MITSUGIRLYS DAWN TO BERMUDA NOVEL (or review as some may call it)

We did take our snorkeling mask down here with us to at least check out the area.

There were tons of little fish everywhere...but really not much to see unless I imagine you went out a ways.

Great pictures, especially the smiling fish!

The kids had fun looking around in the water up and down the beach.

It was pretty wavy since it wasn't a protected cove area, but it wasn't as bad as Horseshoe Bay.

It did kind of worry me here though because it was one of those beaches that the minute you step in the water there's a drop. You can tell by this picture that it got deeper right away by Shayla being there and Kendra and they were not sitting down. You can see it's all the way up to Braydens neck where he was at and Kendra was actually swimming instead of standing up.

Beaches like this just make me nervous. It's easy to get carried out and away fast.

Your review is really making me wish my Bermuda cruise was this year, I can't wait!

We walked back over to where our stuff was and I informed everyone that it was time to "move on". LOL The looks I get from others when I say this and they just got comfortable laying down. Billy looked up at me and said "Do you known how long it took me to carve the sand out from under my belly and then build up around my neck to lay perfectly in the sand?" LOL Oops. Never a dull or restful moment if you are on vacation with me.

So this is definitely a very nice beach and not at all crowded. It would make a perfect beach day if you are looking for a place to go with no crowds. The only draw back is there's no concession stand for drinks or food (I assume that's what they are building at the moment) and there's no restroom that I seen. Free chairs though...according to the workers. :D

I was almost positive from my research that Achilles Bay was to the left of the fort so we headed back out on the road that brought us there and seen something that said a beach house something or other and had a building there. We headed in that direction hoping that we weren't about to invade someone's property.

Then I seen a sign:

We headed down the driveway and got close enough to see it was indeed Achilles Bay. Woo hoo, we found it.

When we got to the edge and looked down all I could say was "OH MY"

Well that looked a little scary. I'm not quite sure how we were going to get down to what was now the smallest beach I had ever seen lined up and down a huge wall with just a bit of sand there. How would we drag all of our things down those steps, into the water, around the wall and to the beach? With kids!!! Yikes.

I can't remember really how I found this place or why I decided I wanted to go there. Maybe I read it had good snorkeling? Maybe I read that it wasn't very crowded? Maybe I read that it was just another beach that was close to Tobacco Bay and it would be another beach that we would be able to say we've been to? I really wasn't sure, but I was a little disappointed that I had dragged the entire family here for this. :o

Something caught Kendra's eye and she pointed to the left. We walked around and over to the left...AND FOUND THE STEPS!! Woo Hoo. It wasn't going to be a bust after all.

We headed down the steps and over to this very small little bar.

They had some cheesy decorated walls with shells in them but the people were super friendly.

Notice the prices of umbrellas and lounge chairs.

We sat down at the bar and I decided I wanted a REAL drink. All of our pop was gone except an orange pop for Sakari and I needed something to quench my thirst. The hubs started asking about various drinks, which the bartender was unsure how to make. LOL I have no idea what he was asking for but I heard her say "Have you ever had a Bushwacker?" ....HAVE I EVER HAD A BUSHWACKER???? OH DEAR LORD YES! THEY ARE YUMMY! I know these are supposed to originate in St Thomas at Paradise, or at least that's what they have you believe there. But I was willing to give it a shot. She had to run up to the "Beach house" to make it.

Meanwhile, where is Billy? He had made a pit stop up at the beach house himself and was having a drink and playing pool. LOL When he finally came down, he told us they were giving him free wifi up there (shhh, don't tell anyone they said) as long as he kept buying drinks. I guess he scored on that.

While the lady was gone, I ask the guy behind the bar how much were these drinks. He replied "They are normally $8 but if we have to go up to the beachhouse to make special drinks, then they are a little more." Oh great, this drink is going to cost me an arm and leg. Oh well, good thing I'm thirsty.

The drink came back and it was "ok". NOT at all the way they tasted at Paradise in St Thomas. Just saying. They hubby paid for the drinks (he had a $20) and somehow he managed to get two $5 bills back in Bermuda money. Cool. So they actually only cost us $5 each. Ok, I'm good with that.

We kinda slid down the steps and planted ourselves at two of the tables with an umbrella. There was also a few lounge chairs there as well. We told them we were planning on ordering food here in a bit. They didn't seem to mind that we were sitting at the tables or the lounge chairs.

Me and the girls decided it was time to head out along the rocks and see if there was anything to see in this area.

There were hundreds and hundreds of these little schools of fish everywhere. I kept swimming down the middle of them to see them scattered. hehe

There were all kinds of little coves to explore up and down the wall. It was a pretty neat place.

I found the cutest big puffer fish/trunkfish...another one of those "gray areas" that I'm really not sure what the difference is. But I spot them in the Caribbean all the time and I just love them.

We snorkeled all over the area for awhile and I decided I had better get out and at least order something. I was starving at this point.

The prices were pretty high but I knew that they would be. I ended up getting a cheeseburger platter with fries and so did the hubby. I split mine with Sakari and thank goodness I did that because these things were HUGE!!!!

The food came out and it was pretty yummy along with crispy cooked fries that I love.

The kids discovered some of these along the rock walls. I had no idea what they were and had to look them up when I got home and found out they are called Chitons.

A little more snorkeling for us after we ate.

Even this purple sea fan isn't anything like the color that you see in the Caribbean. It was just so vibrant in color and beautiful.

It was definitely a beautiful and interesting place to snorkel. I was really glad that we were able to come here.

I went to settle up our bill with the bar tender and ask about the Bermuda money. The guy had a $2 bill and said he would trade me for $2 American money. I was definitely game for that.

We packed up our things and thanked them for a wonderful day there and started up the stairs.

Everyone went to the restroom before leaving and I took a few more pictures while waiting on the rest of the group.

We headed back down the street the way we came and toward the bus stop to catch the next Hop On bus.

Once we arrived at the bus stop, there were several people already there waiting. After about 10 minutes a regular taxi driver came by and stopped. He shouted out "Hey, you guys are STILL waiting there? The bus hasn't came YET?" They said "nope, still here". He said "I have seen the bus several times. Would you like a ride?" They all got up and walked over and ask him how much because they were tired of waiting. His reply.... "NO CHARGE!!!" Can you believe it? Maybe the people in Bermuda are really nice and helpful after all. Of course the amount of people they had in their party would not allow for our party to get in the cab.

I did ask one of the ladies that was getting on just how long they had been waiting on the bus and they said they had been at the bus stop for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. :eek: Oh yikes! That's not good. The bus is supposed to run every 30 minutes at the MOST. I was now worried.

The nice taxi driver said "No worries. I will take these folks back to the ferry terminal and I will circle back around and if you are still here waiting, I will take you back to the ferry as well." Wow, how nice!

Of course it was only about 5 minutes after he pulled away that the bus came. So, we only ended up waiting about a good 15-20 minutes before we had a ride. I guess we timed that right.

The driver was super nice on the bus and once again, it was like a tour guide bus. He would tell us about things in the area and at one point he stopped the bus and said "Look over there, do you see the sea turtles?" GASP! I have NEVER seen a sea turtle yet. He pulled the bus over and got out, open the door and told us we could get out if we wanted to see them. How nice. Of course me and the kids bolted to the door. I just had to get a picture!

Now we were way at the top of a hill and the turtle was way down below in the water. So, it's hard to see but it's to the right of the picture and right above the bushes you see in the bottom of the picture. It looks like brown sea weed floating.

These things are quick. They pop their heads up out of the water and dive back down. He stayed long enough for me to get a few pictures and then we hopped back on the bus.

I hope there wasn't anyone on the bus that I made mad by getting out and taking pictures. Just be warned, if you are ever on any trip with Mitsugirly, you will be waiting for me to get pictures of whatever I can. Be prepared. Just saying...

We decided that the only thing we really wanted to do that day was to go to the unfinished church.

We got to the beginning of the route at Kings Square and informed him that we wanted to go to the Unfinished Church. He closed the doors and off we went...for about 2 minutes. LOL I guess I didn't realize it was that close, but in our defense, it was up hill so riding the bus was worth it.

We got out and some of the group really didn't seem interested in actually walking up to the church and peeking in. I however, wanted pictures of this neat structure and had seen several online were they held weddings there and I thought it looked so neat.

Once I got up to the door, I was met by a disappointment.

Well darn. I guess I would have to take all of my pictures from the outside and peeking in.

**disclaimer** It's been a long time since I have done any special effects with my dslr, but one of the things I use to love to practice was HDR photography. However, since I don't have my dslr camera with me, there are ways around doing the combining of 3+ exposed pictures and just using 1. It looks a little more "fake", but it's still worth a shot. The following pictures were my feeble attempt to do a 1 photo hdr picture. Some people love them, some hate them. I happen to be one that likes hdr.

Hmm, just wondering why the photos helped "rule out" Nachi? There is shade as long as you are around the palm tree area.

 

I have reviews for both Nachi and Mr Sanchos if you are interested in seeing more pics of either place. :)

My concern was that there was not enough complete shade at Nachi and we'd spend a lot of the day "chasing" shade, whereas at Mr. Sanchos, we'd have a dedicated "cabana" with drapes to help control any sunlight. This way my husband can sleep if he wants and I don't have to worry about him getting sunburnt. I did look at your reviews of Nachi AND Mr. Sanchez. If Nachi only had the palapa bed cabanas like Mr. Sanchos, I would have been great with Nachi. Just trying to keep things simple so my husband doesn't get sunburnt and then I'd have to hear about it. LOL!

Wow, these pictures of the church are amazing!

We decided we would just walk back down to Kings Square since it was downhill. Man the roads in Bermuda are skinny with no place to walk in certain areas. I can see why they say it's so dangerous at times to walk along the streets.

We quickly made it back to Kings Square and stopped at a grocery store on the corner for some drinks and snacks. The hubby went in as well to purchase some cigars. He likes to have a black & mild while on vacation and he came out and told me that the prices in the store for things were no higher than what they were at home. I was shocked but glad.

I watched the buses go by that we were to catch going to Hamilton...one after another. I kept thinking that we really needed to get down there and get on one of the buses.

Now I have to say that we DID get back to King Square in time that we could have made the last ferry back to the dockyard (I think it was 5:30pm) in plenty of time, but I had planned to take the bus over to Hamilton and search for a camera store for either a battery charger or a new Olympus camera. I was told by many people both on the ship and in the dockyard that IF there was a camera shop to be found, this would be where it is at. So I was on a mission!

I walked in the store to get directions on where the next bus stop was AFTER the hubby, once again, ask the lady bagger in the store, then came out saying she said "just down the street". UGH! Which fricken street? We are on a corner...it goes 4 different ways.

I went in to ask and she pointed which street and gave more of a description.

We walked down the street to the area that she said and spotted the pink pole. There were only 2 benches along the sidewalk and they were both in the hot blazing sun. We sat and waited and waited and waited. I checked my schedule for all 4 of the buses that run from that area and head toward Hamilton and all the times that were noted there hadn't been one bus that came by.

One by one the family members started moving across the street to the shade. I decided to stay put because I was afraid that the bus would come, everyone would be over there and it would keep on going or if it did stop, I didn't want to have to try to battle getting across the road in traffic and missing it. So we waited, and waited some more.

We did see a lot of buses, as a matter of fact I counted 7 buses, going the opposite direction. At one point another couple came to wait at the bus stop and you could tell they were turned around and not use to driving on the opposite side of the road and the man had her convinced they were on the wrong side after seeing about 3 of the buses go by. They finally went over when the next bus came and talked to the driver, who told them all of the buses going in that direction would eventually turn around and head back to Hamilton. WHERE WERE THEY GOING? I mean it had been over a hour that several had went by and they sure haven't turned around and came back.

We had seen the Hop on-Hop off bus pass us at least 10 times and the last time he shouted out of his window "They will be here at 6:15pm...just 2 more minutes"...but yet it was now 6:20pm. LOL

They finally came at 6:25pm and right off the bat they were giving us a hassle and attitude. "This is a public bus, you must have clothes on". They insisted that we all put shirts and shorts on. Sigh. Ok, I get it, but I was tired, hot and getting cranky from sitting in the sun forever.

We got on, there wasn't hardly anyone on the bus, the a/c was blasting and we spread out and relaxed....until the very next bus stop, which was in the opposite direction of the grocery store...and EVERYONE in the city of St George got on. Like seriously! We bunched together and people were standing. YIKES! I'm so glad we didn't go that way to the bus stop. We would have ended up standing for the ride.

Pictures along the way:

The walls along the side of the road. I seriously don't know how the bus drivers, shuttles, and cars don't hit them. They are so close!!!

A Gun soda would be a fountain soda, you know, out of a soda gun.:)

That's correct! I used to bar tend in college - one of the important things I learned in my college years - what to call all the bar equipment AND how to make all kinds of drinks!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_gun

Poor Sakari was so tired and she fell asleep with the bobble head thing going on. I had to take out the towels and do a make-shift support system for her up against the window to keep from breaking her neck. Poor thing.

We continued along and I continued with the pictures.

The hubs was sitting on the other side of me and then a local next to him and then Brayden after that. See, we always find a way to split Brayden up...even if we have to use a local to do it. hehe

I got to talking to her and started asking her about a camera shop. She was naming off the ones that she thought might be able to help me. Most were stores with tvs and cell phones but she knew of one that did carry cameras...just not sure what kind. Then she broke my heart by telling me that all the stores in Hamilton (and pretty much all over the island) close at 5pm. I had did all this for NOTHING! Now I was not only tired, cranky, hot but ticked. Why do they close so early????

We chit chatted all the way back to the terminal and she was super nice. She was born and raised here. She talked about how bad the crime had gotten...contrary to what you hear everyone else talking about what a great island it is with hardly any crime. Hmmm. She talked about how most people hold down 3 jobs in order to pay their rent. She gave us pay ranges, children working and what their base pay is and told us that unless you are a doctor or a nurse, you won't be able to afford a place to rent alone without working several jobs. She told me that nurses start out at about $60/hr. She said one of her jobs was a nurses assistant. She talked about her life growing up. It was really nice to ride the rest of the way to Hamilton with her and hear her stories. I love stuff like this and getting to know a local.

Once we got to the terminal I ask her which direction to the ferry and she offered to walk with us. She also wanted to show us where the camera stores were she had been talking about just in case we had time to come back tomorrow to look for one.

I guess this was their shopping mall for Bermuda. Too bad it wasn't open.

The Post Office:

She pointed in the direction we needed to go and head across the street to get to the ferry and we parted ways.

OMG!!! I JUST NOW NOTICED WHAT WAS IN THAT PICTURE!!! THE POLICE DIRECTING TRAFFIC BIRD CAGE!!! I DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT OR REALIZE IT WHEN WE WERE THERE UNTIL RIGHT NOW. Geesh! Mitsugirly = failure. Sigh

I thought the street walk signs were neat. They looked almost like the auto traffic signs but were a little smaller and had a person on it.

We crossed the street and Kendra points at a statue for me to take a picture of. At this point I'm almost tired of taking pictures and disappointed, but I did it anyhow.

We left the guys standing in front of the ferry terminal at 7:15pm and headed to the restrooms one last time which happen to be on the other side of the building. We took the LONG way around and when we came out discovered it was just right around the corner in the opposite direction of the ferry.

When we got back around, the guys were gone and the ferry was there! YIKES! They had went looking for us. Geesh. We went ahead and got on the ferry and before long waved them down. They thought we were magic genies at this point for already being on the ferry and they never even seen us pass by. hehe

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Here's the map of where the bus terminal is compared to the ferry terminal. It's a very short walk and the way the local took us was even shorter.

The ferry was pretty empty and there were a few mopeds on it.

On our way back to the dockyard (about a 15 minute ride)

I was never so happy to get back to the dockyard and see her smiling at us. It was a very long day and much longer than it should have been considering the last few hours was nothing but a waste.

On the way back to the ship, we spotted this.

Kim, I know exactly how you feel. After our last cruise on the Dawn, we spent the night in NOLA. When I woke up the next morning, I had a slight cough. I had to keep clearing my throat. Coughed all the way home. I had that cough for 4 weeks. After 3 weeks my family got sick of listening to me hacking away. Every time you cough, you pee. Go to the doctor. Don't wait like I did & I never get sick.

Oh my gosh...you hit the nail on the head. All day today I've had to "squeeze" (TMI) to keep from peeing and well....yea. :o I will be calling on Monday for sure. I can't take much more. :(

We are repeating the Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Belize itinerary. Almost identical to the Star in 2012. Only difference is instead of Belize City we will be doing Harvest Caye. I guess it is slated to open in the fall.

 

We had been scheduled on the Jewel from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera since last July. A couple weeks ago they cancelled our 2/14/16 sailing and 3 others for a charter. I was not a happy camper let me tell you After much back and forth and major hissy fit throwing I was able to convince them to make a lateral move to the Dawn. They only wanted to lateral move us to another Mexican Riviera sailing. That wouldn't work as the week of the 14th is the only week the 12 of us can all sail. So while not the itinerary we wanted to are still cruising and I love that itinerary Come along with us! Valentines day, and the Presidents day weekend during this week.

 

FYI, if you ever do book an Alaskan cruise, we live across the Puget Sound from the cruise terminal (60 minute ferry crossing). You are welcome to stay with us, we have 3 empty bedrooms.

Every weekend during cruise season while we are out on our boat we get to watch the parade of cruise ships heading for Alaska, one day we will be on one also. However I also hate to be cold and to me a cruise should be to warm waters I can snorkel in.

Aww so sorry to hear about the cancellation. That's a bummer. At least you found one that you like the itinerary. I have done that itinerary so many times that I swore I wasn't going back for awhile. However, I'm missing it. LOL Kendra was to go on another Western cruise...any of them, as long as they go back to Cozumel (the girls got plans lol). I was considering the Jade (since I haven't done the Jade yet) in November and it heads over that way I believe (although I think it skips Costa Maya and it "says" it goes to Belize City still??).

I would love to come, but honestly have no desire to sail the Dawn again, unless it's the only way I can get to Bermuda next year for a cheap price. :( I may be canceling it though. We'll see.

I really want to do something for February though. Next year is going to be a big year for us. I turn 50 in February and our 10 year anniversary is in May. I have some big planning to do. :D

I will definitely be doing an Alaskan cruise. I just don't know when. I will definitely hold you to that offer. :p Can you handle a wild Mitsugirly family? Just kidding. I'm pretty darn sure it would just be me, the hubby and Sakari. I don't think there's a chance in frozen world I'd get Kendra on an arctic cruise.

So wait you haven't even been on an Alaskan cruise yet and live that close? Say what???

I wonder what the horse was laughing at? :p

Haha, I wondered the same thing. :D

I'm pretty sure Gun Soda is post mix. Basically, a cup of tonic............... :rolleyes:

I...ugh...what? :confused:

A Gun soda would be a fountain soda, you know, out of a soda gun.:)

Ohhhh, ok. I get it. I love that kinda pop. Yummy. But I bet it's smaller so that's why it cost less.

I have no idea why I started reading this thread since I had no desire to cruise on the Dawn, nor visit Bermuda.

 

Your report is very engaging, entertaining and informative. So many pics and tips.

Thank you so much for taking the time ( hours and hours, no doubt) to put it all together.

 

I think there could be a Bermuda trip in my future!

Aww, well I'll take that as a compliment then. There should be a trip to Bermuda in your future. It's lovely there. :)

But I know what you mean. I will click on things I would "normally" not even bother to click on and then get interested. LOL I do it all the time. :p