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muchabstractedJust returned from a family vacation in Bermuda. It was lovely, since Bermuda is just as pretty as it's supposed to be, and featured many kinds of water activities as well as cod fish cakes and pumpkin soup.
Bermuda is Piratey, I have discovered. At least, touristy piratey: there are a lot of wrecks and some history of piracy around the island, and despite the fact that we came across no evidence of historical or current pirates during our week there, there was much pirate memorabilia and selling of rum. The one museum I went to had a display which explained how they knew a particular wreck, The Frenchman, had been a trade ship and not a pirate ship. (Man...) Also, since I was there with my brother, it was like five days of National Speak Like A Pirate Day! Even Mom got into the act. It turns out that her version of a pirate noise is "Arrrrrrg".
We saw lots of parrotfish while snorkelling, but none of them sat on our shoulders and squawked.
My first attempt at water fun was going helmet diving with my parents. Helmet diving is basically scuba diving for wusses and non swimmers. Mom is a non swimmer, and Dad and I went with her. They put a big helmet on your head, and it is so very heavy that you sink down to the bottom of the ocean in short order. The downside of the big helmet is that it weighs you down so heavily you have a hard time moving. I also found my right leg jerked around uncontrollably. Presumably it wanted to escape. Anyway, the cool thing was that, once we stayed still for a while, the fish started to ignore us and swim by us. I started feeling these soft touches against my skin. It was hard to see with the helmet on, so I couldn't figure out what they were for a while. It couldn't be the fish, because as it turns out, fish feel kind of hard and slimy, and there is nothing soft about fish fins. Turns out the fish swimming by us were displacing sea water, and some of the sea water was pushed against our bodies.
Other inconsequential information: if you happen to be in Hamilton in Bermuda, check out Bistro J. Amazing food (about which I could rhapsodize for a while) for the lowest prices I saw in Bermuda -- though this still means $19.95 for each dinner entree.
Bermuda is Piratey, I have discovered. At least, touristy piratey: there are a lot of wrecks and some history of piracy around the island, and despite the fact that we came across no evidence of historical or current pirates during our week there, there was much pirate memorabilia and selling of rum. The one museum I went to had a display which explained how they knew a particular wreck, The Frenchman, had been a trade ship and not a pirate ship. (Man...) Also, since I was there with my brother, it was like five days of National Speak Like A Pirate Day! Even Mom got into the act. It turns out that her version of a pirate noise is "Arrrrrrg".
We saw lots of parrotfish while snorkelling, but none of them sat on our shoulders and squawked.
My first attempt at water fun was going helmet diving with my parents. Helmet diving is basically scuba diving for wusses and non swimmers. Mom is a non swimmer, and Dad and I went with her. They put a big helmet on your head, and it is so very heavy that you sink down to the bottom of the ocean in short order. The downside of the big helmet is that it weighs you down so heavily you have a hard time moving. I also found my right leg jerked around uncontrollably. Presumably it wanted to escape. Anyway, the cool thing was that, once we stayed still for a while, the fish started to ignore us and swim by us. I started feeling these soft touches against my skin. It was hard to see with the helmet on, so I couldn't figure out what they were for a while. It couldn't be the fish, because as it turns out, fish feel kind of hard and slimy, and there is nothing soft about fish fins. Turns out the fish swimming by us were displacing sea water, and some of the sea water was pushed against our bodies.
Other inconsequential information: if you happen to be in Hamilton in Bermuda, check out Bistro J. Amazing food (about which I could rhapsodize for a while) for the lowest prices I saw in Bermuda -- though this still means $19.95 for each dinner entree.
