bermuda

Today's my last day here, I didn't spend nearly enough time at the beach, so really, my bikini tan-lines are not as contrast-y as they were before ... hah, I didn't really tan in South Africa either. I came here for a lovely intimate wedding and it was wonderful. The entire guest list numbered shy of 40 people so every guest got to know each other and we all had fun hitting the clubs on Front Street in Hamilton, hanging out at the beach, shopping, and sightseeing.

Right now my right jaw is pretty sore. It's a good thing this is the jaw that never fully recovered feeling from a wisdom tooth extraction gone awry (blood spurting, hammers, and drilling to retrieve a way tooth) three years ago. That story to come with pictures.

Even though there were plenty of people here, for the most part I traveled by myself. Of course I've mentioned the positives: doing what I want to do on my own time, not worried about compromising or being accountable to someone else, and becoming more self-reliant and confident about traveling alone. It also opens up meeting locals and other people you may not normally interact with if you were traveling with someone else. Although I admit, traveling with someone else has positives, particularly if my companion has similar interests (like my sister or a few other friends I've traveled with). This time around, I think particularly in the beach-y tropical island type of vacations, its nice to have a buddy. Particularly since it seems whenever I went to the beach, I was by myself unless I was meeting someone else.

Oh and by the way Bermuda is a genuine banana republic. I hit downtown Hamilton on Thursday and saw accountants and insurers walking around in full-fledged business suits. I saw brand names like Deloitte and PriceWaterhouseCoopers on corner streets. I was really amazed. Apparently Bermuda's a good place for off-shore banking, insurance firms, of course hospitality, and there is a medical facility. There are no fast-food places or chain restaurants. No Day's Inns or cheap motel constructs. It's all vacation villas, homes and neighborhoods, or compound-like resorts/clubs/and golf courses. Stunning beaches though.