Ruth's Travelogue on the Botanical Gardens

During breakfast announcements we learned about tours--today only this week--Botanical Gardens at 10:30 and Spittal Pond at 1:00, and abandoned all the plans we had made for the day. We wanted those tours! The nice lady at the bus stop the previous morning said buses leave the Dockyards at 20 'til the hour and 10 past, arriving at Willowbank about 10 minutes later. The cruise ships had pulled out the afternoon before, and we counted on catching a #7 bus this morning. We allowed an hour to ride into town on the 9:20 bus. We hoped. So we skipped devotions 9:00 to 9:30. Someone had said a bus would come at 9:30, another at 9:45. At 9:57 and still no bus, a #8 pulled up. The driver told us the #7 for the Botanical Gardens had broken down. We climbed aboard, not knowing what else to do. She didn't waste any time, and a flicker of hope lingered that somehow we might still make the tour. All of a sudden she pulled over to an empty waiting #7 bus, which dropped us off at the Gardens entrance at 10:30. We hiked up, down, around, and over to the Visitor Center, joining the others gathered out front soon enough not to rate a round of applause awarded to latecomers.

Under the care of our entertaining and informative guide Steve, everyone enjoyed every minute and days after talked about his delightful personality and leadership. For an hour and a half we soaked up every word out of his mouth, growing to understand the natural and cultivated splendor surrounding us in beautiful Bermuda.

If we were going to make that 1:00 tour at Spittal Pond, we had time to shop for a sandwich but not eat lunch! Steve extended his hospitality to accompany us on a shortcut over the Garden grounds and a low stone wall to the bus stop, a wide spot on the well-traveled narrow road, always alive with friendly honks of hello. Everyone seems to know everybody and toots out a greeting as they scoot on by the island-wide 35 k. p. h. speed limit. Steve patiently waited with us until our bus came, and we appreciated him more and more.

Return to Bermuda page