Anyone that has gone to Bermuda by boat, knows how difficult the navigation can be to actually get to the Island. Completely surrounded by a coral reef with only a narrow passage into St. George. As we pulled in, we all were excited to get off the boat and feel land under our feet. We pulled up to the customs dock, quickly jumped off the boat to tie it off. I laid on the dock till the boat was searched and passed customs. I thought it was weird that we had to turn in any fire arms including our flare gun which will be returned upon departure. No fire arms allow in Bermuda except for the police. While I laid on the dock I closed my eyes and the whole world began spinning. I had not been warned about land sickness. It strikes after your inner ear gets used to being at sea, your balance gets messed up when you step on to solid, non moving land. It didn't last, just long enough to empty what little was in my stomach. After passports were stamped we were welcomed to the Island and given our instruction on where the dock was we were to be tying up. I was surprised that when we got to the dock, where we were staying, the owner of the boat's family was waiting there. So now once again the boat felt very small. All smoked except for me and one of the other crew. He and I left to go get a drink and to get out of the smoke filled boat. We found a bar and went inside. I ordered a double Johnnie Walker Black neat. I remember how good that drink was and how fast it went to my head being the only thing in my stomach. there was an old guy a couple seats down from me that had a whole bottle of the Johnnie Blue Label in front of him. i think he owned the bar. At this point in my life I had never tried the two hundred dollar bottle a fifth. I struck up a conversation with the man, pointed out what I was drinking and said I have never tried the Blue. He reached over the bar and grabbed a glass, poured a health shot and slid it my way. I felt honored that he included me in his drink. I picked it up as to thank him and sipped the scotch. I was instantly disappointed, it tasted like the drink I was drinking already. What was I expecting? Were my taste buds screwed up from all the puking? He asked me how it was, I said very good thanks, not wanting to be rude, but it doesn't taste a whole lot different than the Black. He said that's because they put the black in the blue bottle. I was a little bumbed because I still, at that point, haven't tried the Blue. we continued with a couple more rounds, now me and my crew mate were starting to catch a petty good buzz. We were discussing the fact that the boat was going to be miserable to stay on with all those people and there bad habit. A guy sitting next to my buddy over heard us talking and he said something like "I got a dog house you can stay in" with his heavy British accent. We both thought that this guy was being a smart ass. I asked him what he said, he said it again "I got a dog house you can stay in". Just as I was about to curse this fucker out, he explained himself. He was trying to use an American term, the dog house, being the pool house he built behind his house that he stays in when in trouble with his wife. He cut us a great deal for the entire time we were in Bermuda. we went back to the boat to collect our gear, rented a couple of mopeds and off we went to find this dog house. We were so lucky, this place was awesome. The pool house over looked the pool, beyond it was a western ocean view with some of the most pristine diving right there.
Our stay in Bermuda is indescribable, the beauty this Island with no natural resources should be seen with your own eyes. All building are built with white lime stone roofs that catch all the rain and funnel it down to underground water tanks. Chicken are their number one and I think only live stock. All other resources are shipped in daily. The people or Bermuda are kind, happy, resilient, resourcefully and God fearing, from their beginning history of hardships. We would rise early, catch a buzz and put on our ugly mandatory helmets, yell moped madness, then off we would ride with our back packs of snorkel gear to explore every inch of this island and the surrounding reefs. The Islands only wildlife are lots of birds, but the sea around it was full of beautiful, scary and some dangerous wildlife. The few weeks we were there, we had seen everything via our trusty steed the moped. We ate the local cuisine, like bangers and mash.We drank with the locals nightly and attended all festivals throughout the Island. But as we know in life all good things come to an end and it was time to prepare the boat for our departure
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