A portrait of a youthful but stern Queen Elizabeth looks down on proceedings in the arrivals area of the L F Wade International Airport in Bermuda. A couple of counters can easily handle the daily arrivals and departures — just 11 each way. The absence of high-tech hustle has the effect of turning back time — before you even step outside you feel like you've lost a couple of decades.
The sensation gets more pronounced once you hit the road, as the speed limit here is just 35km/h. Slow down, you're now officially on Bermuda time.
I came to here to help raise awareness around the issue of lionfish, a species that poses a serious threat to marine habitats in Bermuda and, increasingly, around the world. I was proud to represent New Zealand as one of six celebrity chefs from the host nations of each America's Cup team, in a sustainability initiative established by the 11th Hour Racing Foundation. Along the way I made some fabulous new friends and got to enjoy the hospitality of Bermudians.
The archipelago that makes up Bermuda comprises 181 islands, eight of which are joined by bridges and causeways forming a connected fishhook of land about 35km long, which at its widest is just 3.2km. From almost any point you can see the sea. Not just any sea, but a sea of such extraordinary blue it's like a dream — cerulean, azure, periwinkle, aquamarine, bluebird - the blue of a perfect gemstone.
There are riddles of roads everywhere, almost 500km of them, private and public, packed into a land mass of just 53sq km, which is home to 64,000 Bermudians. Cars have only been allowed here since 1946 and today there is a limit of one per household. There is no private rental car hire, but you can hire bikes and mopeds, and there are plenty of taxis, buses and ferries to get you around.
As you drive along the south coast, the magnificent sea connects with a ruffle of white and pink sand beaches in long stretches of pure eye-aching beauty. In other parts of the island you could think you are on a Venetian canal — multi-storeyed, bright-coloured houses hang cheek-to-cheek over the water — while out in the high-end digs on the constellation of islands to the east end of the Great Sound, huge estates take you to the billionaire mile of the Hamptons beachfront.
Because the water is exceptionally clear, it's not uncommon to see shoals of colourful parrotfish as you walk around the shoreline. The locals say that if you spot a Portuguese man o' war jellyfish it means there's a storm somewhere out at sea and bad weather is on the way. When I visited, the turtles has just arrived and the whales had just left.
Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream current and the protected marine reserve around the island, snorkelling and diving in Bermuda is excellent. The coral reefs are the northernmost in the Atlantic and although the water is cooler than in the tropics, the reefs abound with tropical sea life. There are lots of places you can snorkel directly off the beach, or hire a guide to head offshore to explore a shipwreck or a reef.
Piracy runs deep in the veins of Bermuda. On a bicycle tour along the old railway line, our guide explained that wily pirates would light fires on the beach at Wreck Hill to indicate safe passage for incoming ships. In fact the spot was a morass of reefs on which the vessels would be guaranteed to founder. The pirates would row out and offer rescue in exchange for a 50 per cent share of the cargo. This was generally refused, so they would wait a week and go back with a new offer - the demand now stood at 100 per cent of the cargo.
The slave trade also played a large part in Bermuda's history, with the first slaves being brought soon after the colony was established. The impact of slavery on Bermudian life is the subject of one of the key exhibits at the Commissioner's House, part of the National Museum of Bermuda on the western end of the island. There are also interesting exhibits on the influence of the Portguese, early settler life and an impressive mural of Bermudian life by local artist Graham Foster, which took more than three years to paint.
Bermudian English is a particular blend of British, West Indian and American English, without the patois that can make navigating language difficult in the rest of the Caribbean. Azorean Portuguese is still spoken and preserved in some Portuguese homes.
In itself, the way people talk here serves as a reminder of the history and democratisation of Bermudian society.
Established in 1612, St George's is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the New World. It's now a Unesco World Heritage site and a great place to spend a morning exploring the cobbled streets and taking in some of its history.
The cream buns made by Kamilah at the Sweet SAAK Bakery are alone worth the trip. Grab a bun and walk up to the Unfinished Church, a ruin of Gothic architecture abandoned in the 19th century due to lack of funding. On Saturday evenings you can explore the haunted houses of Bermuda on a Haunted Histories Tour. Notorious pirate Hezekiah Frith's house is one of the most famous, supposedly still haunted by two serving girls and a wench he locked in a room.
In this tiny seafaring nation, rum reigns king and the local brand, Gosling's, is famous the world over. In the Jasmine Lounge of the grand old dame Fairmont Southampton hotel, the spectacular dark rich fish chowder is offered with a good dousing of local black rum and sherry pepper. It's a dining experience not to be missed.
Most of the food served in Bermuda comes in on a container ship each Sunday. With no natural water source and a shortage of farmland, finding great food experiences isn't always easy. Small roadside market tables abound, selling the famous Bermuda onions, equally gigantic carrots, potatoes, cabbage and other seasonal vegetable staples, and there is a farmers' market at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday mornings. Wadson's Home Farm Market is a great place to buy local vegetables, microgreens and herbs as well as gourmet icecream produced on the island.
Fried chicken and fish sandwiches are two national obsessions, and both are executed well. You won't find any fast-food chains on Bermuda with the exception of a single KFC store, set up before the Prohibited Restaurants Act came into effect in 1977, preventing any international fast-food chain setting up in the island. So local fried chicken joints abound, supplying locals with their meal of choice after a night on the town. The famous Bermudian fish sandwiches are made with the freshest local fish and usually a sweet fruit bread not unlike a hot cross bun, an idea and flavour that I couldn't get my head around. But not to worry, white or wholegrain bread is also on offer.
Woody's, a simple beachside bar in Sandys, is a great choice for the freshest sandwich of crisp fried wahoo with slaw and tartare sauce finished with a jolt of hot sauce. It's an uber-delicious experience, especially when washed down with a rum swizzle cocktail.
Sticks of fragrant allspice, which grows wild all over the island, are traditionally used to swizzle this cocktail, infusing it with a luscious tropical flavour.
Swedish-raised Ethiopian-born chef Marcus Samuelsson, of Harlem's Red Rooster fame, is behind Marcus' restaurant in the perennially stylish Hamilton Princess hotel, offering a menu that leans to the American South. Grits and shrimp, slow-cooked beef ribs, devilled eggs and a rissole-style take on the famous fish chowder are signature dishes.
Known locally as the "pink palace" and the official hotel of the America's Cup, the Hamilton Princess went through a full makeover last year and is very much the ritzy heart of Bermuda. An impressive pop and modern art collection is on show throughout its lobby and public spaces — head there for breakfast and check out works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Bansky.
Perched elegantly on a rise across the road from the Princess, the Rosedon Hotel is a family-run operation that completed a major renovation earlier this year including the introduction of a new restaurant called, in a nod to Mark Twain, Huckleberry. Twain visited Bermuda frequently, spending the last three years of his life here, and is famously quoted as saying, "You go to heaven if you want to, I'd rather stay right here in Bermuda".
In its heyday, the wealthy would come to Bermuda via seaplane or cruise ship, escaping the bitter winters of America and England, often for months at a time. The vibe today isn't jet-set by any stretch, but the sense of lush escape just a one hour 45-minute flight from New York is a drawcard the world is again starting to discover. If you're into golf there are three world-class golf courses. Bermuda is also famous for bird-watching and the Bermuda Audubon Society has a great list of good sites. For the rose lover, Bermuda is a living museum of roses, and the Bermuda Rose Society holds an exhibition each April. And of course there is the sailing . . .
They say the thing that makes us happy is how we manage our expectations. Out here there is a simplicity to life still ruled by the whims of sea and weather, a brightness not dulled by the visible hustle of commerce. Looking at all the investment going into hotels, infrastructure and a new airport, things will change — and fast — but for now Bermuda can hold on to its billing as "the semi-tropical isles of rest and enchantment".
IF YOU GO
Other resources: See gotobermuda.com, bermuda.com, bermuda-attractions.com and nothingtodoinbermuda.com.