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Bermuda: What to See and Do, Where to Eat, Drink
By Mary Johnson Tweedy
 IF YOU follow the pattern of most visitors you will thoroughly enjoy sleeping twelve of your first twenty-four hours in Bermuda. The slower pace and usually soothing climate of the Islands produce an almost immediate reaction of lazy relaxation, ideal conditioning for a holiday that can then be as lethargic or athletic as you like.
But regardless of how much you relish the somnolence of lying on a beach, the violence of a stiff game of singles or the rare chance to buy next year's Christmas presents at devalued prices, you really should take out some time for sight-seeing.
You can hit the high spots in a few quick trips or you can leisurely roam the Colony and explore its history, its natural beauty and its architecture. Organized tours of the Islands are arranged by the Bermuda Reservation Bureau, American Express, Thomas Cook, Simmons Tours, Mr. Graham Perinchief, or you can go by taxi.
Regardless of how little time you can spend, you should see Hamilton, St. George, Somerset, the South Shore and the Lighthouse, the Aquarium, Devil's Hole and the Caves.
Night life in Bermuda is leisurely and romantic, in keeping with the Colony's relaxed atmosphere. There isn't a night club in the Colony, but of the thousands who have danced under a Bermuda moon or dined in the quiet comfort of a charming, old house or a smart, new restaurant, few have yearned for a smoke-filled bistro.
Dancing centers around the big hotels, on starlit outdoor terraces in good weather, in ballrooms otherwise. English and American bands play American music, and colored bands play both calypso and American music. There is never a cover charge except on New Year's Eve or for a charity ball, and a "minimum" is a rarity.
There are a number of excellent restaurants in the Islands, and others that are satisfactory for an inexpensive lunch or dinner. Try to spend at least one night dancing and have at least one luncheon or dinner "in the country"--the Harrington Sound area, Tucker's Town or Somerset. The hotels are open to everybody for lunch, cocktails, dining and dancing, but only infrequently do guest houses serve transients. Private clubs are open for members and their guests.
BERMUDA'S mild climate, blue water and fine beaches make it, to start with, a natural for sports, but add to that the legendary British enthusiasm for athletics and it is not surprising that courts, links and playing fields are scattered throughout the Islands. Nothing is mandatory in leisurely Bermuda, not even sports, but few visitors resist the temptation to enjoy them either as a spectator or a participant. The variety at hand, so easily available in any season, rarely fails to stir even the most latent enthusiasm.
Cycle liveries are all over the Islands, and they rent out bicycles by the hour, day, week or month at reasonable rates. Your guest house or hotel can reserve one for you or direct you to a near-by bicycle shop. The bicycles are of English make but equipped with both English hand brakes and American coaster brakes. They all have the unique Bermuda baskets that have become almost a trademark the Colony, and little wicker or metal seats can be affixed to the rear mudguard for towing moppets.
Leg muscles may ache for the first day or so and caution is advisable until you get the hang of it. Try a short distance the first day rather than attempt to travel from Somerset to St. George and back. If your bride has never learned to cycle, rent a tandem and give her a ride on a bicycle-built-for-two until she can navigate for herself.
BERMUDA is, in many respects, a little country, but break it down to its smallest common denominator and it is a small city of about 65,000 people. There is little difference between Front Street and Main Street, except that Front Street, as a rule, is far more prosperous. To know and appreciate Bermuda, it is well to know Bermudians, and no firmer or pleasanter first step can be taken by the visitor than to enter the door of a club with interests similar to his.The Visitors' Service Bureau can fill in current place and hour of meetings and any other information.
WHETHER you are cycling, or riding in a carriage, car or bus, remember that in Bermuda the rule of the road is to the left and in walking along the roads and lanes (sidewalks are unknown outside the towns) keep to the right. In "touring" Bermuda, the longest trip you can make is from H.M. Dockyard to St. George's, all of twenty-three miles, and across the Island the widest stretch is only two and one-quarter miles. The highest hill you can climb is Town Hill in Smith's Parish, 259 feet above sea level.
EVEN the most latent horticultural interest is excited by the masses of spectacular flowers in Bermuda. Their variety is fascinating, their beauty is astonishing and their origins are hard to believe.
Bermuda was one of the last really habitable spots in the world to be inhabited, and until Sir George Somers landed in 1609, nature had been in full control. There were then a mere one hundred and fifty varieties of plants including the seventeen indigenous ones. Apparently the others, similar to plants native to Mexico, the West Indies and the southeastern coast of the United States, had floated in on seaweed or had grown from seeds brought by migrating birds.
Now there are more than 1,500 varieties of plants. A surprising number of Bermuda's early globe-roaming sailors extended their investigations of foreign ports beyond the waterfront to the flora of a new country, and brought back slips and seeds of plants that would ornament the Colony. Here on a coral atoll in the middle of the Atlantic, flowers brought by these seagoing flower-fanciers from Asia, Africa, North and South America and the West Indies have flourished.
In addition to the contributions of sailormen, early governors and their wives frequently brought new species with them, and others arrived in letters. Some plants, such as the loquat, came to the Islands quite by accident. This pretty evergreen is native to Japan, and it arrived in Bermuda only because a ship in distress, with some aboard, was forced into St. George's Harbor. Now it grows widely, and loquat preserves are a local delicacy.
BERMUDA is probably the only tourist resort in the world that honestly likes to see rain. Though surrounded by water it is dependent on rainfall for its water supply. Fortunately it has no "dry season" or "wet season" and is blessed with a more or less even rainfall. Even so nobody wastes water. A leaking faucet is repaired immediately a Bermudian learns from childhood not to take long showers or full tubs.
Every household has its own private water works and monitors its own supply. That the characteristic white roofs, resembling flights of shallow steps, happen to be picturesque and unique is merely an attractive coincidence. The primary reason for a roof anywhere is to cover the house, but in Bermuda its secondary purpose of catching rain is almost as important. The rain water is channeled along the limewashed "terraces" or notched rows on the roof into a subterranean cistern called a "tank," which is as essential a feature of a Bermuda house as a front door. The walls of a house may be pink, blue or yellow, but its roof is always white. A few gold fish or guppies, provided free by the Department of Public Health, are kept in the tank to keep it clear of mosquito larvae. ( Bermuda has few mosquitoes.)
A small cottage may have a tank that holds only a few thousand gallons but some elaborate estates have a 100,000 gallon capacity. A house of average size usually has a 15,000 to 25,000 gallon tank, which with considerable care, particularly during dry periods, is enough to carry a household. Water can be bought but in time of need it is hard to get and expensive to transport.
At various places you will see a whitewashed hillside or water catchment designed to collect water in somewhat larger quantities. Catchments are made by scraping off the few inches of soil down to the stone and applying a lime wash. Some houses have smaller catches to supplement the water from their roofs.
BERMUDA has been a well-known shopping center for Americans for a long time. Famous brands of English, Scotch and European goods and fine old English antique furniture or silver usually cost considerably less than in the States. The Colony's succeeding generations of merchant princes have continued and enhanced their prestige and affluence, not only by the fortunate circumstances that attract thousands of tourists to their winter and summer wonderland but also by being very professional and astute buyers and merchandisers. They have spent years learning to know and please the American market and they know its tastes well.
Bermuda is sometimes called "The Showcase of the Empire," and it is true that within an area of three square blocks you can find most of the best consumer goods England produces. Front Street, Queen Street and Reid Street form the shopping center of Hamilton. There are also interesting shops in some of the hotels and in St. George's.
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