Bermuda guide
Sun-blessed Isles
Bermuda was once known to sailors as Devil's Island, because of the offshore coral reefs that wrecked countless ships. Now, it's hard to think of it as anything other than idyllic. Blessed with a healthy year-round climate that alternates between just two seasons-a revivingly fresh spring and a deliciously warm summer-Bermuda is a land of pink sandy beaches, clean turquoise seas, picturesque old colonial towns and brilliantly colourful flowers, shrubs and trees. From Acacia to Zygophyllaceae, there are more than a thousand varieties. Bougainvillea, hibiscus, oleander and morning glory bloom in profusion along the narrow island roads, while lovingly-tended gardens burgeon with frangipani, orchids and bird-of-paradise flowers.
Bermuda is in fact not a single island but an archipelago of some 150 islands and islets, curving round like a scorpion with its tail in the air. The seven principal islands are linked by causeways and bridges (including what's claimed to be the world's smallest drawbridge), giving the impression of one lush body of land. With an area of some 52 sq km (20 sq miles), it's comparable in size to Manhattan. There the similarities end. Devoid of skyscrapers, neon lights, parking meters and income tax, this prosperous mid-Atlantic British colony, 1,000 km (600 miles) from the US mainland, is a slice of the old world cast adrift from the shores of the new. With a population of 68,500, it is the third-most densely populated place on earth, after Monaco and Singapore.
The mixture of colonial style and proximity to America has been its financial making. Bermuda has managed to become not only one of the world's most coveted holiday destinations but also a centre of high finance, whose gross domestic product per capita is one of the richest in the world. Generous tax advantages and flawless satellite communications have induced a distinguished stream of major corporations to set up offices on the island, contributing to the colony's invisible exports.
Like their forebears, who were sailors, fishermen, privateers and, indeed, pirates, the Bermudians are hardy and self-reliant. They respect tradition, ceremony and courtesy-here, greeting everyone you meet with a friendly "Hello" is considered mandatory. Helmeted bobbies smartly dressed in the original Bermuda shorts direct the traffic, which keeps to the left as in the mother country. And of course, the national game is cricket.
