Bermuda - Touring Pembroke Parish

Continued from Page 2

Other interesting exhibits in the museum include a collection of rare old English coins, furniture, fine china, a Waterford chandelier, handmade hats, clocks, and a collection of Confederate money that dates to the days of the blockade runners who ran from Bermuda into the southern ports of Charleston and Savannah. There is also a piece of lodestone that Sir George Somers used to magnetize his
compass needles. Even more interesting is a letter from George Washington, written in 1775, requesting supplies of gunpowder. You’ll have to request a viewing if you’d like to see it. Hours: 9:30 am-3:30 pm, Monday-Saturday. Free.

While on Queen Street, you should visit the Bermuda BookStore. It stands right on the corner of Front and Queen and is a quaint old place, one you might more likely find on a back street in London than on the corner of the two busiest streets of a tropical island. Space inside the store is limited, with books of every size, color and topic crammed on its shelves. A narrow staircase takes you up to more books. The wood floorboards creak as you walk around, rather like an old library. If you’d like a book about the islands of Bermuda,
this is the place to find it.

From Queen Street, turn right onto Front Street, go a short way to Point Pleasant Road, and you’ll see the Bank of Bermuda in front of you. It houses one of the finest collections of British and Spanish coins outside Europe. The coins are exhibited in glass cases and include some fine examples of “hog money,” Bermuda’s first official currency, introduced by the Bermuda Company in 1616. When Sir George Somers and his companions were wrecked on the islands, the only inhabitants they found were wild hogs. It seemed only fitting
that the first coins should depict a wild hog and the words “Somer Ilands” (the original spelling) on one side and the image of the Sea Venture on the other. Hog money is the oldest British colonial coinage. Hours: Monday, 9:30 am – 4 pm; Tuesday – Friday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.

Just across the road from the Bank of Bermuda is the waterfront.
The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, established and given a Royal Charter in 1845, is just west of Point Pleasant Park. The Yacht Club is the hub of the Bermudian upper-class. Here the elite of the islands mingles with the elite of the yachting world, international celebrities
and even visiting royalty. The highlight of the Bermudian yachting calendar is, of course, the Newport to Bermuda Yacht Race.

Point Pleasant Park lives up to its name. It is, indeed, a pleasant spot to watch boats move in and out of the harbor. Barr’s Bay Park, just west of the Yacht Club, also offers grand views of the sound and a quiet place to sit.

An agreeable walk of a couple of miles along Pitts Bay Road (the western extension of Front Street) will take you past the headquarters of the Bacardi Rum Company to the park at Spanish Point.

Too far to walk?Jump on a bus outside the TouristInformation Center on Front Street or at theterminalon WashingtonStreetand ride out to the
park in comfort.

Treasure Map The park is named for a Spanish captain whose ship ran aground on the rocks off the point. With the welfare of others in mind, he erected a wooden cross with written instructions outlining where nearby drinking water could be found. His directions were misunderstood, however, as a route to buried treasure, and later English settlers later searched and dug up the entire point to no avail. Today, the area affords inspiring views across Great Sound to Somerset and the Royal Naval Dockyard. It’s a good place to sit and enjoy an afternoon in the sunshine or to go swimming and snorkeling off the wide, sandy beach.

Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute & Ocean Discovery
Centre, 40 Crow Lane, Hamilton, 441-297-7314, www.buei.org. The institute opened in 1997 to give the public an opportunity to explore the oceans around Bermuda to a depth of 12,000 feet. It’s one of the most comprehensive and exciting exhibits of its type anywhere. The highlight is a simulated, seven minute “dive” to the ocean depths, taking the plunge with all the sights and sounds you’d experience if it were the real thing. Although seen through video screens instead of windows, the creatures you’ll encounter on the journey downward seem real. Besides the dive, there are lots more exhibits to explore,
many of them interactive. Some interpret the history of underwater
exploration in the islands and some offer an unusual look at Bermuda’s many shipwrecks. Others take a look at various types of underwater vehicles, including a full-size bathysphere as used by the indomitable Dr. Charles Beebe in 1934 while making his recordbreaking dive of more than 3,000 feet.

Also interesting is Jack Lightbourn’s collection of more than 3,000 seashells. It is, perhaps, the most complete collection of its kind outside the great natural history museums of the world. Lightbourn began collecting seashells – like most of us do – as a child. But, unlike most of us, he didn’t quit. He just kept on and on, gathering them from all corners of the world, until finally deciding to donate them to the institute. Expect to spend two to three hours exploring the institute and museum. While there, take time out for a cup of java and a snack in the coffee bar or enjoy a great lunch at La Coquille from 11:30 am until 2:45 pm. And don’t miss the gift shops –
there are two – where you’ll be sure to find that little something
for the folks back home. The institute is wheelchairaccessible,
as are the restrooms. Hours are 10 am – 5 pm, Monday through Sunday, year-round (except Christmas Day). Admission is $11 for adults, $5.50 for children aged seven to 16; children six and under are free; $7.80 for seniors over 65.

Know Before You Go!