Bermuda

 

Attractions

Description

Bermuda … Most of the people associates this name with the mysterious “Bermuda Triangle”.

Bermuda is a habitat zone of the northernmost corals in the Atlantic, and the reefs attract a huge variety of colorful tropical creatures such as angel fish, surgeon fish and clown fish. Unfortunately, dangerous marine life, like jellyfish “Portuguese military ship”, are also abound in the waters of Bermuda, especially in the period between March and July.

Geography

Bermuda (the former Somers Islands) are located in the western Atlantic Ocean near the coast of North America, at a distance of 1,046 km to the east of Cape Hatteras (the coast of North Carolina, USA).

The archipelago consists of seven large and about 131 small coral islands surrounded by reefs (about 230), of which only 12 are inhabited. Eight relatively large islands of the central group are an interconnected network of bridges and viaducts with a total length of about 40 km, forming a so-called “Main Island” which occupies 95% of the insular land (the locals call it simply “island”). Other islands are scattered over the surface of the ocean, occupying a territory of almost 1100 square km. The total area of the archipelago is only 53.3 square km.

History

Islands were discovered by Juan Bermudez (Spanish explorer) in 1503 and named after him. However, the Spaniards did not settle on these islands.

The first British settlement appeared here in 1609 – it was founded by English colonists bound for Virginia, after the castaways. They took up farming on the islands, and from 1684  Bermuda have been officially declared Crown dependency of England.

Economic development of the colonies was accompanied by importing black slaves from Africa. Slavery was abolished in 1838. In the late 19 – early 20 centuries Bermudian economy began to specialize in serving tourists.

C 1931 to 1948 there was a railway connecting the islands with the help of bridges.

According to the agreement in 1941 the British government has passed the U.S. lease for 99 years an area of ​​about 6 km ² – under the construction of naval and air bases. In 1995 United States had terminated the use of these bases.

According to the constitution in 1968 Bermuda has internal self-government.

Climate

The climate is temperate maritime. Main weather factor here is the Gulf Stream that passes between Bermuda and the coast of North America. All year-round the warm air masses, which formed over the surface of the Gulf Stream maintain a warm and relatively flat weather on the islands  - the average temperature in summer (May-September) is about 26 C, in winter (mid December – end of March) – about 17 C, and the minimum value is about 14 C. The winter period is characterized by strong north-west wind, bringing cold and rain.

Rainfall is 1000 mm, but a pronounced rainy season is absent – at any time of year there may be powerful and brief tropical downpours. During the passage of hurricanes (June to November) is possible windy and rainy weather, however, in comparison with other island states in the region, the risk of devastating hurricanes is small – the main route of their movement is significantly west of the territory of Bermudian.

Population

Bermuda is a home to about 65.7 thousand people who consider themselves a separate nation – Bermudians. Of those, over 54% are of African origin, about 34% are from Europe and North America, about 6.4% belong to the mixed group, and approximately 4.3% of the population are descendants of Indian tribes in the Americas.

Approximately 25% of the population of the islands are temporary workers of foreign origin, who came into the country to work in the UK, USA, Azores, Portugal, Canada, the Philippines and other Asian countries, as well as the Caribbean islands.

Religion

Most believers are Anglicans (Church of England supporters – 78%), about 15% of the population profess Roman Catholicism.

Cuisine

Culinary traditions of the islands are based on European and American traditions. In view of the uninhabited Bermudian before the Europeans arrived, quite ancient roots can be traced here – almost all the meals came to the local cuisine from the countries of the Old World, only a few ways of handling seafood are inherited from the Caribbean islanders.

Local marine “delicacies” include the traditional black rum flavored soup of sea bass, flavored with sherry or rum in the ear of the shark meat with pepper, fried cod with pepper sauce and sherry, mince pies with cod, the so-called “Sunday Breakfast” – a huge pan with roast cod, potatoes, eggs, bananas and avocados under the onion-tomato sauce, the famous Bermuda lobsters.

Security

Bermuda is considered to be one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere of the planet. The crime rate here is low and violent offenses are recorded as something out of the ordinary. To comply with the personal safety here is sufficient to observe reasonable precautions.

Use the harpoon weapon for underwater hunting is prohibited. The level of insolation is high – recommended protective creams and light clothing.

Additional Information

Major cultural attractions include the Cathedral of Bermudian – a serious neo-Gothic building, which is one of the dominant landmarks of the city, the Bermuda Public Historical Museum, which contains an exposition of the Age of Discovery and raised from the seabed objects from a shipwrecked vessel “Sea Venture” Admiral George Somers, and the Bermuda National Gallery, containing works by Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Winslow Homer.

Fort Hamilton is an impressive building, situated on a hilltop with a magnificent panorama of the harbor of Hamilton. This is the one of a series of many fortifications built in the middle of the XIX-th century during the period of increased tension between Britain andUnited States . Ramparts of the fort are equipped with 10-inch fortress guns capable of firing 400-pound projectiles every vessel entering the harbor. This is a devastating weapon, fortunately, never been used for other purposes.

Ferries connect Hamilton with Paget islands, Warwick, Somerset area and shipyards. Walking is the best way to explore the city, but walking is not quite simple, since the narrow roads rarely have sidewalks.

The St George’s, Bermudian first capital to this day remains the most fascinating sightseeing area of the islands. The city is literally immersed in the charm of the period of great geographical discoveries, as befits a place that was the second British settlement in the New World. Many form its concentric tracks and colonial-era buildings remain intact, a few old buildings have been preserved as museums.

Royal Square, which is Town Hall built on in 1782, and “Hall of Shame” about which in the past held public rallies condemning the perpetrators. Nearby is located the “revolving throne” on which “minor” offenders were flogging, they are likely to publicly dumped into the waters of the harbor, which was considered quite shameful punishment. It also featured the Old State House Built in 1620 – the oldest building in Bermuda. Although it is fairly small in size but built in the Italian style and has a magnificent view.

To the north of the square lies Somers Garden (“Garden Somers”), named after Admiral Somers, who literally left his heart in Bermuda – his dust (or rather – only the heart, the body is buried in England) is buried in a humble tomb in the park .

Tucker House was built in the XVIII-th century. It is the impressive home of one of the most prestigious families in the islands, has been carefully preserved for history as a museum – even the furniture and domestic utensils of the Victorian era are in perfect condition.

Dated to roughly the same period, Old Rectory (parsonage) – an interesting place, not less famous than the house of Tucker, this one of the first buildings on the island with a stone roof.

The Bermuda National Trust Museum occupies a magnificent colonial buildings and focuses on the role of Bermudian in the U.S. Civil War, when the St George enjoyed unprecedented wealth on aid southern states, and supplies, which provided the famous naval blockade of the rebellious northern states.

The original church of the St George’s, built of wood and straw in 1612, is one of the oldest Anglican churches in the western hemisphere. This beautiful building is like “highlighted” with the help of the game of sunlight on the wooden walls, with marble memorial stele mounted on the money early governors of the island, and the altar of mahogany, which is the oldest example of a local furniture.

Royal Naval Shipyard Bermudian previously served as the site for construction of warehouse and replenishment for vessels plying between New Scotland and the British West Indies. The fort was built of huge blocks of limestone in georgian style between 1814 and 1863. the whole “army” of nearly 10 thousand offenders who were placed in horrible conditions on prison ships stationed in the deep bay, and was first used by the British navy as a base for attacks on Washington in 1814.

Later the buildings were repaired, and the fort got a “second life “. It is now a charming Bermuda Maritime Museum, a traditional pub, cinema, craft market and Shnorkeling Park – one of the best centers of learning scuba diving in Bermuda.

SeaWorld of the Bermudian is rich and varied. Particularly interesting to sail under the water at the northern coast, where the ocean floor cntains the remains of ships XV-XX centuries. Sometime Bermuda is called “islands of the Devils”, in the old days many ships suffered a calamity here.

Bermuda Map