Last week I ended with a teaser… what was that little bit of land showing in the distance? Answer: Bermuda!

That’s not the real destination we’re heading for yet, but a fun stop along the way. At least that was the idea… It was raining pretty hard when we arrived. We’d scheduled a sea kayak expedition, but that was cancelled instantly. So we donned our rain gear and set out to explore this island in the rain.

Before I complain about having to explore in the rain, I should admit our first experience here was way better than when the island was first discovered! The Spanish first sighted the island around 1503, but he did not land due to the hazardous reefs surrounding it.

A shipwreck, tied to the English trying to resupply the Virginia Company in Jamestown, resulted in the English colonizing Bermuda. In 1609 a fleet of ships (3?) were headed to Jamestown and ran into a powerful hurricane which separated the ships. The Sea Venture, the flagship, was damaged severely, and the commander, Admiral Sir George Somers, deliberately ran the ship into the reefs around Bermuda. All 150 passengers made it to shore safely. They found the island surprisingly hospitable- lots of birds, fish, turtles and feral pigs that they figured came ashore on a previous wreck of a Spanish ship. They also had a good supply of fresh water, and plenty of cedar trees. Using these local trees, and wood salvaged from the wreck of the Sea Venture, they built two small ships, the Deliverance and Patience. About 10 months after their shipwreck, most of them continued on to Jamestown. In 1612, the Virginia Company formally added Bermuda to its charter, and brought about 60 new English settlers.

So our rainy welcome to Bermuda wasn’t so bad in comparison…

Old fortress and garrisons a short walk up the hill.

I couldn’t identify the rigging type on this beautiful old sailing vessel… so when I saw men working on it I asked. When I was told it is a three masted schooner I did a double take… and he said “well, it’s got one mast down now for repairs.” That did make it a bit harder to identify…

We had rain gear instead of umbrellas, and thought we’d be fine. We survived, so I guess we were fine… but we got really wet and cold.

One goal was to get inside this magnificent old church.

It was very impressive inside, but by then we were pretty soggy and I didn’t get any history about it.

This city hall was built in the late 1950′,s and opened in February of 1960. At first it looks like a big clock in the tower, like you’d expect. But then you notice only one hand, and it’s pointing to East? Bermuda is obviously oriented to seafaring, and the wind direction is important information. So bowing to this history, the tower is topped by a weathervane in the shape of the Sea Venture, and as it moves with the wind, gears move the arm below to indicate the wind direction. I guess licking your finger and holding it up in the wind isn’t adequately accurate.

Bermuda has lots of beautiful gardens. We never made it to the famous pink sand beaches, but we saw plenty of green.

Back on the cruise ship, a hot shower and dry clothes restored the spirits! And this fancy dessert didn’t hurt either! Billed as a not-too-traditional Baked Alaska, it had ice cream and some cake inside, and covered with meringue. I couldn’t eat it all, but I came close!

One thing I really liked on the ship was a classical trio that played a few times every day. They were really great!

After one long day, Cherryl fell asleep reading on her phone. So cute!

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Almost a week later, we landed on the British island of Portland. Guess what? It was raining again! Well, not really a surprise; it rained several days while we were at sea. (that meant no pickleball for the last half of the cruise.)

We had a tour of the Athelhampton mansion, and it was going to proceed rain or shine. It was raining HARD when we got on the bus coach, but this time we accepted the umbrellas proffered by the ship. But good news! The rain stopped by the time we got to the mansion, and the skies were beautiful and we had a fabulous time! The oldest part of this palace, the Great Hall, was built in 1485. Yes, 1485. Quite a while ago! It has grown over the years (Centuries!) with the last addition a north wing in the 1920’s. They wouldn’t allow photography inside, so you don’t get to see the magnificent carved woodwork throughout. Some circular staircases have timber treads that are as big as railroad ties. Others have stone steps, worn down after hundreds of years of foot traffic.

The gardens are relatively new – commissioned in 1890. Several different areas feature fountains, ponds, flowers and bridges over a natural river towards the back of the property.

The back of the house looks pretty nice too… of interest is the window above the arched door. This was the lady of the house’s room, and from inside you gaze onto the yard and fountain through a window with four “lights.” But from the garden, looking back at the window, there are five lights. From inside, one light of the window had been walled over, without leaving any trace.

This sundial is the only four-sided one I’ve ever seen. I guess it was convenient not to be required to walk around to the other side to read the time!

It looked like all the ponds had a little ramp… to let animals in or out? The ponds only seemed a foot or two at the most deep, so I’m not sure who’d use the ramps.

As clouds move around, the lighting changed, and my viewpoint changed, and because I found the ancient manor house fascinating, you get way too many pictures. Live with it.

After we left the Athelhampton House, we headed to Cerne Abbas. “Home” of the Cerne Giant, a huge figure of a man carved into the chalk hillside. The turf has been cut away to the chalk underneath, about 1.5 feet, and then the ditch filled with crushed white chalk. The man is unclothed, and while I might say anatomically correct, it might be more accurate to say anatomically exaggerated! What is more interesting is that nobody knows who carved him! Originally thought to be prehistoric, or maybe of Roman origin, most now say it was probably done somewhere from 700 – 1100 AD. It would be best seen from the air, but we were just on a motor coach. He is now surrounded by sheep, who don’t seem bothered by him at all. (He apparently bothered the Victorians, who ironically planted bushes to hide his… well, it’s kind of funny, huh?)

It’s rather hard to judge the size of this guy from the ground, but he’s about 180 feet tall!

It was a beautiful day, in spite of the rainy start. To top it off, we met a nice couple on the tour, and found out he worked for the dental supply company that I used almost exclusively while in practice. We shared a wonderful evening with them later, but that’s for next week’s story. For now I’ll leave you with the sheep!

And as far as the teasing about where we are really headed, what is the big adventure we’re planning – that’s not here yet either! We should start next week! Let me know if you can guess!

P.S. You’ll never guess!