Bermuda

I’m back! In the old days travelers would say they are back from arid and heathen ports. That’s not the case when you visit Bermuda.

Despite the exorbitant costs and literal tourist gouging, it is still one of the lushest and most beautiful islands in our hemisphere. To me it is equal to the resort islands in the Indonesia archipelago or the island of Lankowi off the coast of Thailand.

The island has changed a lot since I was last there fourteen years ago.

There is much more traffic. Cars and cycles no longer adhere to the twenty-mile an hour speed limit. Many of the old hotel resorts are either gone or undergoing renovation. The Sonesta is gone and torn down awaiting something new. Elbow Beach is undergoing renovation. There are new owners for the stalwart Hamilton Princess and Southampton Princess; they now have the name Fairmont to precede their names. The old retail store Triminghams is no more.

The locals are wonderful, but also lamenting the increase in costs and traffic.

Our visit was wonderful. We hung with long time friends. The kind of friends where through the years you’ve shared the sadness and sacredness of life and along with laughs and libation.