a few other classics with covers just as pretty), but I decided I’d spend enough money during the day already so I left without having bought anything. I made it about ten metres from the store before turning around, going back in and buying the book. I regret nothing.

That was about it from the day, we only went back to the Pelican by bus (we negotiated successfully for everyone to take the same bus) and had a meeting about something I don’t recall. I enjoyed the day a lot, especially the free shore leave and the kindness and openness from everyone we met.