Hamilton Bermuda

Hamilton Bermuda

On the veranda, Cabin 922

Silver Spirit

April 16, 2015

We are three days into a twelve-day crossing, which departed from Ft. Lauderdale.  We have had spectacular weather and everything has gone according to plan. We are here for another day before heading to Horta in the Azores for a day and then on to our destination, Lisbon.  The weather from here to there is always something of a question mark given the time of year and we might have a smooth crossing or very rough seas, which explains why they discount this cruise.  Normally Siversea charges quite a bit since it is all inclusive - food, booze and gratuities - but on these repositioning cruises you can actually find bargains, which makes this a lovely experience.

We are falling into a rhythm:  We wake up too late for breakfast, get lots of exercise on the jogging deck before coffee, more walking the deck before elevensies (which is only for me since Cindy will not drink before one o’clock).  I have one William - Campari on the rocks topped with Champagne, no fruit. Every bartender on the ship now knows how to make it.  We don’t do buffets so we go to the sit-down restaurant every afternoon and have a long, slow lunch filled with good cheer and great food, followed by a luxurious hour-long nap.  More exercise, mostly walking, and then we clean up and dress for cocktails and dinner followed by hours of dancing the night away.  Granted it is a tough schedule, but we manage!

Bermuda is a lovely spot, very clean, orderly, expensive and filled with folks who are extraordinarily polite and smiley. Even the bums at the parks are polite and courteous. American movie stars have estates here; I’m looking across the harbor at Michael Douglas’s villa, as well as others who need a good tax haven for their money, which explains the huge mega yachts in the harbors.  The grand villas are all pink and pale yellow and other lovely shades of pastel, with manicured grounds and long driveways that make them look like movie sets.

There are many pocket parks in Hamilton with magnificent flowerbeds and sculptures.  There are wild chickens all over the park grounds and there was one rooster that caught our eye.  He looked like an ad for Rooster Quarterly, absolutely beautiful.  His hen was surrounded by 13 of the cutest little chicks all pecking away as mom scratched up some insects.  I don’t know much about chicken genetics but this was the most diverse set of chicks we had ever seen. They ranged from jet black to bright yellow and every combination in between.  We just stood there and watched them stumble about; grand entertainment.

The Silver Spirit is the largest vessel in the Silversea fleet.  It holds 540 passengers but this cruise only has 340 on board.  There are those cruisers that like crossings and those that like going port to port.  The folks we have met are all lovely people and even I enjoy meeting new folks and listening to their stories.  I would say that half of the passengers are from Europe and there are lots of conversations in many languages going on at cocktails and dinner.

In four hours we depart for four days at sea so I’ll go ashore and try to find some fast internet to send this out.  Next stop, Horta.   Best to all, Cindy and Wm