Bermuda: Botanical Gardens and Spittal Pond
On our third day, Hurricane Kate passed close to Bermuda and we awoke to a wet and windy morning. It was also a public holiday (11th November) which meant that all museums were closed, so an outdoor attraction it had to be. The Botanical Gardens were within walking distance of our hotel – we got soaked on the way, and had to take shelter in the Cactus House when we arrived, but fortunately the weather perked up a bit after that and we enjoyed our visit.
The most interesting part was this memorial to John Lennon. He spent two months in Bermuda just before he died in 1980, and named his final album Double Fantasy after a freesia he admired in these gardens.
By lunchtime it was dry enough to have a picnic outdoors, after which we caught the bus a short distance to Spittal Pond Nature Reserve. Here, a circular walk takes you out along the coast and back alongside a brackish pond. It’s short, but has several points of interest.
Portuguese Rock is thought to have been carved by Portuguese survivors of a shipwreck. The original has long since weathered away, but a bronze cast now replaces it, reading “RP 1543” – Rex Portugaliae?
The Checkerboard is a large, flat rock surface with crosshatching. Man made, or carved by the sea? Who knows?
Nor do I know what these little creatures in the pools formed in the cracks are – sea slugs / snails?
After a final view of the sea, we turned inland to the pond – but the sea peeked through again later.
Not a bad day despite a hurricane passing close by!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Great photos 🙂
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Thanks!
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This just looks like a glorious day despite the rain. You take such wonderful pictures
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Thanks – though the pictures are mostly (but not all) John. I’m quite good at being the director….
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Actually it looks like it was a fantastic day, after all.
I like the Checkerboard. It’s kind of mysterious 🙂
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Yes, I was worried in the morning. It wasn’t exactly cold but it could have felt so if we’d got wet all day. Fortunately it cleared up and was a lovely afternoon.
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AND a winter garden!! I love the floral guitar memorial. And the sea creatures.
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I wasn’t sure early November quite counted as winter!
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Well strictly speaking it is Dec, Jan and Feb, but I count anything after the clocks go back as winter!
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Fair enough – it’s dark!
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Sea slugs for lunch? Mmm good!
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Eurgh! I’m a veggie!
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Those sea creatures in the first picture look a bit like trilobites, but I’m pretty sure those are long extinct, and pointier/harder? I don’t blame you for not investigating further; arthropod-y things freak me out. Even googling them is a risk, because a picture of something horrible usually pops up.
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Yeah, didn’t want to poke them to see more, happy to leave them minding their own business!
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Must admit I thought they looked quite prehistoric!
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We get enough rain here – the last thing you want on holiday but at least the hurricane didn’t spoil your day Anabel!!
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No, just one wet morning to put up with, I can live with that!
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Lovely photos, Anabel. Interesting facts about John Lennon and the freesia. Fascinating carved rocks and bronze plaque.
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Thank you – lots of interest for such a small country.
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Glad you missed the hurricane Anabel! Am enjoying your photos of Bermuda as I knew so little about it before and certainly not that John Lennon had spent some time here. The gardens must have been very inspiring for music composition 🙂
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I’m enjoying reliving it!
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I’m glad you got a little bit of sunshine. I didn’t know that little fact about John Lennon. You have some beautiful shots there along the coast and in the botanical garden. 🙂
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Thanks. I didn’t know that about John Lennon before either. It’s actually nice to be remembering sunshine at the moment.
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I’m sure it is, Anabel. We’re at -8C right now, so it’s biting cold to walk out the door!
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Ooh, we’re not as cold as that! It got to about -2C last week but back above freezing now. Just grey and dank.
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