sunshine and island time.

After leaving Oregon I got the opportunity to visit one of my best friends Kelsey in Bermuda. She had an internship there all summer working at Dolphin Quest Bermuda, so naturally I decided I had to come visit her!!

Josh met me in Atlanta. Having to go standby you never know how the flights will change from one day to another, so we got there Friday evening even though our flight to Bermuda didn't leave until Saturday morning. We bided the time by catching up, watching youtube videos, possibly having 1 too many beers and sleeping on the ever so comfy airport chairs! It was a good time! Thankfully we got on the flight and made it into Bermuda around 3pm.

Since we all know I'm cheap, we didn't stay at a hotel. Instead I rented out an apartment, which was basically a converted master bedroom, hallway and bathroom of a Bermudian's house. So after arriving we took a 40 minute taxi ride to get there. Our driver, Sidney Herber, knew basically every person that lived on the island. He was 82 years old and knew everyone from the former president of Bermuda to Ross Perot to the random people walking by. It was definitely an interesting ride that started the trip off on the right foot.

There was a bit of confusion when we first arrived so they were still cleaning the room. We just hung out and enjoyed the view. Once we got in, we settled in and met up with Kelsey. Her place was about 15/20 minutes drive, but she was staying with the other interns who lived just two streets down from where we were staying! It worked out sooo well.

Sign at the house.

Hibiscus flower outside our room.

Josh playing Angry Birds in the room.

That night one of the other interns, Chelsea, graciously made us all dinner at their place and we just hung out and enjoyed their AMAZING view!

Sunset.

Ely's Harbour.

Josh, Kelsey and me. Until I arrived in Bermuda I was very proud of my tan! Ha!

Sooo pretty.

The next day we woke up early to do our dolphin encounter. We got there a little early so we walked around to kill time. DQB is located in a fort and is also home to the Bermuda Maritime Museum. This is also where Kelsey lived for the summer. There were some very cool relics from various time periods of the fort's history.

Commissioner's House.

Dolphin Quest.

Our experience at Dolphin Quest was nothing short of AMAZING! We got to work with Bailey and Cavello. My favorite thing about the whole encounter was that Kelsey ran the majority of it. A trainer was there to provide fish and reenforcement, but Kels did most of it. I loved getting to see her do what she loves and to share in that experience. And we made sure to ask her LOTS of questions! I was soo proud! :) This will definitely be on the top of my life experiences list for quite a while.

Candid during our session.

Me and Josh.

Bailey.

Dolphin kisses.

After getting our pictures we met up with one of the other interns, Annie, to go to Tom Moore's Jungle. We took the ferry, then a bus, and then hiked a bit to get to the jungle. We stopped at some caves, and then went to the 'Blue Hole.' Back in the days before DQB they used to have dolphin shows here. It is definitely a local hidden treasure, as we were there for around 3 hours and saw only one other group of people. It was soo much fun! Especially since you can jump off the cliff!

Walking to Tom Moore's. Could the water be a prettier color?

Josh, Kelsey, and Annie by the caves.

Tom Moore's Jungle.

Blue Hole.

Jumping in!

After we left the jungle we decided to go to Rosa's for dinner and margaritas. It was delicious! We ended the night by just hanging out at the interns place and enjoying the company.

Strawberry margarita. Yes please! [Stole this from Kelsey]

Another gorgeous sunset!

The previous night we had found out the tropical storm Gert could hit the island in the late morning/afternoon. So naturally we decided the best course of action was to swim to a near by island and spend the day enjoying the sun, surf and sand! Luckily, the the only thing Gert ended up bringing was a few clouds, but I enjoy being able to say I survived a tropical storm! :)

Swimming to the island. Trying to keep the snacks dry! [I stole all the following pictures from Chelsea, she had an underwater camera! :)]

The island.

Our 'Gert' faces. Very similar to our 'I just saw a bear' faces. :)

The whole group. [Me, Kelsey, Lindsey, Josh, Chelsea]

After swimming back we went to dinner at the Swizzle Inn. The national drink of Bermuda is a Rum Swizzle, so we had to try it at least once. Besides that the restaurant had delicious food. It was the perfect way to end the day!

Waiting for the bus to go to Swizzle. [Stole this from Chelsea]

Can you say burnt!? [Stole this from Chelsea]

Our last full day in Bermuda Kelsey had to work so me and Josh were on our own. Our original plan was to go snorkeling, but we were both so burnt at this point we decided we shouldn't risk it. Instead we slept in and then went shopping in Dockyard and Hamilton. When we were done we decided to relax until the barbecue that evening, so we just hung out in the air conditioning and applied lots and lots of aloe vera! Ha!

Official tip of the Bermuda Triangle. It's located in a shopping mall. Haha!

This is how I prevent further burnage! Be jealous!

Hamilton from the ferry.

Chelsea and Annie hosted a barbecue at their house for all of the DQB people. It was a lot of fun to meet all the people Kelsey worked with over the summer. Also, since it was the 3rd day after the full moon, at 57 minutes after sunset the glow worms appear in the ocean. We all traipsed down to the dock, which is easier said than done in the dark, to watch the worms. It wasn't like the whole ocean was glowing or anything, it was more like bright blips that would appear for about 30 seconds. Still though, it was fun to see and something that I'll probably never get to experience again! Plus the stars on the dock were phenomenal! :)

Hanging out before the barbecue. [Stole this from Annie]

Our last day we had some time to kill before we had to leave for the airport. Since we stayed up far too late the previous night, we slept in. Kelsey had to pack up the suitcase we brought her, so we dropped off our luggage at the interns place and then headed to Dockyard. Kelsey packed up her bag, we shopped around for a bit, grabbed a hotdog and then headed for the airport. I was sure one of us was going to get stuck, but thankfully we both got on. We were delayed a bit due to weather and had to rush to get to our next flights. I think Josh had a total of about 15 minutes in the airport before he got on his plane!

All in all, it was such a fun, relaxed trip! Thank you to everyone who hosted us and to Josh for putting up with me for 5 days! We decided it needs to be an annual occurrence!

Bermuda from the plane.

Also, I just found out that in June I get to go to the Galapagos Islands!!!!!!! Excited doesn't even begin to describe how pumped I am!!!