In September, Lisa and I went to Bermuda.  This wasn't an island on our list of places we want to see, but United Airlines offered a deal to fly there for only 20,000 frequent flier miles, which is less than a domestic flight.  We decided to take advantage of it.  However, we came real close to changing our mind when we saw the costs of hotels.  This island is super expensive.  They even have a motto that if you think the island is too expensive, then you are not rich enough to visit.

The island is still a British protectorate, although it is only a two hour flight from the United States.  I suspect Bermuda gets a lot of their supplies from the U.S.  Because of the British influence, Bermuda is a fairly uppity island.  I read somewhere that you can be fined for wearing beachwear in town.

Another interesting fact is they have no fresh water on the island.  They paint their roofs white and make water run-offs to catch fresh water from the rain.

One perk to the island is the friendly people.  I didn't see any slummy areas like you find on an island like Jamaica.

Lisa has some friends that love this island.  Our hotel was recommended to us by them. As it was, it was about the third cheapest hotel I could find, yet was much more expensive than I am used to.  Our hotel is called 9 Beaches.  Turns out to be an interesting hotel.  The rooms are little cabanas built on stilts.  The more expensive ones are out in the water.  Ours was on the side of a hill, but still had a great view as we were only a very short distance from the water.  One morning we heard a lot of noise, so looked out on the balcony.  A bunch of predator fish were chasing a big school of smaller fish which were breaking the surface of the water and making a lot of splashing noise.

Lisa on our balcony.  The cabanas have canvas walls which is interesting.  They claim they can survive a hurricane which is nice.

Bermuda claims to rarely get hurricanes, yet the week after we left, a hurricane came through.  We were happy to miss that adventure.  The fact that most of our stay in Bermuda involved rain became much more attractive when the alternative a week later would have been a hurricane.  The rain might have kept us off the beach, but it didn't stop us from touring the island.

Our first afternoon in Bermuda was nice and our last day was fantastic.  Our two days in the middle were wet.

This photo isn't anything in particular, I just like it.  That little boat is in the quiet before the storm.  We had some pretty good rain storms during our stay.

We thought this was a strange plant.  That thing in the middle looks like a brain.

We caught a shuttle from the airport to the Dockyard.  They converted much of it to a tourist area with shops, restaurants, etc.  Bermuda is known for Rum Cake, so we picked up a few here.  They also have good ginger ale called Ginger Beer.  It tastes a lot like Vernor's Ginger Ale, if you've ever tried it.  The two Bermuda drinks are the Dark & Stormy and the Swizzle.