Bermuda — Day 5 – Adventures With Crystal

It’s weird writing an entry knowing my solo travels in Bermuda are coming to an end; this part of the story wraps up.

I pull “revelation” and “completion” from my box of words on Day 5 in Bermuda. I don’t know why “completion” came up twice now, even when I shuffle the cards in the box. But it sure is appropriate.

The sunlight wakes me up a little too early. I toss and turn trying to get a few more hours of sleep, but it’s useless. I decide instead of sleeping in, I can sleep on the beach. Plus, my 24 hours with the scooter is almost up, so I have to go return it.

I drop off my scooter and wish I actually woke up earlier for a joy ride. Kind of how it always goes.

My mom used to make fun of me saying:

“At night, you don’t want to sleep; in the morning, you don’t want to wake.”

When I’m back at the scooter shop, I see the same woman, Brittany.

She says, “You looked pretty good! I saw you driving around the dockyard all the way on the south end of the island.”

Brittany is my new friend.

I go back to Devil’s Isle for brunch; I craved their very caffeinated coffee.

This time, I sit at the bar inside. It’s finally the first day in Bermuda where the winds have died down and it’s actually pretty hot.

I see a friendly couple who I sit down next to and strike up a conversation — I can’t emphasize this enough for solo, or any, travel, just talk with people. No one scoffs at a polite, friendly smile. And if it’s weird, well, you likely won’t see them again. So there’s nothing really at stake.

It’s a fascinating conversation.

The pair from California travel A LOT (their lives seems full of adventures) and they offer me some ideas for my next trip — Bali and Argentina are on the top of their list. We talk politics, the history of Bermuda, and the conversation veers towards other random topics.

They’re really funny and we admire each other’s food. My guess is Kerry and her husband, Randy, are reading this post — hi Kerry and Randy!

They give me a few other recommendations on the island and we exchange Bermuda travel stories.

I tell them I’m a news reporter and they chuckle, saying the way I ask questions and talk about my travel gave them a good guess I was a journalist.

[tweetshare tweet=”I can’t help but smile, because there’s nothing quite like these small moments where complete strangers bond over the love of traveling and learning.” username=”myadventuresnow”] I’m filled with joy because one of the best parts of traveling is meeting new people and hearing their stories.

I forget I’ve been traveling solo with so much exploring and reflecting these last few days.

We add each other on Instagram and Facebook so we can keep in touch no matter where our travels take us. It’s pretty cool.

I take a walk around Front Street and explore some of the colorful buildings in the capital city. It’s hot as hell today, so I decide to grab some island ice cream and head toward the ferry dock.

Bermuda’s public transportation includes ferries — and it’s as cheap as a bus ticket. This feels counter-intuitive, but it’s a great deal, and I want to see Bermuda by sea.

It’s $9 for a round trip ticket by ferry, and you can pick from a bunch of stops which dock all over the island.

To get the full experience, I head back to the far end of the island, to the Royal Navy dockyard.

The ferry glides smoothly across the water; I don’t even realize it’s moving until I look up.

There’s a few women who sit down next to me and they show me the shopping they’ve done in Bermuda. They’re from Florida, and a total riot. I think one of the women is celebrating her 56th birthday, so I love their energy.

I go to the top of the ferry. Here’s a photo of me battling the wind.

A caution though: Most public transportation stops around sunset, which is to say, 6:15 p.m. Since they’re not usually on time, better to try to head back around 4:30 or you’ll have to take a taxi.

Once I’ve made the round-trip on the ferry and get back to Hamilton, I sit on the dock and return my friend’s call from home. A familiar voice and a nice view always brings more joy. We talk a little bit philosophically about going with the flow, and the decision not to push everything along. It’s an appropriate heart-to-heart as I’m watching the waves ebb and flow. I just tell her how things have been in New York City and we powwow some ideas.

I head back to my Air BnB and decide it’s time explore some hidden caves and a hidden beach at Admirals Cave.

It’s a 10-minute walk and a quick hike down.

I swim to the caves and don’t go too far inside — probably a bad idea to go too deep into a dark spot when traveling solo.

I love the sound of the water crashing against the hidden caves. It’s a bit of a spiritual moment — the water carrying the sound, and me, feeling weightless yet again.

I try to take some pictures with my underwater camera, but there’s too much splashing and movement for me to get a good shot.

It gets cold pretty quickly and I head back to the apartment.

I think in terms of getting the best return, if you can swing it, four full days solo in each spot is the best timeframe before things feel too routine.

Of course when I went traveling solo in Costa Rica, it’s massive land to cover, so even 9 days wasn’t even enough.

My trip closes.

I spend my last night packing and writing more with the TV on. I watch an interview on Netflix; it’s a conversation between Barack Obama and David Letterman.

I flip through Instagram, looking at some travel quotes to close out my trip.